GOLDEN DREAMS
	MONICA PENN email
Pietarsaari, Finland

Monica Penn - vocals
Kimmo Penttala - guitars, engineering
Nicklas Storbjork - keyboards, engineering

When I first heard about this project it knocked me down. 
At last somebody was doing something that should have been done a long time ago, a tribute to Dan.  It wasn't difficult to choose which song to record, since "Golden Dreams" had been in my mind for a very long time.  The atmosphere and the spirit of this song suits Monica's vocals very well and it shure describes the nature of Daniel's music!  Another option was to record something from Emmy's Wrecking Ball album, cuz this is propably one of the best produced albums in the world (in my opinion!)  I didn't want to record anything from Acadie or Wynona.  One reason was that both "Golden Dreams" and the Wrecking Ball album was done with female vocalists.   But the second and main reason was that I didn't want to touch the Holy Ground of Acadie or Wynona, since they are the Holy Grails in my rocky world. 

I didn't know what to expect when I walked into the studio with my friend Nicklas Storbjork, the keyboard player.  I had some ideas about the guitar sounds, but nothing else (At last I had a chance to use my Electro Harmonix Bass Micro Syntheziser through my Bassman and Blackface 1965!)   We recorded some guitars and keyboards.  Monica joined us some days later and we worked a lot on the vocals.  We were quite happy with them until we had to do the mixdown.  I noticed something disturbing on the track along with Monica's vocals.  There was nothing else to do than to re-record the vocals.  But I'm very happy that we did that, since the new version was sung and recorded in one take.  And the difference was enormous.  We did about 9 different mixes and then we felt that the mission was completed.  We had a version that was sounding great and we were feeling great!!!  

 

So Dan, there aren't words to express what your music has ment to me. 
But in the end, there is a bond, an unbreakable chain, connecting many of us soul mates together.      

Kimmo Penttala

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Monica Penn information:
Monica Penn has often been playing music and performing live during the 90's in different bands as well as a solo artist.  She made her debut album 1991.  The last 7 years she's been working with her husband, Kimmo Penttala.  He's the producer, the song-writer and the guitar-player in her band.  Kimmo has also worked as a harmonica player with Trace Balin Band (USA).  His raw harmonica sound and playing style is influenced by his good friend Darrell Mansfield (USA).  Together Monica and Kimmo go by the name, Monica Penn.  Performing live they are using different musicians almost every time, that way they can do whatever they want with their music.

Some of Monica's musical influences are Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, Holly McNarland & U2.  Monica participated with her band in the Finnish-Rock contest in '97, where she was awarded with a special honor of the jury and the press, for her professional appearance.  She and her band also participated in a national band contest in Finland called Jyrki Hit Challenge (Jyrki is a similar tv-program to Much Music in Canada) autumn '98, where she was chosen to the final 8 bands out of 434 bands.

"I had the priviledge of meeting Monica when she spent time here in Chicago. It has been my pleasure to know her, to see (and hear!) her grow, and to do a bit of recording together." - Glenn Kaiser musician / author (Rez Band, Chicago)

"Thank you for the beautifully written and rendered cd. Everything about it is wonderful - including the harp-playing.  I am honored and moved to be mentioned in your gorgeous liner notes. Simply inspired work." - Jon Gindick (about CD Long Rocky Road) author / musician / harmonica teacher (Topanga, California)

Recording history: Thoughts - "Nothing Comes Out Of Nothing" Finngospel, 1991 (CD) Thoughts - "The Band..." KRT-vision, 1992 (4 music videos) "Christmas Blues, The Silent Night" Juletid, Tabor Music, 1994 (Tape, compilation) "Minnen" bONZO Production, 1995 (Tape) "Long Rocky Road" Tabor Music, 1996 (CD) - with Glenn Kaiser (Rez Band, Chicago), Nina Åström (International artist who's been working with Buddy Miller, Julie Miller in Nashville) & Pepe Ahlqvist (The best harmonica player in Finland. Has done many tours in the States) "Groundrush (d-mix '98)" bONZO Production, 1998 (Music video) "Red Eye Empty Shower" ToK-productions/bONZO Production, 1999 (Enhanced CD with music video)

At the moment Monica and Kimmo are working with a couple hundred of songs for her next album.
The latest cd was recorded in their home studio in december 1998. 

Contact information:
Monica Penn c/o Kimmo Penttala Kustaantie 11 SF-68600 Pietarsaari Finland Tel: +358-6-723 4300 Fax: +358-50-8534 8008 e-mail: monica.penn@saunalahti.fi e-mail: bzp@saunalahti.fi