Comedian Niko Kivelä combines stand up and rock music with his band. Rinna has also found a new love.
Comedian Niko Kivelä is also a rock musician these days. Pete Anikari
Stand-up comedian Niko Kivelä, 43, has entertained Finns during his career both on radio and on television. The surprise may have been great when the comedian released his first rock song last November.
Kivelä is by no means performing alone, but a guitarist can also be seen on stage Mikko Kosonen and a drummer Ville Kela. The band’s name is Niko Kivelä Kommunikaatio.
– We went to dinner with Miko, after which we continued messaging. We got the feeling that we should do something together. I’ve had a dream for a long time to have a punk band one day, says Kivelä from the band’s early days.
But how exactly do rock music and stand-up comedy come together?
– That’s where the magic of stand up happens. There is no performance curtain, which means you can react with the audience.
Niko Kivelä has already dreamed of performing in a band when he was young. Pete Anikari
The man draws humor from fatherhood and free upbringing. The topic is quite close, as the man has a 13-year-old son from a previous relationship.
– I myself struggle as a father, where is the difference between friendship and parenting. Surely everyone wants to be their child’s friend. It’s wonderful when a child falls in love with you on all levels. However, at some moments I have to remind my son that I am not his friend, but his father.
Raising her own son has made Kivelä reflect on her own childhood. Pete Anikari
Parenthood has made Kivelä reflect on his own way of reacting as a father to what his child does.
– When you get angry at a child, there is fear behind it or some memory from your own childhood. If, for example, the phone is lost, then the anger can come from not being able to afford such a thing as a child. You can say things like that out loud to a child, Kivelä reflects.
However, the man emphasizes that he is not the right person to say what is the right or wrong way to raise. Kivelä describes the parenting style of his own parents as exemplary.
– We had four boys in the family. I was the fourth child to be pampered. I had the most rights and I was certainly the most knowledgeable of us brothers, Kivelä says with a twinkle in his eye.
In addition to family and work projects, life can also accommodate a new love.
– I’ve always said before taking photos that I won’t smile. Now I have a reason to smile, he continues.
– I don’t remember when I have been so happy in my life.
Kivelä was once engaged to Anni Hautala. The couple broke up in 2019. Now a new lover has been found by their side. Pete Anikari
Kivelä describes that he used to think that being in a relationship or loving couldn’t be easy. Now the thoughts have changed.
– Being in love does not mean feeling like a party, but important things can be easy. I feel good, it’s easy for me to breathe and it’s easy to get things done.
The new band’s first tour is currently underway, culminating on Saturday at Helsinki’s On the Rocks club. The band plans to retreat to the studio at the end of the year to compose more music. Next spring, Kivelä will go on his own tour, called Iso riski. The stand up performance will visit 30 different locations.