If you spend any time at all in Austin Texas checking out the vast and diverse music scene, you will undoubtedly† encounter Erik Hokkanen, one of the area's most colorful and distinguished players. A third generation Finn raised in Florida, Erik relocated to Texas in the early eighties and rapidly built a reputation as a stunning fiddler, multi instrumentalist and performer. The "Texas Tornado" drove Austin audiences berserk on a regular basis with the high octane shows by his band The Offbeats.

In 87 fate stepped in and delivered Erik to the Finnish homeland where he became literally an overnight sensation, gigging around the country in major festivals and local clubs with some of the top players in just about every known field of music. For many, that summer of '87 still ranks as one of the most magical events in Finnish musical history. Return Finnish tours in '88 and '89 introduced Erik to an even greater set of musical collaborators and projects leading to the formation of his band Lumisudet (Snow Wolves).

At home in Texas during the nineties, Erik remained a regular feature of the exploding Austin music scene, gigging and recording with his own bands including the Mad Cat Trio (featuring Danny Barnes and Mark Rubin of Bad Livers), Snow Wolves (the local version featuring his Austin buddies) and the aptly named Baby Gorillas. He also worked as hired hand with other Austin groups and musicians such as Bad Livers, Don Walser and Junior Brown. Additionally, Erik was also involved with Norwegian Texan songwriter Erik Moll, gigging and making one album.

Erik's visibility increased even more with the release of several movies that featured his music or playing, for example DOA, Michael (starring John Travolta), Texas Chain Saw Massacre 3 and The Newton Boys.

Erik's roots continued to beckon and he returned to Finland twice in the nineties. In 94 he went to Helsinki and recorded the Kaustinen Texas album with his trusty cohorts Lumisudet, comprising members of Finland's top folk music groups JPP, Aldargaz and Helsinki Mandoliners.

In 1998 Erik returned to Helsinki where he was given a Professor of Music post at Sibelius Academy Folk Music Department and it was during this time that he and Lumisudet reconvened for a second album. Once again featuring the cream of Finnish folk and roots players, In the Heart of a Waking Dream is a brilliant display of skills, energy, diversity and melodies. For Hokkanen officionados, this will surely be regarded as the zenith of his career.

Erik returned to Texas after the '98 Lumisudet sessions and created the project Erik and the She Wolves featuring the Tosca String Quartet, a female foursome that now perform with David Byrne. A She Wolves album was released only this year.

Today, Erik plays electric guitar and fiddle in his new band, Hip Replacements, a gypsy surf outfit that can be seen Tuesdays at Flipnotics cafe in Austin. He continues to pop up in music joints all over the city with any combination of gypsy surf swing hillbilly lunatic fringe fiddlin' and pickin' combos.

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His gifted dedication to the violin and guitar, combined with intense performance, makes his concerts a truly unique experience. He sings and is also adept on the mandolin and string bass. Hokkanen composes his own material and performs on concert stages, in nightclubs, at private parties, weddings, schools, and once even did a gig where he played the fiddle in a giant bear suit (with paws on)!

He's a 3 time "Instrumentalist of the year" and '93 "Performer of the Year" at the Kerrville Folk Festival, having been a mainstay there for many years performing with his own swing influenced Snow Wolves Orchestra or with singer/songwriter Erik Moll in the Erik and Erik duo. He was also a founding member of the local acoustic "super group" Mad Cat Trio, w/ Bad Livers members Danny Barnes and Mark Rubin, as well as an original member of the Yiddish music ensemble Rubinchik's Orkestyr. He has five solo albums to his credit and has played on numerous recordings by other artists. He's also toured the U.S., Scandanavia, England, Europe, Mexico.

Hokkanen, who's been home-based in the Austin, Texas, area for the past decade, originally hails from Florida. Born in Clearwater, he grew up in the Orlando area (not far from Disney World where he played in the bear suit). Erik's earliest musical training was at the piano when he was four. His mother, sister, and three older brothers also played. When he was eleven, though, Erik was sparked by the inner "yearn to learn." This happened when he began studying the mandolin with his oldest brother Niles, an already accomplished player. Niles taught Erik much about music theory, ear training, and improvisation; and it was absorbed in countless hours of rehearsal. At twelve, Erik began on the violin, studying old-time fiddlin' and classical music concurrently. Next came the guitar, then the string bass. He practiced constantly and learned to play a variety of styles such as bluegrass, swing, rockabilly, C & W, blues, classical, and gypsy.†

Critics contend that he can "play the violin like Grappelli and play guitar like Django, all in the same set." Quotes the Sidewalk Houston's Live Music Guide: "Some musicians are more than just musicians ã they are musical magicians. And fiddler Erik Hokkanen is one of them. His finesse and imagination are unparalleled, Hokkanen is one of those rare players one shouldn't miss the chance to see."

His recordings, especially Earth Swing album, showcase this amazing versatility as well as Erik's deep love for nature & wilderness. Eriks' fiddling is featured prominently on releases from Junior Brown and the Bad Livers, among many others, including the soundtrack to the motion pictures The Newton Boys, Micheal, and DOA. Most recently, he has concentrated on his own compositions, recording and self releasing 4 CD's in recent years. Many of his original tunes have been recorded by the internationaly famous JPP. His 2nd CD of material recorded in Finland with and all-star lineup of Finnish musicians is due out in June '99.

He takes an avid interest in the skills and spiritual approach of the Native Americans; and when not at work, he enjoys wandering in the woods, woodworking, and doing sweatlodges in the one he built in his backyard.