Laika & the Cosmonauts are a Finnish rock band. They have had the same lineup since they formed in 1987. Their sound is usually described as Surf Rock, but a Boston Globe review noted that the band's sound is "far beyond the limitations of any specific genre." They have toured the United States and Europe several times . They rely heavily on the Finnish rautalanka tradition. Although relatively unknown in the United States, their music is admired by many musicians, including Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench (of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Mike Palm of Agent Orange, and Surf Rock legend Dick Dale. Al Jourgensen of Ministry has called them "the best fucking band in the world."
In addition to their touring, the band has also appeared several times on European television.
Supposedly, the band is named after the Russian cosmonaut/dog Laika.
According to an email sent to the band's mailing list on April 23, 2008, Laika and the Cosmonauts are drawing their twenty year career to a close with an American tour, ending with shows at the Continental Club in Austin, Texas this fall. A compilation album is to be released contemporaneously with the tour.
The Biography appearing in this section is attributed to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika_&_the_Cosmonauts. Portions of this Biography may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, version 3.0 or any later version, available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Additional terms may apply. See Wikipedia Terms of Use for details.
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