Gathering of Geeks S02E05: Auri
Gathering of Geeks’ casual second season is back and running again after a break in 2025! Thanks for being here!
On my still rather long list of potential guests for Gathering of Geeks, I’ve been no more excited to talk to anyone than the duo of Johanna Kurkela and Tuomas Holopainen. I’ve been interviewing these guys for their respective musical projects (see below) quite a bit in recent years, but haven’t ever really had the chance to shoot the shit about the geeky things we all love, because we’ve been too focused on the music.
Before kicking off into the geeky stuff, however, we briefly discuss their debut Auri tour, before moving on to topics like Game of Thrones, video games, tabletop roleplaying games and actual play series, Lord of the Rings and perfect films, worldbuilding and magic systems, books on their to-read lists, Harry Potter, why sci-fi doesn’t hit us as hard as fantasy, and classic Disney and the modern live action remakes.
There are a few points of note in the audio/video that might be confusing, so if you’re wondering, firstly, when I discussed how much I hated the Kingdom Death: Monster board game, I cut out a part where I mentioned that the ending was one of the worst parts of the game. That’s why it seems like Tuomas is talking about endings being important out of nowhere.
The mention of Laureline refers to the owner of Tuonela Magazine, the last place where I did journalism outside of my own website.
There’s a place where I misspeak: Kaldor Vitmar from The Vitmar Chronicles was not inspired by a discussion with my ex, but rather, it was his brother who was the fantasy writer that inspired the story. Gabriel Vitmar was loosely inspired by my ex.
I had also recommended a few video games and books, including Eastshade and Spiritfarer, as well as the new book series by Travis Baldree, which aren’t in the audio, but Johanna refers to the recommendations at one point (she picks up the book but it’s hard to see what book it is).
Auri’s third album, “III: Candles & Beginnings,” came out in 2025. You can read my live report/fan journey or paid subscribers on Substack can read the full imagination journey (which I mention in the episode) that I experienced at the third show I saw.
In 2026, Johanna will be touring with Eye of Melian, with shows in the Netherlands and Finland. Come say hello at the shows in Zwolle, Kitee, or Helsinki, and if you’d like to see more Gathering of Geeks, do the usual likes and subs to show your support. You can now find these episodes on Spotify as well (it might take a couple days for them to upload it there—be patient please)!
Gathering of Geeks ft. Auri (Johanna Kurkela & Tuomas Holopainen) (S02E05)
Photo by Joanna Orchide from the On the Record Interview earlier in 2025
READ MORE: On the Record with Auri (2018), On the Record with Auri (2025), On the Record with Auri (guest interview, 2025); Off the Record with Altamullan Road (2024), On the Record with Altamullan Road (2020), Guest Interview with Altamullan Road (2024); Off the Record with Timo Kurkela (2024); Off the Record Yuletide Special with Johanna & Timo Kurkela & Troy Donockley (2024)
Live Report: Auri Kitee (2025), Guest Travel Blog: Auri (2025); Altamullan Road Kitee (2024), Live Report: Altamullan Road Hyvinkää (2024), Live Report: Altamullan Road Porvoo (2024); Travel Blog: Altamullan Road in Kitee (2024); Guest Travel Blog: Altamullan Road in the Netherlands (2024); Guest Travel Blog: Altamullan Roat pt.1 (2024); Guest Travel Blog: Altamullan Roat pt. 2 (2024); Guest Travel Blog: Altamullan Road pt. 3 (2024)
Gathering of Geeks: Trivia Showdown ft. Eye of Melian (2024)
Guest Listen Back: Auri I (2024)
