Jari Salmikivi

Hi there! I'm Jari Salmikivi, a guitarist and songwriter living in Sweden. I was born in Lahti, Finland - hence the Finnish name - and moved to Sweden when I was one.

I started playing guitar at 11, when some childhood friends formed a band and needed a rhythm guitarist. We mostly played The Ramones and played a few gigs at local schools.

My earliest guitar heroes were Gary Moore and Mark Knopfler. I spent hours in my room playing along to Dire Straits, and Gary Moore's work with Thin Lizzy and his solo records hooked me for good. Later came Satriani, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Malmsteen, Hendrix, Van Halen, Vai, Jeff Healey, Eric Johnson, Lukather and many more - see my list of influences.

In 1991 I studied at the Guitar Institute of Technology (Musicians Institute) in Hollywood. After graduating in 1992 I moved back to Sweden, playing in original and cover bands and working as a guitar and music teacher.

In 2000 I stepped away from the guitar for other passions - and a newborn daughter. Recently I picked it up again with a newfound joy, and that's resulted in the music on this site and on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and elsewhere.

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you enjoy the music!