We document our lifelong love of music, live and recorded. We aren't musicians, we're just two chicks on the floor, reporting the audience experience, good or bad.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Here We Go 'A Waffling. Wait... That Can't Be Right.
You know, only in America would you find a guy who decides to protest the loss of spirituality in Christmas by crucifying a Santa Claus on his front lawn. My god, what are we doing that we don't think up shit like that, J?
Anyway, we're having a brown Christmas here in the south due to the drought. It's becoming an "oh shit" period of time down here, but we'll survive. I thought I would post a little something before I head over to my parents and open up presents. My mom's German customs have always become standard in the house, so we open presents on Christmas Eve, the stockings are for show only, we and just spend Christmas Day watching movies, crackling tree fir, and eating ham. Our pagan-like customs promise to be no different this year, weather notwithstanding.
Rather than doing a hitlist with some of my favorite songs, I thought I would discuss some Christmasy things I've been thinking about today.
Firstly, a few years ago My Chemical Romance did an adorable cover of All I Want for Christmas is You. You can find it here.
Nikki Sixx's new band Sixx:A.M. has a song called Xmas in Hell. Check out this stanza:
I've started a new diary and this time I have a few new reasons.
One, I have no friends left.
Two, so I can read back and remember what I did the day before.
And three, so if I die, at least I leave a nice little suicide note of my life.
My friend C sent me this video because a long time ago one of the first things we ever talked about was the strange union of these two. We then jumped into a rendition of it, complete with the "peace on earth…" bit. We still think we're hilarious.
There was an article I was reading that referenced the history of wassailing. This just cracks me up.
"In the 17th century, Puritans, who had long seen the holiday as a Catholic manifestation, concluded that attempts to tame or "Christianize" Christmas had failed. They managed to get Christmas banned for several years in England and Massachusetts, which was then an English colony.
The holiday returned in the 1660s, picking up a tradition of "wassailing," which in New England involved drunken bands of men banging on the doors of the rich, demanding entry and singing songs in return for food and alcohol.
"It was a rough version of caroling," Nissenbaum says. "It made for a lot of tense interaction."
That's all I had for now. Happy Holidays, y'all! -K
Labels:
BingCrosby,
DavidBowie,
GerardWay,
MyChemicalRomance,
NikkiSixx,
SixxAM
Friday, December 21, 2007
Christmas Controversy in the UK
Travelling to Wales this week, I didn’t hear about the controversy until it was over. It seems that The Pogues’ classic “Fairytale of New York” was going to be censored for radio airplay but now that has changed. See the interesting article here that documents the rollercoaster ride. Funny, one of my housemates saw The Pogues this week in London. Of course the song was played without any censoring. He had to demonstrate for us how the drunk Shane McGowan approaches the microphone, so we all had a laugh over breakfast. Here’s a clip from YouTube. Happy Christmas, you F**k! --J
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The Enemy - Unexpected
The Enemy seems to be everywhere in England and because of this, I have been avoiding them. But when I saw their record in a shop recently I could no longer resist. “We’ll Live and Die in These Towns” what a great title of a record! I will recommend the tracks “Away From Here” and “We’ll Live and Die in These Towns”, but really the whole record is pretty good. I do not believe they’ve invaded “the colonies” yet but kids, take note. “Away From Here” is the latest great example of the “fuck work genre”. --J
Dan Fogelberg - Part Two
As demonstrated in other posts, K and I definitely can represent two sides of an argument. While I am sorry to hear of someone’s passing, Dan Fogelberg’s death made me think of two things:
1. A story a friend told me about him
2. The lyrics to Same Old Lang Syne
My buddy J’s sister (or was it friend?) was once chased off of private property (didn’t realize it was private) by Dan Fogelberg and he was pretty aggressive. When his sister told him this story, he said with a mix of disbelief and sarcasm something like, “Soft rock Dan Fogelberg?”
How do I know this story? You know how sometimes you can work at a place that has the radio on the same station all day, which leads you to the realization that the station plays about five songs over and over again. Well, Same Old Lang Syne was one of the songs on heavy rotation on the work radio and I was complaining to J about it and how much the song irritated me, which of course made us both laugh about it. The line that J can’t take from the song is when the male “rock star” says that the “travelling was hell”. It doesn’t sound very rock star, but maybe it does sound soft rock star. --J
1. A story a friend told me about him
2. The lyrics to Same Old Lang Syne
My buddy J’s sister (or was it friend?) was once chased off of private property (didn’t realize it was private) by Dan Fogelberg and he was pretty aggressive. When his sister told him this story, he said with a mix of disbelief and sarcasm something like, “Soft rock Dan Fogelberg?”
How do I know this story? You know how sometimes you can work at a place that has the radio on the same station all day, which leads you to the realization that the station plays about five songs over and over again. Well, Same Old Lang Syne was one of the songs on heavy rotation on the work radio and I was complaining to J about it and how much the song irritated me, which of course made us both laugh about it. The line that J can’t take from the song is when the male “rock star” says that the “travelling was hell”. It doesn’t sound very rock star, but maybe it does sound soft rock star. --J
Monday, December 17, 2007
Dan Fogelberg Dead at 56
From E! Online
Dan Fogelberg Dead at 56
by Sarah Hall
The leader of the band is gone.
Easy-rocking singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, known for such '70s and '80s hits as "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" died Sunday at his home in Maine, following a battle with prostate cancer. He was 56.
"Dan left us this morning at 6 a.m. He fought a brave battle with cancer and died peacefully at home in Maine with his wife Jean at his side," read a statement posted on the singer's Website. "His strength, dignity and grace in the face of the daunting challenges of this disease were an inspiration to all who knew him."
Fogelberg was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2004. He underwent hormonal therapy and achieved a partial remission but failed to completely eliminate the disease.
In a statement expressing his gratitude to his fans for their support following his diagnosis, Fogelberg said he found it "truly overwhelming and humbling to realize how many lives [his] music has touched so deeply all these years."
"I thank you from the very depths of my heart," he added.
Over the course of his career, Fogelberg released more than 20 albums, many of them going gold or platinum.
While his first album, 1972's Home Free, received only a lukewarm response from critics, his follow-up, 1974's Souvenirs, was a huge hit, catapulting him to stardom.
Perhaps his best-known album was 1981's The Innocent Age, which included his biggest singles, "Leader of the Band," "Same Old Lang Syne" and "Hard to Say."
His final album, Full Circle, was released in 2003, and featured a return to his folk-inspired roots of the '70s. It was his first album of original material in a decade.
Fogelberg was also known for his live performances and spent most summers on the road, either with a full band or as a solo acoustic act.
In 2002, fans showed their appreciation by selecting him to be one of the first 10 artists inducted into the Performers Hall of Fame at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
At the time of his cancer diagnosis, he was planning a fall tour, which he was subsequently forced to cancel. He later urged others to be tested regularly, writing on his Website, "I promise you, you DON’T want to go through what I’m going through if you can avoid it."
Fogelberg is survived by his wife, Jean. No funeral plans had been announced.
Judakris spends a lot of time writing about and listening to popular music, but we have always had a soft spot (in truth, also a tearful affection) for the easy rock sounds of our childhoods. In my opinion, the music industry has lost an extremely talented singer/songwriter. Hits like Longer, Hard to Say, The Lion's Share, Leader of the Band, and Same Old Lang Syne will continue on in my heart on those long road trips where I can sing as good as Dan. -K
Switches
Tonight I was typing away on my laptop when a song came on a show called October Road that was on in the background. I didn't know who sang it or what the song was called, so I took one line of the song and googled it. It turns out the song is called Killer Karma by an English band called Switches. Of course,this lead to a full-on You Tube search for other songs and a discovery that this band is not too shabby. Unfortunately, U.S. iTunes doesn't have much beyond their EPs for Drama Queen and Lay Down the Law, so I'll have to play the waiting game for their new album Heart Tuned to D.E.A.D. when it's released here in the States next year. It was supposed to drop in October, but was inexplicably delayed. Ah well. This happens.
Switches reminds me of Franz Ferdinand and Jet, who remind me of the Stones, Bowie and a little bit of Sweet. While I wouldn't necessarily say that they will save rock n roll or that they're doing something terribly original, I think their music is perfect party fare. Check them out. -K
Lay Down the Law
Message from Yuz
Lyrics to Killer Karma
Its funny how as time goes, its funny how the pain grows
It's funny how the guilt snows, on your mind
Its funny how as time goes, its funny how your world slows
It's funny how god knows, I will take my time
Well we'd all like to know what our lives have yet to show
But there's one place we can go, and that's our minds
And we'd all like to be, with who our eyes have yet to see
But there's no-one foolin me, cus that's a lie
It's funny when your plane leaves, its funny how your soul grieves
It's funny how the light weaves through the blinds
It's funny how your heart rules, the feelings that your head cools
It's funny how the hate pools, creepin up the side
Well we'd all like to know what our lives have yet to show
But there's one place we can go, and that's our minds
And we'd all like to be, with who our eyes have yet to see
But there's no-one foolin me, cus that's a lie
Cus I got Killer Karma now, I got Killer Karma now, I got Killer Karma now (x2)
Yea we'd all like to know what our lives have yet to know
But there's one place we can go, and that's our minds
And we'd all like to see, with who our lives have yet to be
But there's no-one foolin me, cus that's a lie
Switches reminds me of Franz Ferdinand and Jet, who remind me of the Stones, Bowie and a little bit of Sweet. While I wouldn't necessarily say that they will save rock n roll or that they're doing something terribly original, I think their music is perfect party fare. Check them out. -K
Lay Down the Law
Message from Yuz
Lyrics to Killer Karma
Its funny how as time goes, its funny how the pain grows
It's funny how the guilt snows, on your mind
Its funny how as time goes, its funny how your world slows
It's funny how god knows, I will take my time
Well we'd all like to know what our lives have yet to show
But there's one place we can go, and that's our minds
And we'd all like to be, with who our eyes have yet to see
But there's no-one foolin me, cus that's a lie
It's funny when your plane leaves, its funny how your soul grieves
It's funny how the light weaves through the blinds
It's funny how your heart rules, the feelings that your head cools
It's funny how the hate pools, creepin up the side
Well we'd all like to know what our lives have yet to show
But there's one place we can go, and that's our minds
And we'd all like to be, with who our eyes have yet to see
But there's no-one foolin me, cus that's a lie
Cus I got Killer Karma now, I got Killer Karma now, I got Killer Karma now (x2)
Yea we'd all like to know what our lives have yet to know
But there's one place we can go, and that's our minds
And we'd all like to see, with who our lives have yet to be
But there's no-one foolin me, cus that's a lie
Labels:
DavidBowie,
FranzFerdinand,
JET,
RollingStones,
Sweet,
Switches,
YouTube
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Arcade Fire cont.
It's such odd timing that J just posted something about Neon Bible. My friend T, who is a fan of this band as I am, told me last night that there was a video on youtube that included three of his favorite things: Bono, Arcade Fire, and the song Love Will Tear Us Apart; that despite the combination it didn't quite work for him. After watching it today I have to agree. Regardless, I still get chills when I hear the opening of Intervention and the key changes in Rebellion (Lies). Watch and judge for yourself. -K
The Critics' Darlings
The Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible is on many a critic’s list for best records of 2007. I have seen The Arcade Fire perform on television and all I could think was why do they need so many goddamned people?! It looks like a political movement, not a band. Okay, in a moment of weakness, I picked it up but my position hasn’t changed. Maybe I’m too much of a philistine to appreciate this fine example of orchestral pop but I just can’t do it. I’ve tried! --J
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Raising Sand - Unexpected
While Robert Plant joined the rest of his mates on stage for the long-awaited Led Zeppelin reunion just a train ride away from me, I was downloading Raising Sand, his recent recording with Alison Krauss. It has become my lullaby record, playing as I lay in the darkness, hoping that insomnia will pass me by. Some of the songs are so haunting and beautiful at the same time. The standout track for me is Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us. Alison Krauss is amazing. --J
Kings of Leon - Unbelievable
In my office at work I have a bulletin board that has pictures of all the men in my life, my husband, grandfather, dad, brothers, and nephews. I didn’t set out to make a “men only” board, it just ended up that way. It seemed only fitting that I would put my ticket to the KoL show on that board for safe-keeping. I stared at that ticket while booting up my laptop and sipping my first cup of coffee yesterday, thinking it didn’t matter what the hell happened at work, I could get through it today. My last show of the year was the third time that I would see Kings of Leon this year. Knowing that they have had more success here, I was anticipating seeing how different one of their shows might be.
Wembley Arena, which is right next to the grand and new Wembley Stadium, reminds me a lot in design and size of UIC Pavilion in Chicago. In terms of the venue, it was not impressive. Since this show had been sold out, I kept telling myself I was going to just be happy with having scored a ticket, knowing it was not going to be great, but I would have a seat. I’m a little afraid of the standing sections in the UK, they get really rowdy with lots of beer throwing. But when I realized how far back I was, the thrill was gone just a bit. The stage was the most elaborate I have seen for a KoL show, and really beautiful at times.
For the setlist, the band played songs that I have never heard them play live before like Holy Roller Novocaine and Razz. It was nice to see them mix it up, since in the spring, their setlist did not change from show to show. The audience favourites were Fans, which is written about the English fans so I thought that would get quite a reception, and The Bucket. The audience sang every word and over-powered Caleb on vocals. They were passionate. My favourite probably was Holy Roller Novocaine because I have never heard them perform that live and it’s such a Southern song, which made me think of home.
It was a real treat to get to see them here, but their show at The Pageant this year was by far my favourite. --J
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Josh Groban Ties Elvis? Really?
This article on Billboard.com is so depressing, even if it is just about a Christmas album. I just can't understand the attraction to this warbly, overgrown hobbit. Clearly, I'm in the minority. -K
Is it a miracle?
I was way far back tonight at the Kings of Leon show so the only pictures I could really take were of the video screens. As I got home and started downloading my pics, I couldn't believe how "holy" these looked. Nathan Followill or Jesus on drums, you be the judge. --J
Kings of Leon - Wembley Arena, London
I will write more later. Here is the setlist from the show tonight.
Slow Night, So Long
Black Thumbnail
Taper Jean Girl
King of the Rodeo
My Party
Holy Roller Novocaine
Fans
The Bucket
Milk
Arizona
On Call
Razz
McFearless
Ragoo
Camaro
Molly's Chambers
Spiral Staircase
Trani
ENCORE
Knocked Up
Four Kicks
Charmer
Slow Night, So Long
Black Thumbnail
Taper Jean Girl
King of the Rodeo
My Party
Holy Roller Novocaine
Fans
The Bucket
Milk
Arizona
On Call
Razz
McFearless
Ragoo
Camaro
Molly's Chambers
Spiral Staircase
Trani
ENCORE
Knocked Up
Four Kicks
Charmer
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Duran Duran
I was at a cocktail party this week and met someone who plays in a gypsy band. I started asking him what the music was like and in the course of my questions I mentioned having seen Gogol Bordello perform on a music show recently. He latched onto this statement and started going on about how great they were live. I admitted I had quickly dismissed them when I saw them perform with Madonna since she is a vampire, latching on to whatever new trend she can find to try and make herself relevant. My work colleague standing near overheard this, laughed and said, “Hold on, she’s my age”. And my response back was, “Yes, but you’re not trying to be a pop star”. What does this have to do with Duran Duran? Probably less than just demonstrating my pessimistic mood these days, but I was going to circle it back around to Duran Duran working with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake for their new album, Red Carpet Massacre.
When I was thirteen I was desperate to go and see Duran Duran in concert. Their non-threatening, sexually ambiguous good looks had won my adolescent heart even with probably the silliest lyrics in history. This probably is why I now take issue with keyboards. One too many a night I watched Friday Night Videos just to get a glimpse of Nick Rhodes pouting like a supermodel behind stacks of them. God help me. When my best friend and I began plotting that my oldest brother would take us to Chicago to see them, his answer was simple, “J-, I wouldn’t take you to see them if they were playing across the street.” In the end, three days before the concert, prompted by his new girlfriend, he took us.
Because of this past infatuation, I am always interested in hearing what they are up to. I was disappointed to hear that they were trying to be trendy. I watched their latest video and was not into it at all. I grabbed a newspaper on my flight back to London this week and there was a review in The Daily Telegraph of a recent Duran Duran concert. Helen Brown states, “While the Spice Girls whip through the campy costume changes and Take That offer up punishing dance routines with a twinkle of self-deprecation, Duran Duran fans must be satisfied with a couple of videos of a naked woman swimming underwater and a 49-year old Le Bon punching the air like a dad winning a pub quiz”. Not good. While memories of their makeup’d faces will always have a special place in my heart, I wish they could remain a bit of 80’s nostalgia. --J
When I was thirteen I was desperate to go and see Duran Duran in concert. Their non-threatening, sexually ambiguous good looks had won my adolescent heart even with probably the silliest lyrics in history. This probably is why I now take issue with keyboards. One too many a night I watched Friday Night Videos just to get a glimpse of Nick Rhodes pouting like a supermodel behind stacks of them. God help me. When my best friend and I began plotting that my oldest brother would take us to Chicago to see them, his answer was simple, “J-, I wouldn’t take you to see them if they were playing across the street.” In the end, three days before the concert, prompted by his new girlfriend, he took us.
Because of this past infatuation, I am always interested in hearing what they are up to. I was disappointed to hear that they were trying to be trendy. I watched their latest video and was not into it at all. I grabbed a newspaper on my flight back to London this week and there was a review in The Daily Telegraph of a recent Duran Duran concert. Helen Brown states, “While the Spice Girls whip through the campy costume changes and Take That offer up punishing dance routines with a twinkle of self-deprecation, Duran Duran fans must be satisfied with a couple of videos of a naked woman swimming underwater and a 49-year old Le Bon punching the air like a dad winning a pub quiz”. Not good. While memories of their makeup’d faces will always have a special place in my heart, I wish they could remain a bit of 80’s nostalgia. --J
Thursday, November 29, 2007
It Doesn't Suck
Pete Doherty has been a favorite of judakris. He’s like a trainwreck, you can’t look away. So I was at the library the other day and noticed that for £1 I could rent Babyshambles’ new CD, Shotters Nation. While I didn’t want to make the investment to own it, I was curious to hear what all the fuss was about. As I look through the CD booklet I take note that Kate Moss has some writing credits on this thing. The first song, “Carry On Up The Morning”, was definitely my favorite. I listened to Shotters Nation from start to finish on my commute into London and it did get tedious in the middle, but then got better towards the end. Curious no more, it can go back to the library.
P.S. Let’s talk about band names for a moment (we probably need a whole separate post about this) but The Libertines was an awfully cool band name. Babyshambles? Give me a break.
P.S. Let’s talk about band names for a moment (we probably need a whole separate post about this) but The Libertines was an awfully cool band name. Babyshambles? Give me a break.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Glam Metal Pioneer and Next Generation Rocker Die of Unknown Causes.
Quiet Riot lead singer Kevin Dubrow, 52, was found dead yesterday by friends in his Las Vegas home. The cause of death is unknown at the time of this posting. Fellow bandmate Frankie Banali posted a short statement on www.frankie-banali.com asking that friends and fans "respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend Kevin DuBrow." A lot of us will remember that Quiet Riot's 1983 album Metal Health was the first metal album to hit number one on the Billboard Charts paving the way for other metal bands to break into the mainstream of America.
Warped Tour screamo vets Hawthorne Heights lost their guitarist Casey Calvert last Saturday. The 26 year-old was found dead on the band's tourbus before a Washington D.C. gig soundcheck. The cause of death is unknown. Via the band's website, HH asks that we respect the memory of Casey by not perpetuating any gossip related to his passing. You can see the entire post at www.hawthorneheights.com/.
Judakris offers its condolences to everyone touched by these unfortunate events. -K
Warped Tour screamo vets Hawthorne Heights lost their guitarist Casey Calvert last Saturday. The 26 year-old was found dead on the band's tourbus before a Washington D.C. gig soundcheck. The cause of death is unknown. Via the band's website, HH asks that we respect the memory of Casey by not perpetuating any gossip related to his passing. You can see the entire post at www.hawthorneheights.com/.
Judakris offers its condolences to everyone touched by these unfortunate events. -K
Labels:
CaseyCalvert,
HawthorneHeights,
KevinDubrow,
QuietRiot
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Spoon on Sound Opinions
I was pleasantly surprised to hear Spoon featured on the latest Sound Opinions episode. I listen to Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga often during my weekend commutes and it is by far my favorite album of 2007. Check out the podcast. --J
All the Guys in the Audience Want to Be Him, and All The Girls Want To…
I don’t think that there is anything left for me to see at a Foo Fighters show. This was the biggest and most impressive, with the craziest audience.
The stage looked kind of spare compared to their last tour, but there was a long walkway that led to a round covered smaller stage in the middle of the floor of the arena. Mid-way through the show, the cover came off of the smaller stage and the band moved there for a set of about five acoustic songs. They were joined on that stage by some of the musicians that played on the acoustic tour including Pat Smear. Every effort was made to acknowledge and play to everyone in the audience, including the people in the nosebleed sections, and the crowd went wild.
They played for two and a half hours, which led me to wonder if Taylor Hawkins is human. He is absolutely amazing! While the crowd loves Dave (girls were wearing Mrs Dave Grohl shirts next to me) I thought it was Taylor’s night.
The setlist covered all of the highlights, including a lot of stuff from the first record. The most amazing part of the night was when Dave mentioned they wanted to do something special since they were in London and just then two people starting to walk out to the stage. When I saw the silhouette I knew who it was instantly. Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen joined them and they performed 39 from A Night at the Opera. Not only did we get to see these two legendary performers, but we got to witness Dave and Taylor gushing all over them, they are such huge fans.
As I left the arena, I realized it has been ten years since I saw them perform in Huntsville, Alabama at Big Spring Jam in front of a crowd that might have been as big as one section of seats in the huge O2 Arena. Seeing them at the height of their fame last night in a country that adores them was a nice note to end on. As they say in the UK, well done!
At the end of the night, Dave said to the audience, "I wish I could make out with each and every one of ya". Okay, so maybe there IS something left to see. --J
Serj Tankian at the O2 Arena - Unnecessary
Okay, I’ve never been a huge fan of System of a Down but I don’t hate them. They have had a few interesting singles but as far as I am concerned, a little goes a long way. Serj Tankian, their lead singer was the supporting act for the Foo Fighters last night at the O2 Arena. He has a solo record out and it was bizarre. My housemate N went with me to the show and he had never heard of System of a Down. I said to him that this should be interesting because Serj had an operatic strange singing style for traditional rock music and that he was very political. N asked me, are they an American band? I said yes, but that they had strong family ties to another country, I was thinking Serbia but after doing some research this morning, realized that they were of Armenian descent. After a few songs, N leaned over and said, are you sure he’s American? We both laughed. N said the set reminded him of the Eurovision song-writing contest that takes place every year. The music had a Balkan feel to it. Because Serj came out in a top hat and coat, when he was dancing, I thought I was at a wedding reception. At times N and I were laughing out loud. --J
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Favourite Worst Nightmare
VH1’s Best Week Ever had this hilarious bit about the Arctic Monkeys when their debut album was released. It was all about how people thought they were cool in the States if they name-dropped them, but no one had actually heard their music. I picked up the latest record recently out of curiosity since they are everywhere in the UK. It’s unexpected. I gifted K one of the tracks from the record, “Only Ones Who Know”, which has a dreamy feel to it. Her response was something like, “that doesn’t suck”. I had forgotten that she was unimpressed with the single off the first record. It made me smile. --J
Lyrically, are you serious?
The Killers have released a new record and I had to take a look at its contents on iTunes. They cover the Kenny Rogers classic, “Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town”. In fact, many have covered this song. Cake’s version ends with someone shouting “this is bullshit” which slightly lightens the mood of the song. I had forgotten how dark the lyrics to this song were, my God!
You've painted up your lips
And rolled and curled your tinted hair
Ruby are you contemplating
Going out somewhere
The shadow on the wall
Tells me the sun is going down
Oh Ruby
Don't take your love to town
It wasn't me
That started that old crazy Asian war
But I was proud to go
And do my patriotic chore
And yes, it's true that
I'm not the man I used to be
Oh, Ruby I still need some company
Its hard to love a man
Whose legs are bent and paralysed
And the wants and the needs of a woman your age
Ruby I realize,
But it won't be long i've heard them say until I not around
Oh Ruby
Don't take your love to town
She's leaving now cause
I just heard the slamming of the door
The way I know I've heard it slamming
Some 100 times before
And if I could move I'd get my gun
And put her in the ground
Oh Ruby
Don't take your love to town
Oh Ruby for God's sake turn around
Wow. --J
You've painted up your lips
And rolled and curled your tinted hair
Ruby are you contemplating
Going out somewhere
The shadow on the wall
Tells me the sun is going down
Oh Ruby
Don't take your love to town
It wasn't me
That started that old crazy Asian war
But I was proud to go
And do my patriotic chore
And yes, it's true that
I'm not the man I used to be
Oh, Ruby I still need some company
Its hard to love a man
Whose legs are bent and paralysed
And the wants and the needs of a woman your age
Ruby I realize,
But it won't be long i've heard them say until I not around
Oh Ruby
Don't take your love to town
She's leaving now cause
I just heard the slamming of the door
The way I know I've heard it slamming
Some 100 times before
And if I could move I'd get my gun
And put her in the ground
Oh Ruby
Don't take your love to town
Oh Ruby for God's sake turn around
Wow. --J
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Long-Haired, Freaky People Need Not Apply
Sometimes you want your parents to know what you do in your free time and sometimes you don't because you just know there will be commentary and you will feel compelled to justify whatever it is. I love my dad. I've always been proud of him, but he's definitely a commentator. He's a Republican retired army officer/pilot who thinks everyone just needs to buck up and go to work. I definitely got my work ethic from him. I got my love of music and celebrity from my mom, who is the polar opposite of him. She was a former dancer who loved Mick Jagger, Janis Joplin, and The Doors. When I was 14 she took me with her on a whirlwind weekend trip to the states to see Bon Jovi headline at Giants Stadium (we were living in Germany at the time. Yes, mom was and is a HUGE Bon Jovi fan). When all of us girls would engage in an animated Genglish conversation/chorus in the kitchen you would usually hear my dad, who seemed in a constant search for peace within the house, yell "QUIIIIIEEETTTTTT" from the living room. Dad has never suffered fools much and to him this includes flashy, self-absorbed artist types. My mother, my sister, and I all lived for shows like Solid Gold and movies like Flashdance. We were fascinated by celebrity and drama and obsessed with pop music. My dad loved gardening, peace, Milwaukee's Best (because it was cheap), and Willie Nelson. We loved Olivia Newton John, Andy Gibb, Cher, and the Go Gos. Kind of different. But no matter. My dad learned a long time ago that he would have to be the easy going one in order to survive life in the house. He also realized that he could peacefully protest by dishing out sarcastic commentary. This he and my brother did often when I was growing up. They are still never want for a comment. As expected, I often set myself up. For example, the other night I was sitting in my dad's office using his photo printer to print off pictures from a recent show I had covered. My dad was standing behind me browsing the pictures. I could sense that he was dying to make a comment. When you're in front of the stage you're dependent on the lighting and will end up with several misses. Dad observed how dark some of them were and so I told him that you're not allowed to use flash when you're in front of the stage as it might be distracting to the artists. Of course, as I'm saying all this I begin to regret opening my mouth at all. "Aw, the little darlings" he said.
And there it was. -K
And there it was. -K
Dead!
No, these aren't concert tickets. As my MCR ticket sat unused at the box office of the O2 Arena, I was on a train heading north for work. The closest thing I got to MCR tonight was listening to them on my iPod as I tried to drown out the screaming baby sitting in front of me. --J
Monday, November 12, 2007
The Last Waltz - Unexpected
Several months ago my brother S was reminding me how I needed to sit down and watch The Last Waltz. I borrowed his copy and then I drove home and started packing to move to England. This movie has travelled in my suitcase to England, back to the States in September, and back to England again. A few weeks ago suffering from insomnia I put it in and was captivated. Not only did I like the music more than I expected, the interviews were really good. Sitting in the dark in my room listening to Levon Helm’s southern drawl soothed my homesick soul.
If you haven’t seen it, check it out. --J
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The Look
By chance, they released some additional tickets for MCR’s last UK date of The Black Parade tour. I went to buy one for the show on the 15th in London and found that you cannot purchase tickets and have them waiting for you at the “will call” window nor can you have them mailed anywhere but your billing address, which at the moment is in the U.S. Rather than risk having the ticket sent to the States and then have H mail it to me in time for the show, I thought I needed to find someone to buy me the ticket as I gave them the cash. So who would I ask? I know my boss the best, so I said to her that while I knew this went beyond her supervisory duties, would she be willing to buy this ticket for me and she agreed. I headed to her office, money in hand and we went through the transaction. I got the look twice:
1. Because I was going to go to this show by myself.
2. Because at my age I was going to see a band called My Chemical Romance.
She said, “You like going to these things?” I laughed and said, “I just need to go see some screaming Americans next week”. I don’t know why I felt so guilty. It’s not as if she walked into the room and I had a needle hanging from my arm. A woman I work with proudly announced last week that she was flying to Rotterdam to see Take That in concert for cryin out loud! I mean she is TRAVELLING to see them. Oh well, when I have ticket in hand, I won’t care what others think. --J
1. Because I was going to go to this show by myself.
2. Because at my age I was going to see a band called My Chemical Romance.
She said, “You like going to these things?” I laughed and said, “I just need to go see some screaming Americans next week”. I don’t know why I felt so guilty. It’s not as if she walked into the room and I had a needle hanging from my arm. A woman I work with proudly announced last week that she was flying to Rotterdam to see Take That in concert for cryin out loud! I mean she is TRAVELLING to see them. Oh well, when I have ticket in hand, I won’t care what others think. --J
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
When You're Exactly Where You Want To Be
The other day J told me about the photograph exhibit called Bruce Springsteen: The Boss Revealed. She mentioned that there was one photo in which Bruce was jumping up onstage and the audience's faces were captured; that there was one woman in particular who looked like she was having the time of her life. Let me guess which one she meant! -K
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Clapton: The Autobiography - J's Review
Just as K was buying the new EC autobiography, I had just finished reading the final excerpt that had been published for three straight weekends in the London Times. As soon as I could get my hands on it, I would. The things that struck me about the book were:
1. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominoes is by far my favourite EC work. I often listen to that record from start to finish. I would think that if you wrote such heartbreaking lyrics for someone that you were in love with, if you were then with them, that would be it. Happiness. Not so. Ladies, it’s another example of the grand gesture being very misleading. I really felt for Pattie Boyd.
2. He is a man who needs man time and maybe this is a result of his maternal abandonment issues. But now he now has four daughters. That may be an example of a divine plan.
3. As an artist, he does not seem as driven to create something original as much as he wants to honor a tradition that already exists.
4. Every once in awhile when I read something a little detail in the book that shouldn’t be a big deal starts obsessing me. Towards the end of the book he buys a boat and has to borrow money to do it, which is a first for him. Now he had a world tour coming up so I’m sure there is no loan now, but I started wondering, is he going to be okay financially?
5. He freely admits not giving his all during live performances a number of times, mostly due to his addictions. I know the same could be said for a number of artists, but that always makes me uncomfortable.
I agree with K, you don’t have to be a fan to enjoy the book.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Clapton: The Autobiography-K's Review
Recently, I was sitting in an airport at 6:00 AM watching CNN. It was just me and the cleaning team. CNN happened to be running a repeat episode of Larry King Live with Eric Clapton as guest who was promoting his new memoir Clapton: The Autobiography (Broadway). I ended up purchasing the book as soon as it was released. By the time I finished the book, I felt as though I had devoured it.
Its narrative voice has a cadence of a storyteller. As I made my way through each chapter, I kept imagining that I had sat down next to a man on an airplane and begun to hear a life story. In this memoir, Clapton proves himself worthy as a spokesperson for recovery by refusing to glamorize the road and the lifestyle. He definitely comes across as a self-absorbed musician, of course, but he also reveals a human frailty that I did not expect. In about 352 pages, Clapton, comes to grips with his childhood, his self-inflicted pain, and the redemption he deserved by finally finding a woman with whom he could start a family. In fact, if there was a slow part of the book, it would be the last couple of chapters in which he and Melia marry and settle down into family life. Honestly, that's not a bad way to end a memoir. Don't we want to know that a man who has made countless bad personal decisions finally got it right?
What I find interesting is that he quietly moves through musical collaborations like Cream and Derek and the Dominoes without any grandeur. If I hadn't thought about the unforgettable music that came out of these collaborations, I would have thought they were nothing overly significant at all.
I would recommend reading it. Even if you aren't a fan of Clapton or the blues, it's still a fascinating read; if not for the demystification of one man who was once referred to as God, for vignettes involving George Harrison, John Lennon, and other well known artists. -K
Gimme Gimme (Burp) Gimme ...
Judge me if you will, but I LURVE the new Britney song Gimme More. I don't want to, but I can't help it (even if J thinks the "more"s sound like burps, haha). But, I have to ask, doesn't it sound like a Kylie Minogue song? Vocals and all? Maybe that's what I like about it so much. I've had a weird girly crush on that woman since the 80s! -K
Oh Amy. Sweety. Why?
This makes me so upset for her. Despite the shape she's in, her voice is still so rich and sexy. I need for her to get it together! -K
Justice - Cross
I have never been a fan of the electronica genre, but something made me want to give French duo Justice a listen after reading comparisons to Daft Punk and the fact that they are somewhat controversial because they unabashedly use the Judeo-Christian cross symbol as part of their repertoire. Blender refers to Justice as "an electronica act for people who think electronica sucks"(Issue 64, Nov '07). Daft Punk's Discovery came to mind because that was a cd that unexpectedly blew me away back in 2001. It became part of an L.A. trip soundtrack that same year. Four years later, an acquaintance of mine and I were driving down to Alabama to attend a New Year's Eve party. Five hours into the trip and two more to go we had run out of conversational topics. I put in Discovery and suddenly we were smoking, laughing our asses off at and talking shit. To this day, that album is an instant party reviver, no matter who's in the room.
Anyway, I bought Justice's latest release, Cross (Ed Banger Records), and gave it a listen. Genesis is a fantastic opening track, but as the album progresses I feel like it's trying to be Discovery with a stronger rock influence (incidentally, the band is managed by DP's manager). The Kubrick element could have totally been my gateway into loving the material, but it was a disappointing trip into electronic filler music. I have to give it an Unmoving. -K
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Frampton Gets Photoshopped
I don't really know what to say to this, but one of my coworkers photoshopped another coworker's face onto this classic Frampton album cover. hahaha! -K
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
HIM in St. Louis - October 26, 2007
It might have been cold and wet on the streets of St. Louis last Friday night, but no one inside The Pageant would have known it. Fans of Finnish superstars HIM were too filled with anticipation to notice as they waited for their cherished musicians to take the stage. At just past 9:00 PM, the houselights dimmed, the stage filled with smoke and the collective screams filled the venue as one by one the band members took their places and to their instruments, adding layer upon layer of music. The audience did not have to wait long for charismatic frontman Ville Valo to appear and give them exactly what they wanted.
The band delivered a 16 song set that included a mixture of their harder tracks, opening with Passion's Killing Floor from latest release Venus Doom (Sire). Highlights include Dark Light's Vampire Heart with a great breakdown of harmony, a passionate delivery of It's All Tears (Drown in this Love) from their first album (incidentally released 10 years ago this November), the track that made them a hit in Europe back in 2000, Join Me In Death, the ambitious yet impressive Sleepwalking Past Hope, and the finale of beloved track Funeral of Hearts off Love Metal. There was no encore.
Setlist:
Passion's Killing Floor
Wings of a Butterfly
Buried Alive By Love
Wicked Game
The Kiss of Dawn
Vampire Heart
Poison Girl
Dead Lover's Lane
Join Me In Death
It's All Tears (Drown In This Love)
Sleepwalking Past Hope
Killing Loneliness
Soul On Fire
Bleed Well
Right Here In My Arms
Funeral Of Hearts
HIM frontman Ville Valo sported skinny jeans and a Black Sabbath t-shirt under a dapper blazer. The ubiquitous beer of years past was replaced with bottled water and Red Bull, which he swigged throughout the performance. His most beloved prop, the ever-present Marlboro Light, was in hand, but despite this Ville's voice was rich and bold. As usual, Ville commanded his audience with the subtlest of gestures, a characteristic that makes this band best experienced, in my opinion, in close proximity.
Dear reader, if you are a stranger to HIM's style of music you should imagine arctic folklore, heartbreaking melodies, and wicked tales of love and death. Perhaps one can describe it as Lynchian thematics married with ambient melodies. It's five-star music that weaves a tapestry of goth, rock and melancholic-catchy pop. However I describe it here, it's a taste that should continue to catch on in this country. Just open your arms and drown it its love. -K
To see more pictures go to our buzznet site and enter the HIM gallery!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Shelter from the Rain: Judakris' Exclusive Interview with Ville Valo and Mige Paananen from HIM.
Since October 18, 2007, HIM have been on tour supporting their latest release of Venus Doom. It is now October 26 and the band is in St. Louis to perform at the Pageant. On this cold and rainy night, lead singer Ville Valo and bassist Mikko (Mige) Paananen offer Judakris a bit of shelter inside their tourbus for an exclusive interview.
As my friend A and I enter the bus, we are immediately impressed with the amount of Halloween decorations that take up every inch of the place. Ville and Mige stand up to greet us and offer us refreshments: coffee, water, or beer. As we get situated in the lounge area A makes an observation about the amount of yellow crime tape. As it turns out, the tape is real and not exactly a planned acquisition. According to Ville, after their recent performance in Washington D.C. someone got shot about 6 feet away causing their bus to become part of the crime scene. The band was not allowed to leave until the investigation was over. Once it was, they drove away with the tape and decided to put it to good use.
We were allotted ten minutes for the interview, and it seemed a shame to have to get serious. I don't even take my sweater jacket off because I am worried about running out of time. But, when it is all said and done, the interview stretches into just over an hour, 15-20 minutes before the band is scheduled to appear onstage. And, it honestly doesn't feel like an interview as much as it does a casual conversation. Ville is intense but both he and Mige are extremely warm and personable and very good listeners. There is not a hint of bravado during the entire conversation. They take pity on an interviewer who is not just a writer, but a fan as well. Looking back, it all could have gone so terribly wrong. It could have, but it didn't.
I have the latest issue of Blender on me, in which a letter to the editor references Ville's comment on marketing HIM dildos (with realistic casting) and states that she would be most interested in Linde's because "he must be packin!" That's where we begin, but during the course of the interview we hit a number of topics including where Ville stands with writing the next James Bond theme song, the things they miss most about home, lessons learned, and of course, Venus Doom.
But, let's cut to the chase.
K: Will we be seeing HIM dildos?
V: No we're not doing that.
K: I'm actually really glad to hear that!
M: You're not curious?
[Laughter]
K: Me? No!
A: She's only saying she's not curious.
V: [Laughter]
K: I could be, though. But, moving right along. One of the latest rumors on the web was that you had been approached by the producers of the James Bond movies to co-write or to write the next theme song for the Casino Royale sequel. Can you confirm this?
V: It's a very flattering idea. Of course it would be great. We grew up with Bond, but I've never even met those people. It's just a rumor. It's good to do little projects like that rather than the same old same old.
K: Like Synkkien Laulujen Maa? [I murder this pronunciation and am quickly corrected by Ville] I have this cd and it is beautiful. Forgive me for not knowing a lot about Finnish folk music, but is this a good example of that?
V: All the time people are asking, well, wtf is Scandinavian melancholy. To Mige: When I sung that [begins to sing] "kun mina kotoani läksin"... that explains a lot about Finnish folk music. It's not necessarily pathetic, but it's really, really sad. That song is about you leaving your home and the world is treating you really cruelly and you're falling in love and you can't get the girl you want. It's a classic, folklore type of thing. That's the stuff we grew up with as well as Kiss and Black Sabbath. So that's probably where love metal itself came from.
K: On the latest album Venus Doom, the track Song or Suicide, is that in the same vein as what you're talking about with the folksy style? It's acoustic and it reads like a poem. It doesn't have the standard song structure.
V: That was the idea, yeah. It was more like an "intimate". That's because we had a long track (Sleepwalking Past Hope) that precedes it. Like in the 70s they had a lot of that shit happening.
K: Lots of prog.
V: Yeah, well like Led Zeppelin. Or if you listen to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, the tracks will be straightforward Black Sabbath, and then all of a sudden the third track is an acoustic intimate that lasts for five minutes. And not a lot of bands do that nowadays. It was nice to play around and not limit ourselves too much.
K: I feel like as we go farther into the future that everything has to be fast and immediate. Easy and fast pop seems to sell a lot and it's a challenge when you put something with more of an album feel, more complex, longer, etc.
V: True, but there's people that like David Lynch and there are people who love reading romantic poetry and there are people who love Stephen King. [laughs] There's nothing wrong with Stephen King.
M: No, absolutely.
V: But actually if you think of the world of literature, I guess that fiction is going in a good direction with stuff like Kite Runner. Literature seems to be becoming more proggy. The romantic novel structure is fucking dead.
M: Yeah, perhaps music goes in phases as well. People get sick of hearing the same thing. They have iPods with one song from every artist. Maybe our album was a reaction to that.
V: But there is a cool thing about iTunes. Just a couple of months back I set up my own account for the first time. It's strange, you know, if I'm all of a sudden, "what was that great song from A-Ha…The Sun Always Shines on T.V. I WISH I could hear it now." And then just you just 'click' and bring it down. I love that. It's great.
K: [Looking at A] We're obsessed with our iPods.
V: It's good.
K: Growing up in the 80s, I feel like it was all about the single. Same with the 50s or 60s.
V: Well, same with the 40s. The iTunes generation is nothing new. The medium is different, but albums started happening in the 60s. You didn't have long players before the 60s. So, this is nothing new. People want the best, which is their right, rather than spending 20 bucks on an album with only one great song. So, that's reasonable I guess. That's the thing that record labels figured out. Take Paul Anka, who got, like, 2 big hits, and they last four minutes altogether and you could put them on the A and B side of the single that costs 3 bucks. Why won't you sell an album that costs 13 bucks that has filler? Because you make more money out of it - obvious reason. Bands like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, they changed the format. So, an album can be a conceptual piece. As musicians, we are fans as well and we keep downloading one-song wonders [correcting himself to say one-hit wonders], it's obvious that that's going to affect the way we start writing our songs. We get bored of that. So that's the reason probably Venus Doom as a whole is more like an album with more of an album flow. Some songs are longer and there is more mood in the songs, more than we've had before. That's our reaction to the iTunes 'thing,' which we still do embrace.
K: Do you have a problem with filesharing? Bootlegging?
V: Well, bootlegging is a different thing. That's always a sign of a great band: the more bootlegs you have the better, obviously.
K: Besides that you once said that when gay rumors start that that was a sign that you had made it.
V: [Taking a drag] Mmm-hmmm. When it comes to the fact that people are downloading albums for free...the making of Venus Doom took me about two years to write. I gotta live off of something. I can't tour and write at the same time. I can't have a normal day job. To Mige: What was the budget for VD? It cost like 250 K to finish the whole album, with mastering, the cover art work, everything. Where the fuck do we get the money to pay for that if we don't get people to buy the album? But then, let's say there's a reggae artist called -----, who I'm a big fan of, but that stuff was never released on cd. I found a site where I could download the album where someone recorded it from vinyl digitally. I was like "yes!" I'm definitely going to buy the album whenever it comes out on cd, definitely. That's my rule. I don't want to piss on my own leg, you know, not on purpose anyway.
K: Ha, although we've all been there. [Laughter]
V: Haha. I guess my point is that especially with young musicians who download a lot of shit for free - what they're doing there is taking money off from the record label that one day might be signing them. But the label is lacking the money so they sign the band who downloaded the stuff for free.
K: It's a vicious cycle.
V: It can be vicious and at the same time challenging. And it's great that there is through Myspace and whatever there's a possibility for bands from little tiny countries such as Finland to be heard internationally. Wherever. Whenever. That's great. I've been downloading documentaries [on this tour]. You know, watching documentaries on Alistair Crowley that were aired on BBC4 back in '92. It's never been released on dvd or anything like that. In that sense you can get a lot of material that was impossible before. Back in the day you had to write letters to people who had copied VHS to get some rare material not available anywhere else. Like bootlegs. To Mige: Like old Bad Brains gigs from fucking Munich from the year '83. Actually, Berlin, '84.
M: It's just another moral dilemma, I suppose. People actually probably don't realize that this is really a moral dilemma. It's just something that everybody does and everybody thinks is ok. [Joking] Later on you find that musicians have been dying of hunger.
K: You think about kids from working class families who don't have the money to spend on albums. They aren't thinking about that for sure.
V: But, I was the same, man. My dad was a taxi driver as a kid and my mother worked for the city of Helsinki. They didn't have shitloads of money. I had to save for a long time just to get my first, like, Kiss album. It was exactly the same thing. What we did back in the day was people would record a couple of tracks for you and if you liked Twisted Sister more than W.A.S.P. I would go into the shop and buy the TS album. They were like demos or promotional tools that allowed you to listen to some of the stuff when you didn't have the money to buy everything.
K: When I was in high school, I can remember listening to that very kind of thing. On one side it was Faster Pussycat and on the other it was Guns N Roses. GNR won. Mige, going back to your comment about musical phases or cycles, there are always bands out there who critics hail as having saved rock n roll. Is that overused?
V: I guess the whole thing means that somebody uses old parts in an innovative way.
K: Like a revival.
V: It's kind of like a reminder of why the whole thing started in the first place. At the end of the day, nowadays it seems like the savior of rock n roll is Iggy Pop and the Stooges. You see him live and you think "oh my god, that's what it's all about." Fucking sweat and blood, etc. It doesn't necessarily have to be a new band doing it.
M: It is just something that brings attention to the start of rock n roll.
V: I don't know who's really big at this moment. Nobody's like, super big that may be new. Something that happened to me musically was to fall in love with a band called Interpol. I didn't know that they are not selling a lot of copies.
K: In middle America, no. But on the coast, especially the east, they are more popular.
V: It's all about media. A lot of media is based on the east and west coast, so that's what we get in Europe. Also, acts like Marilyn Manson, he is or actually he used to be hugely popular. Or an act like Eminem. He makes a big budget video and comes to Hamburg and plays to 2,500 people. It's kind of weird to have an illusion that the media creates. But you think that somebody is bigger than life and they aren't necessarily.
M: It's a hype thing, you know.
K: [My ten minutes have come and gone] Is it time?
V: No, no, we've got plenty of time.
K: [Continues] Recently I finished reading Clapton: The Autobiography and in it he says that fly-fishing is the hobby that takes him away from the chaos. What do you guys do to retreat.
V: For me, I have actually been thinking about things I would like to do. I guess, for example, now I'd like to be back home playing acoustic guitar and writing some new songs. That's always a new step for me. You kind of like find yourself with a character you don't know. All the information you've been collecting into your subconscious comes out. In my case it comes through music and I find new aspects and new ways of looking at things, looking at yourself, and your friends through music. So, I consider being on tour, I'm like a sponge in a way. You see so many cities, meet so many people, uh, watch a lot of movies maybe, read a lot of books and get that information and then when you go back home you kind of decompress. All the information starts flowing around, hopefully the good information through the acoustic guitar. That's kind of like what I'm looking for now so I guess my big hobby is writing music.
K: Mige, what about you?
M: I have been wondering actually.
K: Well, you have a family at home which I'm sure takes up all of your free time anyway!
M: Yeah, I guess hobby would not be a good word for that, though to some people I suppose it would be! I don't have a hobby and it's something that is worrying me.
V: He's a thinker, he thinks a lot. He's like a problem solver. [Likening to life] Like mathematical problems with varying results. There's a lot of things in life where A you don't wanna and don't have to and B you can't solve.
M: But you must underline that you try.
V: You also want to do a lot of things but you don't get the chance. [Like a mom talking about a son] He loves gardening.
M: Yeah, I like gardening.
K: I heard you were a gardener in a past life.
M: Yes. In a sense I'm half the man I used to be.
K: Oh now we're quoting Stone Temple Pilots.
M: Actually, it's not that I miss having a hobby. But I keep hearing that people need hobbies.
V: But everyone does have a hobby in one way.
M: Well, I have millions of ways to spend my time.
K: Hobbies develop naturally.
V: Watching T.V. is a hobby! On tour you never get the time to concentrate on a movie or whatever. You're on tour for months and months. So you go back home to do nothing. Um, fart, cook - for yourself, obviously! haha But, finally just getting to watch a movie. That's one way of decompressing. Mine is for now, I stopped drinking so I'm not hanging in bars so what I'm doing is put my house in order. I'm still unpacking my boxes and I moved there like, a year and a half ago. So, basically my hobby is setting my place up to be the perfect place for me to play my acoustic guitar!
K: Speaking of your house... in the VD cd liner notes
V: Booklet.
K: ...booklet, there is a picture of an owl in a window.
V: That's my window sill.
K: A little menacing isn't it?
V: A little? haha We started recording VD and I had a really bad time, nearly a nervous breakdown, I woke up one morning hearing the voice of an owl. I had never seen a live owl before. Well, in the zoo, but never like this. I woke up hearing it and I said "what the fuck is that? Am I hearing voices now?" because I live in the city and we have, like, four owls. And ornithologists know EXACTLY where THEY are at, you know. That particular owl came back twice after that. I borrowed a digital camera from my producer Tim Palmer and left it on the window sill in case I had the chance to see it. We were still partying one morning at 7 AM and he came back and I shot the picture. And he has never been back. This was strange because he wasn't scared of anything, like people moving in the halls or knocking on the window or anything.
K: Ok, switching gears. What's the hardest thing about touring in America?
V: [Thinks] The carpeting. And, uh, all the pillows are filled with feathers.
K: [Laughs and looks knowingly at A.]
A: You know, I have this thing I travel a lot with my job, and it's like, every time you have to ask for the synthetic kind. Good to see someone else has the same issue!
V: That comes from living in a bus, there's not a lot of carpeting because a lot of us guys we smoke and then we have the air conditioning on all the time. That's basically the only thing that makes it hard for me as a singer. Otherwise it's fine. If I was in the rodeo or a drunkard I wouldn't have to worry about it, but I gotta sing every night so...
K: Gotta focus on the job.
V: Hoh, it's not a job- it's a hobby that became a...
K: A labor of love.
V: Yes, a labor of love!
K: What do you miss the most about home?
V: Solitude.
M: No 'me' time.
V: The road is really social, which is great as well. You get to meet a lot of people and play hopefully to a lot of people. It's just when they're a lot of people in a small container like a bus you never have 'me' time. That's the reason we stay in hotels a lot when we're on tour. Would rather stay in a shitty hotel room for a couple of hours in a day just to have your own room, you know, to center yourself, or whatever you call it. That's what I miss.
K: When you are home, do you have a lot of fans stalking you or hanging outside your window?
V: No. Finland is pretty easy. I don't have a doorbell that works so it's pretty hard to get into my fortress. You gotta have my cell phone number or be a friend to get in.
M: Finnish people are more reserved.
K: Not here so much. Stalking is a full on hobby for some!
V: [The Finns] have a respect for privacy. I've had some situations where fans have come up to the door, but normally I don't open up the door you know. It's my home. It's my own private place.
K: Where you're not on the clock.
V: Yep. So, I've been thinking about building a gate. Just imagine if you've got fans that start knocking on the door at 9:00 AM and I've just come off tour and I've got jetlag... even though their intentions might be the best, but you know, I can't be in the mood all the time. It's hard to put a smile on.
M: It is unacceptable.
V: That's the only place in the world I have my own peace. Surrounded by my books and just talk to my mom and my dad and play the acoustic guitar and read books and watch films and bake. That's what I do there.
K: That sounds almost lovely.
V: I may do that two months out of the year. The rest we're working on something so don't [you] think so. If you think about it, an average Joe works and is home five nights in the week. If the family is cool and the wife is a good cook, you know, it's fine to come home and stay in the same spot and then you have your weekends off and maybe have a holiday once a year where you go somewhere else. But we travel all the fucking time. We don't get to see any of our families. At all. And then there's the time difference. I only get maybe two months or a month and a half. Though, I keep on working when I'm home anyway, so... [being home] there's a lot of shit to sort out anyways.
K: How is it when you get home? Hard to decompress?
M: Well, it takes days. I'm not sure that you ever actually decompress. You can always get the most stuff out, but there's the knowledge that there are already future days booked. Because of that I'm not sure if you're able to totally decompress.
V: It's like a normal job when you take that vacation and you know that in a couple of months you have to go back to it.
K: Yes, we are account managers for a software company and we know the feeling when you take vacation.
V: It's not that different. We get things out of this job that you don't if you're staying in one place or whatever. Sometimes you feel that it would be nice to have a job like that rather than have to travel. For example, I'm single, I don't have a relationship, I don't 'need' to go back. You know, I've got my parents, who I care for, and my little bro- that's basically what I like when going back home. So I don't 'mind' touring and the travel. I travel a lot for promotional stuff, but it's been fine.
M: It's an attitude.
V: It's becoming easier now that I'm not hanging out in bars all the time. You really test the limits of your physicality by getting fucked up every night and touring and acting like a brat for months and months on end. Then it's harder to decompress. Even if you have just two weeks off, when you're actually sober you have a lot more time to yourself. The sleep is better. I've spent the last ten years in bars so it's almost like a new drug to be back home watching films I never had time to watch rather than puking in the toilet or waiting to get drunk again.
K: Did you find that changing your lifestyle made some 'friends' disappear?
V: Uh, nah. I can still hang in bars, I just drink coffee instead of beer. It's also been a luxury...the first time you're looking at yourself in the mirror and you're sober, your brain works and you have a lot more energy. I haven't taken that 'me' time for the past 15 years. I've been very social on and off the road. In that sense, the friends haven't gone anywhere, but I decided to not hang out with a lot of people. I've got a lot of friends who are fucking alcoholics. I don't have any problems with that. It's maybe more me making decisions than people running away from me.
K: Switching gears again. Helldone? Is it still on this year?
V: Yes, tickets go on sale next week. It's going to be three days. New Years is on a Monday, so it will be Saturday, Sunday and Monday. On the first day it's going to be, well, we're trying to sort out good A-class Finnish bands so that people can come and see a bit of what's going on in the hard rock music scene. It will be eight bands on the first night so people can get a good vibe of what we have. On the second day we have an international act there, and then a headliner and then we do New Year's Eve.
K: How long have you been doing this?
V: For about 10 or 11 years. We're trying to expand it a bit. Originally it was just a regular gig and then all of sudden we had a lot of people outside of Finland and then northern parts of Finland traveling to Helsinki just to hang with the band. We thought "let's just expand it" over a couple of nights to make it more worthwhile. A lot of people fly in and it's an interesting way to meet people who are outside of your ordinary realm. For example, South America, America, and Japan, even. It's rediculously interesting to see people hooking up with each other and making friends out of it. So, that was the idea of making it a three-day meeting point, kind of festival thing happening. We're still trying to expand it next year to make it bigger, but we're still looking for the right venues. This year it's going to happen in the same club it's always been in, Tavastia.
K: Will Hanoi Rocks be performing?
V: No. They're friends, but I had heard they will be playing a big gig with Motorhead in December and then they will do something right before Helldone in the same venue. You don't want a band who's played the same club the week before. I think that they've booked the gigs already. And, they may be a bit different from what an average HIM fan would like to see. But they are really good live.
K: Not to diminish their popularity, but Hanoi Rocks is most known for the loss of Razzle in the car crash with Vince Neil.
V: They were highly influential, but never sold a lot of records. They are a big cult band, like New York Dolls. They never sold a lot of records and still haven't, but everyone knows them, knows their story, and have fucking Johnny Thunders on their t-shirt.
K: I know all about the New York Dolls, but I could not name one song of theirs.
V: Sam Yaffa from Hanoi Rocks played bass for The New York Dolls.
M: Ah, there you go!
V: Like The Ramones. People know "Hey Ho, Let's Go" and they know the logo.
K: The seal.
V: Yeah. There are a lot of bands like that that changed the scene and were influential for other bands that actually became big.
K: [Since this is past our time, I say] I feel like I've taken up a lot of your time.
V: We can wrap it up or you can stay. We still have plenty of time.
K: Ok. Favorite venue?
M: There are so many. The one I really like is the amphitheater in Athens, Greece. It looks out over the mountains. The venue is nothing special, but the location is wonderful.
V: There are couple of festivals in Switzerland where the mountains are beautiful. When it comes to venues, in America it's great because you have a lot of old theaters.
K: Or old churches like The Tabernacle where you will be playing in November.
V: Yeah, that's a fun place as well.
K: I saw the Go-Gos there once. [Laughter from everyone]. You know, they had their time. We're kids of 80s. Also, when you have gay friends, it may be some unspoken rule that you have to see them at least once.
Tom, Tour Manager: Hey, they had the beat.
V: [Chuckles]
M: We have a lot of gay friends, too.
V: [Sarcastically] No, no. We don't have a clue about that.
V: But, you don't get cool venues like that in Europe. It's mostly old wherehouses or bars, so they're not visually that exciting. It's not like playing the Wilshire in LA or the State Theater in Detroit or yesterday we played the Congress Theatre in Chicago. Ornamentally and the paintings, it's like being in a movie. Sound-wise they are not always the best, but that's something we don't get in Europe.
K: With your music anyway, the ambience really completes the experience.
V: But we play anywhere.
K: I saw you guys twice on Projekt Revolution. And it was fantastic, but…
V: But it lacks the mood.
K: Yes. I prefer being at a HIM show, where it's you headlining. The music, the fans, the lighting, everything. It's great.
V: And obviously it's more rewarding for us as well.
K: How was PR for you?
V: It was a test of patience. When we started out, we always said to our booking agents that we'd rather play lead in a place that holds 25 rather than support someone somewhere bigger. So, we've never been doing the support thing at all. Which I'm really proud of. For example, in England where the record company didn't do shit for us in the beginning, but we still went there and it was great to see it grow in front of your eyes [over time]. So in that sense it was the first time we did tour and weren't the headliner. Also, playing in the sunlight, which I HATE. [Laughter]. Well, not that I hate the sun, but it lacks the mood, like what you were saying. And, we're not like an emo/punk band that can fit 10-15 songs in 40 minutes. We only had time to play 9 tracks. Obviously, we were able to play to lot of people who never heard us before and in that sense it was really good.
K: American fans will gladly take what they can get since you aren't always on tour over here. You performed a lot of the new material at PR. By now, do you have a favorite song(s) off VD to perform?
V: Sleepwalking Past Hope. It's challenging for us, but it's funny because there are so many instrumental parts that I can smoke fucking 3 cigarettes before the song is over. [Laughter] It's good playing Passion's Killing Floor, Dead Lover's Lane, Bleed Well.
K: I'm fond of Bleed Well.
V: That's going to be our next single. Hopefully the radio will start playing it. We'll see what happens. Now the set is taking shape. We'll start changing the set around later, but not now. Now we're fine tuning the new material live. Also, we're going to be shooting a dvd in LA during our gig. We'll see how it will turn out. It may be good, it may be a really fun night. Or it could really suck and we'll hide it somewhere in our archives. Or we'll just burn it [kidding]. But it's good, so now we're just focusing on fine-tuning the material. Trying to get a balance between the old songs and the new songs. We're trying to get the sense of drama when we're doing the set.
K: Do you ever play In Joy and Sorrow anymore?
M: Actually I was just thinking about that song.
V: Not for a long time.
M: It's a fine song. I really like that song.
V: We're trying to do 16 songs in an hour and a half. That's the max of what we can do. U2 are playing big stadiums where you can have fucking mirrorball lemons that you walk out of...
K: or that you can't walk out of!
V: So, really an hour and a half is good. There are a lot of songs like Gone with the Sin, In Joy and Sorrow, Heartache Every Moment- that's a nice track.
K: Fortress of Tears...
V: Fortress of Tears, Sweet Pandemonium- you know there are a lot of tracks that we can't fit in the set. Now we're trying to do a more 'in your face' set, more than ballady. I like it, we used to have so many slow songs in our set, and it was really moody, it was nice, but it is also nice for us to do something different. It's more challenging. Sleepwalking Past Hope is THE moody piece.
K: Join Me in Death has made a lot of my non-rock fan friends take notice. In 2000, this song made you famous in Europe. It's a wonderful song and timeless.
V: Yeah, I'm proud of the song. Hopefully we can write a song as good as that!
K: Oh come on.
V: No, we were lucky with it. It's funny, back in the day when that came out and all the radios loved it so they played it to death which meant that a lot of people who normally would never know us bought the record. Obviously that affected record sales. So, it's not even about it being a good song we just had a lot of luck. Somebody fell in love with the track and then just played it to death.
K: Your Sweet 666 is considered a seminal HIM song.
V: Oh! Playing the new material, you start to see the old stuff in a different light. We've been doing 3-4 tracks from each album, but we're not playing anything off of Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights.
K: Why is that?
V: It just doesn't blend that well. It was one of the albums that was so over-produced and a lot of people don't know the album that well. We used to play Lose You Tonight, Pretending, and Heartache Every Moment. I love Salt in Our Wounds and I love Please Don't Let it Go. Those were two songs I wrote on the acoustic guitar and they worked a lot better on the acoustic.
K: Last year I started playing the acoustic and chords from DSBH songs were what I used to practice. Definitely acoustic-friendly. What about You Are the One? Was that a b-side, or?
V: That was an extra track for Deep Shadows in the digi-pak edition.
K: Also a great song.
V: It's good, but it could be better. With that album we ended up in a situation where we started out recording demos and they started sounding very Queens of the Stone Age. And we LOVED it. But then things got over-worked. We ended up between tours working on the album and overproduced the whole thing. We should have stopped and rerecorded everything.
M: We had many producers coming in.
V: We had like five people mixing the album and it was just a big hassle. But it was a great learning experience, and it was something we don't want to do again. I love the songs. They just could have been better. It's also what happens, you know, we had a great successful tour supporting Razorblade Romance. A lot of bands, well, I think it happened to me, really, you know, we found out that we were successful and then when you pick up the guitar again you think it will be very easy thing to write a song. So, I could have worked harder on the songs. I love the melodies on the album, though. [Ville retires to the rest room]
M: They're not as refined as well because we ran out of time and we ran out of patience. We had been working on the same things for a long time. We were going all over trying to compete with producers and in the end we really didn't know where we were standing. But there's so much good stuff there.
K: That album stands out to me. To some degree, as a listener, perhaps as a female listener, I don't see the problems you point out, because it's full of haunting melodies and romance. But, I can understand that as the owning artist you have a totally different perspective. But there are so many people who love that album.
M: There are certainly a lot of good ideas on the album.
V: [Returns from the restroom] What?
K: We're still on DSBH.
V: Oh, it's fucked up. That was the time when we kicked out the keyboardist and we were touring and we got Burton and at the same time the expectations were really high obviously for the record company to have another "hit" album. We had to have a lot of bullshit meetings about what to do and what not to do and obviously we did what we wanted to do, but that's all the hassle you can come flying to your own work. If you've been working on one song for a fucking year you always get more and more ideas to rework and rework. To Mige: We should have just stopped, had a break, and then went into the studio and rerecorded everything. Anyway, it's a bit more wimpy to a certain extent, a bit more emotional. The vibe is more mellow.
K: Probably why I as a woman love that album! [Laughter]
V: It's a moody album and it doesn't demand too much concentration to get into the mood. You know, I'm really proud of it- just should have been more moody, more acoustic, and more melancholy. After that we did Love Metal, which was faster, then Dark Light was a bit mellow, and they all kind of reflect upon each other to have us do something different the next time around. Greatest Lovesongs, Love Metal, and Venus Doom are from one band, while Razorblade Romance, Deep Shadows and Dark Light are from another. There are two sides: one more feminine and the other more masculine.
K: The yin/yang thing.
V: Right.
And with that it is time for the band to prepare for their show. A and I thank the boys for their time, take a couple of pics, and exit the bus. Tom leaves me with this: "K, don't lose the braces!"
We head into the venue with our little photopasses, rush up to the front, and take some live shots. A review of the show with pictures will follow soon. -K
Thanks to Gabrielle, Tom, Mige, and Ville for making this happen. To see more photos of the interview, go to our buzznet site and enter the HIM gallery.
As my friend A and I enter the bus, we are immediately impressed with the amount of Halloween decorations that take up every inch of the place. Ville and Mige stand up to greet us and offer us refreshments: coffee, water, or beer. As we get situated in the lounge area A makes an observation about the amount of yellow crime tape. As it turns out, the tape is real and not exactly a planned acquisition. According to Ville, after their recent performance in Washington D.C. someone got shot about 6 feet away causing their bus to become part of the crime scene. The band was not allowed to leave until the investigation was over. Once it was, they drove away with the tape and decided to put it to good use.
We were allotted ten minutes for the interview, and it seemed a shame to have to get serious. I don't even take my sweater jacket off because I am worried about running out of time. But, when it is all said and done, the interview stretches into just over an hour, 15-20 minutes before the band is scheduled to appear onstage. And, it honestly doesn't feel like an interview as much as it does a casual conversation. Ville is intense but both he and Mige are extremely warm and personable and very good listeners. There is not a hint of bravado during the entire conversation. They take pity on an interviewer who is not just a writer, but a fan as well. Looking back, it all could have gone so terribly wrong. It could have, but it didn't.
I have the latest issue of Blender on me, in which a letter to the editor references Ville's comment on marketing HIM dildos (with realistic casting) and states that she would be most interested in Linde's because "he must be packin!" That's where we begin, but during the course of the interview we hit a number of topics including where Ville stands with writing the next James Bond theme song, the things they miss most about home, lessons learned, and of course, Venus Doom.
But, let's cut to the chase.
K: Will we be seeing HIM dildos?
V: No we're not doing that.
K: I'm actually really glad to hear that!
M: You're not curious?
[Laughter]
K: Me? No!
A: She's only saying she's not curious.
V: [Laughter]
K: I could be, though. But, moving right along. One of the latest rumors on the web was that you had been approached by the producers of the James Bond movies to co-write or to write the next theme song for the Casino Royale sequel. Can you confirm this?
V: It's a very flattering idea. Of course it would be great. We grew up with Bond, but I've never even met those people. It's just a rumor. It's good to do little projects like that rather than the same old same old.
K: Like Synkkien Laulujen Maa? [I murder this pronunciation and am quickly corrected by Ville] I have this cd and it is beautiful. Forgive me for not knowing a lot about Finnish folk music, but is this a good example of that?
V: All the time people are asking, well, wtf is Scandinavian melancholy. To Mige: When I sung that [begins to sing] "kun mina kotoani läksin"... that explains a lot about Finnish folk music. It's not necessarily pathetic, but it's really, really sad. That song is about you leaving your home and the world is treating you really cruelly and you're falling in love and you can't get the girl you want. It's a classic, folklore type of thing. That's the stuff we grew up with as well as Kiss and Black Sabbath. So that's probably where love metal itself came from.
K: On the latest album Venus Doom, the track Song or Suicide, is that in the same vein as what you're talking about with the folksy style? It's acoustic and it reads like a poem. It doesn't have the standard song structure.
V: That was the idea, yeah. It was more like an "intimate". That's because we had a long track (Sleepwalking Past Hope) that precedes it. Like in the 70s they had a lot of that shit happening.
K: Lots of prog.
V: Yeah, well like Led Zeppelin. Or if you listen to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, the tracks will be straightforward Black Sabbath, and then all of a sudden the third track is an acoustic intimate that lasts for five minutes. And not a lot of bands do that nowadays. It was nice to play around and not limit ourselves too much.
K: I feel like as we go farther into the future that everything has to be fast and immediate. Easy and fast pop seems to sell a lot and it's a challenge when you put something with more of an album feel, more complex, longer, etc.
V: True, but there's people that like David Lynch and there are people who love reading romantic poetry and there are people who love Stephen King. [laughs] There's nothing wrong with Stephen King.
M: No, absolutely.
V: But actually if you think of the world of literature, I guess that fiction is going in a good direction with stuff like Kite Runner. Literature seems to be becoming more proggy. The romantic novel structure is fucking dead.
M: Yeah, perhaps music goes in phases as well. People get sick of hearing the same thing. They have iPods with one song from every artist. Maybe our album was a reaction to that.
V: But there is a cool thing about iTunes. Just a couple of months back I set up my own account for the first time. It's strange, you know, if I'm all of a sudden, "what was that great song from A-Ha…The Sun Always Shines on T.V. I WISH I could hear it now." And then just you just 'click' and bring it down. I love that. It's great.
K: [Looking at A] We're obsessed with our iPods.
V: It's good.
K: Growing up in the 80s, I feel like it was all about the single. Same with the 50s or 60s.
V: Well, same with the 40s. The iTunes generation is nothing new. The medium is different, but albums started happening in the 60s. You didn't have long players before the 60s. So, this is nothing new. People want the best, which is their right, rather than spending 20 bucks on an album with only one great song. So, that's reasonable I guess. That's the thing that record labels figured out. Take Paul Anka, who got, like, 2 big hits, and they last four minutes altogether and you could put them on the A and B side of the single that costs 3 bucks. Why won't you sell an album that costs 13 bucks that has filler? Because you make more money out of it - obvious reason. Bands like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, they changed the format. So, an album can be a conceptual piece. As musicians, we are fans as well and we keep downloading one-song wonders [correcting himself to say one-hit wonders], it's obvious that that's going to affect the way we start writing our songs. We get bored of that. So that's the reason probably Venus Doom as a whole is more like an album with more of an album flow. Some songs are longer and there is more mood in the songs, more than we've had before. That's our reaction to the iTunes 'thing,' which we still do embrace.
K: Do you have a problem with filesharing? Bootlegging?
V: Well, bootlegging is a different thing. That's always a sign of a great band: the more bootlegs you have the better, obviously.
K: Besides that you once said that when gay rumors start that that was a sign that you had made it.
V: [Taking a drag] Mmm-hmmm. When it comes to the fact that people are downloading albums for free...the making of Venus Doom took me about two years to write. I gotta live off of something. I can't tour and write at the same time. I can't have a normal day job. To Mige: What was the budget for VD? It cost like 250 K to finish the whole album, with mastering, the cover art work, everything. Where the fuck do we get the money to pay for that if we don't get people to buy the album? But then, let's say there's a reggae artist called -----, who I'm a big fan of, but that stuff was never released on cd. I found a site where I could download the album where someone recorded it from vinyl digitally. I was like "yes!" I'm definitely going to buy the album whenever it comes out on cd, definitely. That's my rule. I don't want to piss on my own leg, you know, not on purpose anyway.
K: Ha, although we've all been there. [Laughter]
V: Haha. I guess my point is that especially with young musicians who download a lot of shit for free - what they're doing there is taking money off from the record label that one day might be signing them. But the label is lacking the money so they sign the band who downloaded the stuff for free.
K: It's a vicious cycle.
V: It can be vicious and at the same time challenging. And it's great that there is through Myspace and whatever there's a possibility for bands from little tiny countries such as Finland to be heard internationally. Wherever. Whenever. That's great. I've been downloading documentaries [on this tour]. You know, watching documentaries on Alistair Crowley that were aired on BBC4 back in '92. It's never been released on dvd or anything like that. In that sense you can get a lot of material that was impossible before. Back in the day you had to write letters to people who had copied VHS to get some rare material not available anywhere else. Like bootlegs. To Mige: Like old Bad Brains gigs from fucking Munich from the year '83. Actually, Berlin, '84.
M: It's just another moral dilemma, I suppose. People actually probably don't realize that this is really a moral dilemma. It's just something that everybody does and everybody thinks is ok. [Joking] Later on you find that musicians have been dying of hunger.
K: You think about kids from working class families who don't have the money to spend on albums. They aren't thinking about that for sure.
V: But, I was the same, man. My dad was a taxi driver as a kid and my mother worked for the city of Helsinki. They didn't have shitloads of money. I had to save for a long time just to get my first, like, Kiss album. It was exactly the same thing. What we did back in the day was people would record a couple of tracks for you and if you liked Twisted Sister more than W.A.S.P. I would go into the shop and buy the TS album. They were like demos or promotional tools that allowed you to listen to some of the stuff when you didn't have the money to buy everything.
K: When I was in high school, I can remember listening to that very kind of thing. On one side it was Faster Pussycat and on the other it was Guns N Roses. GNR won. Mige, going back to your comment about musical phases or cycles, there are always bands out there who critics hail as having saved rock n roll. Is that overused?
V: I guess the whole thing means that somebody uses old parts in an innovative way.
K: Like a revival.
V: It's kind of like a reminder of why the whole thing started in the first place. At the end of the day, nowadays it seems like the savior of rock n roll is Iggy Pop and the Stooges. You see him live and you think "oh my god, that's what it's all about." Fucking sweat and blood, etc. It doesn't necessarily have to be a new band doing it.
M: It is just something that brings attention to the start of rock n roll.
V: I don't know who's really big at this moment. Nobody's like, super big that may be new. Something that happened to me musically was to fall in love with a band called Interpol. I didn't know that they are not selling a lot of copies.
K: In middle America, no. But on the coast, especially the east, they are more popular.
V: It's all about media. A lot of media is based on the east and west coast, so that's what we get in Europe. Also, acts like Marilyn Manson, he is or actually he used to be hugely popular. Or an act like Eminem. He makes a big budget video and comes to Hamburg and plays to 2,500 people. It's kind of weird to have an illusion that the media creates. But you think that somebody is bigger than life and they aren't necessarily.
M: It's a hype thing, you know.
K: [My ten minutes have come and gone] Is it time?
V: No, no, we've got plenty of time.
K: [Continues] Recently I finished reading Clapton: The Autobiography and in it he says that fly-fishing is the hobby that takes him away from the chaos. What do you guys do to retreat.
V: For me, I have actually been thinking about things I would like to do. I guess, for example, now I'd like to be back home playing acoustic guitar and writing some new songs. That's always a new step for me. You kind of like find yourself with a character you don't know. All the information you've been collecting into your subconscious comes out. In my case it comes through music and I find new aspects and new ways of looking at things, looking at yourself, and your friends through music. So, I consider being on tour, I'm like a sponge in a way. You see so many cities, meet so many people, uh, watch a lot of movies maybe, read a lot of books and get that information and then when you go back home you kind of decompress. All the information starts flowing around, hopefully the good information through the acoustic guitar. That's kind of like what I'm looking for now so I guess my big hobby is writing music.
K: Mige, what about you?
M: I have been wondering actually.
K: Well, you have a family at home which I'm sure takes up all of your free time anyway!
M: Yeah, I guess hobby would not be a good word for that, though to some people I suppose it would be! I don't have a hobby and it's something that is worrying me.
V: He's a thinker, he thinks a lot. He's like a problem solver. [Likening to life] Like mathematical problems with varying results. There's a lot of things in life where A you don't wanna and don't have to and B you can't solve.
M: But you must underline that you try.
V: You also want to do a lot of things but you don't get the chance. [Like a mom talking about a son] He loves gardening.
M: Yeah, I like gardening.
K: I heard you were a gardener in a past life.
M: Yes. In a sense I'm half the man I used to be.
K: Oh now we're quoting Stone Temple Pilots.
M: Actually, it's not that I miss having a hobby. But I keep hearing that people need hobbies.
V: But everyone does have a hobby in one way.
M: Well, I have millions of ways to spend my time.
K: Hobbies develop naturally.
V: Watching T.V. is a hobby! On tour you never get the time to concentrate on a movie or whatever. You're on tour for months and months. So you go back home to do nothing. Um, fart, cook - for yourself, obviously! haha But, finally just getting to watch a movie. That's one way of decompressing. Mine is for now, I stopped drinking so I'm not hanging in bars so what I'm doing is put my house in order. I'm still unpacking my boxes and I moved there like, a year and a half ago. So, basically my hobby is setting my place up to be the perfect place for me to play my acoustic guitar!
K: Speaking of your house... in the VD cd liner notes
V: Booklet.
K: ...booklet, there is a picture of an owl in a window.
V: That's my window sill.
K: A little menacing isn't it?
V: A little? haha We started recording VD and I had a really bad time, nearly a nervous breakdown, I woke up one morning hearing the voice of an owl. I had never seen a live owl before. Well, in the zoo, but never like this. I woke up hearing it and I said "what the fuck is that? Am I hearing voices now?" because I live in the city and we have, like, four owls. And ornithologists know EXACTLY where THEY are at, you know. That particular owl came back twice after that. I borrowed a digital camera from my producer Tim Palmer and left it on the window sill in case I had the chance to see it. We were still partying one morning at 7 AM and he came back and I shot the picture. And he has never been back. This was strange because he wasn't scared of anything, like people moving in the halls or knocking on the window or anything.
K: Ok, switching gears. What's the hardest thing about touring in America?
V: [Thinks] The carpeting. And, uh, all the pillows are filled with feathers.
K: [Laughs and looks knowingly at A.]
A: You know, I have this thing I travel a lot with my job, and it's like, every time you have to ask for the synthetic kind. Good to see someone else has the same issue!
V: That comes from living in a bus, there's not a lot of carpeting because a lot of us guys we smoke and then we have the air conditioning on all the time. That's basically the only thing that makes it hard for me as a singer. Otherwise it's fine. If I was in the rodeo or a drunkard I wouldn't have to worry about it, but I gotta sing every night so...
K: Gotta focus on the job.
V: Hoh, it's not a job- it's a hobby that became a...
K: A labor of love.
V: Yes, a labor of love!
K: What do you miss the most about home?
V: Solitude.
M: No 'me' time.
V: The road is really social, which is great as well. You get to meet a lot of people and play hopefully to a lot of people. It's just when they're a lot of people in a small container like a bus you never have 'me' time. That's the reason we stay in hotels a lot when we're on tour. Would rather stay in a shitty hotel room for a couple of hours in a day just to have your own room, you know, to center yourself, or whatever you call it. That's what I miss.
K: When you are home, do you have a lot of fans stalking you or hanging outside your window?
V: No. Finland is pretty easy. I don't have a doorbell that works so it's pretty hard to get into my fortress. You gotta have my cell phone number or be a friend to get in.
M: Finnish people are more reserved.
K: Not here so much. Stalking is a full on hobby for some!
V: [The Finns] have a respect for privacy. I've had some situations where fans have come up to the door, but normally I don't open up the door you know. It's my home. It's my own private place.
K: Where you're not on the clock.
V: Yep. So, I've been thinking about building a gate. Just imagine if you've got fans that start knocking on the door at 9:00 AM and I've just come off tour and I've got jetlag... even though their intentions might be the best, but you know, I can't be in the mood all the time. It's hard to put a smile on.
M: It is unacceptable.
V: That's the only place in the world I have my own peace. Surrounded by my books and just talk to my mom and my dad and play the acoustic guitar and read books and watch films and bake. That's what I do there.
K: That sounds almost lovely.
V: I may do that two months out of the year. The rest we're working on something so don't [you] think so. If you think about it, an average Joe works and is home five nights in the week. If the family is cool and the wife is a good cook, you know, it's fine to come home and stay in the same spot and then you have your weekends off and maybe have a holiday once a year where you go somewhere else. But we travel all the fucking time. We don't get to see any of our families. At all. And then there's the time difference. I only get maybe two months or a month and a half. Though, I keep on working when I'm home anyway, so... [being home] there's a lot of shit to sort out anyways.
K: How is it when you get home? Hard to decompress?
M: Well, it takes days. I'm not sure that you ever actually decompress. You can always get the most stuff out, but there's the knowledge that there are already future days booked. Because of that I'm not sure if you're able to totally decompress.
V: It's like a normal job when you take that vacation and you know that in a couple of months you have to go back to it.
K: Yes, we are account managers for a software company and we know the feeling when you take vacation.
V: It's not that different. We get things out of this job that you don't if you're staying in one place or whatever. Sometimes you feel that it would be nice to have a job like that rather than have to travel. For example, I'm single, I don't have a relationship, I don't 'need' to go back. You know, I've got my parents, who I care for, and my little bro- that's basically what I like when going back home. So I don't 'mind' touring and the travel. I travel a lot for promotional stuff, but it's been fine.
M: It's an attitude.
V: It's becoming easier now that I'm not hanging out in bars all the time. You really test the limits of your physicality by getting fucked up every night and touring and acting like a brat for months and months on end. Then it's harder to decompress. Even if you have just two weeks off, when you're actually sober you have a lot more time to yourself. The sleep is better. I've spent the last ten years in bars so it's almost like a new drug to be back home watching films I never had time to watch rather than puking in the toilet or waiting to get drunk again.
K: Did you find that changing your lifestyle made some 'friends' disappear?
V: Uh, nah. I can still hang in bars, I just drink coffee instead of beer. It's also been a luxury...the first time you're looking at yourself in the mirror and you're sober, your brain works and you have a lot more energy. I haven't taken that 'me' time for the past 15 years. I've been very social on and off the road. In that sense, the friends haven't gone anywhere, but I decided to not hang out with a lot of people. I've got a lot of friends who are fucking alcoholics. I don't have any problems with that. It's maybe more me making decisions than people running away from me.
K: Switching gears again. Helldone? Is it still on this year?
V: Yes, tickets go on sale next week. It's going to be three days. New Years is on a Monday, so it will be Saturday, Sunday and Monday. On the first day it's going to be, well, we're trying to sort out good A-class Finnish bands so that people can come and see a bit of what's going on in the hard rock music scene. It will be eight bands on the first night so people can get a good vibe of what we have. On the second day we have an international act there, and then a headliner and then we do New Year's Eve.
K: How long have you been doing this?
V: For about 10 or 11 years. We're trying to expand it a bit. Originally it was just a regular gig and then all of sudden we had a lot of people outside of Finland and then northern parts of Finland traveling to Helsinki just to hang with the band. We thought "let's just expand it" over a couple of nights to make it more worthwhile. A lot of people fly in and it's an interesting way to meet people who are outside of your ordinary realm. For example, South America, America, and Japan, even. It's rediculously interesting to see people hooking up with each other and making friends out of it. So, that was the idea of making it a three-day meeting point, kind of festival thing happening. We're still trying to expand it next year to make it bigger, but we're still looking for the right venues. This year it's going to happen in the same club it's always been in, Tavastia.
K: Will Hanoi Rocks be performing?
V: No. They're friends, but I had heard they will be playing a big gig with Motorhead in December and then they will do something right before Helldone in the same venue. You don't want a band who's played the same club the week before. I think that they've booked the gigs already. And, they may be a bit different from what an average HIM fan would like to see. But they are really good live.
K: Not to diminish their popularity, but Hanoi Rocks is most known for the loss of Razzle in the car crash with Vince Neil.
V: They were highly influential, but never sold a lot of records. They are a big cult band, like New York Dolls. They never sold a lot of records and still haven't, but everyone knows them, knows their story, and have fucking Johnny Thunders on their t-shirt.
K: I know all about the New York Dolls, but I could not name one song of theirs.
V: Sam Yaffa from Hanoi Rocks played bass for The New York Dolls.
M: Ah, there you go!
V: Like The Ramones. People know "Hey Ho, Let's Go" and they know the logo.
K: The seal.
V: Yeah. There are a lot of bands like that that changed the scene and were influential for other bands that actually became big.
K: [Since this is past our time, I say] I feel like I've taken up a lot of your time.
V: We can wrap it up or you can stay. We still have plenty of time.
K: Ok. Favorite venue?
M: There are so many. The one I really like is the amphitheater in Athens, Greece. It looks out over the mountains. The venue is nothing special, but the location is wonderful.
V: There are couple of festivals in Switzerland where the mountains are beautiful. When it comes to venues, in America it's great because you have a lot of old theaters.
K: Or old churches like The Tabernacle where you will be playing in November.
V: Yeah, that's a fun place as well.
K: I saw the Go-Gos there once. [Laughter from everyone]. You know, they had their time. We're kids of 80s. Also, when you have gay friends, it may be some unspoken rule that you have to see them at least once.
Tom, Tour Manager: Hey, they had the beat.
V: [Chuckles]
M: We have a lot of gay friends, too.
V: [Sarcastically] No, no. We don't have a clue about that.
V: But, you don't get cool venues like that in Europe. It's mostly old wherehouses or bars, so they're not visually that exciting. It's not like playing the Wilshire in LA or the State Theater in Detroit or yesterday we played the Congress Theatre in Chicago. Ornamentally and the paintings, it's like being in a movie. Sound-wise they are not always the best, but that's something we don't get in Europe.
K: With your music anyway, the ambience really completes the experience.
V: But we play anywhere.
K: I saw you guys twice on Projekt Revolution. And it was fantastic, but…
V: But it lacks the mood.
K: Yes. I prefer being at a HIM show, where it's you headlining. The music, the fans, the lighting, everything. It's great.
V: And obviously it's more rewarding for us as well.
K: How was PR for you?
V: It was a test of patience. When we started out, we always said to our booking agents that we'd rather play lead in a place that holds 25 rather than support someone somewhere bigger. So, we've never been doing the support thing at all. Which I'm really proud of. For example, in England where the record company didn't do shit for us in the beginning, but we still went there and it was great to see it grow in front of your eyes [over time]. So in that sense it was the first time we did tour and weren't the headliner. Also, playing in the sunlight, which I HATE. [Laughter]. Well, not that I hate the sun, but it lacks the mood, like what you were saying. And, we're not like an emo/punk band that can fit 10-15 songs in 40 minutes. We only had time to play 9 tracks. Obviously, we were able to play to lot of people who never heard us before and in that sense it was really good.
K: American fans will gladly take what they can get since you aren't always on tour over here. You performed a lot of the new material at PR. By now, do you have a favorite song(s) off VD to perform?
V: Sleepwalking Past Hope. It's challenging for us, but it's funny because there are so many instrumental parts that I can smoke fucking 3 cigarettes before the song is over. [Laughter] It's good playing Passion's Killing Floor, Dead Lover's Lane, Bleed Well.
K: I'm fond of Bleed Well.
V: That's going to be our next single. Hopefully the radio will start playing it. We'll see what happens. Now the set is taking shape. We'll start changing the set around later, but not now. Now we're fine tuning the new material live. Also, we're going to be shooting a dvd in LA during our gig. We'll see how it will turn out. It may be good, it may be a really fun night. Or it could really suck and we'll hide it somewhere in our archives. Or we'll just burn it [kidding]. But it's good, so now we're just focusing on fine-tuning the material. Trying to get a balance between the old songs and the new songs. We're trying to get the sense of drama when we're doing the set.
K: Do you ever play In Joy and Sorrow anymore?
M: Actually I was just thinking about that song.
V: Not for a long time.
M: It's a fine song. I really like that song.
V: We're trying to do 16 songs in an hour and a half. That's the max of what we can do. U2 are playing big stadiums where you can have fucking mirrorball lemons that you walk out of...
K: or that you can't walk out of!
V: So, really an hour and a half is good. There are a lot of songs like Gone with the Sin, In Joy and Sorrow, Heartache Every Moment- that's a nice track.
K: Fortress of Tears...
V: Fortress of Tears, Sweet Pandemonium- you know there are a lot of tracks that we can't fit in the set. Now we're trying to do a more 'in your face' set, more than ballady. I like it, we used to have so many slow songs in our set, and it was really moody, it was nice, but it is also nice for us to do something different. It's more challenging. Sleepwalking Past Hope is THE moody piece.
K: Join Me in Death has made a lot of my non-rock fan friends take notice. In 2000, this song made you famous in Europe. It's a wonderful song and timeless.
V: Yeah, I'm proud of the song. Hopefully we can write a song as good as that!
K: Oh come on.
V: No, we were lucky with it. It's funny, back in the day when that came out and all the radios loved it so they played it to death which meant that a lot of people who normally would never know us bought the record. Obviously that affected record sales. So, it's not even about it being a good song we just had a lot of luck. Somebody fell in love with the track and then just played it to death.
K: Your Sweet 666 is considered a seminal HIM song.
V: Oh! Playing the new material, you start to see the old stuff in a different light. We've been doing 3-4 tracks from each album, but we're not playing anything off of Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights.
K: Why is that?
V: It just doesn't blend that well. It was one of the albums that was so over-produced and a lot of people don't know the album that well. We used to play Lose You Tonight, Pretending, and Heartache Every Moment. I love Salt in Our Wounds and I love Please Don't Let it Go. Those were two songs I wrote on the acoustic guitar and they worked a lot better on the acoustic.
K: Last year I started playing the acoustic and chords from DSBH songs were what I used to practice. Definitely acoustic-friendly. What about You Are the One? Was that a b-side, or?
V: That was an extra track for Deep Shadows in the digi-pak edition.
K: Also a great song.
V: It's good, but it could be better. With that album we ended up in a situation where we started out recording demos and they started sounding very Queens of the Stone Age. And we LOVED it. But then things got over-worked. We ended up between tours working on the album and overproduced the whole thing. We should have stopped and rerecorded everything.
M: We had many producers coming in.
V: We had like five people mixing the album and it was just a big hassle. But it was a great learning experience, and it was something we don't want to do again. I love the songs. They just could have been better. It's also what happens, you know, we had a great successful tour supporting Razorblade Romance. A lot of bands, well, I think it happened to me, really, you know, we found out that we were successful and then when you pick up the guitar again you think it will be very easy thing to write a song. So, I could have worked harder on the songs. I love the melodies on the album, though. [Ville retires to the rest room]
M: They're not as refined as well because we ran out of time and we ran out of patience. We had been working on the same things for a long time. We were going all over trying to compete with producers and in the end we really didn't know where we were standing. But there's so much good stuff there.
K: That album stands out to me. To some degree, as a listener, perhaps as a female listener, I don't see the problems you point out, because it's full of haunting melodies and romance. But, I can understand that as the owning artist you have a totally different perspective. But there are so many people who love that album.
M: There are certainly a lot of good ideas on the album.
V: [Returns from the restroom] What?
K: We're still on DSBH.
V: Oh, it's fucked up. That was the time when we kicked out the keyboardist and we were touring and we got Burton and at the same time the expectations were really high obviously for the record company to have another "hit" album. We had to have a lot of bullshit meetings about what to do and what not to do and obviously we did what we wanted to do, but that's all the hassle you can come flying to your own work. If you've been working on one song for a fucking year you always get more and more ideas to rework and rework. To Mige: We should have just stopped, had a break, and then went into the studio and rerecorded everything. Anyway, it's a bit more wimpy to a certain extent, a bit more emotional. The vibe is more mellow.
K: Probably why I as a woman love that album! [Laughter]
V: It's a moody album and it doesn't demand too much concentration to get into the mood. You know, I'm really proud of it- just should have been more moody, more acoustic, and more melancholy. After that we did Love Metal, which was faster, then Dark Light was a bit mellow, and they all kind of reflect upon each other to have us do something different the next time around. Greatest Lovesongs, Love Metal, and Venus Doom are from one band, while Razorblade Romance, Deep Shadows and Dark Light are from another. There are two sides: one more feminine and the other more masculine.
K: The yin/yang thing.
V: Right.
And with that it is time for the band to prepare for their show. A and I thank the boys for their time, take a couple of pics, and exit the bus. Tom leaves me with this: "K, don't lose the braces!"
We head into the venue with our little photopasses, rush up to the front, and take some live shots. A review of the show with pictures will follow soon. -K
Thanks to Gabrielle, Tom, Mige, and Ville for making this happen. To see more photos of the interview, go to our buzznet site and enter the HIM gallery.
I'm Not There
I had the good fortune last night to get a ticket into the London Film Festival’s showing of I’m Not There. The movie was inspired by and features Bob Dylan’s music and is probably a must if you’re a Dylan fan. I will warn you, if you need a linear storyline, this is not the film for you! Since just in the last year have I become a fan of Dylan’s early work I probably didn’t get all of the references.
In the film there are six people that play characters that are based on Dylan’s image in a certain time period. It is kind of hard to explain. The actor getting the most press for playing one of these characters was Cate Blanchett and she is truly amazing. Her part of the film is shot in black and white and when she has on sunglasses, the angles of her face look amazingly like a 60’s Bob Dylan.
I got to hear some of the Q&A with the director after the screening. Todd Haynes wanted to do a movie about the 60s and about an icon who has managed to reinvent himself over the years. It is like nothing you have probably seen before. --J
Los Pacaminos - Unexpected
Jonesing for a concert, I found myself at a local theatre in walking distance from my living accommodations seeing a band called Los Pacaminos. The band is made up of some fine musicians playing the usual as well as steel guitar and accordion. The music was labelled Tex Mex, a term that I thought was only used to describe food that usually has a lot of cheese and is best eaten with a margarita. The draw for some in the audience was Paul Young. I have to admit it made me curious. However, he stood silent on the stage due to flu while the party went on around him. Shots of tequila were brought out to the stage more than once and because it was the first night of their tour, it had a not quite ready for prime time feel. After the second song one of the guys asked the audience who hadn’t seen them before. Less than a quarter of the audience raised their hand and he asked jokingly in response, “Disappointed yet?”
The one thing I wish I would have gotten a picture of was their roadie. He was a young guy and because of some technical difficulties was on stage quite a bit. He was dressed from the neck down in black. Black cargo pants were tucked into Doc Martins. A sleeveless black Jack Daniels shirt was covered by a pocketed black vest. But around his short haircut he wore a red handkerchief tied around his forehead. It reminded me a lot of the Karate Kid “sweep the leg” actor.
The music was really a mixture of Cajun, Mexican and old rock and roll covers. At the end of the show, N, my concert buddy said, “Not bad for a bunch of English boys”. A few weeks before when talking about music, N had said that the American bands that came to town were the best in concert. He said it, not me. --J
The one thing I wish I would have gotten a picture of was their roadie. He was a young guy and because of some technical difficulties was on stage quite a bit. He was dressed from the neck down in black. Black cargo pants were tucked into Doc Martins. A sleeveless black Jack Daniels shirt was covered by a pocketed black vest. But around his short haircut he wore a red handkerchief tied around his forehead. It reminded me a lot of the Karate Kid “sweep the leg” actor.
The music was really a mixture of Cajun, Mexican and old rock and roll covers. At the end of the show, N, my concert buddy said, “Not bad for a bunch of English boys”. A few weeks before when talking about music, N had said that the American bands that came to town were the best in concert. He said it, not me. --J
Sunday, October 21, 2007
There's Always One
St. Louis had Beatle Bob, does London have this guy? It was a first to see a guy at a show with a top hat and what looked like spats. --J
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