Category: Blogs

A new year starts (shit, it seems to be yesterday when they were announcing the end of the world with the arrival of year 2000…), and FREE! Magazine is still here to offer you more interesting features, stories, reviews, interviews and prices.

From my personal point of view, 2008 was a tough year. I spent half of it trying to look for a job, and the other half trying to recover from all the previous months without job. Situation led to my temporal move from Finland to Estonia to work with an IT company, but one also learns important lessons from the bad times. Even though the difficulties, I was able to graduate with a MD at Tampere University, and continued writing for FREE! Magazine and other publications inside and outside Finland, although not having always all the time wanted to improve the contents.

Music, overall rock music, has been the spine of FREE! Magazine in 2008, but I still hope that we can offer more diversity in this new year, focusing also not only in happenings that take place in Finland but as well on a more general landscape that could include all Scandinavian and Baltic countries. And as always, you are more than welcome to participate with your comments, ideas and help. If you want to be in direct contact, you can easily drop me a few lines to:

antonio.diaz@freemagazine.fi

For the moment, we know that in 2009 Metallica and AC/DC will visit Finland again, so this year cannot be so bad (even including worldwide crisis), can it?

I spent a nice week end of rock in Tallinn, the Estonian capital, and there on Saturday I had the chance to assist for first time to a Glenn Hughes concert minutes after being in Scorpions’ press conference at a luxurious hotel.

The German guys were friendly and funny, although they arrived half an hour late and they seemed to be in a hurry to leave the room, basically not much time to take pictures or chat a bit with them. I got also a bit pissed off because they had some nice posters on the table, and at the end of the press conference a guy from the organization took them away and we could not even enjoy a small souvenir from the band.Unfortunately I did not have time enough to arrive on time to the sound check to make a personal interview with Glenn Hughes. Glenn is a rock living legend who had played with bands such as Deep Purple or Black Sabbath, apart from having had many other interesting projects alone. He appeared on stage looking good and sharp. The venue was at Rock Café, in Zelluloosi Keskus; a place near Tallinn’s bus station quite nice for rock concerts, and old paper factory reconverted into a rock club. The atmosphere reminded me a bit of Nosturi in Helsinki, and here you do not even have to pay for the wardrobe!

Hughes must have suffered some kind of lifting in the skin of his face, because the man really looks younger than his age. I had read opinions in some forums of people who did not want to go to the concert because considered him a kind of “old fart”, but the image he displayed on stage was totally the opposite. With a funky sound and moving all around, he played his bass player (and also the electric guitar in some songs) with a lot of vitality, but without forgetting to wink to his old fans with some classics like Stormbringer. Although the venue was not totally fully packed, and the beginning of the concert was a bit cold, Glenn managed to warm the atmosphere and make people dance with a great show. You could notice how the band was enjoying the concert more and more after some time passed by, with more smiles painted in their faces, and put a great cherry on top of the cake, being this their last European concert before coming back to USA.

So for the moment you cannot enjoy new gigs of Hughes in Europe, at least for some time, but if you have the chance to visit Rock Café if you are in the Estonian capital, I am sure that automatically will become one of the favorite places for rock lovers. Although beer is not as cheap as you could expect, 45 Estonian crowns-3 euro…

{mosimage}Hanoi rocks, maybe the most legendary rock band ever born in Finland, announced this week that they will not continue together in 2009, after facing their compromises that will lead them to tour still around Europe and Japan, putting the cherry on top of the cake to their long career at the mythical Tavastia club in Helsinki. The piece of news did not seem much surprising to my eyes. Some months ago they already had some problems with their drummer, and now seems that Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy will continue again walking separated paths. 

I had the pleasure to meet the members of Hanoi Rocks during an interview at Suomelinna fortress in 2007, while they were at the studio preparing their latest album. First we chatted with the Swedish Conny and A.C., having a beer in a terrace. The guys seemed surprised that we were there shooting questions at them, but after a while the conversation was pretty friendly, especially from the side of A.C. Later we entered the studio to chat with Monroe and McCoy. We met them outside, and McCoy was breathing deeply and noisily like if he would be Darth Vader himself. I must recognize I felt a bit nervous about his reactions to our questions, but they turned to be also very nice and friendly. Michael Monroe still seemed to be that naïve child who dreams about being a rock star and McCoy…he is certainly a special guy, when you think he is half slept, he can shock you with a really sharp and intelligent comment. 

We had a couple of surrealistic situations while enjoying some hours with Hanoi Rocks. At some point Andy McCoy played virtuously and unexpectedly a fabulous solo at the piano that got amazed even to the rest of the band members. There were also ironic jokes about the absence of their previous drummer, a clear symptom that something was not working out well there (for remembering him, they had stitched a drawing of his face on one wall of the studio) and it was also very funny to run with the rest of the band not to miss the last ferry that was linking Suomenlinna with Helsinki harbor. We had then another excellent opportunity to take some more pics with them on the deck of the ferry, while small children were surrounding the band looking for an autograph from their idols. I certainly wanted to be journalist to experience those kind of special evenings like the one we had with these legendary rockers. 

Many times we have had interviews with Finnish bands, we were a bit surprised about their lack of glamour; bands that go on stage at international events but seem too shy to share interesting stories with us and the audience. Hanoi Rocks certainly was, is and will be a case apart; certainly one of the few Finnish bands that exhale really glamour and 100% of rock spirit wherever they go. They will be missed! At least I will miss those Spinal Tap moments with them…

I had yesterday a nice evening at Tammerfest in Tampere. I visited the backstage to make an interview with Lovex, and ended up hanging around with the guys around the city until late at night (finally I felt tired to continue the after party and headed to my bed at 5 a.m…).

Lovex bass player Jason is a very friendly guy and we had interesting talks while enjoying some drinks together. I also had the chance to salute shortly Toni Wirtanen, the singer of Apulanta, because we had met for an interview last year in Helsinki.

During the past time, working as journalist and meeting many Finnish and international musicians, what you discover is that they are easy going people and very down to earth. Even a couple of days ago, meeting Jonne Aaron, the singer of Negative, I was surprised when he tells small details about his life like that he enjoys cleaning his house and washing his dishes, or that he was feeling jealous not to be able to go to Bruce Springsteen´s concert as I did because he had to record on studio that evening. {mosimage}

Maybe it has to do also with the features of Finnish people in general. They have a strong working class philosophy running through their veins, and they are in general humble to recognize their own successes. Also being foreigner can help to break the ice. During the time living in Finland and Estonia, the citizens are always curious and interested to hear what people from other countries who are living here think about them. It is always refreshing to see that after the stereotype we have of rock stars having a crazy life, they are in the end just human beings who feel curious about things around them and are eager for a nice conversation sharing some beers if you approach them with respect.

I am by nature a curious person, interested in getting to know all kind of people, so it helps when you forget their roles as public figures on stage, and just approach them with a honest attitude and respect for their personal lives. I just can say that I take my hat out for people like Lovex or Jonne Aaron, who made me feel so comfortable during the festival and have a good time there with them. In the end, they are just a group of young guys, like many of the readers of FREE!, who just enjoy sitting in a park taking advantage of the nice weather, sipping a cold drink and having a nice chat in a good company.

Although this website focuses on culture in Finland and neighboring countries, I cannot less that put a patriotic note today telling: we won the football Eurocup! 

It was about time for our soccer national team to win something important. 44 years later, we finally were able to win the European Championship again. A title well deserved, with a team that played better than ever and finally was able to go through quarterfinals defeating Italy in penalties. Maybe I was expecting a bit more from Germany in the last minutes of the final, but they were totally over passed by Spanish midfielders. A championship that brings our national team again to a privileged place. We still have the pending subject of winning a world cup…but that is another story…

Spanish sport is living a sweet moment. Just some minutes ago Nadal won the final of Wimbledon in tennis after having got few weeks ago Roland Garros. Cyclist Alberto Contador won the Giro de Italia and we have chances to win the Tour de France this year. Our basketball team is the present World Champion, and we also have a strong handball team.

Olympic Games are getting close, starting the 8th of August, and I hope that the good strike of victories can continue. And overall, that everybody will enjoy and have fun in a nice atmosphere, out of political and violent issues. Because in the end, it is just about playing a game and having fun. 

 I take the train from Tampere on a boring Friday afternoon that soon will turn into an exciting one with the perspective of watching for first time live to Mark Knopfler, the legendary guitarist ex member of Dire Straits.

Already in my same wagon I hear and later join the conversation of two Spanish students who are heading also to the concert. Once in the capital, I head first to salute a friend who works as a waiter in Bar Loose. If you like rock music, you cannot miss this particular bar located in Fredrikinkatu, in the heart of Helsinki. It has a special atmosphere like not so many in Finland, a bohemian place where you can chat with interesting people from all over the world and from time to time share table with a rock star. Anyway, my visit (friends always go first) makes me arrive a bit late to the gig at Hartwall Arena, but once I am able to find my place in the middle of the dark (not particularly helped by the Finnish sense of amiability…) I am ready to enjoy a great show by the Scottish guitar hero, kindly surprised that he does not focus on his last record, Kill to get Crimson, although some of the most remarkable themes like True Love Will Never Fade are part of the set list, but makes a good tour to all over his discography, from his previous solo work, playing Sailing to Philadelphia, to the most expected classics: Romeo and Juliet and Sultans of Swing, with the audience totally on the edge of paroxysm at that point. 

Knopfler is accompanied by a selected group of excellent professional musicians and instrumentalists, and with a not very complex but effective scenario and lightning, is able to put the audience in his pocket.  During the encore, new vibrant moments with Brothers in Arms and So Far Away (at this time of the concert people forget about their seats and run to enjoy the song as close to the stage as possible) and the end that could not be missed, the instrumental Theme from Local Hero to put the cherry on top of the cake. A satisfied audience leaves the Arena, and for me, there is a boring trip of 2:30 hours waiting in the last train (not to Brooklyn but back to Tampere) at Pasila railway station.

While doing albums reviews, here goes nonsense like any other I could have written. A compilation of average answers we receive when making interviews. For you, young musician who can face in the future the questions of FREE! Magazine!

1. This is the best album we have ever done.

2. Last gig was excellent! ; full of energy.

3. The audience is not cold. They just have a different approach to the music.

4. We do not have any influence from other bands. We just create the music we want.

5. I like all the songs of the new album equally. They are all my babies.

6. The record company is doing an amazing job.

7. We do not pay attention to the copies sold of the album.

8. I find inspiration from the things that happen around me.

9. We have not changed our style.

10. People did not understand that album when it was released. But it was a great album. 

Now I only need to learn to play guitar, and I am ready to hit the road!

The gig was behind Tampere Talo, and It seems that the concert was aimed at promoting the fight against drugs and alcohol and a healthier life for the youngsters. So the point is that not only was forbidden to buy any alcoholic drinks from inside, but they made everybody blow into an alcohol test at the entrance! And they supposedly did not let anybody enter if they had drunk before! At this point, when I realize about the situation, there is this interesting dialogue between me and the person of the organization who handles me the little plastic tube to blow into:

Me:  “Mutta… olen toimittaja…” (But…I am a journalist…)

Organization Guy:  *“Ja Mitä? “ (So what?)

*(Finnish diplomacy at its best!)

{mosimage}
I don´t really have any idea how these little machines work, since it was the first time in my life that they made me use one…and  funnily enough, not driving! I had just happily drunk 2 cans of half a liter of beer before walking to the concert and they let me pass. But I found quite stupid that even journalists who go there to cover the concert had to go through the filter. In any case, my point is: are these solutions really effective? For me Rock has always been, and will be about sex, drugs, alcohol… resuming, everything considered as rule breaker. Because rock has always been dangerous, that is the essence of rock. Imaging rock fans and rock musicians behaving like model citizens would be like eating salad everyday with no salt, oil or vinegar to season.

I am already pretty pissed off with the general “amazing” ideas of the concerts organizers in Finland, that isolate the audience in stupid closed areas to drink that are usually half a kilometer away from the stage (so you have to decide between sacrificing half of a concert to get one beer…or no drinking at all) and now I assist to another “excellent idea”. The consequences is that the venue was half empty, since many people just found boring to go to a “dry rock concert” that starts so early in the evening to be surrounded just by teenagers.

Are these kinds of concerts the solution to teach the young Finnish generations how to have a healthier life? Sorry but I don´t think so. I am surely not the biggest expert to analyze the drinking problems of the Finns. You can find many theories: the weather, the darkness, the solitude, the big spaces that separate the houses, the shyness that needs to be broken with alcohol consumption… there are many explanations, and maybe no one is valid, or maybe they all have to do with the truth. But I would advice authorities to show youngsters other ways of fighting against alcoholism that screwing the atmosphere of a rock concert. The habits and culture of drinking and eating could be highly improved in many other ways:  teaching youngsters to enjoy food while drinking, selling alcohol in smaller glasses that in pints (in my native Spain we have small glasses of beer, that we call “cañas” perfect to eat with some tapas) or making the point that drinking could be much funnier as a social habit that can be taken easy and moderated, instead of extended national trend of trying to end up wasted as quick as possible, alone at home, before hitting the nightclub. Meanwhile, please, let there be rock without blowing at the entrance any stupid plastic tube!!! 

The venue where the interview took place was not very sexy: one small and not very well illuminated room close to the showers of Jäähalli, where the ice hockey players can get rid of the sweat after hard matches. The singer looked tired, most certainly with hangover after the previous night show in Helsinki, but he kindly answered my questions for half an hour before getting ready for the show.  After their second album, the Swedish are getting a huge number of female fans, since their “glamdeath” could be catalogued in the same league of sexy music as HIM. But a couple of hours before the show, Whiplasher does not look any glamorous at all in front of my eyes. I just see a tired guy trying to recover the hangover with a glass of wine, looking a bit sick while protecting his throat with a scarf, feeling bored if answering the same typical questions about his band and just showing more shine in his eyes when other issues are discussed during the interview far from merely music business. If I let my imagination fly, and I think about Ville Valo, and about how many fans, women (and men) would like to sleep with him all over the world, it is funny to think about the concept of glamour, don´t you think? Imagine that you would meet a rock star while peeing in the toilet, or while he would be wasted and puking in a dark corner…and…glamour is dead.

Probably, that is the good thing about music: just a theater, a big circus, pure fantasy that makes us evade for some hours from our worries. And certainly, the magic works for Deathstars, that with some more grams of make up on their faces are able to deliver a more than decent performance during the short time that they are allowed to play on stage. I stay to see the American band Korn, which is heading the night show. I have encountered feelings for them, since I associate Nu Metal with a period of crisis for my beloved and classic heavy metal. On the other hand, the band gives a good show and I can feel, mixed with the audience in the first rows, that people are really having fun. I can look back without anger to those years when bands like Korn irrupted in the metal scene and see that mixing some styles can be always healthier for the music in general. Nonetheless, it is something that my beloved Aerosmith did many years ago when recording Walk this Way with Run DMC.

In any case, if Ville Valo ever comes to the toilet to pee close to me, I will try to erase that image from my mind and just remember his glamour on stage. That is where the truly rock stars really belong to. For the rest of the occasions…we are all just human beings with tired eyes.

{mosimage}

For several reasons, it happens that
the editorial team of FREE! Magazine has moved to Tampere for some time. Tampere was the first Finnish city where I have
lived; I came back for first time here in Autumn 2001, so it will always have a
special place in my heart. I get impressed about how fast the city has changed.
Now there are many more foreign students here and more pubs and discos,
although the essence of the city centre remains almost the same. Tampere does not have the advantage of sea
access like Helsinki or Turku, and its architecture is honestly
quite ugly: just brick buildings that shows clearly the working class origins
of the city. But those same origins make Tampere people quite open and
friendly, maybe not so nose-up as in some of the other biggest Finnish cities.
Although also being located in the geographical south, Tampere is a kind of Finnish heart that
puts in contact most of the important regions in Finland. And it even has space for a decent
industry. Although obviously far from the big Helsinki area, Tampere is still more attractive than Turku for industries, specially IT
companies, that have opened headquarters in Hervanta area surrounding the giant
of the giants: Nokia. Hervanta is the zone of Tampere that has grown more
brutally in just 6-7 years. Before there were just some buildings around the Technical University, and nowadays the visitor cannot
almost recognize it. And expansion goes on…

Maybe, if you are looking for a
beautiful city with amazing architecture, Tampere is not for you, but if you are
student and you are deciding a good destiny, this city has a lot to offer. Tampere is buzzing with student activities,
parties, courses, etc. It is big enough not to be boring but also small to have
easy access to everything, and student life is organized, but relaxed. If you
can visit here, do not miss the chance to visit Telakka, a peculiar place in
the whole Finland: a wooden house with two floors,
having been founded and ruled by actors. In the first floor you can enjoy a
nice coffee or a delicious meal, while in the second there are often theatre
plays. One of my favourite places to kill time, with a great atmosphere.

{mosimage}

Foreigner gave an excellent show, although I thought that they could
have chosen a better repertoire, taking into account that it was their first
visit to Estonia. In any case, every time I go to a
rock concert and wander around the first rows, the idea of catching a guitar
pick crosses my mind. It must be my collector’s side, but I find these small
rewards almost as good as interviewing bands face to face. I was surprised
about the huge amount of young girls in the first rows; I was kind of expecting
older heavy metal guys in leather jackets, but that made easier the movements
to reach the precious pick. To catch a guitar pick in a concert is a bit of an
art: you have to analyze the situation and the artists´atittudes. There are the
kinds of musicians who throw one hundred guitar picks in every show (like Malmsteem or the members of Whitesnake). In that case, the strategy
is just to reach first rows, be alert, and soon or later a pick will be in your
hand. But there is nothing so rewarding like getting one pick where only a few
chosen ones can have the good luck. That was the case with Foreigner. I waited
until the end of the show, gazed at the roadie giving a handful of 3-4 picks to
the guitar player located in front of me, advanced using my elbows a bit in
front of him…and Bingo! The pick is mine! A taste of rock glory in my pocket!

Later, it was the turn of Alice Cooper. I seem to be doomed when it is
about Alice Cooper’s concerts. 3 years ago I missed them in Tampere when I already had bought my
ticket, and this time I could see only half of the show, since we had to catch
a bus at night. The point is that there I am, in fourth or fifth row, preparing
my girlfriend’s camera to take an excellent picture, concentrated that no arms
are in the middle between Alice and me…and, bang! I noticed something hitting my
head. He had thrown his stick directly to the zone where I was, and I did not
notice. So no picture and no stick… It must be that burnt witches do not like
much to be captured in photographies. Behind me, a total war was taking place,
with people fighting, pushing, almost punching, beers flying around… so it
was totally impossible to take the stick. Well, fortunately no big damage in my
forehead, but I had the glory so close…

It was time to leave, and all in all, 2 excellent rock shows and one
more guitar pick to add to my small but cosy collection. If you have the chance
to go and see Foreigner next Thursday in Helsinki, just go ahead!

The evening was promising at the
beginning. Lots of free drinks and food and a warm reception at the pub close
to the venue. But organization turned into a chaos due to the tight schedule
and I was really afraid that I would leave the place without my desired
interview. We were move in a rush to the zone close to the dressing rooms. Artists
were coming from the backstage for a short photo session and back to the
restricted area. There I could see Jenni
Vartiainen (who was looking astonishing and taller than I imagined)
together with Tidjan, the male
member of Kwan, and some other
popular people like Antti Tuisku (who
was looking shorter than I imagined) or the guys from The Giant Leap. Tarja
Turunen was a prey for the photographers, very elegant in a Marimekko black
dress, while I was not able to contact the person from her record company. The
interview seemed lost, so we went to take a look at the rehearsals. And there
was the little Anna Abreu: splendid
and sensual, with a vitality that should not surprise since she is only 17.

Being half Portuguese, it was clear that she could understand some Spanish, and
there we went with a surrealistic conversation where four different languages
were mixed in 5 minutes. As she explained, no time for after party for our
young lady; she had to come back home early after her performance to study for
an exam. But she still had time to break the rules and smoke a cigarette inside
Jäähälli under the passive supervision of the security man before the crowd
started to arrive to enjoy the show. Anna Abreu gave us good luck, since just
when we came back inside we got a short but fruitful interview with a very
friendly Tarja Turunen. The show had good and bad moments, and Anna and Tarja
were undoubtedly the most awaited ones by the audience. Time to go, and there
on the floor of Jäähälli lies the cigarette that Anna Abreu smoked some minutes
before. Even the tight rules in Finland get a bit more flexible with the
charming personality of this little volcano. There will be always some
privileged ones. Our dear Anna shone on and off stage like a little flame
coming from a languid cigarette breaking the cold darkness of an empty sport
hall.

Time ago, when I was working or
studying, Monday was (like i suppose for most of the people in the same
situation) the most hated day of the week.

Saturday was great and relaxed; on
Sunday I started to feel a particular stomach ache while assimilating the
connection again with the harsh reality and to feel the anxiety that the good
free time was over…and on Monday morning the same resignation to face a long
and monotonous week, until Thursday (…I am in Love), when the light at the end
of the tunnel was visible again.

But now, being unemployed in
Finland, I am looking forward Mondays with the same anxiety with which not a
long time ago I was waiting for Fridays. Monday is a great day: new job offers
in the recruiting websites, people answering emails and phonecalls at their
office, a new hope that the luck will be with me this time. And when Friday
comes…oh my god!, Finnish start not to answer emails, to leave early from their
jobs with their minds full of week end plans at the cottage or at the nearest
pub and my last hope of getting a job interview, a couple of lines that could make me feel like a worthy human being again, and not like a person whose profile is not suitable for the required position, fades away.

3 days of agony and desperation
until Monday comes and the cycle starts again. So I can only wait and pray to
get a job soon for starting to hate Mondays (like any other civilized human
being) again.

I was having a
cup of coffee this afternoon with Andres,
one of the members of Bullfrog Brown,
the most internationally recognized Estonian blues band. Andres belongs to that
selected and admiring group of people with a very good background and
journalistic and musical knowledge, but difficulties to find a good job that
really could reward his skills. Even though, he dedicates a lot of effort
and even his own money to his passion:
his band and the music.

As one of the
creators of FREE! Magazine, a
publication that walks on the thin line of the professionalism (by studies and
background of the editors) and amateurism (since we do not get basically any
economical reward for doing this, neither any official support), I find a
special pleasure and connection when chatting with another person who shares a
similar vision of life and circumstances. There is almost a special kind of
guilty pleasure in putting all the efforts in something that maybe will never
bring recognition (at least in economical terms).

The point is
that we go through many topics and stories, and one that comes is the lack of
professionalism of some promoters. I don´t want to give any particular names,
but sometimes you must really make an effort to understand how bands so much
needed of promotiong and help by the journalists ignore the basic rules of the
game. Few weeks ago I was denied by a promoter the possibility to meet for a
face to face interview with a band that was exceptionally geographically very
near me , while some days later their label company, whose responsible is
usually more accurate and effective professional, offered me the chance to meet
them, writing me… from far England. Well, too late, I had just sent a
questionnarie, the basic solution in these cases…that was sent back by the
promoter quite late, giving some vague exuses and provoked more than one
problem for the editorial team. A perfect example of throwing stones against
your own house.

If something I
learn day after day, is that you should show respect and interest for
everybody, no matters the first impression that can give to you, since you
never know whom you can offend with a non right atittude. Baltic or
Scandinavian countries are not so big, and often you meet the same people from
the same industry sooner or later. But well, I want to believe that it is a
question of time that attitudes will improve. My advice for the so many new
bands trying to find their space in the market: if you have a promoter or
manager, try that he gets the shit properly done. And a nice relation with the
media is essential. Sometimes a couple of nicely sentences in an email can make
the difference for a future business and promotion relation.

Another issue
that I discussed with Andres is that I do not understand the attitude of some
DVD distributors in Finland, with their “palautus” (return) policy for the film
sample copies. That means you have to review a film and send it back to the
house in a few days. FREE! Magazine cannot track or send the dvds back, since
the collaborators take care of them, and even though keeping the copies is
needed in most of the cases for future articles. But I wonder : what is the big
deal for companies that spend thousand of euros in promotion, not making the
little effort to give some more copies of dvds that can cost 10-15 euro per
unit? For me, it is an awesome good deal for those companies, that get
promotion and potential customers for that minimum cost. The record companies,
thanks god, do not follow the same trend. A good digipak edition of a cd can
cost perfectly around 20-25 euro in any shop, more than many dvds, but so far,
the film companies are the only ones following that policy. Once more, I just
advice the people to invest a bit of time and energy in good relations and
smooth communication with the new media, instead of  the silence for an answer.