Category: Music

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Albums Music

Brothers of a Feather – Live at the Roxy

{mosimage}Although
not as popular as other contemporaries, The Black Crowes have grown up to the
status of a classic rock band. After a 4-year hiatus, brothers Chris and Rich
Robinson got together again in 2005 and offered some of the band’s most
outstanding performances ever. In 2006, besides touring with the Crowes, the
Robinson brothers also offered a few special shows as an acoustic duo .(electric sometimes) The cd / dvd
Brothers of a Feather: Live at the Roxy offers the highlights of a series of
concerts in Los Angeles.

Coming from
artists with a good amount of hits behind, one might expect an unplugged
greatest hits type of album. Not quite right. As a matter of fact, this Live at
the Roxy hardly includes Black Crowes hits or songs. The set is a very
interesting mix of few Black Crowes originals, unreleased songs, b-sides,
covers, songs from the solo albums and even two new songs.

This way the
set remains fresh and new, discovering a new side of the Robinsons’ music. They
dig deep into traditional American folk music. The covers include songs by Gene
Clark (Polly), John Martyn (Over the Hill) or David Wiffin (Driving Wheel), and
a little bit more known are Lowell George’s Roll Um Easy and Bob Dylan’s
Forever Young.

The album
keeps a laid back pace, bringing an intimate and warm feeling. There are not
loud guitar riffs by Rich or screams by Chris, but there’s no need. The music
speaks by itself and it is soulful. Both brothers deliver very good harmonies.
Even the guitarist sings a couple of songs.

If the
rarities and the covers are not enough, the brothers also present two new
songs: Cold Boy Smile and Magic Rooster Blues. These are probably the best
songs both have written together in ten years. There will be a new Black Crowes
album next year. If these new songs can be a hint, one of the best Black Crowes
can be expected.

Brothers of
a Feather is released a in cd/dvd combo. The film brings even a more intimate
feeling. Maybe it’s the bare stage in small theater, with just rack next to the
brothers to places the hat and the coat. Of course, they feel like home on
stage. The dvd includes six more songs. Some of them feature the guest
appearance of sax player Dave Ellis, who adds some nice extra sounds to the
mix. So the female backing vocalists do. They add the extra “black sound” that
The Black Crowes music needs.

Most likely
this set will not sell much, apart of the regular fan base. In spite of their
early success, the Robinson brothers have alienated themselves too much from
wide audiences. However, Brothers of a Feather is a testimony of two of the most talented rock artists to come up in the last
20 years in their most intimate space. Two grown up artists, with many shows behind and a deep love and
knowledge about music. Not just another live album, but a unique collection of songs. Superb.

Rating 5/5 

Categories
Albums Music

RATT – Tell the world

{mosimage}Do you remember the eighties? And how the glam scene was dominating the
charts?

American bands coming mostly from the sleazy Los Angeles scene like Dokken,
Poison, Mötley Crüe, or Faster Pussycat,
with tons of make-up, an androgynous image and a lot ease on stage that was
able to turn male and female audiences crazy. And RATT was one of the
sexiest bands of that era; straight guitar riffs from the excellent Warren
DeMartini mixed with excellent lyrics that made them have a place in the
heart of millions of listeners.

For those of you who were too young to enjoy the “glammy” movement, now
you have the chance to rediscover the band, or just to jump a couple of decades
back in time with this greatest hits edited by Atlantic. 20 featured
tracks, material gathered mostly from their first and most successful four
albums although you can find also a couple of songs at the end from the latest
90s: Steel
River and Way Cool
Jr. from their MTV Unplugged).

Listen again to the catchy chorus
of Round and Round, the powerful lyrics in I want a Woman, the
killer opening riff in You are in Love or the sultry Nobody rides for
Free.  RATT continues alive nowadays
in 2007, but only two original members are left after continuous formation
changes over the last years and the death of the guitarist Robin Crosby
in 2002.

If you already had the 91 RATT´s compilation called Ratt ´n Roll 8191,
probably this album is not going to add much to your collection, since the
material is quite similar, but for fans and new incomers, this is an excellent
chance to get some taste from the fabulous eighties.

Rating 4/5

Categories
Albums Music

Nightwish – Dark Passion Play

{mosimage}Finally Nightwish´s
new album, featuring their new singer, the Swedish Anette Olzon, is out
in the streets. Worse or better than in the old era?

Nightwish´s Dark
Passion Play has been finally released, and the comparisons between the new
singer, Anette Olzon, and the previous one, the charismatic Tarja Turunen,
are impossible to avoid. Is the new singer better? Is she worse? Is the change
going to affect the quality of Nightwish?

Well, obviously
the first feeling when you listen to the album is that Anette´s voice is not
the same than Tarja´s voice. Anette sings with passion and sweetness, but in a
different register, while Turunen´s opera background made her one of a kind. Tuomas
Holopainen´s songwriting reaches here his best, clean and emotive lyrics
that really transport you to a new and fantasy world. The record is exquisitely
produced; the design of the cover and inside booklet is one of the best I have
seen so far during last year, and the option in the special edition of
listening in the CD 2 only the instrumental version of the full album is great.
The first track: The Poet and the Pendulum is one of my favorite ones,
together with Cadence of her Last Breath and Eva, where Nightwish
knows how to explode greatly the more intimate tone of their ballads. The
background vocals also acquired a bigger and better importance here than in
previous albums. But, and there is always one “but”… I cannot avoid missing Tarja´s
voice. It is almost impossible to forget the sound of (maybe together with Liv
Kristine) the best female voice in hard rock and heavy metal worldwide
scene. Some few bands achieved successfully the change of main singer (like ACDC
or Black Sabbath) but many others were never the same until they came
back to their roots (look at Iron Maiden, who remembers today Blaze
Bayley?).

For those who come
to listen to Dark Passion Play without prejudices and with an open mind,
undoubtedly this is a good metal album with strokes of quality all over it. But
for the others who were used to the old singer, maybe they can feel a bit
disappointed after the comparison. Time and more albums will tell if Nightwish
will be able to skip the shadow of Turunen´s voice that hangs over the band.

Rating 3/5

Categories
Albums Music

Mark Knopfler – Kill to Get Crimson

{mosimage}The charismatic
ex-leader and guitar player of Dire Straits, owner of an almost
unpronounceable surname, is back with his fifth solo album. 

We are not going
to discover at this point the great musical and composing skills of Mark
Knopfler, a man whose legend as creator of melodies for Dire Straits
as well as scoring music for classic soundtracks such as The Princess Bride,
Last Exit to Brooklyn or Call is
undeniable and has turned him into one of a kind.

Now, with his
fifth solo studio album, Kill to get Crimson, Knopfler achieves
his maybe more cohesive album. A record with fascinating lyrics and immaculate
guitar playing starting from the first couple of songs and spreading all over
the album. Good start with the more commercial True Love Will never Fade and
excellent guitar skills in The Scaffolder´s Wife. You will find again
excellent songwriting showing that Knopfler knows how to explore all the
greatness and miseries of humankind, turning them into simple beautiful
melodies with a touch of melancholy; perfect songs to listen in a dark corner
of a pub with a pint of beer in your hand or while relaxing in your favorite
sofa at home.

Here and there you
can perceive some glimpses to and old timely Celtic spirit in compositions
accompanied by accordions and fiddles. English pub rhythms mixed with waltzes
like In Heart Full of Holes or in Secondary Waltz, and catchy
chorus that will be part of your heart almost instantly once you listen to them.
And a tune with the exact dose of mischief that could perfectly have been
written during the Dire Straits times: Punish the monkey. Great stuff
from an unique composer and guitar player.

Rating: 5/5

Categories
Albums Music

Yes – Symphonic Live

{mosimage}Re-release
in DVD in Finland of the classic show offered by Yes in Amsterdam during
their tour in 2001, when they fulfilled their dream of playing together with an
orchestra.

It seems
that symphonic rock is living a new golden era with new generations and old
fans rediscovering the mega bands that reached fame at the end of the 70s and
beginnings of the 80s. Recently we saw the appearance of a new DVD of Asia
featuring his old masterful guitarist Steve Howe, who stars again in
this re-release of the concert offered by Yes in Amsterdam during the 2001 tour: Yes
Symphonic Live.

This time
they enjoy the company on stage of the European Festival Orchestra, directed by
Wilhelm Keitel. Young and talented musicians who give a fresh note
backing the old monsters of rock. They provide dynamic introductions for the
songs, a lot of smiles and a good spirit that creates an excellent feeling on
stage and with the audience.

I must admit
that I have never been a fan of rock concerts where you have to seat in front
of the stage. For me rock is often associated with sweating, standing, clapping
hands, jumping and forgetting yourself for a couple of hours, but nevertheless
here you can really see the audience, composed by old and young people quite
equally, quite excited standing continuously and cheering up the band. The
vocalist Jon Anderson looks a bit forced in his speeches to the public
(sometimes he is funny, sometimes he pretends to be) but the quality of his
voice is undeniable. My favourite parts of the show are at the beginning with Close
to the Edge, and later with the classics Gates of Delirium and Starship
Trooper. The new song Don´t go from Magnification album
released that same year also sounds excellent and harmonious with the
older hits. Roundabout puts the big end to the show with the orchestra
standing by the band, and although it was never one of my favourites, it is
still highly appreciated by the fans.

All in all,
what can you expect of a symphonic rock band accompanied by a symphonic
orchestra? Well, an overdose of symphonic music. The show sometimes feels
excessive, and although I am sure that many Yes fans will enjoy every
minute of it, I found myself a bit bored during some instrumental parts. Maybe
157 minutes of symphonic rock can turn to be too much if you don’t make pauses
or have a couple of bottles of wine while watching the show. The sound quality
is nevertheless excellent and the replacement keyboard player, the young Tom
Brislin connects perfectly with the rest of the band.

For many old
fans and unconditional followers of Yes, this could be probably the definite
DVD to be purchased. In my opinion, although with some brilliant parts, it
turns to be a bit too much excessive.

Rating 3/5

Categories
Concerts Music

No Sweet Home Chicago!

{mosimage}

"The
atmosphere was amazing! When I was playing, it felt like I was playing to my
friends – the crowd was really responsive and we were all riding a wave upon
which the distinction between performer and audience melted away," L.R.
Phoenix says of the first Floating Cockroach alt.blues festival, held on the
restaurant boat Wäiski in Helsinki on 29th September.

The
English-born Joensuu resident and his "aboriginal" drummer Mika
Vauhkonen kick off the proceedings with a celebration of their brand new EP, The Hypnotic Songs of The Forgotten Dead. The title of the record
being the last reminder of the duo's heavy metal history, they turn in an
energetic set of electric hill country blues; the crowd is gathering, the room
is getting hot.

Next
up is Bullfrog Brown, but as I have the good fortune to constitute 1/3 of that
group, I'm not going to voice an opinion here – festival organizer Jukka
Juhola's kind comment "the gentlemen's live show is great to watch"
will have to do. With Tuomari Nurmio next in line, people keep piling in, and
by the time we finish, there are actually more than 300 people crammed into a
room fit for 250 – that's including the performers and according to Juhola.

"Is
he… alone?!" a long-haired rocker gasps as the honorable Judge is taking
the stage. Yes he is, and has absolutely no problem filling the stage, the room
and the air with his raw and rugged electric blues that sounds positively
ageless. Spicing his set with a few mutilated cover versions ranging from Hank
Williams to the Beatles, Tuomari Nurmio must be the undisputed star of the
evening for many; I tend to agree. The boat is steaming.

A
change of pace, and 22-Pistepirkko's PK Keränen and the Gambian percussionist
Janko Manneh embark on a journey deeper into the vast treasure trove we know as
the blues. Paradoxically, while their set is the most primal and blatantly
African in nature, it is also the most distinctly Finnish-sounding performance
of the night. The people appreciate that, and the house keeps rocking.

Midnight
tolls. By now, it is obvious that this is a festival unlike any other I've
witnessed. The bands are on schedule. The sound is great. The audience seems
happy and genuinely thrilled, and not once has anyone shouted: "Play Paranoid!" Also, and perhaps most strikingly, there is no
banner advertising drinks or newspapers or anything else on the stage – no,
Katja Juhola's fantastic blues paintings provide the perfect backdrop for the
show.

It's
time for Black River Bluesman & The Croaking Lizard, the latest and
greatest of Jukka Juhola's own alt.blues quartets, fresh from the Himalayan
Blues Festival in Kathmandu. Possibly the heaviest act on the bill, the
audience reaction is best illustrated by the fact that this is where the
schedule finally fails: Black River Bluesman's encores make Cosmo Jones late
for the stage.

Towards
the end of the good Bluesman's footstomping set, the rows of the audience seem
to thin somewhat: some have been rocking since 8 p.m. and simply drop, others
run to catch the first thing smoking or – to put it less poetically and more to
the point – to catch the last bus home. But there's plenty to remain, and the
joint is still jumping as Cosmo Jones Beat Machine hits the stage in the wee
hours of the morning. It's a big band, and a loud band, and the crowd is
spellbound by their mixture of eastern melodies, atonal cartoon-soundtrack
sounds and, yes, the blues.

"I think we were successful in creating a whole: each
set fit the spot perfectly, no two bands were alike, and the audience seemed to
dig every performer without reservation," Jukka Juhola says a few days
later. "I think the biggest difference compared to a regular blues
festival was that we didn't get to hear Sweet Home Chicago not once
during the evening – and there were NO wailing guitar solos!"

Indeed, at a time when the Blues In London e-zine is
marketing T-shirts with the happily dyslexic and heartfelt slogan "Clapton
Is Dog", Finland is right on the ball. As plans for next year's fest are being
discussed, the non-profit organization behind it, Alt.Blues Finland ry, will be
putting together a Finnish tour for the Italian Papa Leg Acoustic Duo featuring
Stefania Calandra in February 2008. According to Juhola, that just might
include a Floating Cockroach club night with 3-4 bands; if
not, the alt.blues boat is due to set sail again next September. 

Photos by Mira Kumpulainen

Front page: Bullfrog Brown

Inside: PK Keränen, Tuomari Nurmio, Janko Manneh

Categories
Interviews Music

She’s not an idols star

{mosimage}Janita is
one of the most sensual Finnish singers. A teenage star in Finland, she moved
to New York when she was 17. During eleven years there, Janita has built a
solid career based on an elegant R&B of soulful and jazzy sounds. While on
holidays in Helsinki, the singer took a bit of time to speak with FREE! about her
career and future plans.

How do you
remember your first years in the music business?

I was a
kid, 13-14 years old and I grew up very fast. When I was 17 I felt like an
adult. I wasn’t, though. This time was one of the best parts of my life. I met
a lot of people. Everybody was older than me so I learned a lot from them.
Getting into touring, performing, having an 11 piece band… That was pretty
amazing for such a young age. I was able to fulfill my dreams.

And you
didn’t need to participate in Idols.

No, no.
This happens a long time ago. 15 years ago!

You were
also very young when you decided to move to New York

New York was
something exciting and new. I had some interests from record labels. There was
something going on there. But it has been a struggle to find my place there.
There are so many artists and everybody has to struggle for his existence. I
felt that I had the freedom to really find my own voice. New York gives you the
opportunity to find who you are as a person.

Why did you
decide to go there?

Finland is
a small place. After a while in the business, you know everybody. Everybody is
expecting certain things from you. Growth is harder. Everybody thinks you are
one kind of person, but in reality one is changing all the time. Sometimes when
people expect something from you, you stop growing. In a place like New York
you have to keep growing, to try to find new things. You have to evolve. It’s
lovely to know everyone here in Finland. I love that aspect but it can be
restricting too.

How was
playing live for the first time there?

It was very
liberating. Here everybody knew my face, my name and there I had freedom. Nobody
knew me. Fame can complicate your life.

How do you
feel when you come back to Finland?

It’s great.
I love this country. My roots are here, although I have spent already almost half
of my life in the States. I feel part American, part Finnish. Honestly. But my
roots and my family are here. But I love coming back and spending time in
Finland.

Do you know any
Finnish people there?

I have some
friends and my partner in crime is Finnish. We speak Finnish all the time of
course. I haven’t forgotten it. I speak it perfectly still. And I read books in
Finnish too. I am proud of it. I would hate to lose part of it.

In New
York, you had an accident that it was a turning point for you. What did it
happen?

It was in
my first years there. I was walking down the street and scaffolding fell and
hit my neck and back. It made me realize some things. I used to be very shy.
Typical Finnish: very humble, introverted, trying not to make a big thing about
myself. Finns are brought up that way. But it’s tough when you are too shy to
start creating. For me songwriting was something I only dreamt about it. I
didn’t have the balls to do it. After the accident, I realized how fragile life
is. I needed to express myself and do everything I want to do. You don’t know
how long you are going to be here. Things can change in one moment. That’s when
I started to get over my shyness.

What was
the first song you wrote?

I’ve been
writing some things here and then, but the first real song I wrote was Heaven.
It’s a very easy song, but it has a deeper meaning for me and I know. People
might not realize it or find other meanings.

It must be
funny when people give a different meaning to your songs.

I think
it’s great that you write a song about something that happened to your life and
somebody else finds a different meaning. That’s the whole point of it.
Everybody has their own life and his own way of thinking. That’s very positive.
Nobody has to thinks in the same terms as I do.

Are you afraid
of critics and reviews?

No, because
so far they have been pretty good. There’s no need to be scared. I’m still
finding my way, my audience. I think there are more and more people listening
to my music, but I still have lot of work to do.

Were you in
New York when the 9/11 happened?

I was in
Brooklyn. I heard of it because my mother called me. Everybody was awake in
Finland, but I was sleeping in New York. I turned on the TV and saw what was
happening. I felt it. I felt when the towers came down. All the smoke came to
Brooklyn. The smell of it lasted for four months. You couldn’t escape it. It
stayed in your mind.

Do you
follow Finnish music?

A little
bit. I checked Iltalehti and Ilta-Sanomat from time to time. I feel proud when
a Finnish band do well. But I don’t listen to the radio that much. I discover
new music from friends, recommendations.

Any favourite
Finnish singers?

I saw Risto
at the Flow festival. It was great. Also Tuomo. And Jaana is my friend and a
wonderful singer. There are many

Your last
album so far is from last year, Seasons of Life. How did it do?

Fine. I’ve
performed around the States a bit and I went to Japan twice. I get emails from
people who really reacted to the album and felt the music. That’s wonderful. I
always wanted to do music that it’s meaningful for people. How many people? It
does not really matter.

How was
Japan?

I loved it.
I’ve only been to Tokyo, though. But for a Finn, it feels pretty easy, almost
like home. The culture, the quite and shy style of the Japanese people… It
feels easy for me.

In that
album you did a cover of Depeche Mode’s Enjoy the Silence. Was it your choice?

The label
wanted a cover and luckily I could decide which one. Normally covers are
no-brainers. You usually choose something easy. I could have done something
from Stevie Wonder, for example. But this time I wanted to do something
different and Depeche Mode has always been one of my favorite bands, so I
thought it would be a good idea to make this cover. It’s a beautiful song.

Are you
working on new music?

I keep on
doing new music, but it is going to be more edgy. I’ve been listening to a lot
of alternative rock and some folk music. I feel like those things are
influencing me. Before I was more into soul and jazz. Now I’m expanding my
horizons.

What are
your favourite bands and artists at the moment?

Death Cab
For Cutie, Keen, Jeff Buckley, Crosby, Stills & Nash and one Brazilian
singer from the seventies, Milton Nascimento.

 

Photos by Eduardo Alonso 

Categories
Interviews Music

A quick q&a with Martti Vainaa

{mosimage}Martti
Vainaa & Sallitut Aineet. This pop band went big with the song Pelimies.
Even The Smurfs covered this hit. Moving towards a disco direction, the band
released last May a new single, Toinen Nainen, and prepares a new album for
this autumn.


What's the
background of the band? Where did you guys meet and come together as
a group?

Max is from
Jyväskylä, which is also the place where this band was formed. The others
have spent their early years in Pieksämäki. They actually have known each
other for many years before this band started in 2001 as a trio. The first
three members were Max, Dan and Dick. Lazy and Wolf joined finally in 2005.


When and
where was the band's first gig?

On the 20th
of May 2001.


What was it like to hear your song on the radio for the first time?

We felt
like singing along. Not! But close.


Since our
readers are mainly non-Finns can you explain/translate the band's name
for us? 

It's easy.
The name is: The Late Martin And The Legal Substances.


One of the
big questions many Finnish bands face is deciding whether to 
sing in
Finnish or English. What made the band decide to sing in Finnish
as opposed
to English?

We sing
stuff that is so down to earth so it's got to be the native caveman
language, Finnish. Even though Max writes some of our songs first in
English.


So, you are
currently in the studio and working on a new album. What can fans expect
of the new single/album? Are you moving in a new direction?

It is going
to be more dance and more pop, but also more rock. What can we say?
Hope you like it. The single is called Toinen nainen and it's in
stores since May. The album release is in autumn.

What can
you tell us about your hit song Pelimies?

They are
still playing it in restaurants and clubs, and that's cool. It is a
sporty song with a hint of night and lovelife.


What has
been the effect of your success with the song Pelimies on the band?

We got a
record deal and some special fans because of it.


What has
been the highlight of the band's career so far?

The
"Onnellinen nyt" tour during which we were welded together as a
group.


What's it
like to have The Smurfs cover your hit song Pelimies?

It's an
honor…


Finally
what are the band's plans for the coming months? Touring?

We are
currently in the studio, but we'll make just enough touring to keep us in shape
for autumn.

 

Name: Max
Poster                                                 Name: Lazy
Diamond

Born:
17th October in Jyväskylä                               Born: 14th March in Pieksämäki

Instrument:
Vocals                                                 Instrument:
Drums

Any Former
Bands: Duo Väkisin                                Any Former
Bands: About a dozen bands in childhood

Hobbies:
Floorball, music, running                            Hobbies:
Running, reading and radio

 

Name: Dick
Burner                                                 Name: Dan
Suker

Born:
11th February in Pieksämäaki                          Born 22nd February in Pieksämäki

Instrument:
Keyboards                                            Instrument:
Guitar

Any Former
Bands: So many                                    Any Former
Bands: Several (currently also Portrait of Beyond)

Hobbies: Texas Hold'em, jogging,
floorball, reading    Hobbies:
Agriculture, taekwondo, languages, history

 

Name: Wolf
Gustav

Born: 22nd July in Pieksämäki 

Instrument:
Bass

Any Former
Bands: Aikuiset Naiset, Pikku Enkeli

Hobbies:
Outdoor activities, music, internet, Pro Evolution Soccer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Interviews Music

Lauri’s ethnic futuristic rock’n’roll

{mosimage}Lauri
Tähkä and Elonkerjuu
are definitely a fresh band with a very personal style, rooted deeply in their
native South Ostrobothnia region, different from most of the others that wander
the Finnish rock and roll music scene. On the 19th of September they release
their new album, Tuhannen Riemua. With the first single, Hetkeksi
ei Sulle Rupia, scoring very high in the radio charts, Lauri kindly found
some moments to introduce his projects to the readers of FREE!


 

Tell
us more about who is Lauri Tähkä. About your past, and how you started to get
involved in music business until nowadays.

Lauri
Tähkä is a singer and songwriter in a band called Elonkerjuu. I love being out
on a gig and making music. I was born in Finland, South Ostrobothnia, in Teuva,
which has about 6,500 inhabitants. 

Do
you have any special singer or band that you admire?

I don’t
have any specific singers or bands that I actually admire. I respect them
rather than admire. 

Your
music style is a bit different from other pop/rock bands, with more roots into
Finnish traditional music. Tell us why that approach to this music style and
what features can make the music of your band different from other Finnish
bands. 

We are an
ethnicfuturisticrock’n’roll band that uses the dialect of South Ostrobothnia in
its lyrics. 

Introduce
us a bit to your band Elonkerjuu. How did you started to play together? 

Us boys
have played together for fifteen years and when we started to do
ethnicfuturisticrock’n’roll we wanted to take Johanna along. There just weren’t
any other players in Teuva than us at that time. We have been playing with this
composition for about seven years. We have released five albums and been on
about 500 gigs. 

I
know that you also play “solo” just with your guitar. Actually I saw you in one
show for one private company last year in Manala in Helsinki. Do you play alone
often?

There was
a very nice gang of people in Manala and the atmosphere was great. I go
out on about 3 to 5 solo gigs per year. The gigs with the band take up so much
time that there just isn’t time for any more. 

Talking
about you playing solo, you participated last year in this album with other
many notorious Finnish artists, Soolot, with people there like Jonna
Tervomaa or even Ville Valo. You had this song: Synkkien laulujen maa.
How did you get involved in the project?

The
producer Riku Mattila asked me in on it. It was a great project! 

It
seems also that you are quite popular with the female public. Your image is
warmer than most of other Finnish singers, even you look more “latino”. How do
you assume the contact with the public? 

Hehehe…
Being a performer and going out on gigs is my job, which I love and enjoy. I
don’t think it’s stressing at all! Latino comparison was quite surprising. I
guess The South Ostrobothnians are the Finnish Latinos, hehehe… I have not
consciously created a Latino image. 

Maailma
on Renki,
your first album with Universal, was a kind of breakthrough in your career,
becoming a platinum album. Does this cause pressure on you now that you ´ll
release a new one: Tuhannen Riemua? 

It’s true
that Maailma on Renki has sold over 45000 copies and it’s been a real
surprise. I just can say that we have enjoyed making Tuhannen Riemua.
The songs came easily. 

Please,
tell us more about the new album. In which ways is different (or similar) to
the previous works. Do you have any special songs from the album you like most? 

I love
our album and even though it might sound like a cliché, I think it’s our best
album yet. It’s dynamic! We worked with this album longer than with the others,
which made the project quite hard but rewarding and interesting as well. My
favourite song is Susipihan portilla. 

What
Lauri Tähkä want to achieve in the future? 

A long
career in the music business as a songwriter.

Any
message for the readers? 

Keep The Baltic Sea clean!

Categories
Albums Music

Asia – Fantasia

{mosimage}Asia, the progressive rock super band from
the eighties is back with its four original members in a DVD that celebrates
the 25th anniversary of the release of their first and acclaimed
album Asia.

The release
of the album Asia provoked a lot
of controversy among the followers of progressive rock. For many, it was
welcomed as one of the best albums of the decade. For others, it was a betrayal
to the style due to the excessive commercial touch of the lyrics. In any case,
and after several years when Asia did not enjoy much success, time has passed
by and history makes justice with this DVD filmed in Tokyo in March 2007 that
commemorates the 25h anniversary of the release of their first album, with the
4 original members: Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and John Wetton reunited in a
tour that made dreams come true for many old fans.

Although
obviously the band does not sound as compact as it could be after so many years
of separation, the skilled musicians are able to display an entertaining and
plain show. 2 hours of music where Asia play
old classics that have turned into real history of rock as Sole Survivor
or Heat of the Moment (too much extended version for my taste) and also
every member of the band add 1 song brought from their other projects. One
Step Closer sounds emotive while Video Killed the Radio Star sounds
funny. Later on Steve Howe wins the audience over with their solos playing the
mandolin and the Spanish guitar, although across some moments in the concert he
seems to be lost and not totally comfortable on stage. John Wetton´s vocal
skills sound superb, Carl Palmer shows once more how amazingly good he is
behind the drums, but somebody should advise Geoff Downes about his dressing
style; the man would have been perfectly taken from “Spinal Tap 2.0 progressive
rock version”… The sound of the show is clean and with excellent quality but we
miss a bit more of interaction of the public all along the DVD (maybe this can
be due to the post-production more than to the coldness of Japanese fans).

To sum up,
this is a product that probably won’t make feel especially excited to metal
headers and fans of Lordi, but that surely will delight all those lovers
of progressive rock and old Asia fans.

Rating 4/5 

Categories
Albums Music

Heaven & Hell – Live

{mosimage}In 1979,
Black Sabbath fired Ozzy Osbourne and replaced him with Ronnie James Dio. As
the history has proved, this turned to be a very fortunate incident. Ozzy
started a tremendously successful solo career and Black Sabbath revitalized
itself, updating its sound and recording with Dio two studio albums (Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules) that would put the band in the front line of heavy metal
in the eighties.

 

{sidebar id=30}This year,
this second version of Black Sabbath reunited for the first time in more than
15 years. The Black Sabbath name was put side and Tony Iommi, Dio, Geezer
Butler and Vinny Appice have toured the world under the name of Heaven &
Hell. To testify this tour, the band has released a double cd and a dvd
recorded live in New York earlier this year.

As the
matter of fact, what we found in Heaven & Hell: Live at the Radio City
Music Hall 2007 is a good representation of the two concerts that the band
offered in Finland some months ago in Tampere at the Sauna Open Air and in
Helsinki. The setlist and show are very similar. They bring the best of the
Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules albums, as well as a few songs from the album
Dehumanizer, released in 1992 during the first reunion of this line-up.

As they
showed in Finland, the band is in a good shape and its members they wouldn’t
show its age if not for the images in the dvd. Dio, 63, still has a powerful
voice and is a great frontman. Iommi is an impressive guitar player. Usually
underrated in the lists of guitar heroes, he delivers riff after riff, strong
and heavy. So does bassist Geezer Butler. They are two masters.

The band
plays all the hits of this era of Black Sabbath: Die Young, Children of the
Sea, The Mob Rules, Neon Knights… Excellent, indeed. Although, this new live
album might not bring anything new, it is a great change to revamp these great
songs and show them in a well done dvd. They are old, but they still rock.

Rating: 4/5

Photos by Eduardo Alonso 

Categories
Concerts Music

Soundslave

{mosimage}With no
break Chris Cornell left Audioslave and resumed his solo career with a new
album (Carry On), a hit (You Know My Name, from the Bond movie) and a new tour. Last
week, Cornell and his band stopped in Helsinki and offered a two-hour career-spanning
show at two thirds full ice hockey arena. 


I was
curious to see what kind of crowd a 43-year old Chris Cornell could draw to his
show when the nineties and his Soundgarden days are long gone. So I arrived
early and hang around the venue. There were, of course, a few Soundgarden t-shirts,
and some more of Audioslave ones too, but mostly it looked like a adult and
laid back crowd. Many of them looked like a grown up version of the cast of Singles.

{sidebar id=18}
Cornell
delivered a solid set of hits spanning his whole career that almost equally
included Soundgarden and Audioslave songs and equally divided seemed the
audience. Half of the crowd reacted to the Soundgarden songs and the other half
to Audioslave and Cornell’s solo songs. The concert started with Let Me Drown,
the opening song of the multi-selling Superunknown (1994). It followed with
another Soundgarden song Outshined and then Audioslave’s Show Me How To Live.
It was a strong start that made clear that there would not be much room for the
pop mood of many songs from Carry On.

But of
course, songs from the new album were played and so You Know My Name, which was
(unfortunately) one of the most acclaimed songs of the night. It is embarrassing
that a Bond song causes a better audience response than Rusty Cage, which was
out of place in the set list between two new songs.

The first
electric part of the concert ended with one of the best Cornell’s compositions:
Say Hello 2 Heaven from the masterpiece recorded in 1990 by Temple of the Dog,
that band that reunited Cornell with Pearl Jam members Stone Gossard, Jeff
Ament and Mike McCready and Soundgarden’s drummer Matt Cameron.

The acoustic
part of the song was fun with Cornell playing solo with his guitar. He teased
playing You Know My Name again and he played his particular version of Michael
Jackson’s Billie Jean. It’s really interesting the transformation of this song.
It sounds like a mournful ballad written by a lonely outlaw singer rather than
a song by the King of Pop.

After
another Temple of the Dog song (All Night Thing), the band joined Cornell during
Doesn’t Remind Me Half. The band started jamming and they all seemed to have fun
throwing guitar picks to each other. Before the classic Black Hole Sun, Cornell
made everybody in the seating section stand. He should have done much earlier
because the audience suddenly seemed to be much into the show. Before the
encore break, another classic: Spoonman, which this time had a drum solo.

The concert
ended with a heavy note: Slaves And Bulldozers, one of the heaviest Soundgarden
songs. It had another drum solo and some improvisation that led into Led
Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love which was a nice surprise and the cherry on top for
a good show.

The band
was ok and Chris Cornell’s voice is fine, although it’s not the wild and
powerful voice that it used to be many years ago. In any case, it sounded
clear. It helped reviving an outstanding part of the legacy of the 1990s, exciting
decade of music when the Black Hole Sun video seemed to be on MTV every half an
hour.

Front page photo by Efthimia Panagiotopoulou 

 

Categories
Features Music

Last Bluesman Standing

{mosimage}The story starts close to a river,
at a crossroad. This time it's not the Mississippi (next to which "Honeyboy"
Edwards came to this world 92 years ago) but the river Emajõgi in Tartu,
the second most important city of Estonia, and I am not waiting for a young Ralph
Macchio to go challenge the skills of Steve Vai, but for Bullfrog Brown, an Estonian
band that is going to open the show for Honeyboy Edwards in Tallinn.

The rest of the ingredients could well be taken from a classical
road movie: a ramshackle car, many miles of road ahead, and the excitement of
young guys who love blues music over all things, looking forward to the chance
of meeting and playing with one of the last blues legends, not even worrying if
they get their gasoline expenses covered or not.

David "Honeyboy" Edwards
is a true living legend. Born in Shaw in the heart of the Mississippi Delta in
1915, he is the last survivor of a generation who basically invented the blues
as we know it. An itinerant musician and gambler, surrounded by women and cheap
bottles of whisky, sleeping many a night under starry skies, Honeyboy spent his
youth wandering the American South, learning and improving his guitar skills
here and there on the dusty street corners of New Orleans, Tennessee,
Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas, playing with Charlie Patton, Tommy
Johnson, Tommy McClennan, Sonny Boy Williamson II,  Howlin' Wolf and Robert
Johnson, the legendary bluesman who – according to legend – achieved an
agreement with the Devil himself, exchanging his soul for the skills of playing
the blues like nobody else. The continuation of the story is well known to
many: Robert Johnson was poisoned with a bottle of whiskey by the owner of a bar
in Honeyboy's hometown of Greenwood,
Mississippi for having an affair
with his wife, and died at only 27 years of age in 1938. But it is heart
touching to hear the story from the lips of Honeyboy during the press
conference minutes before the show; he claims to have been really there when
everything happened: "Robert said that he was not feeling well. We knew
that he was able to drink a lot of whiskey, so we told him to drink a bit more
and that would make him feel better. But no, he did not feel any better…"

Honeyboy Edwards has arrived a few
hours earlier to the Tallinn
international airport, and after taking a nap, looks in excellent shape for a
man of his age. Never without his cap, his Southern accent is difficult to
decipher but at the same time captivating; a presence that sounds and looks
like a reminiscence of other times.

{sidebar id=13}But the most impressive feature is
how accurate and fresh Honeyboy's memory is. He is like a little encyclopedia
of blues music, and can remember places and musicians he played with six decades
ago much better than he remembers his contemporary gigs. "Yes, I played
with that guitarist of The Rolling Stones… what's his name?" he
says while chatting with some inquisitive fans. "That" guitarist is Keith
Richards, who was invited at the end of a gig to play with Honeyboy and Rocky
Lawrence three years ago at the Boxcar Café, Connecticut. I ask Honeyboy who is the most
impressive musician he has got to know in all these years of a blues life. For
a man who has played or shared stage with basically every legend of the blues
and is widely admired by more contemporary "younger" stars as Eric
Clapton or B.B. King, I'm amazed by his humble and emotive answer:
"Well, my daddy is the first musician I saw playing. He is the one who
taught me to play guitar".

One cannot be less than amazed about
Honeyboy's vitality. Sitting on a comfortable sofa at the back of the club, his
manager, Michael Frank, who will accompany Honeboy during the show
playing the harmonica, tells me that they have had almost 8 shows in a row.
"We were playing in Norway last week, then yesterday in Denmark, two days
here in Tallinn, and then to Tampere in Finland". Although having
visited and played in more than 20 countries, this is the first time that they
visit the Baltic region, and they feel really glad to have been given the
chance to play there.

One must wonder, what is the secret
for keeping going on? "Well, playing is my thing, it is what I do.
Before I played for some pennies or a bit of whiskey, now I am lucky I get paid
for this", Honeyboy jokes. And it's not like he keeps himself fit by
leading an austere life. When the waiter comes to offer a drink, Honeyboy
quickly asks for "a couple of beers". But during the
compulsory break in the middle his show, when he can rest and relax, he admits
to me "Yeah sometimes I feel tired, very tired of travelling. But well,
as you see now, I try to take it easy".

As for the show itself, the presence
of Honeyboy in Tallinn
does not go unnoticed among my colleagues in the media. A broad TV and radio
coverage is made while Honeyboy appears in an old Cadillac crossing the old
town towards the club. Raising the temperature inside, Bullfrog Brown finally
has the chance to hit the stage. Their young singer, Alar Kriisa, looks
fragile and skinny, but when he takes the mic, he sings strongly and deeply,
with a confidence that seems like he had been born in the Mississippi delta instead of a small town in
the Estonian South.

{sidebar id=14}
The first part of Honeyboy´s concert
is welcomed effusively by the audience, but it is during the second part after
the break when most of the media members are gone and the atmosphere is more
intimate, when "Honeyboy" gives his best. Classic delta tunes like Catfish Blues, Sweet Home Chicago,
Cross Road
Blues or Rollin' and Tumblin' are displayed in
front of the enthusiastic public. At the end, other musicians are invited to jump on stage
and share some minutes playing with the legend. "Honeyboy" goes on
accompanied by the harmonica of Harry "Dirty Dog" Finèr, who
came straight from Finland, and the guys of Bullfrog Brown, Andres and Üllar,
also get their dream moments of glory.

It is late at night and during the
car trip back to Tartu,
the usually introverted Estonians cannot stop talking about the excitement of
the last hours, having gone through probably the most important gig of their
lives, sharing stage with a blues legend and satisfied, too – they had sold
enough albums to pay for the trip. Some booze, a crying guitar, the memory of
lost loves and always future places in mind to play. The spirit of the blues
goes on.

Photos by Andres Roots and Antonio Díaz

Categories
Interviews Music

Just fucking love, beer and vampires!

 {mosimage}

These wise words are thrown at the Finnish
audience by Fernando Ribeiro, the front man of the gothic metal band Moonspell,
during last Tuska festival in Helsinki.
The Portuguese singer is, apart from an excellent showman who knows how to
encourage the public, an interesting character who splits the time between his
band and his passion for literature and philosophy. FREE! Magazine had a
long and exciting talk with him at the festival backstage just after the show,
with some cold beers cooling down the hot summer evening.

How was the gig today?

Well, we started at 2 p.m. and there was a lot of daylight! They
have this midsummer sun here, but I think that it was a great show. Definitely
different, less “atmospheric” and more “rock and roll”, but worthy every minute
of it.

Some people say that Finnish audience is a
bit cold. Did you have that impression?

No, they are just different. I mean, I
always think that speaking about an audience is something always very
difficult, and people jump too fast into conclusions, especially people from
Portugal, Spain or Latin America, they always think that the others are cold,
because they are very reactive, they have this “caliente” Latino feeling, but I
think that people in Finland are quite “into the music”. You see it here, where
metal scene is huge. Metal music scene is respected by everyone, from the Prime
Minister to the metal fan, and that does not happen in Spain, or Portugal or Latin America, so I think that it is just different ways
of appreciating. For Moonspell, when we get into the stage, we know how is
going on, and I think that in their own way, Finnish people were enjoying very
much, believe me, they were not cold at all.

Do you know that this year there is this
huge “heavy metal trend”, even in Idols TV show, the winner is heavy metal
singer.

Oh, is he?

Yes, his name is Ari Koivunen.

No way!!!

You have had a tight relation with Finland all
over the past years. During the recording of your album The Antidote you
were working with the producer Hiili Hiilesmaa and also with the bass player
Niclas Etelävuori from Amorphis. So how did it happen that you had these links?

I think that all started on the road. We
love playing in Finland.
First time we played here I think that it was in 95. Our album, Irreligious,
always charted very high here. So basically we had already a very good
impression about the Finnish crowd and the Finnish scene. Then we did a Tour
with Amorphis in the States, and even when they were from up north and
we were from down South, we got along very well. A big connection and we became
friends after that. This was a butterfly effect. When we thought about
recording Darkness and Hope (the first album we recorded in Finnbox in
2001) we said, why not to try Finland?
So we spent 5 weeks recording here, and we loved it, because it is much laid
back, very relaxed. albums, especially

Did you record on winter?

Yeah, we always record lots of stuff on
wintertime. But for us it was a break from the routine.And then when we came
back from The Antidote tour with Hiili it was even a better experience.
We were always switching a bit the producers, not to get them “used to our
work”, so it can be a novelty from album to album, but we loved our time in Finland. I mean,
recently we did a 5 days tour here; we played Helsinki of course, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Nivala and Tampere. And it was very successful. There is
a great empathy between us and Finland
and I think that playing here in Tuska was like the cherry on top of the ice
cream

Do you have preferences for other Finnish
bands, apart from Amorphis?

I like a lot of Finnish bands. I like the
early stuff from HIM, especially up the Razorblade’s Romance, I like The 69
Eyes, I like Before the Dawn, Swallow the Sun…they are countless. There are so
many bands from black metal, heavy metal…

It is kind of amazing how relatively small
the country is, and how many great bands come out!

Yeah, it is amazing, and a thing I know
about the Finnish, very different from some of Swedish bands for example, it is
that they can be the biggest band in the world, and they are still very nice
people, very down to earth, and they like what they do, they like the music and
hang around, and they have this metal feeling inside, which is basically a great
thing to be around them. There are so many bands… Apocalyptica is a great band
as well, Ita-Saksa… lots of them…

Were you thinking when you started in music
business that you would reach so far? Do you consider yourself a privileged
being able to tour around the world?

Yes, of course. Sometimes you do not even
have time to think, because this life is very fast. We only started to think
about our career in 1998, when we were doing Sin/Pecado,  I was not expecting it but at the same time I
worked hard to get it, so I am happy that I have it, and I am happy to have the
consciousness that there is nothing for granted, and you have to work everyday.
I now come here to Tuska festival in Helsinki,
and we have an excellent position in the band list, we have a 75 minutes set,
in the big stage, but I don´t come here thinking “we are Moonspell”. I come
here to seduce the audience, so they will have a good experience and they can
have what they paid for, rewarding them in many ways. When bands take things
for granted, believe me, they start to do shitty music and shitty things.

It is quite notorious this collaboration you
did with the Portuguese writer Jose Luis Peixoto. How was it?

It was great! We always had this literature
influence in Moonspell. We have learnt from the best, from Iron Maiden, from
Celtic Frost… they always quoted authors in their lyrics. So we didn’t do
anything groundbreaking. We just introduced this influence to Moonspell as
well. My other activity is doing books; I have already published my third book
of poetry and is doing great in Portugal.
At any time I am invited to write short tales, but I do not have much time to
do it… In any case, I always try to find the time to read…

Tell us more about how started this project
for The Antidote with Peixoto.

Peixoto is a big metal fan, and he always
wanted to do something like this. And we are big literature’s fans, and
particularly Peixoto's fans, so I think it was something, like a marriage not “in
heaven” but “in hell”, or something like that… He invited us to make some music
for a crazy presentation of his book. People from book industry are quite
conservative so they were not much into the idea, so we switched around, and
the idea was that we did the music. We did all the energy for the music and he
took pieces of the lyrics, the images…and he wrote a novel composed by short
tales, and each chapter was based on a song. It was a big success in Portugal,
people were very interested in it, and I think that turned out to be very
original. I mean, it is not that we are planning to do this in every album, but
I loved it, and I am very good friend of Peixoto, and it was something really
groundbreaking.

Have you read the Kalevala?

Yes of course. Well, it is not the kind of
book that I would read from page 1 until page…2000 or whatever… but I reckon
that it is a special book. I bought a paperback copy, I have read a bit. I
think Tolkien ripped off a lot!

{sidebar id=8}Saramago, the Portuguese Nobel prize of
literature, was here visiting Helsinki
a couple of months ago. What is your opinion about him?

I love Saramago. I am very proud that he is
Portuguese and I am very sad that he had to move out to Spain, to
Lanzarote, because his country could not accept him as he is. I haven’t read
all the books but I think that he is an amazing writer and he is worth every
word that is written about him and the Nobel Prize. We had a show where there
were Saramago, Peixoto and Moonspell playing. We met him, he is very old, he is
like 82 but very lucid, and he told us that he liked what we do. He was very
nice and his label gave us a lot of books. We were very nervous, playing a
metal song for a Nobel Prize, but in the end came out very well. 

And you are also kept busy translating books.

Yeah, I am translating one now: I am a
Legend; it is going to be a movie now with Will Smith. The book is going to
be translated into Portuguese and released by the time of the movie. It is a
great story. Richard Matheson Is a very good author, very well known in the
States, he did a story called Duel that was the script for the first
Spielberg movie, and I am going to translate it into Portuguese. Honestly I do
not have time for that, but I am so hooked into books and literature and
translations, doing something else than the band that I also find time to do
it.

Have you read or seen any horror story you
specially liked lately?

I have been reading a lot of fiction, but
not really horror fiction. I read the book Behold the man – Ecce Homo; it
is a good book. I am reading now fiction about philosophers, about Schopenhauer
and Nietzsche…but it has been a while since I have read pure horror literature.
I am definitely going to read again I am a Legend. I already read it 2 at
least, but it is a fucking great book!

Do you give a lot of importance to the
concept of death?

Of course. In Portugal there is no bigger
obsession than death. There is always a conception about the end. Not that I
see myself as a morbid person but it is something that fascinates me in all the
aspects.

I heard you are going to work in your new
album in Denmark.

Yeah, we are already settled in Denmark. The
album is recorded and we are going to start mixing next Wednesday.

How was the experience?

It was amazing, considering that it is just
a re-recording, but it is a project that we assumed very seriously. We wanted
to give a chance to play good songs that were badly played and very badly
produced in the past. So it will be a bit of a surprise for many people. It is
not our new album but it is not that we are just doing for people to buy it. It
proves that we already did good songs when we were very young. It is all the
stuff pre Wolf heart and it is going to be called Under Satannae.

When is going to be released?

Probably in Spring or Autumn of next year,
2008 .I am very happy with the work of the producer Tue Madsen. And I was very
happy to work in Denmark.
It was very relaxing; I was like on vacation in a way. We did it in Aarhus, very quiet place.

Talking a bit about the near future, you
will play in Wacken festival, that is one of the most important metal festivals
in Europe. Excited about that show?

Well, for us it is just another festival.
Being honest, we could have played in a better position. A lot of people go
there to see Moonspell. I think that Wacken could have shown a little bit more
of respect for Moonspell, because we showed a lot of respect for Wacken, but
well…maybe the festival is becoming too big…

So you are not so happy about it?

I am happy about playing in Wacken but I am
not happy about the position. Moonspell deserves much better but on another
way, that is not what is stopping us for making a show. But for me Wacken is as
important as Tuska, or as important as other festival where we could play for
2000 people, as important as Istanbul,
where we are playing in August. I hate when people are making a ranking of
festivals, for me it does not matter, I respect all the festivals and all the
audiences! 

{mosimage}
Wolfheart (1995): Our first album. We were
kind of “marking territory”. I think that it was an album that nobody thought
it would work, but it became a classic in the underground. I am very proud of
that album because I think that it is very original in the scene.

Irreligious (1996): It is probably
altogether our best album, because it has really great songs, and normally it
is all about the songs. And still today when we play Opium or Mephisto. Those songs were ahead of their time. I don´t want to sound big headed, but for
me it is one example of how gothic metal should definitely be.

{mosimage}Sin/Pecado (1998): It was a rupture album.
It was a very good album with different stuff, and hits like Second Skin,
but a lot of people were not interested in listening to it, because they were
totally hooked to Irreligious and they did not give a chance to the
album, so I think that it is one of our most sensitive albums, and I still love
it. Probably a lot of people did not understand the album. For us it was an
album that we had to do.

The Butterfly Effect (1999):  It was going completely nuts in London. It has to do with
the fact that came out in the period of 1999-2000 and I was very interested in
what was going on, about this tension. Now we settled down, well…not exactly,
but not so crazy as in 1999. It seems we are fans of that album more than
composers.

Darkness of Hope (2001): It is probably our
most heartbreaking and sad album… it is not called Darkness of Hope for any
reason. It comes from the heart and it is very dark, but I think that it is a
great album. Not to listen when you are depressed because it can get you very
down, I think.

{mosimage}The Antidote (2003): It is one of the best
Moonspell albums. It is very tribal and one of the most original albums. It has
this song that I love called everything invaded, you saw the response
today: killer! It is an album we did very well.


Memorial (2006): It is a bloody album; I
would say “In your face” album, with very good metal songs. It was “our baby”
in the past months and I think that people really enjoy it.

Categories
Interviews Music

That punk on TV

{mosimage}Henry
Rollins is one of the most active characters I have ever
interviewed. He has
done almost everything in the show business, from singing in a hardcore
band to writing poetry, acting and touring as a stand-up comedian.
Nowadays
he hosts a talk show on independent American TV. This summer, YLE
Teema brings to Finland the first season of The Henry Rollins Show. Read what Henry Rollins told FREE! He speaks loud and
frankly. He is not afraid to say anything.

 

 

 

 

How did the
idea of show start?

The producers
asked me if I was interested and then we found a TV station interested in the
program. After the first season, they asked me do you want to continue and I
said yeah, so we did another season that just finished in the US. It wasn’t my
idea. I never thought about doing a TV show, but I like doing different things.
It keeps me awake. Now it takes quite a long time of my year. It needs detailed
planning and it is not easy to make good interviews to people. It burns a lot of
calories.

Do you
choose the guests?

Yes, I do.
I’m interested in a lot of people, so my wanted list is huge. We call them and
most of them say: No! There are various reasons: “I’m not interested”. “Henry
Rollins? I hate that guy!” “We are busy, we live on Mars, we cannot make it”.

Mention
some of your “dream guests”.

There are tons
of them. Bob Dylan, Al Gore, Keith Richards, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese,
Brian De Palma… There are a lot of interesting people in the world, doing great
things from art to reporting. For example, there are many investigative
reporters, like Greg Palast and Christian Miller.

What about
the live performances? Do you also pick the bands?

I didn’t
pick some of them. Since it’s not my money, I don’t get to make all the choice,
so there are some bands that stick out for their MTVness. Nice people, anyway.
They showed up, they played well, but I have none of their records. The rest of
the bands I both know them and love them or I have toured and played with them.
I’m a fan, I play their songs on my radio show. In the season we just finished
we had Iggy Pop and The Stooges, Peaches, Manu Chao, who made his first American
TV appearance ever. He’s huge all around the world, but not in America. He’s a wonderful
guy, very humble. He came to play at the Coachella festival and all the TV stations
invited him, but he said no to all of them and yes to us. Why? I don’t know. We
were lucky. The Good, The Bad and The Queen played also. That was a highlight
for me. I walked into the the studio, turned around the corner and there’s Paul
Simmons, the bass player of The Clash. Wow!! Also Fela Kuti and Tony Allen… I
was like yeah! I love this job.

Conan O’Brien
is very popular here in Finland. Do you watch his show?

I think
he’s good. He does a very normal kind of interview show. They interview pretty
famous people about being famous and pretty. Conan is very talented and funny.
He used to write for The Simpsons! He’s a very funny guy, but it’s not the kind
of TV show I watch. I don’t care about an interview with half of the cast of
Friends. I fall asleep. I don’t care.

You are
very politically outspoken. Do you also follow the events in Europe?

Somewhat…
but quite honestly I’m more concerned about the current Administration in the
US. I’m not trying to devalue what goes on in Europe, I think that America
could learn a couple of things from Europe. I primarily focus on and research
on the daily catastrophe in Iraq. I try to understand our relations with Iran
and Syria and what the president is doing to destroy our Constitution. Right
now Europe is not a priority for me because I’m watching my own country going
up in flames.

{sidebar id=4}In spite of
being clearly against the Iraq war, you went there and did a tour for the
American troops.

Yes, I did
it. I disagree with the policy, but I don’t disagree with the troops. They go
where they are told. My argument is not with the soldiers, it is with the
Administration, with Dick Chaney, Donald Rumsfeld. It’s not with the soldier,
he’s only 22. He’d rather be home. I’ve been in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait,
Qatar, South Korea, and few others. I go far for these people.

Is the show
business industry also a war?

The
business aspect is way more unpleasant. I have my own publishing company to
publish my books, my records. I have a two-person staff. The insights of the
business can be very disturbing. For instance, the distributor of my books just
went out of business, with a lot of my inventory in his warehouse which was now
seized by the government. I cannot get my property and the guy even owns me
50.000 dollars. Guess what? I will never see anything. What is difficult is the
artist who has to become the business man. I have to be the boss and the artist
guy. It’s difficultt to make that separation. I don’t bring the art into the
business meeting and I don’t bring the business into the art.

You are
very active and have worked in many disciplines from singing in a hardcore band to
acting and writing. What is the most challenging?

Writing is
very hard for me. It’s the most time consuming. The talk shows are also very
difficult. There’s no script and It requires lots of concentration on stage.
It’s all difficult, just different levels of intensity and concentration that
you have to give. When you are writing, you have to make it clear. When you are
editing, you are trying to make it better, you have to be aware of the words.
When you are on stage, you need a lot of preparation. When I interview people,
I do a lot of background checking on the interviewee, so I know what I’m talking
about and I don’t disrespect that person. All is a lot of work. Nothing is that
fun for me. I don’t understand fun. I’m a very nervous person. I get stress out
very easily, very much for a long period of time. I don’t sleep very well. I’m
always thinking something needs to be done. I’m a little crazy all the time.

Are you
still a solitary man?

I live
alone. I don’t have any family. I don’t have any kids. I don’t hate people, but
I’m very busy. I write a lot and that takes a lot of my time. Nobody is going
to make that for you. I also travel a lot to places where having someone next
to you could be a liability, like parts of Africa. I don’t want a woman
traveling with me. It’s not that women are not strong and cannot defend
themselves, but in Morocco I don’t want to turn my back when the woman is not
looked out, because she can get in danger. Also when I come back from a two-month
tour, I don’t want anyone waiting for me. I don’t want to have to call someone
and ask: “what is that with the tone of your voice?” I don’t want to have that
conversation. Also, I’m a pretty crazy man and I have seen many awful things
and those things have had a very substantial impact on me. A friend had his
head blown off next to me. I cleaned his brains so his mother didn’t have to
see it. I’ve seen some things that one shouldn’t see.

What is more
dangerous: to sing in Black Flag or to have a big mouth on a comedy show
nowadays?

The Black
Flag experience was physically dangerous. I still have a lot of scars from that
period. I got punched. But I got stitched up. You heal. I hit back. I broke a
lot of people’s noses. Never women, only men. But I’ve beaten the hell out of a
lot of guys. Pretty substantially. No regrets. But I think it’s more dangerous
what I do now in the present climate. To say what I’m saying and about whom I’m
saying it. I think you can suffer.

Do you have
any plans for the future?

I cannot
think of anything specific that I haven’t done. Perhaps catch up with some
reading or get a full night of sleep.

Do you like
reading a lot?

Yeah, I
cannot read as much as I want, but I think you should always have a book going,
you should be reading something.

 

Photos by: Veronika Vera