We met singer Janne for an interview.
finnbands: This is your first time in Germany.
Janne: Yeah!
finnbands: You told already your trip was a little bit awful.
Janne: Yeah we had many horrortrips because... we didn't seem to... as I said.... We had a navigator in our car and it showed the route to here but everywhere we went to there was a road blocked, bridges where blocked and we were almost on the deadline here and we thought we gonna be late and the whole gig is gonna be cancelled. But we gonna get here and put up the backline. And it all turned out to be good.
finnbands: You didn't have time to check out a little of Hamburg so far?
Janne: Yeah, we had some time but actually it is good that we didn't have too much time to get drunk *laughs*.
finnbands: There was this gig annonced for Copenhagen yesterday but the venue was still tba. Did that gig take place at all?
Janne: No, it sadly was cancelled.
finnbands: So this was your very first gig outside of Finland.
Janne: Yes, actually.
finnbands: Have you been nervous? More nervous as usual?
Janne: Yeah! Actually. I have to admit that! I was just wondering when we left that ... When you normally leave for taking a holiday or something it's not nervousness. Now I am biting my nails and not sleeping at all. Yes, it was. But when we got here it all... A gig is a gig and this was a good gig.
finnbands: What were your expectations for today?
Janne: Well, I try not to have any expectations from the gigs because you just have to do your best and see what it comes up to. What ever... if there's many people, if there's not so many people. If the venue is good or if the venue is not so good. But I just always try to ...
finnbands: Have there been many people today?
Janne: When?
finnbands: Today.
Janne: Yeah! Well, it's gonna be hard to tell because this place is so big. But people where watching and listening from very far away. I would have hoped that they would have come a little closer but they have seemed to like. There was about a couple hundret people, maybe 100 or 200.
finnbands: That's ok!
Janne: Nicely, very nice. Because there is so much going on around here. People where just slowly gathering up here, they started nodding and doing this. Maybe we would have done longer gig, there would be even more people. How knows?
finnbands: And when you compare the audience today to your Finnish audience. Is there any difference?
Janne: Well *thinks* I don't see any major differences. Ehm, perhaps there is more ... Finnish people have more withdraw, even if they like something they just *putting his head a little back nodding for some millimeters*. And if they liked it they say to their friends afterwards *putting a hand in front of his mouth and whispers* 'Was a pretty good band!'
*Sami who is sitting a little behind with some people asks something in between*
But today there were many people who didn't know Morian before we came and asked 'Do you have records and...'
*Sami coming along kissing Janne's head*
Ahhh, so sweet. *grins and talking to Sami in a mixture of Finnish and English* Sami is our "English master".
But yeah, people are perhaps much more... they show openly that they like the music.
finnbands: You will play at Tuska at the Nosturi afterparty.
Janne: *smiles*
finnbands: Is that something special for you to be a part of this festival?
Janne: Absolutely. Because it is a great great festival. I always liked Tuska festival and now we'll be a part of it. And it's also the last gig we are going to do with this "Sentinals of the Sun" album because after that gig we are going to studio because we want to make new songs and I'd love that. It's kind of swarm song for us for this record. It's great to make the final gig in Tuska.
finnbands: Usually nobody decides from one day to another to become a musician. I think you have some musical roots in your early childhood. What was it?
Janne: *nods* Well, I have actually never had... I never learnt music but the first thing that I remember was that my mama put me a microphone and said 'Sing to this!' and then I sang children's songs and they were recorded. It kind of became natural. As long as I remember I always sang songs. And then I started writing them. Music has always been a part of my life.
finnbands: So this one might be more for your bandmates, but I think you can answer it as well: how did you decide which instrument to play? Did you try different instruments or was it more like 'That's a guitar, I will play that and nothing else'?
Janne: Well, if I remember correctely - Joonas, our drummer, he has a classical training. He also plays classical piano and classical guitar. But at some point he thought he is... as rock instruments he wanna play drums. I think Sami and Mika, our guitarists, I think they have always played just guitar. And Jaska is also guitarist actually but as always in a rockband someone has to play the bass. *laughs* But no one ever wants to. 'I wanna be the guitarist!'.
finnbands: I think a part of the success you gained the last years comes from the internet.
Janne: Yeah!
finnbands: What do you think in general about promotion via internet?
Janne: Well, it's kind of double edged sword because ... because ... because... When we started we actually had ... The Dynamic Arts Records with this album, the record label, they actually threw our demo away once and weren't intersted in. And then they came across the internet. They saw that people are acclaiming there that they like it. So you can say perhaps that we have to thank internet for our record deal and a part of our success.
But on the other hand the piracy is very big and it was kind of funny ... I haven't myself got a single copy of the "Sentinals of the Sun" when I heard from my friend that 'Hey, you guys, I just got your record from the net and it is great.' I said 'God damn, it hasn't even come to me. And it's already on the internet and people were downloading it.'
So there is good and bad in the internet.
finnbands: Shortly I saw on TV that not changing / downloading CDs on the internet is the problem but the trade on the schoolyards is even more worse. What do you think about this?
Janne: Yeah....
finnbands: You know, the guys in school might proberly buy it and those from internet are just collecting stuff.
Janne: Yeah, I agree with that!
finnbands: You started with a four piece line up in 2002. How come that you are a six piece band now and what are the advantages and the disadvantages of six guys in a band?
Janne: Well, when Morian started... actually Sami is the only original member and it was way different back then. I wasn't myself in then but I think that the advantage of being a six piece band is ... Of course it gives us more space and more advantages to make different arrangements and such. It's god damn hot to move six people around. Sometimes I wish that we are three or so. But I don't can think of any disadvantages. The more the merrier.
finnbands: Writing and playing songs, recording them - is this all just for fun and the love of music or is there always at least a small wish of success?
Janne: Absolutely it is. Well it's fun also but I think it comes from the need to do something. And if you get success with it if you haven't to make any money with it. Well, it goes on the side. But for me and all it was something that we just needed to do. So express ourselves through music ...
finnbands: So you even would keep doing it without a record deal?
Janne: Absolutely! *smiles and nods*
finnbands: So is there anything left I forgot to ask? Or anything you want to let your fans or our readers know?
Janne: Well *thinks* The last gig we are doing is on June and then we are starting to prepare the second album. And I say this first time: it goes by the name of "First Eclipse", because we had the sun on the first album and now it's gonna be pretty much darker stuff. So the name is "First Eclipse". The sun is going back. *laughs* And it should come out in the early 2009. So it is in the works already.
finnbands: Ok! Thank you!
Janne: Thanks!
morianband.com
Hamburg, 09.05.2008
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