finnbands: Not all of our questions are quite serious.
Henkka: Oh, that doesn't matter.
finnbands: Please describe your bandmates as famous cartoon or comic figures.
Henkka: I think Alexi will be Donald Duck at least it feels that he always has bad luck and he's a bit cranky.
Roope would be Goofy because he's always so funny and then which other comic series? Donald Duck is the only I can remember so I will keep on with that.
I think Jaska will be Uncle Scrooge he's good with this money things.
Janne will be Uncle Scrooge's Cousin.
finnbands: You already have some new material for an upcoming new album?
Henkka: Yeah, we already have like five songs ready.
finnbands: Is there already a date set for going to the studio?
Henkka: Yeah, it's October.
finnbands: You think the new material is different from 'Are you Dead Yet?'
Henkka: No. I think it's similar. Well, for me. It's everytime we have done something new I never felt it's something new. But of course it sounds different for the listeners.
finnbands: Have you ever thoght about recording songs together with other artists for your albums?
Henkka: No. We have never thought about it. I mean some of our people have been working with somebody elses projects. But we have never thought about having someone else involved in our music. Of course producers, we may have some producers and stuff like this but we have never thought about involving some other musicians. I don't know why. There's no reason. I think we just wanna keep it to ourselfes.
finnbands: You did songs for this 'Viva la Bands 2' thing. Did Bam ask you to do this?
Henkka: Yeah, he asked us and we were like 'Yeah, of course'. 'Cause he is a cool guy. We know him for a couple of years now. He's a nice guy and we had a proper track ready for the thing and we had a week off. So, we had one week time to get it recorded. It was an easy thing.
finnbands: Who get's on your nerves the most during tours?
Henkka: Well, everybody goes a little bit. It's like a family thing. There are certain things that get on your nerves. Of course sometimes Roope is so drunk it's a little annoying but usually in a funny way. I think that's the most negative but it's not a big thing. It's usually just very very funny.
finnbands: On Tour, was there a big cultural shock or what was your biggest cultur shock so far?
Henkka: Well, usually in a positive way. But one thing we always found weard is these toiletts in southern Europe. When you don't have seats. It's just a hole in the ground.
finnbands: And what about Japanese audience, are they so different from European audiences?
Henkka: Yes, they are so polite usually they don't speak much English and usually they give you presents and in the shows they are very quite but when the songs start then they start shouting and singing along the songs and when the song is done they are quite. It's a little weird but it's a good thing. It's good to have different audiences.
finnbands: My friend has been to a gig in Hamburg and there was a little sreen on stage with some Porn running.
Henkka: Oh. (Silence) Oh yeah. (starts to laugh) This is one of the funny things our crew does. Because we have crew on both sides of the stage and usually they make fun of each other across the stage and one of these guys had this laptop and they put some stupid things on it. We couldn't see it but the other crew guys saw it and hat fun. We didn't know it. We just heard about it later on.
finnbands: Where do you see yourself in about ten years?
Henkka: I hope I could do this and have as much fun as I have now but it's hard to say.
finnbands: But are you still studying?
Henkka: Yeah, I'm still studying. I might be gratuated by that time I hope. But I hope the most I could do this and have as much fun as I'm having right now.
finnbands: What is your favorit place to spent holidays. Is it more in Finland or abroad?
Henkka: I like to be in Finland especially in summertime. But in wintertime I like to go somewhere warm for a while. For example South East Asia. Next winter I want to go to Mexico for a month. Finland is very nice in summertime and of course in wintertime it's nice to go skiing.
finnbands: If you could travel time which period or historical event would you like to be part of or see what happened back then.
Henkka: Hmmm (thinking, long silence) This is a pretty tought question. Probably I would have gone with Christopher Columbus and reach India, as he thought he did and then later on found out it is America. I'd love to see America when it was still original. No big cities, no cars, not all this things, because it's a beautifull country.
finnbands: What is in your opinion the greatest invention ever made?
Henkka: Anything goes... I would say music but that is too obvious. (Laughts) This is pretty tought. Of course you will think of some normal thing like fire. That's pretty important. But I think one of the latest big things is the internet. 'Cause that's affecting almost everybody nowadys. That's a great invention.
finnbands:Do you have any childhood heroes?
Henkka: Diego Maradonna, Dave Mustaine. I was a huge Megadeth fan when I was younger. Nowadays I don't follow Megadeth anymore. And then of course Slayer. That's why I started playing.
finnbands: How did you come to music then?
Henkka: It was like listening to good music and then I thought I might as well try it myself. There where a couple of guys at my school and we started jamming and then we started a band and then these guys (Children of Bodom) invited me in their band.
finnbands: As a child did you prefere playing with stuffed animals or something else.
Henkka: I played with this little figures like soldiers, G. I. Jones,Transformers, HeMan and this kind of stuff.
finnbands: What is your opinion about groupies?
Henkka: I don't know. What is a groupie?
finnbands: Those kind of girls that desperatly try to get backstage?
Henkka: We know a lot of girls that are hanging around in the VIP area. I haven't seen that many groupies. I mean if it's a groupie it's a bit more anoying and that's not so attractive. You know it's not so nice if somebody's trying to do everything to get backstage.
finnbands: Like stalking almost...
Henkka: We haven't had any experience with that. We know many girls and we are hanging around with them and they are good friends of us but I wouldn't call them groupies. They are more like friends.
finnbands: Thank you for the interview.
cobhc.com
29.06.2007
Interview by Sonia © finnbands.com