The Perttu Interview @ Stodola Club 16th April 2009
With a couple of hours to go before the doors opened Perttu
sat down with Terrë and Tone in a rather nice bar area and the following
occurred:
Terrë: So, how are you?
Perttu: Not like, hilariously good.
Terrë: But you're coping.
Perttu: Trying to cope- yes.
Terrë: Has it been difficult to get back on tour after the
break?
Perttu: It was quite interesting; I came straight from the
hospital. So weak! Vomiting. I don't know what the f**k was wrong or what is
wrong. I've been really feeling bad for a long time but they are checking.
Terrë: I hope they can sort it out.
Perttu: It's funny to try to play concerts that you haven't
eating before the concert for the entire day and trying to be really energetic
on stage when you absolutely have nothing left anymore and I don't know where
it comes.
Terrë: You just want to collapse?
Perttu: It must be the bad spirit.
Terrë: Are you finding that you’re having to be a little bit
quieter on stage and not running around so much?
Perttu: The first 30 minutes I try to take it easy. I've
even tied my hair so I don't headbang or anything and I got bored that it's not
the way it should go, so I've been basically as normal... just have power and I
know that it's not wise.
Terrë: So you've got four more days and you have a bit of
break?
Perttu: No, there is no break actually. I'm doing one
project and the final recordings are in May.
Terrë: What project is that?
Perttu: I'm not allowed to talk about it (laughs). But
basically it's an entire month of work before the festivals.
Terrë: Eicca said you haven't started on the new album yet.
Perttu: Not really.
Terrë: When are you going to start?
Perttu: Except that we have been doing some experiments and
running some demos. We have once again like a wish and a will to somehow renew
that thing. Of course the biggest difficulty will be trying to find something
new, but now I guess that it's really a lot to do with the songs and everything
that we... we need to find some new approach for the music, even the music
which they want more or less the same.
Terrë: Maybe you should do an album of classical covers
rocked up.
Perttu: Mmm.
Tone: I still think Cello Hero 3 myself.
Terrë: Yeah Rather than Guitar Hero.
Perttu: I want to have the Metallica version because I hate
the songs basically in the..... well Guitar Hero Legends has some good ones.
Terrë: Do you play it?
Perttu: I don't play the pop songs, but I'm sure Metallica
rocks, especially because they have the new album and you're not bored for
those songs yet.
Terrë: I still haven't heard the whole album.
Perttu: It's really good.
Terrë: Yeah I saw them but I've not run out and bought it
like I did with all the others. I think St. Anger put me off a bit.
Perttu: But it's so different from St. Anger. It's sounds
good and the songs are good and there is a lot of variation, slow songs, catchy
melodies actually a lot on "Death Magnetic". I would call it second
best.
Terrë: What's you favourite Metallica Album?
Perttu: I can't tell. It always changes.
Terrë: Do you have a favourite Metallica song?
Perttu: (pause) At the moment "All Nightmare Long"
from the newest. It's just so F**king weird and cool. And contains so many
elements, I admire that kind of music actually. I've noticed that every year my
taste of music goes more complicated maybe. It's going towards like Three
Chairs, not like that but, for example, in metal music I like challenging
guitar riffs, difficult stuff, not only fast, but when the music is doing changes.
Of course sometimes, and in places, the album is really cool. I once listened
to it when I had sex and it worked really well.
Terrë: Yeah, the rhythms right.
Perttu: Yeah but that's what I mean. In a different
situations..
Terrë: The best song to have sex to is "Animal
Magnetism" by the Scorpions.
Perttu: (Sniggers)But whenever I hear Klaus Minus (Meine's)
voice my dick goes in.
Terrë: It's the rhythm of it.
Perttu: I was a Scorpions fan even in Elementary School.
Terrë: Bad memories?
Perttu: Nasty history behind every one of us.
Terrë: Do you get lots of songs that you immediately go 'oh
my God I was doing this the first time I heard that'. You just get songs that
give you so many memories it almost overwhelms you.
Perttu: Yeah, it's really fun to remember, for example, one
of those first loves and how strong. ‘Still Loving You’, the song, connects to
those feelings. I was maybe 10 or something, really flattered of some girl's
actions or whatever. And then asking her to dance at kids disco to Scorpions.
Terrë: There's no other songs? I mean not by the Scorpions,
but by anybody, have you got any?
Perttu: Then my first time when I touched female genitals
was when I was listening to Lambada.
Terrë looks slightly confused so Tone hums first few bars of
Lambada. Terrë laughs.
Perttu: You asked. There is strong like memories connected.
But from my childhood I only remember those like erotic stuff.
Tone: Oh I'm going to have fun typing this up.
Perttu: That's something we don't want to remember.
Terrë: So what was the first ever record that you ever
bought?
Perttu: Skid Row "Skid Row"
Terrë: Great voice.
Perttu: Yes, because "Youth Gone Wild" was the
first song I basically listened from any kind of rock. In my family we didn't
listen, Paul Anka was maybe something besides the classical that you sometimes
heard. Skid Row was the first real rock track that I heard and "Youth Gone
Wild" was the first song that I remember very well.
Terrë: Have you noticed that you are selling less albums since
the downloading started?
Perttu: Absolutely, except that now we could talk about in a
certain sense, there was a great success with the last album, because we have
sold double more than previous, and when you compare it to the market, instead
of the world it's really like...we can't be so cheerful that like, yes, yes,
millions of records, but compared to what it has been. The USA opened us really
like a new world with last years success, and now we have to hope that it will
continue, that it was not only like one night.
Terrë: When people come onto the forum and say ‘I want to
download "I Don't Care" or whatever, where can I get it?’ we always
say 'go buy it'. It's a bit of a problem, must be a real problem if you're in a
band?
Perttu: Last year I was really into downloading - I mean
legal, Itunes and stuff. Downloaded a lot of stuff onto the laptop. It was nice
but the laptop got broken.
Terrë: That's always a pain.
Perttu: And I remembered why I always wanted to buy the CDs.
I lost all the albums.
Problem is if you download it to computer and move to ipod,
remove from the computer and the ipod gets lost. Of course the CD can get lost
as well.
Terrë: Make about 3 CDs, put one round your mum's place, one
in your house...
Perttu: One thing that I think is really really good on the
internet or actually a couple of things. Considering music. Myspace is really,
really brilliant because it's so easy to find new artists presenting their
music.
Terrë: And Youtube of course.
Perttu: And Youtube is the other one to watch all the
videos. That's almost the only place you can see the videos any more, at least
it feels so nowadays.
Terrë: Did you see the link I sent of the machinima film
done with the Sims with an Apo soundtrack? It's about vampires. It's really
really good.
Perttu: I didn't watch that.
Terrë: I'm really getting into it, especially the Warcraft
Macinima, but I did find the Sims one with Apo and I thought Perttu might like
this as it was very beautiful. Go watch it!
Perttu: I have only seen like... they had a shirt with my
face in cgi.
Terrë: You make those. You can make it yourself and put it
into the Sims game. I used to play the Sims, I don't anymore. I play Warcraft.
Perttu: I play Heavenly Sword at the moment.
Terrë: I've not heard of that. What's it on Wii or
Playstation.
Perttu: Playstation, I don't have Wii. A couple of Xboxes.
I'm selective.
Perttu: I think the graphics are insane nowadays. I remember
I began to play games in the late 80's and the first formal game was that for
PC like which moved, click...click...click... it was already so cool.
Terrë: I used to live with a guy who worked for Hewson that
were the forefront of computer gaming at the time in the early 80's and the
games they came out with were like "wow I didn't know you could do
that" and six pixels would walk across and hit people with swords and
things. It's come so far it really has.
Perttu: Next will be that we participate in the games.
Somehow like the game is happening around us like real 3D.
Terrë: So what's your favourite game?
Perttu: Lately? Like in the last half a year I've been into
first person shooters because... it's the first time, actually, but maybe it
has something to do with my will of killing every f**king single person on this
planet - er no I didn't say that (all laugh) I meant getting rid of frustration
and that's a good channel.
Terrë: Oh it is!
Perttu: Get rid off. So all like... Killzones.
Terrë: You should use a Wii. You could really feel like
you're doing it.
Perttu: I was surprised that I was not impressed at all with
Halo 3.
Terrë: Yeah my kids have got it, but I've not seen it.
Perttu: It was too funny. I prefer more serious like kind of
realistic, like Battlefield series.
Terrë: I've played that- that's fun.
Perttu: Bad Company rocks.
Terrë: I'm really surprised you're not playing Lord of The
Rings on-line.
Perttu: I don't have a PC.
Terrë: How do you e-mail me then?
Perttu: I have a Mac.
Terrë: Oh, it's not compatible?
Perttu: I would have wanted to buy a PC because of that
game, but then came Lord of the Rings Conquest for Playstation, last January.
Disappointed with it.
Terrë: It's a bit predictable.
Perttu: Yeah, beautiful. And its cool to be a Nazgul.
Terrë: If you played Lords of the Rings online what would
you be, a warrior or a bard or a...
Perttu: Is there a possibility to be a bad guy in that game?
Terrë: No, unfortunately. You have to be good guys.
Perttu: That would be probably my first choice.
Terrë: There is a point where you can play a bad guy in a dungeon
area, but most of the time you play good guys.
Perttu: Well, I would like to be probably then a... ranger.
Someone who goes to check the places before the real guys come. I try to avoid
that kind of games that take too much time.
Terrë: It's too addictive.
Perttu: I love... last and actually almost only real
role-play that I have played with those "Knights of the Old
Republic". Star Wars, both of them The Sith Lords sequel, they are
insanely good role play at least for my taste. Of course, I love Star Wars. But
it took 48 hours for me to go through the game. It's a lot. I prefer 10 hour
games.
Terrë: So that's what you do at home when you're not
touring? Play games?
Perttu: Play games and watch movies. But I have to admit I'm
a cheater in the games.
Terrë: Oh you have the cheat codes do you?
Perttu: I use cheat codes sometimes, but mostly
walkthroughs. I don't want to spend too much time, but I want to see
everything, and it's beautiful. For example my way playing Tomb Raider would be
to print the work through and do everything they said, other wise it would take
to much time, but I want to see her tits.
All Laugh.
Tone: Type in the right code and you get that! You were
saying about movies, do mange to see any movies while on tour, do take DVDs onto
the bus?
Perttu: Actually on tour, I rather watch TV series because
it's also very difficult to find two - two and a half hours to watch a movie. I
don't like to watch a movie for 15 minutes and then put it away and do
something else, but TV series is always cool because you can watch them, and it
doesn't matter really, an hour or twenty minutes. Or the coolest thing is that
if you can't get to sleep you can watch the same. ‘Lost’ is one of my
favourites, ‘Alias’. I think there was one tour, probably the beginning of the
Worlds Collide tour, where I watched all the five ‘Alias’ series in less that
two weeks and it was like ten hours in a row in the night... YES THIS IS SOO
COOL! I love Jennifer Garner.
Tone: Alias was a lot of fun.
Perttu: Mmmmmmmmmmm
Tone: I know what you're thinking, God that girl could kick
ass.
Perttu: Sigh! Yes! I don't watch TV at all really.
Terrë: I love Heroes, I love Lost.
Perttu: Heroes I have the box set and it's my next project.
I watched "The 4400". But I have become a real film freak, like I'm
waiting for some certain movies like a little kid, like yes, I need to live
until I see Terminator Salvation.
Tone: Welcome to my world!
Perttu: Not only reason, but still I'm seriously so on fire
for Stallone's next one the Expendables. Because it's the ultimate action star
combo, everybody's there.
Tone: Even Schwarzenegger I hear might be making an
appearance in that.
Terrë: Don't you think they're a bit old for it though?
Tone: Probably.
Perttu: But he's performing as himself. Appears somewhere in
a lobby and chat for a minute, so still Jet Li, Jason Statham, Mickey Rouke,
Stallone of course, Dolph Lundgrun.
Tone: All that's missing is Jean Claude Van Damme.
Perttu: Then there was like Eric Roberts, Danny Trejo and a
couple of wrestling stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Randy Coultre, it like
the most men movie ever.
Terrë: Testosterone overload.
Perttu: I loved Rambo 4. it was so brutal, horrible.
Basically a horrible story, but who the hell needs a story if the violence is
good enough. Now we could begin a moral conversation about needs for violence
in movies.
Terrë: What do you think about this torture Porn stuff like
Saw and Hostel and stuff like that that?
Perttu: Well, first of all I have to admit I haven't watched
them yet. I dunno why...
Terrë: Don't you think that's going a bit too far, there's
no point to it?
Perttu: I don't know what is the point, and why do we want
to watch, but still if there comes a new nasty movie I'm most likely going to
buy it and watch.
Terrë: Do you think it feeds something dark inside of us?
Perttu: I think I try to reach something with the movies
because for example, all of those people who read this, they know that I don't
drink anymore, so it's really difficult, like a burden for me because I need
the f**ing dope from somewhere. Simply just too stressful and too demanding to
be with the brains all the time. So that is a possibility that I want to watch
really brutal movies, because they affect me somehow. Rhere was, for example, I
remember that kind of movie... the title was "Murder Set Pieces" and
I watched maybe 30 minutes of it and skipped the rest because I found it too
disgusting.
Tone: It's a release, seeing those films. It's a chance to
release the pent up frustrations..
Terrë: Get rid of all your darkest fantasies without
actually going out and doing it.
Perttu: Yeah, of course. And we want to be scared and
shocked. And brutal music with strong lyrics, they try to put us into the same
nerves. But the graphic violence is something we can't escape, like when you
see it on a screen.
Terrë: Are you looking forward to the Hobbit?
Perttu: Of course, but it's too far away. How about
"Public Enemies" - the highlights of this year, I think, and
Terminator.
Tone: Johnny Deep at his best again.
Perttu: Exactly.
Terrë: I love Johnny Depp.
Perttu: I would marry him... whenever.... without
hesitation.
(The support band then begin to soundcheck)
Terrë: Do you go and watch support bands, or do you just
ignore them?
Perttu: Not ignoring. They play in a really difficult place,
when we have our own massages and prepare everything for the gig. Of course, if
we have our own support for a longer tour, then we get the possibility.
Sometimes we have brought from Finland some bands we like.
Terrë: You had Angelzoom for a while didn't you?
Perttu: Yeah! It was actually a good situation because it
didn't... it wasn't so loud.
Terrë: I remember Paavo saying something like that. When you
are touring with a support band you like something that's a bit calm, whereas a
lot of bands especially guitar bands like a band that gets the crowd going.
Perttu: True... hmm.
Terrë: We've heard that the Polish people are a bit insane
during the gigs?
Perttu: Ahhh yes, in a good sense. We already thought that
we lost Poland completely like maybe 5 years ago. It seemed that people were
not coming to the concerts but... I guess this must be our second time in the
‘Worlds Collide’ cycle here, but now we've got a lot of audience and that felt
good again.
Terrë: What's the difference between club gigs and a
festival for you.
Perttu: Well there's a lot of differences. In the festivals
it's more likely that there is an audience that doesn't know us. Everything
gives a different feeling, and a good feeling. Of course it's wonderful to go
to play your music to a crowd who can sing everything and really participate
from beginning to end. That's wonderful, but it's another kind of challenge to
go to play to a Prodigy audience who don't understand anything what we are
doing, and you only have maybe 75 or 45 minutes in there and you have to
convince them that we are...
Terrë: You have to convert them.
All Laughs
Perttu: No matter whether you heard us but you have to dig
it anyway. At least at this moment, show your fu*king hands.
Terrë: Yeah. We get so many people going ' We've never heard
of this band but they're fantastic."
Perttu: Yes. That's the big difference in festivals,
especially in areas where we've not been so active - England for example. And
the Download festival last year was really an amazing feeling because it has
the reputation that if they don't like it then they throw rocks, and we're
scared of those kind of things.
Terrë: Have you ever been hit by anything thrown at you?
Perttu: No actually, except panties!
Terrë: Antero got all the panties last time. We threw about
50 at him.
All Laughs
Perttu: There has been a couple of glasses or plastic..
beer.
Terrë: No it's always pee. That's what they do, they're not
going to waste their beer on you, they're going to pee in a bottle and throw it
you.
Perttu: Of all the concerts maybe three times that happened.
Once was in Poland by the way. I think it happened when we played together with
Cradle Of Filth and Eicca made one speech like (puts on a high squeaky voice)
"Rarrrrrarrr rarrrr raaarrrar". Suddenly.. (Perttu starts ducking
from imaginary things)
Terrë: I want to pat Danni Filth on the head as he's only
this big (T puts her hand about waist high) he's so cute when he hasn't got his
makeup on he looks cute and he really has this posh English voice, I just want
to pat him on the head and go 'There There' he's so cute.
Perttu: Danni Boy..(said as you would to a cute pet. P pats
an imaginary small Danni).
T sings 'Oh Danny Boy'
Perttu: Yeah I like him as well.
Terrë: You like Cradle of Filth?
Perttu: You?
Terrë: I love the musicianship but I cannot stand the voice.
Perttu: I think the voice is funny.
Terrë: Oh it's funny but it's not good.
Perttu: Yeah but if it's funny, then it's already good
because it reaches something, but for me the most serious music is... I try to
approach it a funny way and in black metal or whatever metal, I don't mind the
lyrics because they are just a necessary evil to be there.
Terrë: I mean I can't see the point of having lyrics for
black metal bands because you can't hear them.
Perttu: Yeah, but that's a good thing actually.(laughs).
Terrë: I had a friend who invented black metal poetry and
he'd just sit there during performances in poetry clubs and he'd go
'ARWRWRARWRWRARW' no words and people would just clap.
Perttu: My favourite of that kind of a band is Immortal
because they have such texts that I even like to read, it's kind of deep
philosophy.
Terrë: Oh yeah they have absolutely wonderful lyrics, it's
just that I'd like to sing along to them.
Perttu: They sing about old forests, and maybe some things
lurking somewhere, but of course everybody sings those kind of things and it's
not really connected for our religions, they are not telling anyone that
somebody is strong and therefore you should burn things. That's a good thing.
Tone: I always though that Napalm Death's beautiful love
song in 17 seconds was a classic which went, "ORWWRWRWWR
RARARWRWRARAR" and that was it, it was great, so touching!
Perttu: AWWWWW AWWWWWA AWWWW.(taps a beat out on the table)
That is ‘Negative’.
All laughs
Perttu: But 'You Suffer' which lasts (taps a drum roll on
the table) from Scum - it's less than a second. I believe that's the shortest
song on Earth.
Tone: And then there's the other side of things - called
Extreme Noise Terrier/Caninus which is a heavy metal band with a dog that barks
the lyrics, "WOOF WOOF WOOF RARRRRRRRRRR".
Perttu: Ha ha ha ha. I have to hear that.
Tone: I'll send it to you. Extreme Noise Terrier it's
superb, it's a bulldog! It's brilliant!
Perttu: Ha ha ha ha. Imagine him on a stage with a dog
barking in to the microphone "Rarrrrrr Rarrrrrr" leaving a sausage
there, and now the next song "Slurp rrrrrrrr".
Terrë: I should take my cat on stage.. meowwwww
A short conversation about pets, including showing of photos
then begins.
Terrë: Are you looking forward to the gig tonight, or do you
just want to go to sleep?
Perttu: I'm looking forward because, it's the job that has
to be done.
Terrë: I know you're usually taking your clothes off. Don't
you get hot?
Perttu: It is hot, yeah.
Terrë: When I saw that photo of you with your hair back I
thought what the ****? Were you in direct competition with Antero? Who can look
the poshest!
Perttu: Easily him!
Tone: Are you going to miss him when he goes?
Perttu: Might happen so. But there are some periods of time
in our lives where we have to go further. Something ends, we take the next
block, and leave that behind. With the band we need to know how to find a
different approach for the live shows without him. Of course some things turn
out to be a little more complicated and need to be rearranged.
Terrë: You'd never think about getting another permanent
cellist?
Perttu: Actually not really, because there hasn't been
anyone in our minds, and we would anyhow want to have a Finnish person there.
Terrë: It makes it easier doesn't it. Do you ever miss the
orchestra? Ever sometimes think, Oh I want to go back to the orchestra?
Perttu: I don't feel like I want to go back, but I think
really often that I would like to play there for like one week, some of the
favourites works.
Terrë: Maybe you should have a project. Call in all your
orchestra friends and just have one charity concert or something. That could be
fun. That could be a week long project. Book a concert hall, get your friends
together and do a concert.
Perttu: I've not been really able to work or do anything for
the last couple of months that makes things complicated. I don't have the
strength to do anything.
Terrë: You're just sitting there watching films, playing
games, relaxing.
Perttu: I actually try to work, but not easy to concentrate.
Terrë: It must be difficult to do that.
Perttu: There has been surprisingly lots of stuff all the
time. We have meetings or galas or whatever. All the time, every week something
happens, meetings and then the record company likes to meet with us. Basically
the beginning of this year hasn't been free at all. Only the six days when I
was in hospital.
Terrë: Horrible being sick, especially in the line of work
that you're in. You have go ahead and do it. You can't phone the boss and say
‘Sorry I'm not coming in today;.
Perttu: Yeah, in the end there isn't really a replacement.
Tone: Yes, you're irreplaceable!
At that moment the doors opened, so we had to end the
interview. We talked to Paavo and Eicca later that night. Interview coming
soon.