07/04/2003

THE 69 EYES: Interview with Jyrki

face to face by dalia "gryphon_spirit" di giacomo ___

at Z7 in Pratteln - 20.10.2002 - gig together with Sulpher - OUR LIVE REPORTAGE

Jyrki and Dalia - pic taken by Stefan

IT'S ONLY LIFE

Dalia: Can you describe the vibe on the new album? It seems softer..

Jyrki:We wanted to make as radio friendly record as possible cos' um, that's something interesting to try to make, like get more airplay things like that. Of course we really liked the 80's radio rock influence an pop influence and the bands and if you think of anywhere in the world, when you turn on the radio especially at night time there are always only mostly 80's pop music on. I mean, when I hear the radio and I pay more attention for instance when I'm traveling for instance in a taxi, where ever in the world there's always radio on. There's always 80's hits. The reason why the songs that 80's pop, rock, is still alive, the radio plays um..because of the melodies. And we want to make the songs, arrangements like that , that the melodies are totally on the top and that means that, less, in that thinking less is more which means like we only have two guitarists so theres only two guitars there's no third guitar and everyone is just playing just one track on it and it leaves more space for orchestrations more keyboards which we always believe keyboards always kinda like mostly plays melodies. SO um I'm not sure my voice as well. So that's what we had in mind and I think we have succeeded extremely well and in Finland we are going Platinum and we are like a total cross over band.

Definatly

yeah thanks, yes but we are a total cross over band there not only, most expressly to kinda of sealed the case the case is closed we are cross over and we are able to have the bands profile; very fast in that sense but still it's The 69 Eyes, The Helsinki Vampires (? translation uncertain-mh.) and ya know ah even the record is like that one of the main elements was when we started to make the record was to have was to have a really good live show so we now have maturity songs from 'Paris Kills' but also ya know and hits from Blessed Be, and the line is really rocky, I mean even though this is really good , your right it's more smooth and softer maybe but when you see us live the songs are much harder

Yes much harder

Than you probably realize maybe it's true the true nature of songs really rocking now the stuff is like pure rock and roll

Exactly, very awesome

69: And when you see a band it's almost like you discover something you never you never expect to be so important then you see them live they start to, we go on so in this case I'm totally satisfied and that's the further we can go. We are doing radio friendly record in that sense so the next step is different we are totally happy and satisfied I think when you see us live you actually uh up your volume.

....writing gothic songs...like your official website for the masses, try to reach more persons

That actually quite happens infinitely we are like it doesn't mean that we are like selling platinum or gold it doesn't mean that Finland is full of Gothic people it just means that

Ja...

That the music apeals to all the masses and if for example, which is like it's kinda funny we have a video for a Betty Boop which is the second single and that I just heard that the video has to be shown during the breaks in ice hockey matches which is kinda strange if you really think, and I've seen the video which is like a goth band but I mean sport events showing them so that's something totally new and when we said that a I want to make music for the Masses it's just like saying it tounge in cheek that is a tribute to Depesche Mode they have the title actually like you know for the record and they weren't a big band it's kinda like we threw the idea out and so it became reality but naturally like ya know the easy way to see how our bands profile has developed in the gothic scene if you think of the "M' eraluna Festival"

Gothic festival

Which is like the biggest gothic festival in Europe and anywhere else so during these three records which we have done in the old school way which means a record each year in over a three years time to sharpen our skills during these records and after these records we always played at "Metaluna" three years in a row which I heard no one has done before so if you just put the posters from these past three years to the wall you'd see our name as the down the small gig next year, here next year it'll be bigger and now we're much bigger than first one. And our playing time has gotten better then we play the big stage. And it's great and cool that we are the goths well maybe it's time to split a little bit, some people are always when the band breaks they start to loose there secret and underground favorite band, but on the other hand that way of thinking also means that like now we have the possibility of coming here next year with a bigger production, playing better shows with better production, and we'll have more time in the studio to prepare the record and so on, it's not always sometimes...never when the band grows.

Much more acceptance

It's a good thing, I mean your favorite band can use more financial backing to the final production.

Do you remember in the past last year 69 Eyes were playing a tour with Paradise Lost, what were your impressions of that tour?

It was really great. They were the original 'look', they have the same old school line-up as we do, two guitarists, bass and drums vocals and they don't have keyboard player

GM: <Laughs>

so they use same kind of sample things like we do nd they were one of the first bands that we saw at all that can be done in a 'old school line-up' so that's what we are doing as well and they are one of our best friends and one of our absolutly favorite bands and they are really cool, I havn't heard the new record yet, have you?

GM: <laughs> (they are both laughing)...yes.

<talking back and forth about SOL and the electronics of Believe In Nothing>

I saw them last year their show I think they are better than ever, they play cool songs from all their records.

Absolute: We saw them last year at "Summer Breeze"

yeah, I think the band was really rocking and really cool, I mean the audience was kinda disappointed I guess for 'Believe in Nothing' just because they weren't around when they had 'Gothic' or 'Icon' in that sense I really liked , er always liked the band. It was a great tour and I hope one day we will tour together again someday.

That would be great. What are your impressions about this tour with Sulpher?

It's also been really good because Sulpher is a really cool band and I really hope that they get all the attention they totally deserve I mean they are not new comers as musicians they are like legends I mean the band Sulpher is a new band I think for people but it's super great and it's great also because I used to do alot of Dee Jaying in Helsinki like in the mid 90's and I always went to do some deejaying at the shows I wanted to see ya know, be part of it, for instance, some Black Metal shows. and I always wondered why there were three to five black metal bands and they all sounded the same. So what is the reason that the same sounding bands are like playing after each other because you can't even tell ya know which one band was which sometimes so in the case I think it's really cool that theyre alot of different kinds of bands like Sulpher and Us we are totally opposite we are like the 'Black Street Boys'

<everyone laughs>

And they are the harder edge like Nine Inch Nails kinda ya know it's really hard edge stuff so I think it should be like that I mean you know for instance that's one of the great bands to tour and all tours should be like their package with lots of diversity.

Now something different... what do you prefer : humility or arrogance?

I would like to answer from my own side, this way. I think, I'm really humble but it's you always give a picture to the people that you are arrogant if you are for instance like these tours there're like running to the shower after the show when your really sweaty and you have to run to the bus and even though there are people waiting you like to say hello or hang out or you just have to run and things , it's boring that...it's like a game people get the impression that your arrogant but it's something you can't help it's just a question of circumstances. But sometimes I don't know i learn to... I am like I think, sometimes I think I should be more harder because I can be too soft for people too. In that sense ya know I am talking about the touring life, which means there are people waiting for you outside and when you stop they (fans) are always going to be disappointed if you don't go outside and say hello but sometimes if you stay only for a little while they will be disappointed. I try to do everything for the fans, to me this is a privilege and a privilege is that I could bring some happiness or some escape from reality for some people or can be some kind of creature that some people want to be around to exist in this world so that's why we are really cool and I am doing everything I can for it. so.. the thing is like once: you don't have peace or love in your own life you think about bad things about people it's like you are jealous of life, it's all about what's in your heart. It's more painful to be angry person or to be without love or to think only bad things about life. So it's a good thing to say maybe this kind of thing sometimes for make through the music or though the interviews to the kids who are discovering themselves and um, turning the crosses up side down because they think it's cool and it's the only way they can rebel against their parents or something but I mean then one has to find their own path. I'm not a teacher or Messiah or anything like that but maybe if I could bring some hope or just a tiny idea that "don't take everything so seriously", ya know it's only life.

Do you ever dedicate songs to something or someone? Or you say "no I will never dedicate this song to.."

Well I don't like to mess with religion, I think I already said, it's most cheapest thing to mess with religion because I mean everybody have their own beliefs and it's the same to tell um.. it's something that should be left, but it's more of a more commercial thing like my friend Dani Filth from Cradle of Filth has sold alot of t-shirts by messing around with that idea and it's purly commercial I know because we have talked about it so I actually thought about what if I do a little bit upside down the whole thing between us so we had 'Blessed Be' the name of our record and actually it's kind of positive thing so, whatever religion, I don't want to mess around with people's beliefs.

If you could have this possibility, what would you choose: to live forever but being old or to live a short life but always looking young?

I think it is a challenge to grow old and deal with the things and I think it's great to discover that, everyone is probably a little bit afraid of what's going to happen so it's challenging, and discovering it's not that bad after all and it's interesting. You always in the end you always find out your parents were always right. Well, most people's parents anyway...

<everyone is laughing>

What country would you most like to play in

It doesn't really matter, I hate mostly to play in is Helsinki because I mean, it's boring to home after the show I mean there's no hotel parties
<everyone is laughing>
It's really boring to go from my home to brand new one and do soundcheck and go back home, watch TV, and do some exercise well, I mean it's okay it's just the most...
but I mean last time we played in Helsinki I rented a room from a hotel because I thought I'd have another party there but actually I, the guys were really betting that we be so drunk we would forget to go to the hotel and go to your home or something like that, I passed out with my cloths on. Playing Helsinki can be kind of boring.

...and what's about vampyres?
Wells it's always whenever I went before I was known in this band there's always somebody when I go to the clubs, you come to talk to me and say "hey you look like a vampire" something like that, though it surprised me alot, still seems to follow and I am still feeling the thing more and more but I think it's something to like lets say just say I'm waiting(?)behind a vampire, it means like I have certain kind of charisma and people's attention that kind of thing is like the thing that pisses me off it's something you can think of like charismatic vampires but also it's like the same girls following you everywhere in that sence it's a reality in real life in a humourus way you should once try to tour in a tour bus, we have this beds which are like coffins really. It's always like all these guys black dress, drugs, are sleeping in the tour bus. Actually you can't really sleep in a tour bus and espcially when it's moving, it's really where the vampires sleep. You really kind of sleep in a coffin but you kind of know what's going around.
GM: <laughing>
And that's the other side of the real vampire...but it's somthing like, I mean it's kinda one of the things that's been following me a long time and when I was a kid, when I was about twelve years old I read Bram Stoker's "Dracula" and I was kinda afraid after that, that my fangs would grow and I was like, I don't know I was kinda afraid of the book and then I can always like the blood pressure was kind of low (I edited what I know he was getting at-mh) and my nose was running and I was kinda drinking my own blood and thinking maybe I am and I am just like feeling myself in that sense.

GM: <giggles>
So it's been around and it's capable like stronger the whole thing. But in general I think The 69 Eyes if you think of us in the Gothic scene we are like actually the daywalkers when we are playing. Which means for us we are not afraid of a much wider audience or daylights in the airwaves.

We have come to our last question and now our last typical qryphonmetal question that we propose to every band that we interview for the first time, there is a very high tower and on this tower there are three bands, I put on the top of this tower three bands, you have to push down two of them, saving only one. And for you the three bands are Paradise Lost, To Die For, and Entwine. <laughs>

You think I'll kick the Finnish ones...

<everyone is laughing>

<thinks it over>...<says softly> this is hard one..
Well, If I kick down Paradise Lost they can save themselves well..it's hard to compare..well I'd kick down Paradise Lost and Entwine because those bands can save themselves because they are pretty much alike. Maybee To Die For, i'd help them
<everyone is laughing>

Thank you Jyrki so much!

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