News 29.3.2006

Tsau Folks!

I thought I’d tell a bit about how the band’s doing, for those of you who are interested.

The beginning of this year has been a bit of a whirl since Guardian Angel started getting radio play. We’ve played about twenty gigs, given a lot of interviews and thousands and thousands of kilometres sitting in the tour bus are behind us. Also I’ve got to say that our new Net Site is online. It’s been fun but also tough and all sorts of other funny stuff have happened. .

It’s been terrific to see that we’ve been getting more and more fans all the time and the fans have been at all our gigs and been great. When GA rose to the top of the charts we didn’t, as a band, get really so excited about it because it had been pretty much forecast that after our first single did so well then it would do well too. When it was still no 1 after the second week we started to say, ” What about that then?” and walk around with great grins on our faces. Then things started going so fast that I’ve had trouble keeping up. We had to be everywhere and so much was happening and I wasn’t taking it all in. Just sitting there and taking my belt in a notch and watching the scenery going past and hoping that we wouldn’t hit a tree and all the fun would end.

Things are going well abroad as well. The video has been running on MTV North and the song should be getting radio airtime soon. Also Germany and Japan may soon be in our sights. We’re getting more and more gigs all the time, which is great because it’s the best thing about all of this and the main reason we do it at all.

The gigs have all gone well so far even though we’ve all had flu and stomach bugs etc. It was really cool that when we played Helsinki’s On the Rocks and The Student House in Tampere, although not many fans were expected, at both concerts there were good crowds who dug our music and had fun. S yet we’ve had no bad feedback from the gigs at all. Maybe it’s just too soon to say.=) Last week may have been the toughest I’ve had as a musician. We played four gigs and did the Huuma TV programme and I had a stomach bug at the beginning of the week. Friday night I didn’t sleep because I got home from the Harjava gig at 7:00 in the morning and just had time to grab a shower before heading for Helsinki and then straight after the job there it was off to Alavude for another gig. It was heavy going but I did learn that when planning the schedule, we need to leave some time for sleeping, so that we’ve got the energy to party.

The record has done well in the charts and people seem to dig it and that’s warmed the cockles of our hearts. It’s also been terrific to see that so many people like so many songs from the album. What’s come from the critics was mostly what we expected; that it’s total shit and other prejudice. Very little has been centred on the music, more the peripheral stuff, like our name or image. But anyway, if the critics had liked us then something would have been wrong. They slam nearly all the music which we dig.

The new web pages are now on-line, as some of you may have noticed. There have been a huge amount of visitors and there have been so many messages left that handling the visitors ’ book has really got out of hand. It’s great that people dig the site but it would be better if things were kept sensible as they were on the old site. Smart and sensible remarks have dropped in number hugely compared to the amount of daftness and an over-use of <3>

Anyway, enough of this rambling on. I’ll let you know if anything else of note happens or if there’s any information of interest when I can. Watch out for seagulls!!!

Vivian Sin’amor

Divine Insanity – Third and Last Studio Session.

Hi, so as you’ve already noticed the album, at this stage of proceedings, is called Divine Insanity.

In our case it won’t necessarily be the final name, because it may be that we might change our minds many times before the finishing tape. Divine Insanity is though at the moment the most suitable name. In Finnish it’s Taivaallinen Hulluus. The level incorporates all our craziness and youthful enthusiasm and after these recording sessions we’ve felt that the final step into madness wasn’t so far away. And Divine Insanity to us, means love. Heavenly craziness, that’s love. And we all love this record like it was our own baby. It is after all our first born, and we’ve all been working for it for years, even if it does sound like a cliché.

Let’s talk about the final recording sessions. For our part they started on week 43. Tuesday 25.10, when we were working of the finishing touches of the work we’d done in the previous sessions. That is some backing vocals and guitars. The songs were Bullet for the pain, Remorse, Divine insanity and Die a little more...The last used to be Lovex Story. They came out well and we’re satisfied.

We started on the last songs during week 44, 31.10.2005. They were; Wounds, Halfway, O how the mighty fall, On the Sidelines and Sleeptight. We also recorded a special version of Guardian Angel Christian worked the recording equipment for this one and it should be an add-on for the Guardian Angel single.

Of these song only Wounds has been played at the earlier gigs. The others are all new songs and might, for some people, prove to have some surprising content for Lovex songs but we wanted the album to be varied and for that reason all these new songs have been included.

These sessions went pretty much the same as the last. First drums and bass and then the rest. This time we noticed that we’ve developed a bit, as the work went in the can noticeably more smoothly than in previous sessions. The drums and bass took three days and then it was time for me to lay down my guitar sounds. This time the drums and bass went so quickly that it brought problems when we started on the guitars. We hadn’t expected to be starting the guitars that week and we hadn’t brought the amplifiers. Luckily there was a solution. In the studios at the same time were Suburban Tribe and their guitarist Roope had rented a Mesaboogie rectifier and Marshal MF amps and speakers. Well, I thought I’d try my luck and called Roope asking him if I could borrow the equipment. He’s a cool guy and his answer was yes, providing I also got permission from the rental company. Backline rentals agreed and by now I was really excited.because these Marshal and Megaboogie amps have never been bad.

So on Thursday morning I was twiddling knobs and testing the amps. The end result was that I was missing my own Line 6 amp and Marshall Special speaker cabinet and disappointed in this really expensive rental gear. Both amps had, at least for my taste, too metallic sounds, which I’m sure suits down tuned heavy metal like a duck to water but I like a rockier sound. In the end we recorded using the Mesaboogie, my own Esp LTD ec-1000 Deluxe guitar and some pedals that our producer Tertsi had scraped up from somewhere. The end result came out ok but a lot of time got wasted in the process.

Suburban’s singer, Ville Tuomi was here that week recording a lot of vocal parts and we shared a lot of jokes with him. We really dug him and thought that he was a terrific guy. You’ve got to be impressed that every day when he came into the dtudio, he had a pack of beers with him. The real rock credibiltythat the big boys talk about I guess. I, on the other hand, stayed dry every day…. At least until the sun went down

Friday was mixing day and we had a gig at the Turku Palace. It was fun and we managed to clear our heads a bit. At this stage in the album recording process the whole gang was feeling spiritually drained and so tired that our heads were in danger of splitting. So it was good that for the last three weeks, studio time was limited to four days per week due to gigs and video shoots.

Week.45.7.-11.11.2005

All the days started early and finnished late. This week we did Sammy’s and my guitar parts, Christian's synths and Theon’s vocals….nothing special, hard graft and concentration on the songs. On Wednesday we were all in the studio deciding what clothes we should wear for next Wednesday’s video-shoot. So we were arranging/planning the video and recording the album at the same time. Heavy going. There wasn’t a day, when after the studio I felt like going out.. I went straight back to the hotel and watched TV. while lying in bed. Even Dead or Alive 3 had lost its edge and there was no joy playing it. I practised with the axe a bit and the sauna got used a lot but I was tired and the bed’s warmth was more and more tempting.

The weeks most relieving moment was perhaps when Production Chief Gabi Hakanen dropped by the studio and said”damn, but it looks as if we’re going to get the album out nearly on time.” This sounded especially good because there had been (to our minds perhaps excessive) pressure from the record company to get the album finished and at least a couple of songs had been a bit rushed. Now it seems that the record will be released on schedule…. That is 15.2.2006.

On Friday we played the Sokos Hotel in Lahti and we really relaxed and had fun.

Vko.46. 14-.18.11.2005

Jep, this was an interesting week. Monday and Tuesday we recorded vocals, synths and crowning the cake was Sammy and Christians’ joint solo for Halfway. They’d been putting this together for a long time and had it so that we were all happy with it. I don’t know why but all week I’d been close to tears. Any time things didn’t go right I’d had wet cheeks. It felt strange and a bit stupid when my own psyche was in such poor shape that if I put too many sweeteners in my coffee by mistake then I’d burst into tears. It was frustrating and embarrasing. The stress had made me over-sensitive. I tend to stress out when things go badly and now, going through by far the most important experience in my musical career, it felt like I might flip out.

Well anyway...We were recording for three days this week and then there was the video shoot and on Friday the pix for Mix magazine, updating this diary and promotion pictures and then back to Helsinki for the sound check and a gig.

The week was full of action and it was refreshing to do the video, because for us it was new and interesting. Bloody tough day it was and Friday my neck was still stiff after the amount of hair shaking we had to do but it was totally different from the recording and was interesting. Months had been spent on planning the video and it felt good to be eventually filming it. Theon still needed to be filmed but even so. Fortunately, the recordings were just about a day short of being ready. On Thursday we listened through the songs and we were able to say that we’d made a damn good record and that we were really satisfied. We’re still a little nervous thinking about the finished article and how it will come out and have we managed to get the tracks in the right order and how will people react to it and I mean the fans not the critics because we can already guess what they’re going to say.

Week.47.23.11.2005

So this is our last week recording and there was just Wednesday left in Inkfish. We recorded Sleeptight completely and the backing vocals for some other songs. We’ll still have to do a lit of guitar work for Sleeptight because we feel it needs some more grit. The day was relaxed and went fast and Sleeptight came out as it should. We’ve decided that it will be the final song on the album. It sort of brings together the whole package and the backing vocals for all the other songs and then says goodnight. And the sound gives it all. It’s just acoustics and vocals. I hope that it’s the last song on the album and that the song brings some sort of closure. The song brings a great sense of peace and contentment and after hearing it it’s good to put your head on the pillow and go to sleep. But yeah, pulling the album together has been tough, mind numbing and time consuming but also great fun and above all extremely rewarding. .

We’ve come a long way since we first set foot in Inkfish. With Christian and had a meeting with the producers and the recording company but it now feels as if the road has been well worth taking. We’re really very pleased with the record. Hopefully you will like it and enjoy it for a long time into the future. See ya!!!

Sleeptight
Vivian Sin’amor

Divine Insanity – second studio session

Tuesday 13.09.05, 17:25

Hi. Monday, yesterday that is, we started recording a long play piece in the familiar Inkfish studio with our producer duo Tertsi and Erno. The alarm clock woke me in Tampere at 05:45. After a quick breakfast and loading the gear in the car, we got moving. Vivian and I on the way to Helsinki again. About 8:30 we were in the Inkfish yard and carted the equipment into the sound studio. Then it was setting up the drums, tuning them and getting the microphones in place before lunch. Then we got down to recording the demo. The time was then around 1:0. During this session we’d planned to record 4 songs: Divine insanity, Bullet for the pain, Remorse and Lovex story. Then we thought about how to improve the songs. I’ve got to warn you that they’ve changed a bit, but definitely in a better direction. Now, sit down and listen. I’ve come to the conclusion that Lovex Story should be renamed. (Think about it…Lovex Story..Not good!) Apologies to those of you who had already got used to the name. (I’ll reveal the new name when it’s been confirmed.) So, when the the songs had been jointly arranged we finnished the day there. Recording the drums tomorrow.

Hi. Tuesday, today, the alarm rang at 07:45. We awoke in the Ava Hotel and went down for breakfast in time to be at Inkfish for at 9:00. Pretty quickly we got started recording Divine Insanity. At the start we tried out a few different ride (cymbal) variations. This took some time but when we were satisfied, the recording got well under way. When Divine. Was done we listened to Bullet for the press demo and thought the drum arrangements through. Then it was time to eat. Right after lunch we finished recording Bullet and went through more of the “previously known as” Lovex Story arrangements and then ended the day there. I’ve got to say that I really dig some of the new progressive drum arrangements for Bullet! You’ll see! Tomorrow we’ve planned to record Love story and Remorse. After that I’m out of here and headed for home. Bye!

T: Julian

Wed.14.09.05 13:00

Hi. Today I woke, after a lousy night, at 07:50. Brushed my teeth, had breakfast and went to Inkfish. We recoded the drums for Remorse and then put the finishing touches on the arrangement for Love Story. It came out well! Then I played the song’s drum part. It came really easily and quickly. So now the drums for all the songs are ready and my job is done. Everybody’s eating now and I’m leaving as soon as this diary is ready. They’ve planned to start recording the bass for one song today and continue them tomorrow. Then the guitar parts etc. this time around it’s been ok here. More peaceful than the last time around. Sammy got his guitar demo done and left already yesterday to get back to school. I’ll do the same today. The guys are wrecked:D Jup. Time to eat and then to go. Maybe one of us will continue this. Tsau.

T: Julian

28.9.2005

I thought I too would tell you something about the 12-23.9.2005 studio sessions. After the drums had been recorded and edited, we started recording the bass. Our usual style is to get Jason and Julian, to put down the beat and rhythm. When that’s ok we start on the trimmings. That for us means the guitars, keyboards and singing.

The mornings started nearly every day at 8:00. Really disgustingly fucking early. Normal musicians can’t live at that time in the morning. Or at least I can’t. .. The days were long and hard but otherwise quite rewarding. Fortunately our producers, Erska and Terska have a good sense of humour,(they need it with us) and are easy to get along with. They understand our really bad gay jokes and other types of comedy. Erska (Erno Laitinen), had, since our last time here, grown this great 70’s John Holmes style moustache and the first time we saw him none of us could keep a straight face. The facial growth kept us in jokes for whole two weeks. Shame none of us thought to take a photo of him. Tertsi (Teropekka Virtanen,).was full of strange terms and his delivery of these always came out of the blue and had us laughing so hard that we cried. A good example is when we were recording Remorse and Sammy was playing the solo. Right in the middle, Sammy played a great screech and Tertsi immediately, “that sounds just like the mewl of a small, janteva, feline of some kind.” All we could do was be amazed at his verbal gifts

Well, that’s enough about the producers. For the second recording session, I Theon and Christian were there the whole time and Sammy for Monday and Tuesday. So Sammy recorded the guitar at the beginning of the week and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday was when we spent the whole days on the guitars, synthesizers and vocals. Before playing anything we went through together who would be playing what and when and also any new ideas which came up. Then we each in turn played the sounds through and when we had them right they went into the can. Nothing is in its final form yet but in November we’ll put the finishing touches to it all and get the album finally in the can.

The days in the studio passed in listening, playing, and at least for myself, in continually running new ideas through my head and wondering if we were always doing things in the best way etc. It’s heavy going when your brain’s working in overtime all the time. We were also telling a lot of jokes, smoking a lot of ciggies, enjoying the fare from lunch restaurant 91.1 or the mudflap pizzas from the local Alepa shop. A lot of coffee went down as well. Last Thursday, at the end of the day, Theon and I gave an interview to STT. We were pretty tired but it must have gone ok because the interview was published in a few local papers, Metro among others. On Friday at midday we did the Favourite interview and photo session. Fortunately it didn’t interrupt the recording as Christian kept busy with the keyboards. In the smaller recording area on the other side of the studios, were A.W.Yrjänä and their producer Rake, wrapping up CMX’s new record. When he hadn’t talked to us for the first couple of days, I wondered if things had gone to his head but after a while we got chatting at the coffee table and he turned out to be a fun and laid back guy. It was probably just that he’s Finnish and Finnish guys are often a little shy and quiet. Things are going well for CMX and their “difficult” 11^th album=D.

The studio days ended at about half past five and then we headed off to the shops and from there back to the hotel, which was close to the studio. For the first week we had a great six person suite, with its own kitchen and two bathrooms. The second week we moved to a far more crowded place for four. The evenings went playing x-box, watching movies, drinking, going to the sauna and relaxing. One evening we spent with our producers and our manager/boss/ father figure, Jakke Lindberg, at an Indian restaurant enjoying the delicious food and drinks…. Usually we were so tired that we didn’t go out at all. Watching the Life for Children concert on the TV. When Uniplug received a platinum award for their album and Crazy Frog excited the kids, I lost all my faith in the music business. I nearly cried. But then I’m like that, so damn serious about the music world. Sad huh? . Sorry, I didn’t mean any disrespect to Uniplug. I believe they really deserve their success.

Well, that’s about it then. I can’t keep up this bullshit for ever. More about the next studio sessions when they happen, probably November. See ya!!!

Yours: Vivian Sin’amor

Interview Como Back to school lehti 9/2005

- How did Lovex come about?
The band was started in the spring of 2002. We were just a loose bunch of friends who wanted to get together and play some Mood Metal. The members changed and gradually the music changed from just mood-metal, nut then in March 2004 we found the final make-up of the band and it happened. The sun had just set when Lovex was born and burst metaphorically from the cave. The light was confusing but pleasing to the newborn and it was clear that Lovex would not live in others shadows. With 6 noisy heads and a manly body Lovex hardly differed from the other newborn but little did they know, who thought that it would soon cease its playing and its sounds as it grew older. The 6 headed smiler was born to be a rock star. That is the story of Lovexes birth in a nutshell then

- Have you studied music or are you self-taught? Sammy and Jason have briefly been in some band school but I don’t know if you could count that. Five of us are petty much self-taught apart from a few guitar or drum lessons from friends. Christian, our specialist in keyboards, on the other hand, has been studying music for about 15 years and at the moment is studying music technology. We have all played different instruments for nearly ten years, though.

- Who or what are Lovexes musical inspirations?
There haven’t been any clear influences. Of course, there have been bands which we have all liked a bit but we’ve all got quite distinct musical tastes and finding any particular role models is impossible. Our musical tastes only come together in Lovex. That’s why it’s such a fine band. When there are so many different points of view and we are all producing the songs then we don’t get stuck in any musical ruts. It all sounds like us of course but some pieces may be orchestral film music style or perhaps real nock your socks off rock/metal.

- What’s Lovexes main aim at the moment?
To become the worlds biggest rock band…..wink, wink….

Then, if you could give brief answer to these questions, we could get a clear picture of the band.

- Who are you?
Vivian Sin’amor (Guitarist)

- What do you listen to for inspiration?
From heavy to classical. All “good” music goes.

- What’s the best film you’ve ever seen?
Without the slightest doubt, The Lord of the Rings, Return of the King; extended version.

-Who are you?
Julian Drain (Drummer)
- What do you listen to for inspiration?
Incubus is my favourite
- What’s the best film you’ve ever seen?
The Godfather trilogy.

- Who are you?
Jason (Bassist)
- What do you listen to for inspiration?
At the moment; Used, System of a down, Enya and film music

- What’s the best film you’ve ever seen?
Fifth Element is the best, but lately Star Wars episode 3.

- Who are you?
Theon a.k.a. The terror, Laid back juicy lips (singer)

- What do you listen to for inspiration?
I don’t get inspiration from other sources. I hear enough sounds in my own head

- What’s the best film you’ve ever seen?

Titanic (yeah right!), really, Avain pakoon and Austin Powers.Strong soundtracks.yeah!

- Who are you?
Sammy Black (guitarist)

- What do you listen to for inspiration?
Finnish metal bands., Entwine, Nightwish and Cob, for example. I’ve been playing Joe Satrian’s and 3Doors Down’s albums a lot..

- What’s the best film you’ve ever seen?
Lately it’s got to be Phone Booth

- Who are you?
Christian

- What do you listen to for inspiration?
Hans Zimmer and film music in general.

- What’s the best film you’ve ever seen?
The Rock

Interview for Fani 8/2005 Magazine

- What’s the story behind Lovex? Did you have any other names for the band?

Vivian: The story behind the Lovex name is quite simple. It came from our first songs. Right in the beginning most of our songs were about lost love and Lovex is those two words, ex and love. The biggest reason for the name is that it’s really annoying and sticks in your head. Some people love it and some hate it, which in our opinion is a good thing. The world’s best and crappiest name for a band.

- Bands get very different levels of recording contracts. What’s the story behind yours?

Vivian: We just pooled all of our money and made a great demo and it landed in the right peoples hands and that was about it. It was rare though for a band to get a contract from their first demo, but when we’d finished it we had a huge amount of confidence that it was hot and that it would be strange if something didn’t budge. The reason that our first demo was so good and we got a contract from it, is that we had all played in many other bands before. All the guys have been playing at peast10 years and our keyboard player, Christian, has played in various academys for over 15 years.

- How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard it yet?

Vivian: Varied symphonic rock; or Rock symphonies...or ultimate 80’s love rock. It’s really hard trying to categorise it, because some of the songs are pure orchestral film soundtrack style and others are hard rock/metal tracks. Big sounds and beautiful melodys. Super Rock.

- When is your debut album out? What sort of material will we hear on it. Is it very varied?

Vivian: We’re hoping to have the album on the streets for the beginning of 2006. The record will be a compilation of hardrock,mood metal and film/symphony music. Machine music and some things with a whiff of the 80’s. The final choice of songs for the album hasn’t yet been finalised. All the time there are new options but the main idea is to put together a diverse mix, but of course that big sound full of rock made with real feeling and cool melodies is the main theme.

- How is your music conceived? Do you have any specific methods?

Vivian: Usually what happens is that someone has got a song roughly ready and we listen through it and then the group works out what everyone should be playing. Then we get down to putting it together. Theo plays a leading role but of course the others give their opinions too. Sometimes we’re just jamming and a song comes through.

- What about the lyrics? Where do they come from?
Vivian: for me what happens is that I’ve had some sort of idea where I’ve got the feeling for the piece and then just scribbled it down with the flow, then looked to see how it can be put into a usable form.

Theon: Things happen to us all but perhaps more to me. On Sunday mornings I just put down my feelings about them on paper

. – Are the lyrics based more on real life or your imaginations?

Vivian: Some of it’s true and written from the heart but yeah, some of it’s the product pure imagination.

Theon: It’s just not possible to use only our own experiences to write the lyrics. What happens is that you use what’s happened to you as a base and embellish it a bit.

- What’s your message to your listeners?
Theon: Your not alone…It all comes down on us all.

- Now you’ve had time to digest your gigs. Have you found any theme or other memorable happening, or happenings…?
Theon: We just had to break something, so a bunch of us smashed up a barstool in the Kaivohuone restaurants back room for about half an hour. It broke.
Vivian: Yeah, and in that frame of mind it really was fun…

- What’s the best show you’ve seen another band put on? And why?

Theon: Darkness really took my soul. A perfect entertainment!

Vivian: Metallica 18.11.1996...Their first big icehall gig and oh boy! It was a great show.

- What bands are your all-time favourite bands?

Theon: Queen. So many other good bands at some time or other wig out and produce some real bullshit, so that’s gotta be my answer.
Vivian: Guns’n Roses. For the same reasons...all of their songs are terrific..

-And have you found any interesting new bands lately?

Theon: Just recently I’ve been listening to some heavier stuff. Kill switch Engage and Soilwork really kick ass!
Vivian: The first new band to come to my mind is Crashdiet. It’s a great orchestra. There aren’t really any more that I could honestly give a 10 to.

- Which Finnish bands are most to your taste?

Theon: Disco Ensemble, Paskalataus. In Finland, (mainly Tampere) there’s some really good ”underground music. It pays to go the gigs!
Vivian: Hei...that Paskalataus is hot: Other good home-grown bands are HIM, The Rasmus, Uniklubi, Maija Vilkkumaa, Disco Ensemble and yeah, Sentenced was good until they broke up. Oh, and Entwined new album is good stuff. ,

- How often do you visit your own web site forum?

24/7. Or at least once a day, or nearly every day.

- What is Lovexe's objective?
To become the worlds biggest rock band! And to find me a beautiful wife. (Theon).

Here are 8/2005 Favourite Web slave Theon’s Funnies

TOP 13 songs for the selfconfidence booster.

1. Survivor: Eye of the Tiger
-2 sharp left hooks, raw egg down your throat and your ready for the ring again.

2. Daze: Superhero Lover
-Best ever name for a song and easy to take in this “ carefully thought out” song’s message. WARNING: it doesn’t bear listening to too often.

3.Britney Spears: Oops... I Did It Again
-Looking at my beautiful features in the mirror, my athletic body and my impeccable sense of style, I can only say “Oops…I did it again!”

4. Kenny Loggins: Danger Zone
-Top Gun offers 80’s rock. What would I do if I could be Maverick for just a day?

5. Sepi Kumpulainen: Mighty Man
-Sepi has written in his memoirs what all Finnish men think about themselves after a few brews

6. AC/DC: Thunder
-this is what I’ve named one of my body parts…… my right bicep.

7. Bee Gees: Stayin' alive
-New York dance moves that humble us..

8. Judas Priest: Turbo Lover
-The second best ever name for a song. Raising wonder and awe in every true lovin’ machine.

9.Matti Nykanen: Only a Hill Man Can Know It
-Our Masa is just a misunderstood genius!

10. Hot Chocolate: You sexy Thing
-To the best of my knowledge this timeless masterpiece is about me.

11. Abba: Dancing Queen Terrible song! But sometime my feminine side just takes over.

12. Twisted Sister: I Wanna Rock
-so that you won’t immediately forget in what’s name this revolutionary bit of music has been created..

13. Right Said Fred: I'm Too Sexy
-A rough diamond from these long time musicians which every time I hear it, remind me why people stop and stare at me on the street.

Yours, Theon

Promotion Shots 26.5.2005

My mobile alarm went off at 5:10 in Jason’s place in Tampere, and after a couple of dozes I got myself up. Then Sammy called and said that he’d pick up Chris and Theo first, then come and get us, ( Viivi had gone on to Helsinki ahead). After popping in to the Nekala Esso to buy some fuel and take-away coffees, about 6am Sammy’s new Ascona was heading for Helsinki. We stopped once for a ciggie at a motorway rest and arrived about 8:30.

We were met in a small office by two stylists (one we’d maybe seen on MTV3’s Model School program) and our photographer Alexi and his assistant. After a while we had our hair styling done. I was the first prepared for the shoot and while the road to beauty can be a difficult one, with the help of the professionals everything went well:) During this time the rest of the band were scoffing “delicious” meatball rollsJ Don’t need to buy them again. The whole group went one by one to make-up and about halfway through this process Alexi, his assistant and I left for the shoot site. We took a short break for a ham roll at a service station and then kept on going to the selected spot, a bit of forest in Kirkkonummi, about 30 kilometres west of Helsinki. It was around 1 o clock ….

The photographic pair then started setting up the equipment and after 20 mins. Bullhead’s Jakke arrived. We chatted a while and the subject of the day’s filming requisite, nearly every boy and girls dream, a Hummer. One of those funny/strange cars. Its whereabouts were uncertain. The car rental agency had said that the car was on its way but when asked again said that it was still in the garage under a dust-sheet. Super, but after half an hours frantic phone calls from Jakke, the car was supposed to be on its way again. A horn sounded and the made-up and the make-up artists arrived. The time was somewhere between 3 and 4 pm when we started getting changed for the shoot and they once again touched up our hair and make-up.

There was no sign of the Hummer and everything was ready. The weather looked a bit uncertain so we decided to begin the shoot. Just then the Hummer showed up and then, right after the first photograph, it started to rain. Fuck. The cameras were packed up and we all sheltered in the cars. There we sat and wondered. With the make-up people and the camera pros and the special effect, the whole day was incredibly expensive and it was impossible to postpone till another day. But things have a way of sorting themselves out and after half an hour the rain gradually stopped and we able to continue the session!

Again hair and make-up, the smoke machine working and the Hummer in place and the photography commenced. I sat on the Hummer’s roof and they started to take pictures as fast as possible and they came out great! The cover for the Bleeding single was one of the first shots taken. It was cloudy and spitting with rain and we never new if it would start pouring again. When it didn’t start raining properly again we tried out some different camera angles and all that. The, as the weather was still reasonable we decided to pack up the gear and change location

Another break for a roll and then we changed to another spot. The side of the road somewhere where there was a bus stop. I remember we took a few more pics with the Hummer, and then they got some shots of it leaving. Next Alexi told us to lie down in the middle of the road and we did what we were told and it was funJ but I doubt that any usable pictures came out of it.

We went back to Alexi’s studio and he took some individual portraits of us all. It must have been 9:00 but it was still another 2 hrs.until all the shots were taken. Then we looked through some of the day’s pictures and Alexi showed us what it’s possible to do with Photoshop. Tired but happy we piled back into Sammy’s Ascona and headed back to Tampere. One stop at the services so our driver didn’t fall asleep …. Some continued from Tampere to Hämeenkyrö and I went on to Ikaali. I was home at 3:00.

Today I got the single cover by e-mail and I’ve got to say that it looks damn cool! This‘ll bring Finland’s music world to its knees! J

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Julian Drain