Huolet ja Murheet are a brand new band with not so brand new members. If you consider all the hours spent in musty basements with a bunch of dicks, out of money and beer, it's a wonder that the need for writing songs sticks with some.
Miro: If I start to play something that sucks, the feedback is instant. We are all responsible for the outcome. I like the idea of simultaneously being and not being accountable for the songs alone. For Huolet ja Murheet, singer Iiris is writing texts too, in addition to mine. I'm not a fan of writing text, text and vocal melodies are always there to accompany the music. Vocals are just my orchestration for strings or whatever.
Combat Rock Shop, the only punk rock store in Finland, will close it's doors permanently tomorrow. It's sad.
What next, Jani?
Jani: I will go to college.
I met Jani the first time at a show in Lauttasaari in the late 90's. He was trying to sell me the latest Aurinkokerho ep. Who remembers what they costed back then?
Here's Janis late afternoon choice for an anxious undergraduated 40 year old punk.
...How each agony wore the aspect of a struggle with some invisible foe...
(Edgar Allan Poe: Ligeia)
As a huge fan of aggressive music I get frustrated pretty often. A lot of bands suck sounding aggressive, destructive or just plain mad. I guess it has to do with the world we're living in. It gets more safe and sound all the time, surgeons and jet pilots listen to Carcass, yoga teachers recite Bolt Thrower and dogs collect their own turd. Still, there's plenty things fucked up, scary and mad and the essence of it all makes the feeling more collective than before. Which makes it better or worse? I don't know. A goddamn cycle of shit and nightmare that's what it looks like.
So, what would the world be like without Heavy Metal?
"Without heavy metal there would be only chaos, because heavy metal rules!"
When everything turns to shit, I thank bands like Turhuus. Thank you Turhuus.
Why did you start a band?
Antti: Just for fun. Turhuus started as a bedroom project in 2008. In 2011 I gathered some of my friends to play a gig. It was fun, so we played more gigs and recorded the Apatia syvenee EP. Years later the project came full circle and I recorded the second EP myself. It's still fun, but it has also become a form of therapy.
Did you have a very clear vision when you started Turhuus and did you get close what you wanted? Or do you even think that it's even important?
Antti: The musical direction and aesthetics of Turhuus were pretty clear from the start. Writing songs is fairly slow because I will discard every idea that doesn't have just the right feel to it. But the earliest songs were actually created quite spontaneously. I recorded some improvised drum tracks and then hastily added the first riffs I would come up with. Oh, the energy and innocence of youth! It's not necessary to have any kind of vision when making music. The outcome is what matters. However, with Turhuus there's a set of limits and I enjoy the challenge of creating things within those limits.
Do you have other therapy projects besides Turhuus and how does the future look like for this band?
Antti: I make basic pop/rock stuff under the name Mikael Huovinen. A third Turhuus EP is in the making, and the latest live lineup has proved to be lethal!
Gid been playing in various bands for some time now plus he's always doing zines and other art, organising shows at Oranssi, making hamburgers for bands and biking around the endless streets of Helsinki. An honor to know such a person. So I was excited to finally hear Plastic Tones new stuff and even more excited to hear that there will be not one, but two 45's out, hopefully by the end of this year.
Will there be keyboards involved? (Should be).
Gid Plastics: There's no keyboards this time, but a bit of xylophone, and lots of tambourine and hand claps! All of us have some Millenium Falcon-style keyboards at home, but were not that good, that we'd have dared to use those in the recordings. Yet.
Does this feel like a band you can be as active as it seems you need to be?
Gid Plastics: Short answer: Yes. Longer answer: For a while this have been the main band for all of us. It doesn't mean that the other bands and projects are less important, but for example we have played so much shows already on our first year of existence, that it would have been hard or impossible to focus on other bands with the same volume. I think some of use have also gotten bored on the "let's get drunk instead of putting some effort on the band"-punk ethics, even though that have also brought some really great songs and records to life. We try to make everything as well as possible, and not to be ashamed of admitting it!
"But what about this price? Should a man, to preserve his life, pay everything that gives life colour, scent and excitement? Can one accept a life of digestion, respiration, muscular and brain activity - and nothing more? Become a walking blueprint? Is not this an exorbitant price? Is it not mockery? Should one pay?"
"Woke up covered in sweat this morning to nothing else but air-raid warning, how the hell have we come to this, our world is about to be blown to bits" - Radux: Last Ones to Survive
In my youth the parents listened to Vivaldi, tangos or nothing. You got introduced to decent music (=heavy metal and punk) through your friends older brother who taped you Metallica and Crumbsuckers. 90 minutes, over your own brothers blues tape. The next generation was more lucky. My music teacher, once a mighty mandolin player, taught his son to listen King Crimson and Radux bassist found Deep Purple records from his fathers (why not mothers?) collection. Add Iron Maiden and Judas Priest and it's for life.
The only time I saw Radux was when I was going swimming in a deep deep hangover and wasn't able to stand still. They were just what I needed, but after the dip in the lake they had already finished their set and I still couldn't stand still.
Craft or bulk beer?
Radux: Bulk.
Any John Bush era Anthrax worth listening?
Radux: No.
Not many things are necessary on tour. For me it's wipes, but I always forget them and on the first gas station stop I only buy beer and chips, and by the time I next time remember them it's too late. And why the hell I always bring a book. School's out!
I had an in-depth tour briefing with Aleksi from Maailmanloppu who are leaving for another tour with Kuudes Silmä tomorrow. This must be their 12th tour this year.
What's the most important thing to pack on tour?
Aleksi: Nothing is mandatory. But I always have my biker boots and a sleeping pack with me on tour - it sucks if your feet are wet or you freeze during the nights.
How long till you get tired of free beer (and what then)?
Aleksi: I never get tired of it. The secret is not to get greedy. For example: in the morning, drink the free coffee and juice. I bet there is more free beer available again in the next venue! You will be wasted before you get to go to sleep, I promise!
