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Apocalyptica - Interview with Mikko

Apocalyptica - Interview with Mikko
BANDS : Apocalyptica

 

Metalfan: Hello, Mikko. How do you feel in Apocalyptica? For how long have you been a member?
Mikko:
Actually I’ve been a member only… like official member I’ve been only from the beginning of this year. It’s been only for months now, but basically I’ve been with the band for a bit over 3 years now, so in that sense it’s nothing new to any of us that I’m now an official member.

Metalfan: So you’ve been with them on tour, at the drums…
Mikko:
Yes.

Metalfan: Did you play in other bands before?
Mikko:
Yeah, I mean I like quite a lot of other things as well. In the Finnish scene I’ve played in a local hit band for a couple of years before joining Apocalyptica.

Metalfan: They weren’t metal bands?
Mikko:
No, they were like a bit of pop music, a bit of like contemporary pop music. I’ve done quite a lot of like electronic music, at the moment I do also gigs if I have time with the Finnish DJ called Darude. He was a big star a few years ago all around Europe. So I try to mix as many things as I can.

 

 

Metalfan: How did you come to play together? Were you friends before?
Mikko:
Not actually. I didn’t know any of them personally. We got to know actually from a friend of mine who is a drummer as well and he introduced us to each other and that was it. It was basicaly a short conversation and then we ended up playing together at just a couple of gigs from that phone call.

Metalfan: But you’re friends now…
Mikko:
[laughs] Yeah, we are friends now.

Metalfan: I have a question here – if it is important that the musicians involved in a band to be friends with each other or it is better to keep themselves at a strictly professional level. That’s why I keep asking you about friendship.
Mikko:
I would think in a band it’s most important that people working together, the band, the whole crew when we are on tour, I think it’s most important thing that we all like each other and that we all appreciate what others are doing. I mean a band, like musicwise to get the best out of it, is really important to like each other. It is important to be friends, so that we can connect in many levels. And we are truly close friends at the moment, all four of us.

Metalfan: What did you think about Apocalyptica before? Did you listen to their records?
Mikko:
Yeah, I listened to them. Not too much, but of course I knew who they were, I’ve seen a couple of their gigs and I heard their songs, but I didn’t listen too much of it so I didn’t have such a strong opinion about their music. In a way it was a good thing because I was able to create my own opinion when meeting them.

 

 

Metalfan: They started to record their own compositions, leaving the covers behind. Do you think that was a good idea? How hard was it to attract the public on their side?
Mikko:
I think it was a good idea, it’s not that easy to make people sure about your own music when you’re at first a cover band. But it’s definitely the next step you have to take, you can’t do all your life cover songs. It would be like a short road to do it like that so you have to improve your skills and try to take new challenges. And I think they’ve come up quite ok. There’s of course lots of things that we have to improve on song writing. But we’re working on it.

Metalfan: Well, you do it very good anyway. Is it possible that some time in the near future the guys will put down the cellos, grab some guitars and a bass and become a classic rock/metal band?
Mikko:
I hope not [laughs]
Metalfan: I hope not, too [laughs]
Mikko: I’ve heard when they play guitar and it’s not nice. They don’t play guitar too good. They play cello really good, but guitar and bass… no way! [laughs]

Metalfan: Well that is good to hear, I’m so relieved! So, how important is it for a musician to make successful music and be appreciated by the fans? Is it really important to you?
Mikko:
Of course it’s nice when you’ve created something and you get feedback from the audience and the audience likes it. I don’t think it’s like the main thing that you would want… to gain huge success. It can’t be the main thing. The main thing is that you really like what you are doing, that you try to do whatever you are doing the best way and when you get the feedback from the audience, people like it… it’s really good. We are doing it for the audience, of course, but gaining success is not the main thing.

 

 

Metalfan: When it comes to playing live, would you prefer to perform indoors or outdoors?
Mikko:
I think it’s really nice to do both. It’s nice to do really big venues on festivals, it’s like a dream come true that you can do that, but it’s always nice to play in a really small clubs when the audience is there for you and you can see everybody’s faces and when they are laughing and stuff like that. So it’s really nice to do that as well.

Metalfan: In May you will have this concert in Romania. This is your second visit here…
Mikko:
Yeah, actually for me it’s a first one. The guys were here five or six years ago.

Metalfan: You had the chance to perform several times in this part of Europe. Are there any major differences between the western audience and the eastern one?
Mikko:
In some eastern countries I think people are more enthusiastic about the bands because…uhm… not anymore that much, but three or four years ago not so many bands visited those countries, but now every main act also does those parts of eastern Europe so now it’s not that rare thing for the audience there. But sometimes the audience is a bit more enthusiastic there. Which is nice, of course.

 

 

Metalfan: You’re probably away from home most of the time with this touring. Are there any moments when you would give away all this artist life for a moment of peace and loneliness?
Mikko:
[laughs] I think our tours are planned quite ok. We tour from time to time and we tour a lot, for instance last year was quite rough. We had almost like 200 days off from home and it was rough but then again we’ve been home for 4 months in a row. And now when the summer comes it’s really, really nice to go on tour again.
Metalfan: But aren’t your girlfriends or wives jealous of you leaving all the time?
Mikko: Yes, they are! [laughs]

Metalfan: What is the biggest price you would agree to pay for glory?
Mikko:
[pauses] Uhm… I really can’t say. I really can’t say… sorry [laughs]

Metalfan: Let us pretend that we are putting together a rock/metal encyclopedia. What is the chapter we should put Apocalyptica into?
Mikko:
We should have our own chapter called Cello Rock. And actually I think there should be two bands: Electric Light Orchestra and us. It should be one chapter containing these two bands.

 

 

Metalfan: Let’s talk a little about your future plans.
Mikko:
Now we do the tour in the summer ‘till September and then… all the time we are working on new material, but then we’ll start to do it like 24/7. Now all we do is really practicing and then starting to record our new album.

Metalfan: What do you expect from your concert in Romania?
Mikko:
I hope it to be really crazy, I hope there will be a lot of people coming to enjoy our show and to have a good time.

Metalfan: Who will we see on stage at this concert? Will it just be you and the guys or do you plan to bring a vocalist or other guests?
Mikko:
No, there won’t be any vocalists involved in this tour, it’s just going to be us.

Metalfan: Thank you very much for your time and I hope we’ll have the chance to talk again at the concert.
Mikko:
Thanks, I hope so, too.

Metalfan: If you have any message to say to your Romanian fans, please do.
Mikko:
I hope to see every fan of ours at the show in May, it would be very nice. See you!


Special thanks to Sake for his help.

Autor: Nebelhexa
Vezi galeriile trupelor: Apocalyptica

   May 19, 2006  | 1 Comments  | 13729 Views « BACK

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