Interview: Miloš Ristić
Photo: Miloš Ristić

Egzecutor: Miloš Ristić
Collocutors: Juha&Teemu
Place: in tour bus behind festival stage at MYOTATUULIROCK, Vantaa, Finland
Time: 17.06.2006. u 17.30h

VENIA:. Why is metal so popular in Finland?
JUHA: I think we have very large fan base in Finland.
TEEMU: It’s some kind of cliché, but still, we have six fucking months of pure darkness here you know, in winter time, and of course, we need certain type of mind to just survive fucking darkness. I think we are quite melancholic.
JUHA: I think the reason is that people in Finland, they don’t like if someone from Finland tries to make music which is sounded like fucking Brit pop. British pop or something likes that, if somebody doing for example rap music or some kind of British pop.
TEEMU But still, question is why so many bands in Finland play metal.
JUHA: Because metal is the most honest music, which tributes old fashion Finnish music, old fashion melodies, very traditional base music.
TEEMU: But still. We don’t know.

VENIA:.This is also an answer.
JUHA: Maybe just explanations. No answers for that.
TEEMU: Ha! Ha! Ha! It’s strange but I’m proud on that.

VENIA: Everybody call your style of music as gothic. Is it so clear or you can add something to describe it better?
TEEMU: In my opinion, all of these labels, critics have made those fucking labels. In my opinion, we play metal. That’s all. Rock based metal.
JUHA: In the name of metal nowadays, you can do everything like we did “House of silent” and “Air”.
TEEMU: Exactly!
JUHA: It doesn’t have to be so wild. It doesn’t have to be so narrow, the way you are walking with metal music. You can do everything with it nowadays. People are more open-minded with music and it was nice when we had chance to made experiments on new album. Doing the “Downhearted” oooo fuck, it is too narrow the way we are doing, what we can do more here. Everything has to go different to certain scale, but on “Songs for the Sinners” I noticed: “Hei, we can do anything, we can expand our range wherever we want”.
TEEMU: We are old enough to do what ever we wish.
JUHA: “Songs for the Sinners” was first album where I really enjoy doing. Of course, every album also, but doing for “Songs for the Sinners” I liked: “Ooo my God, we can do so many different things with this kind of music”. Not regarding the genre or where we gonna be labeled or anything like that. You haven’t to be so gothic all the time and people love it. People loves songs like “House of silent” and different kind of stuff.
TEEMU: Which is nice.

VENIA: You had two gigs with band Phantasmagoria, in Osijek and in Belgrade. Could you say something about them, did you hear them?
JUHA: No, we were just drinking with them. Ha! Ha! Ha!
TEEMU: They were nice guys.
JUHA: They were nice guys an impression of people from both of this country was really nice. We loved it very much.

VENIA: Last year when I was in Helsinki at Tuska time, I heard on Radio City really several times your song “Religious Delicious”. What do you think which song from this new album has same hit potential?
JUHA: Radio City plays our songs “Colder” and “Ride on Tears”, they are the most played songs on Radio City last few months because they are singles.
TEEMU: Unfortunately, Radio City only plays singles.
JUHA: Fucking the most selling music, not from artistic side. They don’t understand that Finnish metal bands selling the most in foreign countries and they are trying to push fucking rap or R’n'B and pop and shit like that. They just want to denied that Finnish metal selling a lot because: “It is satanic music!” Ha! Ha! Ha!
Now they have to change their opinion because Lordi came at and win fucking Eurovision song contest. Ha! Ha! Ha!

VENIA:.Yes, I’m glad about that because Finland showed that metal is the future.
TEEMU: Exactly.
JUHA: And whole world woke up and saw the thing.

VENIA: What is the most important thing about your last album which every fan should know? Is there something special?
JUHA: I think that they know everything because it is the most honest album we ever made.
TEEMU: Well, sweet and blood. It’s all there.
JUHA: At least they should know that lyrics aren’t from love. Ha! Ha! Ha!
TEEMU: That is some kind of love.
JUHA: It is just one man really depressive thoughts.
TEEMU: Our wet dreams.
JUHA: Wet dreams of hating myself. I think they know everything about it. I don’t want to say this song is about that and that, because people should find their own meanings from lyrics.
TEEMU: I think that quite important thing is Lauri and his part in new album.
JUHA: That was a first thing, Lauri took a part of composing songs for “Songs for the Sinners” and this is really a big step for the Charon. It made a whole atmosphere to the album because we were so free, freely composing the music, we were play together. Anyway, we had courage to try something new, with Lauri of course.

VENIA: There is noticeable presence of the cello on your album “Songs for the Sinners”. In your opinion, what is that what make classical instrument so effective in gothic and metal music?
JUHA: We didn’t use cello because everybody use cello in gothic music. First time we used cello because it fits with my voice so well.
TEEMU: We have used it on almost every fucking album.
JUHA: Nooo! Only two. “Downhearted” and “Songs for the Sinners” and it was only because we noticed that it fits with my voice so well.
TEEMU: He has baritone voice and it is some kind of low tuning also.
JUHA: Cello is pretty close to human voice like saxophone.

VENIA:. You (Juha) are a fan of Nick Cave. What do you appreciate the most in his work, singing or song writing? What is your favorite Nick Caves album?
JUHA: I prefer Nick Caves songwriting, the storytelling, not singing. I think “The sorrowful wife” is pretty great tune of Nick Cave. Every song is great because Nick Cave doesn’t prefer singing, its storytelling. “Murder ballads” was his first album that I find out. Every album is great.

VENIA:. Charon ualways tried to have interaction with the fans. As your band is bigger and bigger over the years, is it hard for you to stay in touch with your fans? How fans can ‘reach’ you?
JUHA: Via e-mail. Of course, there is no time to answer to everybody. The most interesting questions are with the picture. Ha! Ha! Ha! It’s interesting to answer. Ha! Ha! Ha!
TEEMU: You should eat, sleep, live, so it’s impossible to answer to everybody.

VENIA: Recently you’ve play in Croatia and Serbia for the first time. What impressions you took home?
JUHA: I was astonished! Concerning the history of country’s, nearer history. What happen not so long time ago. It’s great that people still can celebrate, forgetting everything. I was talking with the people about things that I know only from the news. When I see on news, OK, somebody blown up in Belgrade again. But when we get there and I heard story’s from the people who lived there. It was like: “Ooo my God it’s so near! It’s really happening not only in news!” I didn’t think about gig. I didn’t think how we are gonna do gig. I was just thinking when this people find a time to like our music, they had so many problems few years ago. And the people was so great, they were lovely.
TEEMU: It was fucking strange because still few older people in Finland have traumas from winter war and it was 70 years ago. In last decade you had much more major problems, it’s strange but wonderful.
JUHA: It was wonderful to see the people, open minded they were. I liked that very much. And visiting the country’s, taking a part, sharing the stories with the people. And that was a moment that I felt that gig and the music isn’t the most important in the life, just attitude of the people.

VENIA:.Can you say something about your gig in Osijek?
JUHA: It was great, fanatic. Thanks for the people there and so was the Belgrade, great places. It so shame, I felt shame that people in such beautiful country had a make such war, but you cant explains anything. That’s a human nature, the same can happen in any country if just happen to goes to that point. And if Yugoslavia doesn’t give you a chance to go from the state peacefully, than you do something else. Am I right?

VENIA:.Yes, but its better to forget all of this.
JUHA: Of course. It’s a great example what happen during a gigs.
TEEMU: I have to disagree because you should never forget, you should learn.

VENIA:My experience is telling something, because of your gigs there I met Tomi and Ivy.
JUHA: You started to build new relationships.

VENIA:.What is your favorite song to play on set?
JUHA: “House of the Silent”. I like singing it, it’s really low.
TEEMU: For me it’s “Guilt on Skin” because it’s just rocks.

VENIA: What do you miss the most when you’re on tour and what is the greatest happiness when you’re far from home?
JUHA: I miss the life with guys. Its so different world with this, but it’s the life than we spent together here totally different kind of a world.
TEEMU: It’s like parallel universe.
JUHA: It’s like world beside normal world.
TEEMU: Nowadays I don’t miss anything. I am always like fucking sad when I get back home.
JUHA: I miss that time because they are my only friends.
TEEMU: You haven’t any friends! We are not your friends! Ha! Ha! Ha!
JUHA: We are from small town and these are my only friends and I like to share things with guys. And its so open minded discussions with this guys when you are sitting here in the bus. It’s like: “Ooo guys I have some kind of disease going on try to check it out”. Ha! Ha! Ha!
TEEMU: We have grown up together.
JUHA: This is our home, we are not the guys who are only playing together.
TEEMU: We are friends..
JUHA: We are drunk on the free time also together.
TEEMU: It’s like we are brothers in arms.
JUHA: I think that’s the one strength of Charon. Of course, I miss my family and things like that but this is as important as everything.
TEEMU: Its kind of paradox, when you are in fucking home you miss the fucking tour bus, and when you are too long at tour bus you need peace for one night. But when you are at home, it’s like: “OK, when we are going again?”
JUHA: Two weeks on European tour and when I’m back at home and my wife comes on railway station I’m like this: “Bring me somewhere to rest”. And she is like: “I know how you feel, just lay on back sit and I shall bring you home”. And I: “I love youuuuuuuu!” Ha! Ha! Ha!

VENIA:.You are married?
JUHA: Yes, and I have wonderful kid, one year and four months. Juuso.

VENIA:.If you could tour with any band on this world what band would you choose and why?
JUHA: Katatonia or Amorphis. They are playing music that’s fits to our music, nothing extraordinary like Metallicaaaaaa! Ha! Ha! Ha! For example Katatonia from Sweden.

VENIA: Do you have any plans to come over to Croatia and Serbia again?
JUHA: We have to come to Croatia and Serbia during next year.
TEEMU: We have always said it’s not up to us. We have to cover our expenses.
JUHA: If somebody is paying our trip to play, of course we can come.

VENIA:.I shall give my best to arrange that.
JUHA: All we need that somebody pay travel expenses and we would play in any country. Now we have new manager and we shall do it during next year.

VENIA:.Could you say something to your fans in Croatia and Serbia?
JUHA: I wish, this could be a promise that we are gonna see, of course we are gonna see during next year.
TEEMU: This is promise, we shall come, we are gonna fucking rock your world and rock your asses off.
JUHA: Lets the music unite and forget fucking politics.
TEEMU: Fuck everything, except music. Ha! Ha! Ha!
Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!
Kippis!

www.charon.fi