COB Interviews

[Necroraven]

Thanks a lot for clearing that up

 

[sleeper666]

When we were making the first out-of-control version of the site, I read some interview where Alexi told that he borrowed one of Roope's Jacksons for the Sinergy tour, but he indeed just meant that Roope's Iommi Cross RR which he used for some shows. There's some photos of him with it and an "Ozzy Fucking Osbourne" tee, maybe someone can find & post them.

 

[children of COB]

@sleeper: Wow, and yet another awesome interview! Thanks a lot, it's not usual to find interviews with Sinergy, and not as cool as that one, thanks!


@Lari: The green pinstriped was in fact Alexi's, dunno from who he bought it but it was Alexi's. Then the Iommi crosses one which is the one he borrowed from Roope. And that was it for the Sinergy tour I think. And then for a Bodom tour Musamaailma lent him a standard RR1 so he'd had the green pinstriped and the RR1 as backup guitar I guess. Of course is all guess because I've not asked Alexi or gotten the information from a 100% reliable source, but seems pretty logical. About the neck being damaged, if the RR1 was sold later on it can't be it. And Roope¡s Iommi crosses appears on CRY and he used it last summer playing live with Stone so it can't be that one either. So I guess it's the green pinstriped RR, but then again that guitar appears on the T,L&S DVD, so I don't know.

 

[Lari]

Thanks again, sleeper!

@Lari: The green pinstriped was in fact Alexi's, dunno from who he bought it but it was Alexi's. Then the Iommi crosses one which is the one he borrowed from Roope. And that was it for the Sinergy tour I think.

Yep!

And then for a Bodom tour Musamaailma lent him a standard RR1 so he'd had the green pinstriped and the RR1 as backup guitar I guess. Of course is all guess because I've not asked Alexi or gotten the information from a 100% reliable source, but seems pretty logical.

Musamaailma must have lent it for him for the Sinergy tour, not for any COB tours. His original Jacksons were stolen in September 2002, Sinergy tour was in (November-?)December 2002 and the next shows Alexi played was with COB on the Japan tour in February 03 opening up for Halford, where he was using the green striped Jackson again. Also on the first shows of the HCDR Eurotour in Finland, before Alexi got his white ESP scythe mid-tour for the Swedish dates, Alexi played only the green striped Jackson. Even Angels (edit: but NOT 6p) was played in the same tuning as the other tracks, I guess this has been discussed a few times before. But after Alexi got his first ESP he started to use the green pinstriped Jackson for the downtuned songs.

About the neck being damaged, if the RR1 was sold later on it can't be it. And Roope ¡s Iommi crosses appears on CRY and he used it last summer playing live with Stone so it can't be that one either. So I guess it's the green pinstriped RR, but then again that guitar appears on the T,L&S DVD, so I don't know.

Well, I guess it's possible to repair or replace a damaged neck so in theory it could be any of those guitars, I'd assume. I have these very vague memories from some ancient interviews that it would've been the one from Musamaailma and that there would've been problems with the green striped which had already back then seen it's best days, hence Alexi had to go with plan C and use Roope's Iommi cross RR. But I could very well be wrong.

 

[children of COB]

Musamaailma must have lent it for him for the Sinergy tour, not for any COB tours. His original Jacksons were stolen in September 2002, Sinergy tour was in (November-?)December 2002 and the next shows Alexi played was with COB on the Japan tour in February 03 opening up for Halford, where he was using the green striped Jackson again. Also on the first shows of the HCDR Eurotour in Finland, before Alexi got his white ESP scythe mid-tour for the Swedish dates, Alexi played only the green striped Jackson. Even Angels and 6p were played in the same tuning as the other tracks, I guess this has been discussed a few times before. But after Alexi got his first ESP he started to use the green pinstriped Jackson for the downtuned songs.

He may not have used it for the COB tours, but he needed a backup guitar, so he may have had it as backup in case something happened to the green pinstriped. He can't go on tour with only one guitar. And about Sixpounder it was never played in D standard (SW, HB, FTR and most of HCD tuning, the other is drop C). Angels Don't Kill was, but Sixpounder never.

Well, I guess it's possible to repair or replace a damaged neck so in theory it could be any of those guitars, I'd assume. I have these very vague memories from some ancient interviews that it would've been the one from Musamaailma and that there would've been problems with the green striped which had already back then seen it's best days, hence Alexi had to go with plan C and use Roope's Iommi cross RR. But I could very well be wrong.

Depending. On a neck thru body guitar (like all of Alexi's and like Jackson RR1s) it's not possible to fix a damaged neck because the body and the neck are one piece, so if something gets fucked up you have to change the whole guitar. Maybe some small damage (maybe it just got bent a bit and they were able to fix it with the truss road, which is a kind of screw that is inside the neck of the guitar and that can be used to adjust the neck if it bends a bit), but e.g. broken neck on a neck-thru is impossible to fix.

 

[Lari]

He may not have used it for the COB tours, but he needed a backup guitar, so he may have had it as backup in case something happened to the green pinstriped. He can't go on tour with only one guitar.

Possible, yeah.

And about Sixpounder it was never played in D standard (SW, HB, FTR and most of HCD tuning, the other is drop C). Angels Don't Kill was, but Sixpounder never.

Ah yes, of course. You're absolutely right! My mistake. I should think before posting! Thanks for correcting me

Depending. On a neck thru body guitar (like all of Alexi's and like Jackson RR1s) it's not possible to fix a damaged neck because the body and the neck are one piece, so if something gets fucked up you have to change the whole guitar. Maybe some small damage (maybe it just got bent a bit and they were able to fix it with the truss road, which is a kind of screw that is inside the neck of the guitar and that can be used to adjust the neck if it bends a bit), but e.g. broken neck on a neck-thru is impossible to fix.

Honestly I don't really know much about guitars so I wouldn't know. However, I dug up the radio interview (Metalliliitto Jan 2003) this thing was covered in. I couldn't find the original MP3 (I know I have it somewhere..) but I did find a translation I made of it back in the day. Not quite sure if it's been posted here before. It seems like it's likely that it was actually the green striped Jackson which neck was damaged.

I couldn't be arsed to fix any typos so here it is as it was written down in 2003:

----- Needled 24/7 -----

KF : Good evening Children of Bodom! Alexi "W.C." Laiho, hello.

Alexi : Hello, hello.

KF : And Janne.. is it Warman, Wirman or Barman?

Janne : Well, let it be Barman today.

KF : Okay, let's begin with that. I've heard you've been busy this Christmas, Alexi. How so?
Were you jumping on taxi's on the independence day or what?

Alexi : Well, I haven't been jumping anywhere.. atleast in Finland. Only the Christmas
actually wasn't hasty but the last month too. I came from the Sinergy round only a little
time ago. Well, three days ago actually. And before that.. I mean when I went there I was
exhausted because the week before had been full of interviews and 'record listening' parties,
drinking, mixing the record and other larking plus the one-month-tour.. And now when I
finally get home to rest, then they tell me that the next three days I'll be sitting here in
Ateljée talking trash.. (laugh) So well.. it's not a problem.

KF : It's not a problem?

Alexi : It's just fine with me.

KF : And the year has gone well from other aspects aswell.. Your guitars were stolen, have
you seen them after it?

Alexi : Haven't seen 'em.. But fuck.. If I ever see the guy who stole them.. He'll get a beating,
that's for sure!

KF : Where did it actually happen? After Nosturi gig.. was it in September or what?

Alexi : Yup. After the Nosturi gig from our training place. It's just something incomprehensible.
We had a party there, of course, so there were some extra people.. Some fucking faggot just decided
to stole them.. It's kinda sad situation because we should start touring and stuff..

KF : Your most precious is gone.

Alexi : Yeah. Exactly. When I was going to the Sinergy tour I had this one guitar which was in a
bad shape. I just got it fixed so that I had one guitar that I like to play with when I left.. And
then its neck broke during the tour..

KF : From which one of you?

Alexi : (laugh) From me at first and then from the fuckin' guitar (laugh). I've had some bad luck
with guitars lately..

KF : Have you got yourself any new equipment, Alexi?

Alexi : I've made an purchase order.. so when our tours begin I just might have some. They'll probablly
get stolen too.. (laugh)

KF : Already on the way to Finland.

Alexi : Mostly likely (laugh).

KF : They must be some sort of custom stuff that they won't be made in a second or what?

Alexi : Nope.. I'll get them after 3 or 4 months. But well, we'll see.

KF : Will it be your own Jackson-design?

Alexi : It won't be a Jackson anymore..

KF : It won't?

Alexi : .. I don't get any price cut from Jackson anymore because it was sold to Fender recently. And
if I'd like to have new Jackson guitars from the custom shop I'd had to wait a year to get them.
I don't have the fuckin' time to play on a Jackson (laugh)

Janne : (laugh)

Alexi : ..because I'd had to wait a year. So I've got a message from ESP that I could get in three
months the guitars that I want. So I have no choice but to start to play on ESP and see how things go.

KF : But the recording session went fine, right? The fourth Children of Bodom -album.. Hate Crew
Deathroll! The guitars were still safe.

Alexi : That's right Klasu ('silly' nickname for Klaus) (laugh). Yeah, both guitars were still there..
I'm lucky to have the record done by that. It would've been a total mess if I hadn't..

KF : You got back to Astia.. does the studio matter a lot?

Janne : Yes it does.

KF : How?

Janne : I think Follow the Reaper's studio-choice wasn't a bullseye after all.. In Astia we were
in the project a lot more by ourselves.. In producing and everything. Somehow I think it sounds in
the album.. The album sounds somehow more rational.

KF : Wasn't there enough beer in Sweden?

Alexi : It was some lousy 3.5 ‰ shit (laugh).

Janne : So we ran to Alko all the time to buy Heineken all the time but it got expensive. Now we
got to Astia sponsored beers (laugh), but we aren't allowed talk about them (laugh).

KF : Hehe, we know that in Lappeenranta there atleast was a brewery.

Alexi : Yeah, I think there was one, but it... hasn't got anything to do with this interview.

KF : They made a beer which has a very close association with a province.. (referring to Karjala).

(laugh)

Alexi : Well, Astia worked better at least when it comes to playing. In Abyss they really
didn't care that much about what goes in the tape.. We had to be judges ourselves that what
was played well enough and what wasn't.. and when you have to play a part many times in a
row, you'll easily get pissed and just go "oh well, it's just okay now..". In that point
is when you need the asshole-sound-recorded who says "Fuck you, play it again."

KF : Janne Barman, the keyboardist of Children of Bodom, you've had something going on
outside of CoB, too? Can you tell something about it?

Janne : I have?

KF : Well, I don't if you've been pushed for time but atleast you've had something else to do.

Janne : Yeah.. well.. I haven't done anything.. Hmm.. Umh, what are you referring to?

KF : Well, I'm referring to Kotipelto's solo album and something about your own solo project
-not this year though, but anyway-..

Janne : Yeah, and I played in the Masterplan album, it's coming out just now.. I played it
almost a year ago. They asked me to Yngwie's tour, which is right now going on but then..
(laugh) when I looked from the net it seems like that I'm not missing too much here.. But
lately I haven't done almost anything.. Actually I've starting to work on some songs for
my next Warhorse -album.. we'll see.

KF : Was this gathering when you started to do the next bodom album..? You don't have to
practise that much anymore in your training place?

Alexi : No no.. We are still practising insanely.. Seriously, when we start to do new songs..
We've been sitting in Nosturi playing every night and day..

Janne : I think we are different from other bands nowadays.. We can play the songs live by
the time we enter the studio. Others still sum their songs up in the studio riff by riff.
And when they start to train for a live show they go panic. We work the songs ready before
we enter the studio. We've been sweating in our practise place - again.

KF : So much that no matter what you do you won't forget them even if you do something else.
The basic bodom stays in the bottom of your heart .. (laugh)

Alexi : Yup.. in the very centre of the heart.. (laugh)

----- Angels Don't Kill -----

KF : Does the Bodom -sound still have some developing ahead? This new cd Hate Crew
Deathroll sounds actually quite different from the earlier products. The earlier
CDs have, - not of course every and each one of them, and not all the time -, they
had these two guitars and the keyboards were like a third guitar with them.
In this new record - which probably can't be seen through this microphone, but at
least you can hear it - it hasn't that much of it..?

Alexi : Welllllll.... If you talk about the solos, maybe there are.. are there?

Janne : Well.. You have a point. There aren't that much keyboard - guitar -stuff melodies.

KF : I'm beginning to get the picture that mr. Laho (means decayed, rotten) and Barman
aren't taking too much pressure about the other things that you've been doing.

Alexi : Actually not.

Janne : We don't have time to stress. And during the training place project, the sweating,
we don't think too much about how the CD will turn out to be, will anyone like this, will we
like this? etc. When you don't worry too much about things like that they'll go just fine.

Alexi : If you start to think of it too much about that will people like this, you'll just
start to write material that doesn't come from your heart. You could start stressing about
everything, like now for example but.. (laugh) I just don't have the time required because
I have some other fuckin' things to do! (laugh)

KF : Could you think of it like that Bodom doesn't take all of your time - side projects
fullfil the gaps left?

Alexi : Well.. Let's say that this takes LOTS of time and all the free time that a pathetic
punk gets is used as wisely as on a tour with another band.

Janne : Exactly.

KF : I saw that 'Laho' in your homepage on the guestbook.. someone from Portugal had written
"I so dig Laho's guitarsolos and singing". (laugh) Many of them actually says Laho.

Alexi : Laho? Well, I guess it's just good. It fits fuckin' well on me (laugh).

KF : From what point? Near the top?

Alexi : Somewhere around there.. (laugh)

KF : On the first listening the single You're Better Off Dead! pops out positively with the
first song, traditional bodom song, Needled 24/7, which has all the pieces just like they
have earlier been. First comes the guitar intro, then little by little Kuoppala comes in
and then comes this "ti-ti-ti-diidi-di-dii-di-di-di-dii" -part and then singing. I have
no idea why I'm describing the song here...

Janne : You can sing the whole song, go ahead!

KF : Oh well.. There are the lyrics too.. (laugh) I've promised that I won't sing on air..
Promises are made for breaking though.. But well, this is the first track for a purpose that
people know what's going on and whose cd this is.

Alexi : Yeah well, I can admit that I've always thought that that's a song that sounds a
lot like "us". And well.. It was a good choice to make a video of that song. I mean, when
you hear a song that sounds so much like us, it's a lot easier to listen to the next
song which doesn't sound that much like the things we've done before.. The song orders
are suprisingly important..

KF : Has the video already been made?

Alexi : Yes

KF : How's the story like? The song name means 'bad-tempered all the time'. (laugh)

Alexi : It's a fuckin' stupid story.. 'bad-tempered all the time'.. That's the point!
Name of the song is 'bad-tempered all the time'.. And well, it hasn't got a thing to do
with the video. We didn't get to say how we wanted it to be..

Janne : The video was a total disappointment.. It doesn't express the song, us or anything
else. Except a circus tent.

KF : Well what's in it then?

Alexi : There are some fuckin ballerinas and top-hatted faggots. The playing footage is
ok.. but when a solo comes, they aren't showing Janne playing the solo but some idiot
rolling in the ceiling.. Well it has some cool piercing freaks, you know, the one's that
drag something with their nipples and stuff.

KF : Studio Tapaturma (Studio Accident)?

Alexi : Yeah.. It looks cool and fits well to the video. But I can't understand what's
the fuckin' point in..

Janne : Ballerina, who rolls around or a chick that drops from the ceiling all the time..

Alexi : I've got no idea what it has to do with the song. When I heard for the first time
about this circus stuff, I actually said that we're not going to a fuckin' circus.. and the
next day we just suddenly were in the circus. When we saw the script, I said that in this
video there'll be no ballerinas or top-hatted faggots. But there was a very top-hatted man
in the audience. I was like 'What the fuck was that?'

Janne : It sucks when a punk band has no control in their own video. It just sucks.

KF : When I look at the cover.. Isn't that the reaper! It reminds me of.. The blade looks
like a chili pepper.

Alexi : Yeah, it has some kebab-spirit in it (laugh).

KF : And is it New York City in the background?

Alexi : No.. It's..

KF : Helsinki?

Alexi : Nah.. It's just a made-up city. We just thought that when the reaper has been
in a fucking forest or in a desert, why not to put him in a city?

KF : He's become urbanized.

Alexi : Exactly. The difference has also been that usually he's just been standing there
and observing - now he's finally doing something.

----- Hate Crew Deathroll -----

KF : Well when you were recording in Lappeenranta, did you go to local bars when you
had a night off from studio?

Alexi : Yes, we did.

KF : The people in Lappeenranta must have got used to famous people like you because
there are pop musicians in Astia all the time.

Janne : Yeah.. Also the customers of Cannibals became pretty well-known..

Alexi : There actually was a place where there was rock almost all the time, which
was pretty neat.

Janne : Atleast we couldn't stay in peace.

KF : No?

Janne : Well, atleast not THOSE rockstars.

Alexi : THOSE rockstars (laugh)? I was so drunk that I wasn't bothered by it too
much. It's ok.

KF : As you mr. Laiho & Warman might have noticed, here in Helsinki it isn't a big
deal if you're from this or that band, but in Lappeenranta it's like "Oh my god, It's
Alexi Laiho!" (laugh)

Alexi : Well, sometimes it's like that.

KF : .. but you were so drunk that you can't remember.

Alexi : Oh well yes, that's right. I've got some images left still.. but it doesn't
bother me.

KF : Was it a heavy bar?

Janne : It was a rock n' roll -thing..

Alexi : Rock -like place (laugh).

KF : People's hairlength was about yours?

Alexi : (laugh) Well, some had, some hadn't.

KF : There were no depth study about it?

Alexi : Nope. There was somekinda techno hell upstairs, but there was rock in
the downstairs.. it was pretty neat.

KF : Maybe you went on the roof if it was a one-storeyed house?

(laugh)

Janne : In the studio we were also in the roof.

Alexi : We fixed a pretty cool thing there..

Janne : It sucked.

Alexi : It did? Well anyway.. It was cool to sit in the roof and drink beer..
So I did with Ale a thing that when one of us had to go to pee, you tied a string
around you..

... (some stuff was lost because I had to turn the tape)

..and while you were going down the ladder your bodyweight lifted a sixpack
to the roof. Then something about Jaska throwing all the chairs down from the roof followed..

... (more stuff was lost because I fucked something up)

Janne : ... He burned all his clothes on him and throw them down from the roof.

Alexi : I was wondering what was melting there..

Janne : .. and he throw his clothes down to people who were peacefully drinking below..
it was pretty hilarious.

Alexi : That's just how it sometimes is..

KF : Did anything else like this happen?

Alexi : Well, lots of things happened.

KF : Does things like this raise the atmosphere when you're going to the studio the next day?

Alexi : (laugh) We did pretty stupid things there but when we were recording we were serious.
Everyone knew when you had to play and when you had 3 days off, then you could concentrate in something else.

Janne : At the beginning I took advantage on my 2 week vacation that I had, but in the end when
I had something to do, I did it seriously. When you pay for studio time, you don't want to use it
shaking in hang-over.. We did our job pretty well.

 

[sleeper666]

nice, the old interviews are really interesting - thanks a lot, Lari

 

[happilemon]

Thanks much for the interviews Sleeper and Lari
I was under the impression they always picked their own cover songs.. no wonder Rock you like a hurricane a la Sinergy is a collosal letdown
Jaska on fire story was funny

 

[children of COB]

Wow thanks Lari! Great research and absolutely great one, thanks!

The ''introduction'' is damn funny: ''Janne... is it Warman, Wirman or Barman?" "Well, let it be Barman today"

 

[Wrath Within]

Yeah they are fucking hilarious.

"KF : When I look at the cover.. Isn't that the reaper! It reminds me of.. The blade looks
like a chili pepper.

Alexi : Yeah, it has some kebab-spirit in it (laugh).

KF : And is it New York City in the background?

Alexi : No.. It's..

KF : Helsinki?

Alexi : Nah.. It's just a made-up city. We just thought that when the reaper has been
in a fucking forest or in a desert, why not to put him in a city?

KF : He's become urbanized."

!!!

 

[mocobhc]

 

[sleeper666]

thanks a lot, mocobhc - really cool to see an interview with Jaska, he seems such a nice guy

 

[reborndk]

Have seen the interviews with Jaska, but thanks anyway

 

[children of COB]

I don't think I have seen them, thanks!

 

[thebestcobfan]

yeah i do love jaska, he's so adorable... and an awesome drummer of course lol... THANKS FOR POSTING THE INTERVIEW!

 

[mocobhc]

You´re all welcome Nice to hear something from Jaska by way of a change, isn´t it?

 

[happilemon]

Thanks mocobhc He probs just steers clear of the interviews cos he's not as fluent in English as some of the others,pity though..definately cool to see one with him.

 

[children of COB]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AewlH96E6xM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vtW4MW65oY

Jaska - "The've just said 'Ok guys, forget about it, there are some countries we're not going to do anything for you there'"

Interviewer - "In Europe?"

Jaska - "Yes yes, in Europe"

Now I know why we didn't get gigs during the European tour. Such a shame. Fuck Universal and their fucking obsession with stupid crappy pop music here in gayass Spain.

 

[Wilkinson]

Interview with Henkka (Apr. 23)

Indy: In your new video, "Smile Pretty for the Devil," you're surrounded by explosions and battling mummies, but you don't look scared at all. How can that be?

HS: Well, the mummies were good-looking German actresses — it was hard to be scared of them! The explosions, they were scary. The explosion dude stacked lots of powder in a hole behind us, and then placed us in front of the hole, and said, "Just play like usual, but don't back up at all, otherwise you'll be blown away!"

Indy: Have you really recorded a song about the Lake Bodom murders on each of your six albums? Besides growing up near where they took place [Espoo, Finland], what is it about them that fascinates you?

HS: There is a song that refers to the lake on each album. It's a nice topic to get some inspiration for the lyrics. The stories are not real, they're just inspired by the actual events and the spooky atmosphere that reigns over the area around the lake during the summer nights.

Indy: You sounded like you had fun covering Britney Spears' "Oops! ... I Did It Again." What other covers have you done, or are likely to do?

HS: We've recorded almost 20 covers over the years. We will have a cover album out in the fall, so you'll see then. There's all kinds of fun, diverse stuff, from Britney to Slayer, from Sepultura to Scorpions.

Indy: I understand Jaska [Raatikainen, drummer] and your first rhythm guitarist [Alexander Kuoppala] originally met while playing French horn and trumpet. Are any of you into Jean Sibelius or other less contemporary Finnish music?

HS: Well, I like a lot of Finnish music. Obviously, lots of good metal, but there's good stuff in all genres. I'm not a huge classical fan, even though I enjoy it a lot. Sibelius, I know only the Finlandia composition, and that's awesome work!

At Denver's Fillmore Auditorium, April 28.


The original interview can be found here: http://www.csindy.com/colorado/children-of-bodom/Content?oid=1351636

 

[sleeper666]

thanks a lot, Wilksinson