OUTO VALO

Outo Valo has been together not more than a year, but they've managed to get an mini-LP out already.

How and why did Outo Valo start?

Janne: Our band that time had just dried out and I was really frustrated and wanted to do something different. Something little bit moodier punk stuff. So our drummer and I asked Vili to try something with us. It just worked out really well right from start.

Do you guys feel better after writing a song? Or something else like: Well, this is not the best I could get out of this melody or lyric, but to hell with it...

Janne: Some songs come together quite easily, but others you have to give some time. If it's meant to happen you should not be in haste to finish it and fuck up your good melody that you've had years in your head. Hahhah! You are little bit jealous about it and don't want to give it away too easily, but too much unfinished business in your head is no good either.

Vili: Sometimes when we try a new song I'm really scared to even open my mouth at the practice since the lyrics are deeply personal, so I end up just mumbling something for awhile... But when the song is finished (now i'm talking about the ones i've had in my head for years), I feel relieved, 'cause I don't feel frustrated anymore about what to do with it.... Janne always brings something new to it with his guitar, so it feels NEW for me also, which makes it really sound finished. In this band, I don't have to think all through by myself, so it's really enjoyable as other members make my old ideas sound fresh.

TEEN WOLF RECORDS

Teen Wolf Records had been open for a good 5 weeks now. It's in the same spot where Combat Rock Industry used to be. And the guy running it looks familiar too. They got tapes like Puhelinseksi and LPs like Agnostic Front's 1894 Demos.

There's a fancy pub next to your shop. Do you have their membership already?

Jere: No. They won't sell Pirkka beer so why bother?

Hops and barley!

Photo by Punk-Keisari

FLAMING SKULL OF THE EAGLE

You guys sweat a lot. Why?

Those aren't shorts, those are pants. These are shorts. We're cool.

Did you know that before Van Halen released anything, Eddie used to play his solos back against the crowd. There also was a band that played the entire Joy Division set the same style.

We're not aware of any of that. We'd rather talk about rodents. People don't understand that a guinea-pig is not a hamster. They're totally different species.

What's the best trucker compilation for the road?

We don't believe in truckin'. We used to have a car, but it's gone now. We left it in Vilnius.

Vilnius, Svyturys, I quit.

I just realised that I don't know who I'm talking with.

CAN CAN HEADS

Picture a guy falling down the stairs with basket full of mushrooms and a hammer in his hand. He's the guitar player of Can Can Heads in my dream from last night. In the dream was also a pony, but since these guys are probably not into horse meat I woke up and made myself and my kid hot sandwiches and cold chocolate.

There's been a lot of releases this month. Old Fart's Neck came out last month. I have not listened it. I'm still listening to Butter Life. If you haven't heard that record, I don't know what to say. But let's listen this new EP first together right now. And Butter Life after that.

Hey there's the actor dude in the first song. Great.



Drumming, how did it start?

Janne: I heard the 666 album by Kansanturvamusiikkikomissio when I was 16 and I knew instantly I wanted to hit and smash those skins.

Cats or Horses?

Janne: Definitely cats. I used to have a cat named Tenho Tiikeri. He was crazy!

Hot buttered rum or instant coffee?

Janne:I’m up for anything with rum in it.

Complete Control or Jump the Fence?

Janne: I’d say Complete Control: The band at their poppiest, with some nice vocals of a more subdued variety. But Jump the Fence is good too, very uplifting. What a great fucking band. 

Can you give me the elements that without music is shit?

Janne: You mean Earth, Wind and Fire are crap? Maybe. I’d rather listen to James Brown or James White.

COLD INSTITUTION

Photo by Simo P. J. Ulvi

Now that the LP is out, are you still happy with the result?

Ville: Still happy with the end result. We were a bit nervous how it would sound on vinyl because there are just bass guitars, drums and vocals. The bass guitars can easily drop each other out or sound like shit because of the similar frequencies played together. And we were not active after recording the LP. Our original drummer quit the band after becoming a father, now we have played shows with Gid from the Plastic Tones filling in on drums.

What is this bullshit with everybody playing post-punk, why is life so tragic?

Ville: I think when people have been playing in hardcore bands for 15+ years they want to express themselves in different ways/styles, I think it's just natural and post-punk is still punk. And because life is so fragile!

SICK WORLD

Grease the poison pill
Force it down my throat
Sugar-coated venom
With no antidote

Sick Worlds demo is out!

Their weekly schedule goes as planned:

Monday: bench press

Tuesday: band practice

Wednesday: deadlifts

Thursday: work

Friday: military press

Saturday: binge eating

Sunday: squats

THE HEARTBURNS

I'm very saddened to learn of the Heartburns' imminent break up. To me, they have been one of the premier bands playing true punk rock over the last 10+ years. Total balls-out, supercharged, nihilistic, Ramones-on-steroids (among other substances), full throttle punk. Catchy-as-fuck tunes played with urgency and always produced aggressively. They were pretty much a perfect punk band and my only regret is that now I will never get to see them live. Good on ya, boys. Your legacy is secure.

-John Evicci (Oblivionation, Out Cold)

For me the catchiness of their songs always surpassed the agression and sheer nihilism. I remember Hot Lixx Hulahan asking me in a tiny Finnish bar if they were a cover band, that's how fucking catchy their songs are. A big fucking sing-a-long party of well toxicated punks. But I also remember the times when I had Fucked Up In A Bad way on a repeat and songs like I Wanna O.D. and I Hate Everything started to punch a hole through my brain like a hot nail, a party that I'd rather no see.

Any last comments?

Teemu: No. Except that some stupid idiot from Stupido put us play AFTER The Mob, so the bands “career” seemed to end as fucked up as it started out.