Jyrki 69, The 69 Eyes

Interview 10/31/09 in Lancaster, PA

Jyrki was kind enough to sit down with me on Halloween night. Enjoy!

mt: Why do you believe people are so enamored with the idea of vampires? True Blood, Twilight, Helsinki Vampires...

J69: Vampire fiction and the current trend of why vampires are so popular is because of the female audience is because the way we live these days. Life is extremely fast and relationships are sometimes even faster. Somebody has calculated how long the marriage will last and so on...you know like, but that is not enough for the female nature. So, I think that is how come they want somebody to be with them forever and that is where all this idea of vampires and eternal love comes out and that is why it is really popular at the moment. That is something that the female audience needs and is longing after so everybody wants their own vampire lurking behind their bedroom window and love you forever. That is the deal and that is how it has been since the early days of the horror and vampire literature which started in the 18th century. It was literature for the female readers. Especially right now, that was the original form. Vampires might love you forever, I guess nobody else will. So, there you go man.

mt: What led you to the horror/vampire theme lyrics in "Back In Blood" and what was your inspiration for writing such strong lyrics this time?

J69: So I haven't written strong lyrics earlier? (we laugh) No, it's like...

mt: Stronger? (laughs)

J69: No...I think somebody has criticized...some people who are not into sex, blood and rock n roll, they might be shocked or they may have some criticism like "Oh what is this now?" My last year was a little bit different so I guess some things that I experienced seriously and what turned out to be the lyrics on this album. First I was surprised by myself, like why the hell am I writing all about the vampires because I wasn't that especially inspired by them. You know, you have to remember that all the songs and the lyrics were written a couple of years ago before all this current vampire mania was going on and then I started to think, what the hell it has always been about the vampires with The 69 Eyes ever since the beginning. When we had the first 7 inch vinyl single out in 1990, there was a little comic book coming out with it and it represented the band as vampires and in the comic story, I am backstage and Van Helsing's daughter comes to meet me after show and I don't survive. (laughs). It has always been about the vampires. It is funny that it is a trend right now, but I like it. I am really proud of the new album. It is also nice to confuse people and fans...this record cover really confused people and it turns out to be a classic already. I am pretty certain what we are doing all the time, I don't wanna confuse fans too much, but I always like to be one step ahead. The album is really fresh at the moment, it is Halloween here in the United States, God Bless America. The album is like a little baby still, so let's see what happens after a year.

mt: After 20 years together, what is next for The 69 Eyes?

J69: We just released a new album, "Back In Blood" and we did this super cool Halloween American tour, then we play shows til the end of the year in our home country, Finland which  is all very nice. We have a special treat for New Year's. We are going to play three acoustic shows at Tavastia Club where HIM is hosting their Helldone Festival and that is going to be a lot of fun. Then we start to tour in Europe, we do all Europe during the Spring and I guess we come back to the states sometime in the summer or just before summer. It is a regular routine. We have the album out, we tour, we come next to you, next to your home town and if you are not coming to see us, we come back again. We record an album and we tour as many times as we can to get more people to come along. We don't care about business in that sense, it is the nature of being a rock n roll band.

mt: How has this tour been? (NEW)

J69: Thanks for asking. It has been great and thanks to you guys, all the fans who have come to see us. It has been a pleasure knowing you, a pleasure meeting you, a pleasure meeting you again, a pleasure having new people on board and meeting you guys. This tour has been a real great rock n roll dream for five poor guys from Helsinki, Finland. You know to play the whole country of Elvis Presley is a big thrill and to actually be playing here the month of Halloween and here on Halloween night is a great thrill. That is something that I guess we have all been looking forward to all of our lives in this band so it is interesting and great.

mt: What is your biggest frustration with the music business? (NEW)

J69: It's very unpredictable. No one knows what's going to happen. How the music will be sold, how the bands will survive. What's going on is very strange at the moment, but that doesn't frustrate me. The music scene is very chaotic and the value of music has disappeared and people don't want to buy the records anymore. They just want to get everything for free and that makes me sad because that is a form of art and people should respect that. On the other hand, after playing in this band for twenty years it is strange how fast the time goes by! We have soon been doing this as long as The Rolling Stones, so that is kind of weird. I don't feel like The 69 Eyes is that much experienced. We still have the kid alive in ourselves and we are happy with that. We never had a business plan, we still don't really, but we are hunting for a rock n roll dream.

mt: What one thing would you want people to know about you? The real you, not the rocker. (NEW)

J69: I have never been to Graceland. I haven't had the chance to go there.

mt: You need to get there.

J69: Yea, help me out guys.

mt: What is the saddest song you have ever heard? (NEW)

J69: I have been telling many times that I am a big fan of 50's rock and roll, but I am also a fan of 60's rock music and especially psychedelic punk rock. One of the saddest songs comes from that era. "Light My Fire" is very haunting, it gives me chills every time, but that is not particularly very sad, but it does have a melancholy vibe. But a little bit similar song that always stops me and always gets me is Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody To Love". That is a very sad song in many ways. it is haunting, it is not that slow or ballad or anything, it is just sad and I just love Jefferson Airplane, they are like one of my favorite all time bands.

mt: What is your favorite article of clothing?

J69: Underpants. I wear only Calvin Klein & Emporio Armani.

mt: If you could change the set list without any negative feedback is there any song you would never play again live?

J69: The current set list or?

mt: In general.

J69: If people want to listen to one of our songs, I would definitely like to perform it.

mt: So there is none that you are sick of?

J69: Nooo...you can't please everyone because at this moment for instance we are playing nearly half of the new album and a bunch of old tunes. There are also people that wanted to hear a particular song and unfortunately it is not on the set list...so...

mt: I never hear the songs I love...(pouts)

J69: That is the name of the game. I wish, I think that is why there is internet and fans can drop a message and say "hey play this song."

mt: I do that, but you don't listen to me.

J69: And actually every comment we get, we actually do listen and we see what we can do.

mt: How do you think your music has evolved since the beginning?

J69: I think it is more focused than before. The first recordings were so we could go to another city to play and it was for pure enjoyment. We still do the music for pure enjoyment, when the song turns into live...the music just speaks by itself. We have developed since we first started, but on the other hand when you experimenting more you come up with more fresh ideas. That is why you need a producer to give you a lot of new ideas. A producer encourages you to experiment more or show you which way you should go musically. In this case with Matt Hyde, he encouraged me to use my rock n roll voice more and he encouraged us to focus more on the rock n roll side of the music.

mt: Do you really have an Elvis Fan Club card in your wallet?

J69: I think I have an Elvis driver's license in my wallet. I can show it to you.

mt: Really? (we laugh as he leaves room to look for it)

J69: Here it is!

mt: Oh we have to take a picture of that! Hold it out...

J69: Come closer...(we laugh)

mt: Do you think it is a coincidence that all the hot vampires have huge egos and terrible personalities?

J69: Uhm...actually I don't get the question.

mt: I am totally joking around. (laughs)

J69: Who are the hot vampires?

mt: Like, ummm. I watch Vampire Diaries and I always go for the mean one. I have been taping it for you and I will send you the series.

J69: No, you gave me the DVD.

mt: No, you haven't seen this yet. It is new and it is awesome. The bad vampire is of course the hottest...Damon...

J69: Let me give you an answer...because that is what the women like.

mt: True, we always go for the bad guy.

mt: A fan question. You had mentioned the throwing of the ankh ring in the last video as a tribute to Michael Jackson. Do you feel he has influenced you in any other way either professionally or personally?

J69: Yes, the funny story comes from the very early days of The 69 Eyes. When we were starting to rehearse for the very first times, everyone brought influences and ideas of what songs we might cover and Archzie brought "Thriller" from Michael Jackson. He had the 7 inch vinyl in his bass case and we tried for the first couple of years to play it, but it didn't work out. That shows that of course Michael Jackson has influenced us all in one way or another. Musically I was always a big fan. The turning point was when I saw the video of "Thriller" which is like everything at it's best. Best horror video, greatest song...a lot of inspiration comes from Michael Jackson and I am sad we never met. That would have been pretty interesting.

mt: Message for your fans? (NEW)

J69: Thank you for your support guys. If you didn't see us on this tour, don't worry, we will come back! The 69 Eyes, the band that time forget. The 69 Eyes, who is hear always, forever, for you.