Suiciderock:
Does your band name have a special meaning for you and what is the story
behind your band name?
Wille Rosen: The JADE sounds good. It's simple
and catchy. Other than that, I think for instance jewellery that are made
from jade, are beautiful. Jann came up with name and the choice for the name
was immediately as clear as the bright blue sky.
Suiciderock:
Every band has his own music heroes. Who are your heroes and which
band / singer do you want to make a song with?
Wille Rosen: Oh, the
list goes on and on. Lately I've been listening to Alice Cooper, U2, and
Dingo which we had big honour to support at Krouvin Lava just recently.
Dingo was the very first band that I started to listen as a fan when I was
just a little boy. I even joined in their fan club. I would gladly do any
music related things with those bands, just to name a few here.
Pekko Mantzin: I´d love to write song with Brian Wilson but I reckon he
would tell me to fuck off. And I possibly would as I respect him a lot.
Also I´d love to work with The Beatles producer George Martin. I´d love
to play guitar with Andy McCoy from Hanoi Rocks, just jamming, as he is the
best living rock´n´roll guitarist as far as I know.
Jann: We’re not
every band, no heroes. I would like to do a version of Aretha Franklin’s "You
Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman" with Marilyn Manson.
Suiciderock: In Germany finnish bands like HIM, The Rasmus, Children
of Bodom are very popular nowadays, ... What do you think about this? And do
you take them as your idols?
Wille Rosen: I wish them well.
Those bands have their own style and they are professional. I don't consider
them as idols to me. Many bands lack a certain charisma and I think HIM is a
rare exception. Charisma is something that only few possess. It's more than
looks or songs. It's beyond all that although looks and songs are parts of
it.
Pekko Mantzin: All those three bands are cool in their own way and I
do like HIM a lot but no, I don´t take them as my idols.
Sirpa:
Those bands mentioned above have certainly deserved their fame! I dont know
about idols but Him is my cup of tea.
Jann: They’ve done well and they
are professionals so I think it’s great that they are popular. I’m always
happy if someone’s successful. When it comes to idols I don’t have any. I
just can’t think of anyone as an idol, apart from Billy Idol that is. My
favourite band is definitely Hanoi Rocks.
Suiciderock: Your band
is a bit different from all the other Finnish bands, because you have a
woman as drummer. Could you tell us the postive and negative aspects of
having both sexes in the band?
Wille Rosen: It's all positive. It is
not a question of which gender do we have in our band. Who cares? It's all
about having the right personalities in the band. But of course it's
somewhat different even in these days, so it kinda makes our band a bit more
unique. Sirpa is great for our band but it's irrelevant to me whether we
have guys or girls in The JADE.
Pekko Mantzin: Yeah, true. She´s a
bloody good drummer. And loud she is when it comes to hitting the drums. All
positive.
Sirpa: Yeah, positive! Hahah!
Jann: We are
different from the other bands and it’s not because we have a
female
drummer.
Suiciderock: You have been in the studio to record your new
album "Slow Motions On The Fast Lanes". Could you tell us a special studio story and the story
behind the name of the album?
Wille Rosen: Yes, well hate beats depression anytime. "Slow
Motions On The Fast Lanes" is a line from our song: "Drowned". It can mean a
variety of things. It could mean that everything in these days is like fast
food. Eat fast, live fast, achieve fast. And then off to a new burger or a
new download from the internet. It could mean that people seem to want
everything immediately even though the truth is that all things take time.
Things don't just happen, you gotta make the effort. Therefore "Slow
Motions" is like a short clip from the lives of people living On the Fast
Lanes. Or, Slow Motions can mean that there are exceptions to the fast
lifestyles in the world. Take your pick. I don't think mine is the only
one. To somebody else it might mean completely something else.
Pekko
Mantzin: And it´s some kinda state sometimes.
Jann: Special story about
the studio is that there’s absolutely nothing special in that place, except
once our songs were there and now they’re not. All of us are especially
happy to mix it somewhere else. That’ll be special. But I don’t wanna get
into that right now…
Suiciderock: Could you tell us what the
listeners can expect from your upcoming album "Slow Motions..."?
Wille
Rosen: To me it sounds passionate with strong emotions. It has many powerful
rock tunes and they are all delivered with deep thoughts. We are not selling
you fries with double cheese burger. These are songs that I figure will
stick in your head for a long time.
Pekko Mantzin: Yep, quite like. Hard
rock spiced with twisted disco and some retro thrown in.
Jann: I
think it’s gonna be good but fingers crossed. We still need to mix it. But
yes, the songs are quite strong. Actually on one of the songs there’s even a
bit of a country thing goin’ on…Just donno which country it is… Expect
unexpected.
Suiciderock: Who is responsible for the lyrics and where
does the inspiration come from?
Wille Rosen: Inspiration comes
from the love of music. Music is my most important hobby and without it I
would not be complete. I need music to express myself and it is one form of
art that I seem to like more than anything else. Usually the person who
writes the melody, writes also the lyrics. I mean usually one person writes
the whole song and then brings it to the rehearsal. But things might change,
sometimes my melody in my song might not somehow fit the song, and then
Pekko remakes it a bit better. It's not a matter of ego to us because the
better the songs the better the whole band.
Pekko Mantzin:
The melodies come from the love of music, that is true. Inspiration for
the lyrics comes from life. Many of our songs reflect the dark side of
life..I write lyrics about the situations and things I´ve
experienced. It could be the dead of the dear friend, prayer, bad high
in the bad place, stupidity. And I want to be honest when it comes to
words. I loathe soulless and meaningless shit like " every song is
about women". I mean fuck that. Of course everything´s been
already done but what about using a bit of imagination if the whole
fucking life is " just women". It´s just shit.
Jann: At times I’m responsible for some lyrics and then they’re about
modern times ghetto- concentration camp 2006, life and feelings in
general.
Suiciderock: Do you already have a record company /
distributor for the band? Or are you still sorting out everything?
Wille Rosen: We have a worldwide distributor called: Recordoffice. The
Heatwave Ep can be ordered from there. But, we are looking for a better
one for us. We are looking for a record deal for our new release. We have
great opportunities and we know we've got something special here to offer.
Pekko Mantzin: I´d say we´re looking for decent contacts. Like when it
comes to our new release, I wouldn´t let any company to release it.
Instead they should take us to the professional studio with a good
producer. And that would be the start.
Jann: Hopefully we’ll find a
proper company to take things further on, that’s what we need.
Suiciderock: You just have been the support of "Dingo". How was it like
for you?
Wille Rosen: I got to meet the guys and especially the lead
singer Neumann. They were really nice guys and it was a dream come true for
me. It really made my day when Neumann said immediately when he saw me that
he thought I had a cool style… He was also very impressed by The JADE -logo.
Unfortunately we couldn't join them for the party after the show because
we had an early awakening the next day to move our equipment ouf of
Krouvin Lava.
Sirpa: I use to be a big Dingo-fan too. Supporting
them was cool indeed, though I m not as high as Wille is about the fact that
it was DINGO playing there.We played top class gig, and did have excellent
time there!! Would not mind to do it again!
Jann: It was great. They
were great guys, all of them.
Suiciderock: You have done about 20
gigs. Which one out of them was the best and which one the worst? Why?
Wille Rosen:
The best one was probably the second day of Kunkkurock. The sun was
shining and we really felt that the people dug us. It was also the
first time The JADE played at a summer rock festival. I don't believe
we have done poor gigs. Sometimes even if the atmosphere is not as
great is it could be, it is an experience for me to play live. I enjoy
and get a hell of kick out of it each time.
Pekko Mantzin: We don´t play bad
gigs as all of us are professionals when it comes to playing. Shit happens
sometimes and by that I mean the technical problems.We never play drunk so
we don´t mess around.
Sirpa: Yeah.
Jann: I’d say Kunkkurock as
well. We had a larger stage so there was more action than usual. We’re
not one of those bands who stand still and stare at their shoes. It’s
alright if it fits your style or the songs but if it doesn’t, do something.
Otherwise you’ll end up looking like a guard of the prime minister, a stand
still tourist mascot. Every gig is an experience that I wouldn’t change into
anything else. The more the better. Of course there are some gigs that you
think that it coulda been better but we’re not computers and as long as we
do our best it’s great. Still, no major fuck ups so far.
Suiciderock: If one of your fans will visit one of your shows. What
can he / she expect from it? Do you want to have any specials on stage like
fire and stuff , pyrotechnics or do you prefer just to play your music and
enjoy that with the audience?
Wille Rosen: The pyros are not
completely out of the question but to this date we haven't focused on that
at all. Maybe in the future there will be some pyro. You can expect a great,
solid rock show. You can put us toe to toe with any band and we wouldn't
suck. I know we are special and that is what you can expect. A special rock
show with quality songs.
Pekko Mantzin: Yeah, Jann is in charge of
pyrotechnics as he smokes shit loads of fags. I think he does it on the
stage as well.
Suiciderock: What was the most embarrassing moment in
your young music career?
Wille Rosen: I don't feel embarrassed about
anything anymore. I just can't care less. I haven't lost my voice during a
show or anything. And if that would happen, then it just happens. My
attitude is like: I know who I am and I know what I do. Nobody is perfect,
hence why should feel ashamed of anything. We all make mistakes. That's
life.
Pekko Mantzin: Exactly.
Sirpa: Well, this happened a long
time ago, when I was a kid and played in a girl band, I did start playing a
wrong song during the gig. That was embarrassing, but on the other hand I
did not take things as seriously then as I do nowadays.
Jann: I
share the same opinion with Wille; I have no such moments, to have that kind
of feelings would be just a waste of time.
Suiciderock: Groupies:
Pain or Pleasure?
Wille Rosen: Well, the attention doesn't suck. It's
great if somebody appreciates who I am and what I do. And it doesn't mean
that I will cherish use every opportunity I have. If somebody offers me a
free pizza 15 minutes before I go on a stage, I say forget it. You don't
have to take everything that is free.
Pekko Mantzin: Haven´t met any
but I reckon it would be more pleasure than pain obviously..? I’m in a
relationship so it wouldn’t really be my thing anyway.
Sirpa: How do
you call men groupies? So far I have not seen them, though I don’t mind at
all about someone offering me a drink after the show! As long as I don’t
have to talk anything!
Jann: Donno, nobody likes me. It’s alright, I’ve
got a vacuum cleaner.
Suiciderock: Your future plans for the band
and yourselves?
Wille Rosen: We are spreading The JADE -virus and we
hope that it infects everyone. We are doing shows and we are making music.
Right now we are searching to find a record company/distributor for our next
release. I am on a road to become a better musician and gladly it's an
endless road for every musician.
Pekko Mantzin: I just wanna write
more good songs for THE JADE. And play in this band.
Sirpa: Same
here.
Jann: I’ll have a vodka bath and later on maybe the rest of the
world, in case I feel like it. I really don’t know. I just wanna get on with
the mix and get things done. Who knows? I’ll retire as a happy man in
Pontevedra with my future dog called Marlene- a true sucker for a bone.
Suiciderock: Do you have some special words for the readers of
suiciderock.com?
Wille Rosen: The JADE is not just another rock
band. The music comes from the heart. Though rock as a concept is old and
general but our music is not. It's fresh and exciting. Therefore with The
JADE you will have an interesting ride!
Pekko Mantzin: Touche´ .
Jann: Watersports.
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THE JADE
As clear as the bright blue sky Suiciderock: Could you tell us a bit more about your band? When was
it formed? Who came up with the idea? And where did you get to know each
other? Suiciderock: Please be that kind and tell us how you
made the decision to become a musician? (c) Suiciderock.com
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