Jussi69 Interview

3/22/06 on the tour bus prior to the show at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana

Sally (my partner in crime) and I got to sit down with Jussi69 and video tape his interview prior to their show on March 22nd in Santa Ana. Jussi was kind enough to sit with us in the back of the bus in the non-smoking section. I am surprised he was able to sit still for 30 minutes without smoking, but he was adorable to watch fidgeting around in the seat and playing with the monster can he was drinking. He also played the drums on the can and his legs and the seat...Jussi is very comfortable in his skin and he just makes you feel great in his presence. You can tell how much he loves what he does and he has a smile that can light up a room. I want to thank Jussi for taking time out of his busy week to sit down with me. I appreciate it more than he knows! He is an absolute doll and a fantastic drummer! The questions were taken from the US Team69 message board and the team member is listed for each question! I hope to bring you more from Jussi in the future! Enjoy! ~mt~

Stacey asked:

Has it been surprising to see how many fans there are in the US? Are they just as wild as in Europe?

Jussi: It’s really like pretty close to how it is in Europe. But it was so weird in the first place we really didn’t know what to expect ‘cause it’s the first time as you know so we didn’t know like if there was going to be any people at all. So of course we were like amazed and so happy to see that. It’s been like everybody has been like totally packed and the audience has been crazy and there so many people following us from city to city everyday so it’s been amazing. And so many people cometo us telling to us that they have been waiting for so many years just to get to see us which is so cool. We waited for sixteen years and it took sixteen years to get here so we’re happy as hell.

Thornfrost asked:

Are you bummed out that the Eyes don't get to tour more of the US on this tour? A lot of people were disappointed you did not get to tour Florida, Texas…southern states.

Jussi: What we are planning and hoping for is that we are going to be back ASAP. I really can’t wait to be back. But hopefully I wanna tour US like a lot and soon. Before the next album cause otherwise it will take so long, but I hope it’s gonna work out. I mean we are supposed to go to the studio and record the album but we still want to come back before doing that.

MT: And the next album is coming out when in the fall?

Jussi: Nobody knows. EMI Finland would love to have it by Christmas this year, but I dunno if it is going to happen. Especially if we are going to tour the US before that.

Thornfrost asked:

What was the last CD you bought?

Jussi: Last CD I bought…Ahhh Ahhhh Ahhhhh Ahhhh. Lucky me I get so many CD’s for free. So that is why it’s a tricky question. Ahhhhhh….

MT: Ok, well last CD you listened to?

Jussi: Ummmm. I want to come up with one I bought. Actually paid with my own money. It was (starts tapping top of monster can with hands)…last one I got was Damone and Program the Dead but I got them from them a couple of days ago, but when I bought…Avenged Sevenfold, that’s the one I bought.

MT: Did you like it?

Jussi: I started to get into that in the first place. It’s kind of weird. So tricky…It’s awesome.

Thornfrost asked:

Do you have any type of preference on drum-sticks?

Jussi: Ah. Should I give my very professional answer?

MT: Yes.

Jussi: Ok. Lots of weight on the tip of the stick. That is the kind of stick that I like because then again it’s harder without having a very fuckin heavy stick. It’s heavy in the tip you can use your wrist better. That is the kind of stick I like.

Immortalsoul asked:

What drum set do you use most often on tour?

Jussi: Lucky me I’m endorsed my Pearl Drums and I really love them and it’s been great to work with those guys and actually the one that I have now is what they brought to me just for this tour so it’s not really like mine. It’s Pearls and I am going to leave it here in LA when I’m done. And I love the one that I have back home. My black on black sparkle black pearl set there’s so cool and they don’t break when you stand on them and jump on them. I love them.

MT: Which you’re good at!

Jussi: Mmmm.

Mariel asked:
What would you rather do? Turn your back on fear, be framed in blood or waste the dawn?

MT: I’m framed in blood every night and I am wasting the dawn too kind of so

Jussi: Ahhhh…

MT: Good question huh? I laugh…

Jussi: (Laughs) Yea, nice question. Ummm. I dunno. I’m pretty. I am not really sure. My answer is all of them. (Laughs)

Mariel asked:

Adapting "Fahrenheit 451"... If all music in the World were to be destroyed and you could save only two songs, one by The Eyes and one by any other author, which are the ones you would leave for humanity to listen to -and why?

Jussi: Ummm. (Tapping can and playing drums)….mmmmmm…”Girls Girls Girls” by Motley Crue and “Lost Boys” by us. (Still playing)

MT: Now why “Girls Girls Girls”? (I laugh)

Jussi: Because then you can actually have some fun still when all the other music is gone. If you save only the melancholic dark songs you would get bored with those two songs ever existing. (Laughs…smiles) What a stupid answer.

MT: No, it’s not!

Lauren S. asked:
I want to know just a little about his life before the 69 eyes. I don’t know that much about him, like family, friends, life growing up in Finland?

Jussi: Ahhhhh. Ahhhhhh. I was big fan of drummers as long as I remember. I kind of knew that I am going to be a drummer like since I was 9 and I was huge rock fan skater kid, I quit skating around when I was like I dunno 16, because I realized that I am going to fuck up my hands and wrists when I fall like every day 20 times a day. Ahhhhh. Decided that I’m too busy for school around fif, no 16, because I joined my first band and then I decided I was too busy for military because I’m the band and enjoyed my life. I guess I was 17 when I joined 69 Eyes.

Lauren S. asked:

And of course I have to ask this cuz I know all the girls want to know!!! Do you have a girlfriend?

Jussi: That’s a question I am really bored to answer. I used to give facts to the magazines, I mean especially in Finland it’s crazy. Because if I go to some place with someone that magazines write about it then….anyvay, I remember I had this one relationship and I told about it to the magazine which is something that I don’t usually do…anyvay the magazine came out and they told about it but they named this wrong person in it…it was pretty fucked up, messy and I am bored to answer that anyvay. (I love the way he says anyway that is why I spelled it with a v!)

Meghan asked:
What was your craziest moment on tour here?

Jussi: Craziest moment? Every night is pretty crazy (we laugh)…ummmm. Wildest party we had maybe Chicago and maybe St. Louis was weird we played in between these three strip clubs and they were open 24/7 and we partied til I don’t know 8am and um bass player from Program the Dead. He passed out in our bus and shows been great and the crazier they are the better they are and um that was crazy, I guess the second night it was in Philly when we came back to the bus from the venue and somebody shot someone and then ran away from the police and threw the gun at us and it was weird.

Meghan asked:

Does what you do ever get monotonous, another tour, another party, another show or is it like the first time every time?

Jussi: First time is always the coolest thing but ahhhh….every day is pretty much the same. I mean it’s all the same but different. Like same things go on pretty much the same time every day and pretty much all you see is the same faces even the cities change. The crew and the band of course is the same but still it is exciting for me and I love it and I am not getting bored with that. I would love to keep doing this tour for many many weeks. Only thing I am happy about since the tour is about to end soon is that my hands are pretty fucked up and they hurt bad. But, Otherwise I would love to tour non stop forever so I like it.

Rachel asked:
Are you planning to purchase any more merchandise to compliment the awesome shower curtains from NY?

Jussi: (Laughs) Say that again?

MT: Are you planning to purchase any more merchandise to compliment the awesome shower curtains from NY?

Jussi: I have so much weird shit that I bought like yesterday I was shopping like hell and I don’t even remember what I bought…from socks to whatever….lunch boxes and ahhhh…but those shower curtains they’re pretty much the coolest thing I’ve bought this tour (laughs).

MT: Everybody was talking about that after the Bam interview…Do any of the guys….

Jussi: I wanna show them to you…(laughs)

MT: Ok…Do any of the guys in the band have nicknames for each other? I always wondered this myself.

Jussi: I’m called all over Europe as messy boy because whatever I do this huge mess. If I smoke cigarette the other guys are covered with ash down them same thing while I am eating or playing drums, I am messy with my things. I’m not really proud of that I’m that messy person but that’s about it and there’s some Finnish names that you wouldn’t even understand and I don’t know how to explain.

Rachel asked:

What is your deepest desire/ darkest fear?

Jussi: My deepest desire is that I can keep doing what I love to do and my darkest fear is that I can’t…someday. That I would I dunno, lose a hand or lose an ear…

MT: No…no…don’t say that.

Rachel asked:

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Jussi: Ahhh….It has to be chocolate or vanilla.

suojelusenkeli asked:
Can you ski?

Jussi: Can I ski? I did it last time when I was like 10. We have to do it at school. Yea…

MT: Me too in high school. It wasn’t pretty. I drank Jack Daniels first. (We laugh)

suojelusenkeli asked:

How / when / why did you started smoking?

Jussi: Ohhhh that’s just so stupid to smoke but um I guess I was I dunno. 15 I guess. I dunno, I dunno. Everybody else smoked so that’s how it happens. In that age everybody smokes at school so it kind of happens. Which is stupid of course. I have tried to quit many times but here I am.

MT: This is a bad question…not really….how often are you drunk?

We laugh….

Jussi: Again pretty embarrassing fact that everyday…especially on this tour…

Lauren asked:
What to you describes Finland?

Jussi: Small, nice place…well Finland is actually pretty big, huge country, just no people in it. It’s like nothing but forests and lakes like all over the place but like still it’s my hometown. Helsinki is something…I really love that place. You pretty much know what is going on wherever and you pretty much know everybody from the city and I love it. Especially when tour life gets pretty heavy so it’s good to go back home and chill in that relaxing atmosphere.

Brittany asked:
Did you receive any gifts on this tour that stand out in your mind?

Grins ear to ear and laughs…

Jussi: Ummmm… Yes (laughs, we all laugh)

MT: Yes and that's all he is saying...Was playing in the states anything like you imagined?

Jussi: It was way cooler than I ever imagined. Of course it has been a dream for us for so many years and it’s been so cool and like I said we are so so happy that there are actually loads of people at the shows. I dunno. It would really suck if there wouldn’t be anyone.

Sally: Are you going to release the old DVD or a new DVD in the States?

Jussi: Old or new? I’m not sure. I hope it is going to be out. Yea I guess it’s a different system to if you order it…ummm we’re planning to have another one coming out but I really can’t tell you that it is going to happen soon so I hope the Helsinki Vampires is going to come out here too. We’re actually filming that whole Whisky show. We’re not sure what is going to happen with the footage. But we’re filming with six cameras and all that. At least we have it. At least it is going to be bonus shit…

Black Seamed 69 (aka Marie) asked:

When fans give you gifts at your shows or tell you how much your music means to them how does it make you feel?

Jussi: It’s still kind of I dunno what to think out of it. It is kind of confusing…

MT: Strange?

Jussi: Strange…it’s kind of weird. Every time I hear somebody telling. I mean having fans in the first place. It’s weird. I mean I am a music fan. I am a big fan of like many bands and all that it’s so weird that we…I mean even though we have been releasing records for so many years but you don’t get used to that. I really don’t know what to say…like today I was having some tacos and people drove 14 hours to see the show and I was like “dude thanks, thank you” and it is amazing that evem one person goes to the record store to buy our CD. We really really appreciate that. It’s very flattering.

Neidin (GothicGirl) asked:
What do you think is the most awesome song you've recorded?

Jussi: It depends. It’s different everyday but…well I had very high expectations of “Sister of Charity” while we were recording it I was like really excited about the song and I was like expecting it to be this huge epic thing but the way it came out it was even more what I was expecting and I remember the first time in the studio when I hear the final mix and all that I started to cry a lot….

MT: I love that song…

Jussi: So that’s amazing. I mean all the violins you can hear, its not some keyboard player, they are for real. We had the whole fuckin orchestra doing that shit. So it was like maybe the biggest thing we’ve kind of...If you count the work we did before the song in that way it was the biggest song.

Deepshadows asked:

Will you ever come to Canada? Are there plans for Canada?

Jussi: Hopefully. We were supposed to go there on this tour already but it was too late to organize everything and having visas and all that. So next time.

Lauren asked:

What was your favorite childhood toy?

Jussi: Ahhhh. Childhood toy. (laughs) Ummm. I got drumsticks from my step dad so maybe that. Broke them like right the same day and put some duct tape over them, but I loved them.

Sally: mumbles.

MT: What?

Jussi: What?

Sally whispers to Jo...

Jo: Alright…He’s going to love this question!

Jussi: Yea, ok…(smiling)

MT: I try to stay away from the abs. She wants to know your workout regimen.

Jussi: Ha ha…(smiling)

MT: Or is it just pounding on the drums?

Jussi: I would love to run, but I did it like some years ago whenever I had time off but kind of forgot the whole thing.

MT: He doesn’t have to it’s great. He just beats the hell out of the drums.

Sally: That’s disgusting.

Jussi: I…would hate to go to the gym because I’m not like fat. I don’t think it helps you to play drums and all that. It doesn’t help you not to get out of breath or anything and I don’t wanna have like huge muscles. Since I’m like this tiny guy. It would look ridiculous.

MT: Well I already told you I get to check the abs at home to see if they are like yours. It’s funny.

Jussi: Hmmm….(laughs)

MT: Steve did it the other day…”How am I looking?”

Jussi: Shit…

MT: Well...you’re not jussi. I love saying that. "You’re not Jussi".

Jussi: But….

MT: I’m sorry. I wasn’t supposed to say that.

Jussi: I’m not really working out. Maybe I should…

MT: No! That is what we are saying!

Sally: Do you do hand exercises? For your fingers?

Jussi: Yes, I try to stretch a lot. I do that every day even not on tour. If not on tour every single muscle hurts a lot on tour especially my hands so I try to stretch a lot.

Leah asked:

Do you consider yourself to be a romantic person?

Jussi: Yes!

Lost Butterfly asked:

Oh this is a good one from LB! What was your very first impression of Jyrki? (I laugh)

Jussi: Ahhhh….Ummmm...

MT: You met in a club or something right?

Jussi: We met in a club. He said that they needed a drummer cause they had this drummer for this short while and he really wasn’t into playing in the band anyvay. He said they need a drummer and I gave him a sip of my bottle of Jack and he took a sip and then ran to the toilet and puked.

We all laugh…

Jussi: So that was pretty much the first time I met him. The first time I talked with him. That’s what happened.

MT: Oh shit, that’s great…

Jussi: But anyvay, we realized that in the very first place that we…all the things that we are into is pretty much the same. From the music to whatever. Rock culture….pop culture, all that shit. So…we’re like, we’re so different in so many ways we are like

day and night in so many ways but at the same time we are so much the same. He’s so organized and all that like the way he packs his stuff….you can see my shit (looks around messy room) and all that and so in that sense I am totally different and he hates that in me that I am such a mess. And it’s like wherever we tour somewhere no matter what country he buys the book about the history of the country and reads the whole shit before we even visit that and I’m like… I remember I heard this cool story about Vienna so we were touring Europe so I told bus driver please tell me when we are near Vienna ‘cause I need to check this one place where this thing happened and he told me that we were in Vienna yesterday. So that’s like, I don’t even know where we are on tour but…why I am telling this I don’t know.

MT: That’s alright.

Jussi: I don’t know, but anyvay…

MT: I was asking about Jyrki…

Jussi: We love each other but…I mean every one of us…

MT: You compliment each other…

Jussi: Every one of us in this band we are kind of so different but then there’s these things which we share. Like we are into…we share the same passion and we love what we do.

MT: Do you like to sleep long or as little as possible?

Jussi: I like to sleep whenever there is an opportunity to sleep. When on tour there is not many of those opportunities. But you know what I would love if you wouldn’t have to sleep…it’s such a waste of time but you end up being in pretty bad shape if you don’t sleep ever.

MT: How about when you go home after the tour do you crash?

Jussi: (laughs) Yea, I think I am going to crash for like 6 days straight…

MT: 6 days…ok… (we laugh)

Jussi: Yea.

Erin asked:
Is there a particular artist you admire with the utmost respect? Who and why?

Jussi: There’s so many. There’s so many. Let’s say Andy McCoy from Hanoi. He is the coolest rock and roll guitar player ever and Andy McCoy if somebody doesn’t know who he is. He is the former guitar player from Hanoi Rocks which is the band I mean when I was 10-11 years old all my walls were covered with posters and the posters were nothing but Hanoi Rocks. I was the biggest fan ever. So I admire him.

Littlemissspookiness asked:

What did you buy when I saw you in Walgreens?

Jussi: What I bought? From where?

MT: Walgreens. Some fans saw you there. I don’t even know what city you were in or if you remember. East coast though.

Jussi: Is Walgreens pretty much the same store as Walmart?

Sally & MT: Yes.

Jussi: Ummmm I guess whenever I visited those stores it was like tooth paste and pain killers or something like that.

Nadia asked:
Does it ever freak you out, we kinda talked about this, when people rush at you wanting pictures or autographs?

Jussi: Yea…(laughs) But don’t get me wrong. I wanna make this clear that I love to talk with fans and I would love to like do whatever they want to do like pictures, signing stuff and I love to talk with them but when there is too many of them then it’s like impossible and then I don’t want to be there and appear being that I am rude or arrogant. That is why I try to avoid situations when there is like 300 kids. Cause you really can’t talk with everybody in that situation. It freaks me out in a good way…it surprises me a lot.

Nadia asked:

Does it bother you that women are so in love with your tummy? Or does it not even phase you anymore?

We all laugh…

Jussi: It’s funny. (giggles)

MT: This is from Nadia, not me.

Jussi: I think it’s funny.

MT: It’s funny? "I’m shy"….(Jussi said that to me when we met in Mexico and I was talking about his abs)

Jussi: Hmmmm.

Nadia asked:

What do you do when you have a bad night playing to blow off some steam? Not that I have ever seen you have a bad night. But if you feel you haven’t done your best?

Jussi: I kick some walls and um take like 15 minutes to calm down and have a beer.

MT: I know the answer to this (looking around the tour bus) What's it like traveling around with a bunch of guys on a tour bus for a month? Just how messy does it get in there? I can answer this….I can take pics…

Jussi: We have a full service they actually clean the bus a lot.

MT: No. It’s really not that bad.

Damnedgothicgirl asked:

How about the best rumor about you?

Jussi: Loads…

MT: What is the best one you’ve ever heard?

Jussi: That I am Ville Vallo’s boyfriend.

MT: Ok, yea that’s a good one.

Damnedgothicgirl asked:

How did you come up with your hair style?

Jussi: By accident.

MT: By accident?

Jussi: Yea. I dunno. I think it is kind of mixed between I don’t know. Ahhh, some punk rock and Nikki Sixx and Keith Richards mixed all together.

Damnedgothicgirl asked:

Do you ever look at some of the websites devoted to your or the band?

Jussi: Ummm. I don’t really find time for the internet in general. Sure I’ve been checking them out a lot, but it’s not my every day thing. As you know. Like even my closest friends that mail me it takes two weeks for me to mail back.

MT: Were there any pranks on this tour? Do you do that sort of thing?

Jussi: Ummm. It’s pretty rare. Not really. Well we left with the bus and left Ville behind.

MT: Who did you leave?

Jussi: Ville.

MT: Aw that isn’t nice.

Jussi: Yea. He panicked.

MT: Well I think that’s it!

Jussi: Okee dokee artichokee!