Interviews

How did you experience this tour? Have there been any differences compared to the last one?

Cane: Yeah, it was much better again. It becomes better and better with every tour because the places were better and much more people came to see us. The show expenses were much better also. And the bus, we had sleeping places in the bus.

Okay, so you didn't have any hotels?

Cane: Hm, three or something. That saved money. (laughs)

Did you have different support bands on this tour again?

Cane: There were a couple of already known bands but most of them were local bands, which we didn't know before.

Did you watch them?

Cane: Not really... because that's kind of too much music. (laughs) But at some places you had to listen to them because they played so loud.

You already said that much more people came to the concerts – how do you see the increasing popularity of this band? Do you only appreciate it or do you see anything bad in that also?

Cane: No, no, not at all, it's a good thing.

Now that you played in Kouvola and Kotka, it was such a big difference, in Kotka the audience seemed to be in a really good mood but in Kouvola there weren't that many people in the front. Why do you think is it so different in Finland?

Cane: We actually don't know. We are wondering that every time. Maybe we are too close to people, the music is not so exotic to them here. I don't know. Kind of hard to succeed here in Finland if you don't play that kind of Kotiteollisuus thing. It's kind of too underground, no, not underground, but different. There are not so many people in Finland, like 5 million, that's so much less than for example in Germany.


In most cases "Ii lea voibmi" can be found at the end of your gigs, which is also the only song from the Shaman time I have ever heard you play live. I don't know, were there ever played any other Shaman songs live since the band changed the name to Korpiklaani?

Cane: We kind of decided not to play the Shaman songs.

But why this song then?

Cane: I don't know, it's a good song. It's more like the other Korpiklaani songs than the Shaman songs. The other ones are different. And we decided to always start with the "Journeyman" and end with "Ii lea voibmi". So it's kind of a tradition.

Not always, at Nummirock you ended with the Popeda cover "Sukset".

Cane: That was the only time we played it in Finland. We also played it abroad, I can't remember how many times we played it on the tour before the last one. But we played it maybe on five gigs or something.

Now that you also have some songs in Finnish language in your set, did you ever pay any attention to if and how fans from other countries sing them along?

Cane: Yes, of course! I don't think about if it sounds good or not because they just sing the words, even though they probably don't know what they mean. They just learn them but it sounds good in a way because it must be hard to learn these songs and sing them along, so we really appreciate it if people know the lyrics. When we played these songs for the first time they had just been listening to the album and they were already singing them. It doesn't matter if the song is in Finnish or English, they always sing with us. Not always but some, in the first row.

How is the work for your new album going?

Cane: We haven't started the recordings yet but the studio starts next week, on Monday. The drums are already there. The new songs of the album, maybe we record more songs than there are going to be on the album. Then we can choose them.

Will there also be something in Finnish again?

Cane: Yes.

Who writes the lyrics this time? Virva Holtiton again?

Cane: Yes.

How did you get to know him and why did you choose him to write the lyrics?

Cane: I actually don't know him so well and I don't know how he came around. (asking Hittavainen) How did he come along and wrote the lyrics for us?

Hittavainen: I don't know actually. Jonne just asked him or something.

Cane (laughs): It was kind of Jonne's and Virva's thing.

You have been playing one new song already, "Let's drink". How was the response from the audience towards it at the gigs?

Cane: It was very good because it was jumping in the audience and so on from the beginning.

As could be seen already several times, “Korpiklaani” doesn't seem to be such an easy name for foreign people. What was the “best” misspelling of this name so far in your opinion?

Cane: I can't say which ones were “better” or “worse” but there were many of them. Korplikaani and Korpiklanti or whatever but it's not so bad, we always know what band it is. Korplikaani is the most used (laughs).

Sometimes I'm a bit surprised how you manage to get the whole bunch back to Finland every time, as somehow someone always seems to be missing. Has there already been a situation where you lost a band member anywhere?

Cane: No. We always came back here together. It has always been quite easy in the end.

There are definitely some well, strange things in Finland when it comes to food. What would you consider the nastiest or most disgusting thing everyone should try here?

Hittavainen: There is a traditional food called “mämmi”. I don't think it tastes bad but it looks like... I don't know, shit.

Cane: Then maybe “lipeäkala”, that fish you eat at Christmas.

Hittavainen: I think there is some traditional food which is made out of these innards, like the famous Scottish haggis. But I have never tried that.

Hittavainen, you are also involved in Poropetra. Virva Holtiton said it was now up to you to finish the new release. How far are you with the work of that?

Hittavainen: It is almost done but my computer was broken. I think I'll finish it soon.

Also you were playing some instruments on Moonsorrow's last album. How did that come about?

Hittavainen: We have been playing in Finland with them two times. They just asked if I could play those instruments on the album. Actually I also played on the album before Verisäkeet already.