Interviews

Day Eleven are a group of fun, hardworking, crazy lads who I managed to tie down long enough for a quick interview to talk about new albums, old influences, Eurovision and butterflies.

Suzi: So, how are you all going?
JANNE: I'm pretty good, starting to feel inspired for a change, with the autumn here and all. This is probably the first time ever that I haven't been pissed off about the summer being gone so soon. I hope we can keep busy for the rest of the year working on the songs for our next album and stuff like that.
OLLI: Good, now that I just quit my summer job. Now it’s time to concentrate on the music though I still feel some autumn depression, probably it’s just feeling a bit blue.
JANNE: Olli, you're just coming down from the weekend that's all.

You guys are keeping busy writing material for your next album - how's that going?
JANNE: Everything's looking good at the moment. All we need is a little time – we have more songs written than we have the time to rehearse. So that's good if a bit frustrating at times.
OLLI: There are plenty of ideas, hopefully we'll find more time to practice those ideas together in the near future.

What can fans expect to look forward to from this new record?
JANNE: It seems there's gonna be a whole lot more variety in the songs and sounds compared to "Sleepwalkers". We've got songs with blastbeats, some hippie stuff with acoustic guitars only as well as some that sound like (massive) stadium rock anthems. It might end up pretty bizarre, but in the end it has a lot to do with which songs we choose on the album.

I was impressed to learn your 2005 album release "Almost Over Everything" is sold not only in Finland, but Belarus, the Ukraine and here in Australia! How does it make you feel knowing your work is stocked in record stores on the other side of the globe?
JANNE: It's cool and all but, well, let's hope that somebody takes the album home from the record store... I mean it's a start but there hasn't been any real promotion done on anybody's part – this is actually our first Aussie interview so, you know... we'll just keep pushing.

How have you found your international fans respond to your music?
JANNE: If you think about concert situations, the audiences abroad definitely wipe the floor with Finnish audiences. We've had a great time especially in Germany. Finns are generally very reserved, though I'm happy to play if people just stand there if they are actually listening. Of course in Finland it differs a hell of a lot from town to town.

What kind of plans do you have for future tours?
JANNE: We'll see once we get the new album out first. Of course we'd love to play and get the album in stores everywhere.

Day Eleven band roots stem from 90s grunge, some aspects of punk rock and a touch of pop. Who were your early influences?
JANNE: Metallica got me playing guitar and thinking about getting our own band together. Kimmo and Olli were more into Guns N' Roses, but we had a common love for Ozzy-era Black Sabbath. That's where we were coming from – and thinking about it now, not that much has changed, really. Though we don't hate punk rock or black metal anymore, like we used to...
OLLI: Queen, Guns N’ Roses and Black Sabbath. G’N’R was my guidance to rock n roll.

According to your My Space blogs, you guys like a drink or two - but what's something a little unusual that your fans might not know about you?
OLLI: I like butterflies...
JANNE: And I don't, but I still like Olli and I love documentary films about space travel.

Who gets the most attention from fans?
OLLI: Janne?
JANNE: Well, one thing's for sure and it's that at least Olli is the one who gets the most gifts and stuff from the fans, booze and stupid hats, good stuff like that.

And lastly, would Day Eleven ever be persuaded to perform at Eurovision?
OLLI: Never

JANNE: Well who knows, maybe just to (tick) some people off. Our performance is more of a confrontation with the audience than entertainment, so we wouldn't fit in, that's for sure. But of course if we got there, it would definitely boost the quality of their (less-than-adequate) show, so I guess there's nothing wrong with that, good for the people, right...?

Suzi