LORDI Guitarist Says GWAR 'Must Be Distant Family Members For Us'

Maximum Ink magazine recently conducted an interview with LORDI guitarist Amen. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On winning the Eurovision Song Contest:

"The Eurovision song contest is an annual pop song competition. There are something like 40 contestants, and you perform your song in front of a live audience. At the same time, it is broadcasted to millions of viewers — usually there's over 100 million viewers. It is one of the most-watched non-sporting events in the world, so it's a great opportunity to bring your message to millions of people in only three minutes! People in different countries vote, and the country that gets the most points wins the competition. It is a competition where you usually can't see rock bands, so we were really a 'bizarre vision' in the middle of all those the-less-I-use-clothes-the-more-I-get-votes artists. It's a place no one ever expected to see a band like us, but that's the reason we wanted to participate, because we do things that normal bands don't do."

On how winning the Eurovision contest has changed things for the band:

"We got more reputation and more work. It opened many doors for us. We got a lot of new fans, and because of that we have a chance to play in bigger arenas. During the last year-and-a-half we were really busy, and we have to thank Eurovision for that… But we've already moved on, and our focus is on the future."

On how the idea to wear costumes came about:

"Mr. Lordi got this crazy idea back in early '90s, and all of the mask design comes pretty much from him — other members also take part in design sessions, giving ideas, etc., but Mr. Lordi is the one who makes the masks from sketches to final product . . . There's a different story behind every monster. For me it was kind of obvious to be a mummy, because I have always loved ancient Egypt and its history. It was ten years ago when I jumped in Mr. Lordi's train, and back then we discussed the character of the guitarist. The first idea was some kind of redneck porno Caesar, but nowadays I'm really happy that we thought about it twice!"

On comparisons to GWAR:

"Well, personally, I don't know their music so well, but I think they look cool! It's great to have different kind of bands and music in the world. I hope to meet them one day. I guess they must be distant family members for us..."

Read the entire interview at www.maximumink.com.