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INTERVJU - NEGATIVE
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Sångaren Jonne Aaron och gitarristen Larry besökte Stockholm för en promotiontripp inför kommande plattan KARMA KILLER. På Playgrounds kontor gjorde jag följande intervju..
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You are about to release your fourth album. Tell us something about the making of it, what were you aiming for and not aiming for?
Jonne: -It’s our fourth album, so it has elements of all the others and some new elements as well. And of course there is a new guitar player in the band. Sir Christus left because of personal problems.
Larry: - It was a hard decision. But I think the album turned out well. It has a heavier sound with just one guitar and you can really turn it up loud. With two guitars it’s more complicated. So it has a more straight in your face kind of sound.
Jonne: - The sound is closer to stadium sound than ever before..
Larry: - That was also one of the reasons why we decided to use Mikko Karmila as the producer, he knows how to do this really heavy sound. But we didn’t want the kind of sound like some of the bands he has worked with previously like Children of Bodom for instance. But it is the heaviest album we have done so far.
What are some of your inspirations? What do you listen to?
Larry: - Lots of Pink Floyd during the last years and during the making of this album. Also Led Zeppelin.
Jonne: - I’m listening to all kinds of music, it all depends on different moods. Before writing material for this album I listened a lot to My Chemical Romance, 30 Seconds To Mars, new bands. But also Queen, Pink Floyd etc. And traditional Finnish dance music! I like to relax with tango!
Let’s talk about the Finnish music scene.. Lots of bands are making it big outside of Finland and there is a certain distinctive melancholy sound coming from Finnish rock bands. How do you see yourselves fit into that scene?
Jonne: - We don’t want to sound like HIM, we just do what we feel. But I think that a common thing with Finnish bands is this melancholic tone. But I think we have a more fast driving rock vibe in our songs. We have songs like for instance Motherfucker (Just like you) that are more in the direction of GUNS N’ROSES and AEROSMITH. A mix of Hollywood and Finland.
Larry: - There are a lot of traditional Finnish melodies in there, like “boat music”. (Larry refers to the music commonly played on the cruise boats between Finland and Sweden)
Jonne: - I am not the kind of guy that just listens to only MÖTLEY CRUE, I love music in general. It is a state of mind!
Your lyrics are very emotional and contain the Finnish sometimes melancholy way of writing. What inspires you when writing lyrics?
Jonne: - They are about my life.. And I spy on the guys in the band and everyone and write about it, haha. Life itself inspires me! It makes people come together. It’s like an open diary, for the whole world to read. It’s like MÖTLEY CRUE sings: “my heart is like an open book for the whole world to read”. And sometimes certain words come to mind when I hear a melody. And of course there is some fiction also. I can also be inspired by movies, other bands or whatever.
I do the music first and then the lyrics.
For instance the song “Gravity Of Love”, which I find to be a very touching and epic song. Tell me more about it..
Jonne: - We had a part of it already for the “Anorectic” album.
Larry: - The start of the song was in my head already by the second album and it stuck there. We tried it for “Anorectic” but it didn’t quite work. We were thinking of it as a fast track, but it didn’t work. Then one after another the parts fit together, and we decided to make it a BIG song.
Jonne: - We were thinking not like “November rain” but like an updated “November rain”, but this is more simple and even better!
Larry: - I hear a lot of PINK FLOYD in the song as well, with the female vocals etc.
Jonne: - When we are playing a stadium, I don’t know when and if that’s going to happen, but in 2 years, 20 years who knows? But believing is the first step. The female vocals at the end make a good exit for leaving the stage.
The lyrics for “Gravity Of Love”…well for the last album “Anorectic” I was thinking a lot about my past and I closed up that chapter. Because I have had a not so normal youth, there was a lot of anger and hate on the “Anorectic” album. So this time I wanted to concentrate only on what is going on now and what’s going to happen in the future. So this is a new era..
And there is also a lot of hope.. Of course I liked to put in a lot of hope previously as well, but more so now. I am really satisfied with the lyrical side of the album.
What about touring? Any plans to play in Sweden other than the Sweden Rock Festival?
Jonne: - Yes! We are going to play more shows here, but do not have any dates yet. I can say surely before the end of this year, but can’t be more specific. We have lots of festivals coming up and then there will be a fall tour.
How do you see the future for NEGATIVE?
Jonne: - I have always loved the huge bands like GUNS N’ROSES, QUEEN etc that are playing stadiums so that is a dream. That is also why I like playing festivals and the big stages. But I also like smaller clubs, it’s kind of like having group sex or something haha. You can taste our sweat in the first row, that kind of thing.
Larry: - I would just like to keep on playing, to develop as a band and as a musician and a person, to do a lot of work and a lot of gigs. That is my way of surviving, because I’m a really self destructive person. Being on tour keeps me focused on doing my best with the gigs etc. With too much free time I get frustrated.
It is hard when you’ve had a long tour and then suddenly you are sitting at home, then it’s easier to go to the bar or something, than wash your dishes or whatever.
Jonne: - There is a big difference between touring and being at home, it can’t be described. On tour you don’t have to do anything, it’s all done for you. I can’t get to sleep when I get off a tour! I have been sleeping on my living room floor for one or two nights when I get off the road and then I can learn to sleep in my bed again. Babysteps..
I’m curious about the name NEGATIVE.. What made you choose it?
Jonne: - It’s a cool, simple name to remember and I think it’s perfect for a rock band. It’s aggressive and melancholic at the same time. Also, I was 14 when I formed the band and you know NIRVANA, the song “Negative Creep”? I love that song and stole it from there..
Please share some cool road stories with us! Cool, bad, sad, ugly, does anything come to mind?
Larry: - There was actually a funny situation in China on our last tour. There was this really fanatical girl that came to our tour bus at the airport and said that she was allowed to travel on the bus. Of course this wasn’t true, so she decided to lie down in front of the bus in front of the wheels! So they had to carry her away, and then when we got to the hotel of course she was already there…
Jonne: - I was really tired from jetlag and thinking I was going to take a nap. I went to my room, sleeping for about 20 min and someone is knocking at my door. I went to open it and the girl was standing there! She was trying to come into the room, so I pushed her out to the hallway and went back inside. I called my brother and said “what am I going to do”, so he came. He is a really tall Viking with long hair and convinced her to leave. I didn’t know what to do, because at the airport she didn’t say anything, then in the hotel lobby she just kept staring at me.
But after I pushed her back out into the hallway, she started to speak perfect English! Saying that we are meant for each other and we are soul mates. She was talking for like 10 or 15 min and I didn’t know what to do, so that’s when I called my brother.
I really don’t like to be rude to people, I like the fact that people are into the band with every instinct. And it is quite sad that we had to handle it like that. But she just didn’t realize that I need my space and needed that hour or so of sleep.
Fans can get fanatic sometimes, any other examples?
Jonne: - For instance in Finland, there can be people waiting outside the venue for 3 days, in the winter!
Larry: - It can be quite scary, when the police tell those girls to go home, but there is nothing they can do. There was actually one girl that didn’t feel her legs anymore, because in the winter in Finland it can be like -20 C. It’s crazy..
Jonne: - We have the craziest fans everywhere. It seems that all the lunatics love us, but in a good way. For instance when we got to Russia for the first time there were like 100 people screaming outside the train! It was like a Beatles documentary or something. They were shaking the minivan and this was like 05.30 in the morning!
Larry:- They have our home numbers and everything, begging us to call them back.
You have mainly female fans, is that correct?
Jonne: - Yes mainly, but after “Anorectic” the guys have been coming as well. I think that once you get the girls to the shows, then men will follow. All the best looking girls are at the NEGATIVE shows and I would rather watch good looking girls than hairy guys haha. We are blessed by girls!
And on that note, we thank Jonne and Larry for taking the time to talk to GetMetal and wish them luck in the future!
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