Members

31.1.1978

The Pori Central Hospital in Pori. In Finland.

Started playing piano at age five, electric bass around 13. Played piano in the conservatory and bass in music school. By age 15 I was done with the piano, and the bass was tossed into the bedroom corner and replaced by lights.

Maybe one of the Summer 2006 gigs… Provinssirock, Ilosaarirock, or Down By The Laituri in Turku. All three had in common a great set of lights, a dark tent, and a crowd that just rrrocked. Fuck, they're all best gigs.

The best that I can recall, and that I've worked at myself, have been Machine Head (at Ilosaarirock), Massive Attack (Provinssirock), Dream Theater (Provinssirock), Zen Café (The LTS Tour), and Muse (Ilosaarirock).

Purely as an experience, the best I've seen was without a doubt Nine Inch Nails at Provinssirock. I had just made an agreement with a friend that we would travel to any corner of the world to see them play, and as it happened, we didn't have to go very far.

Probably when I was getting bored during the show at Henry's Pub in Kuopio, and realized they have a really good ceiling in that place, you know, for climbing... No, no, shouldn't try it. Staff very much against it, in general.

But I climbed and stayed up there for a while, parading over people's heads. Then Tommy saw me, and he laughed. He laughed and laughed. Something like that is the best there is, doing something to really confuse the band in the middle of a song. It's a kind of psychological warfare. And after Henry's Pub, I do believe Mr. Riikonen had the upper hand over those little Johnson fairy boys.

One of the funniest incidents was definitely at Hämeenlinna's Sirkus where we was generally poorly-treated. Some innocent stretches backstage quickly turned into a dirty full blown wrestling match. It's always refreshing when you get to throw your colleagues against the wall. After that, downed a couple of energy drinks, and got to work. And the gig was good. Despite the fact the lights were very strange. Which was my fault and Kari's fault. Unorthodox positioning on stage, and all the lights were really low. Strange night, very strange. Let's hope another night like that doesn't pop up anytime soon. But knowing this band, there are little guarantees.

My thing has basically been driving the bus. So I kill every which way possible while driving. Listen to music, think of the gigs ahead and try to come up with something special, play games of logic with Tero, try to learn Spanish, talk with Linda the GPS voice, that sort of stuff. I contemplate. Think about people and things they do. About my own experiences, and life in general. And I watch the landscape change.

By observing the following routine (with some variation):

After the sound check, food, and to the hotel. An hour of sleep, get up, play music really loud, have an energy drink, and hit the shower. Smoke a cigarette in the shower. Brush the teeth, have another energy drink, do some stretching (which often leads to jumping up and down naked on the bed, which sometimes disturbs roommates). Get dressed, and get to the venue at least 30 minutes before the start of the show. Switch on the light desk and make sure everything is functioning. Go backstage, have another two energy drinks, five cigarettes, mess around, stretch, concentrate on the set list for a moment. I'm kind of like one of those old samplers - you have to pop the disk in, well in time before the show, and download all the necessary sounds. Otherwise, anything can happen.

At some point of the story (any story), the word "sauna" may gladly appear.

You is crazy! For every mood there is music. And just as there are different feelings, there is different music. To be able to enjoy all kinds of music, always thinking it's the best there is, helps you understand all kinds of people and deeds, because it means the wind has blown through you. You've lived a storm.

Pretty much all well known classical music. Tons of opera, and your basic giants. Oratoriums, liked them. And then there was Jonna Tervomaa. Love you, Jonna! And your basic children's tunes. And my dad singing. He sang a lot. Called the sauna his studio.

At this exact moment in time:

Massive Attack - Protection
Mariska - Memento Mori
Damn Seagulls - One night at Sirdie's
Tulenkantajat, their second album
IiwanaJulma - Sitä ei ole, mitä en näe

I don't have an iPod. But if someone cares, my non-iPod player currently spins the following:

Private Line - Prozac Nation
Carpark North - Beasts
DJBB - No.2 at Hamburg concept
Stam1na - Kadonneet kolme sanaa
Ville Kalliosta - 100 x 200mg
And just to be a pain, a sixth: Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue

Frank Zappa - Inca Roads.

No one listens to Dire Straits in Jyväskylä. If anyone can prove otherwise, be my guest.

Either No.2 at the Hamburg Concept or Dangerous. Those two come to mind first. Nothing wrong with the older stuff, either.

Private Intentions has always worked for me. The mood is so "close" in that song. And Disco San Francisco, of course!

But the best ever was the start of Helsinki Cadenza at Tavastia in April 2004. That's the best damn start to any song by anyone ever!

Undoubtedly, a couple of books I've just read are my current favorites. And one in particular.

"The Count of Monte Cristo" by Dumas. "Musashi" by Yoshikawa. Currently right in the middle of "Firstly and Secondly" by Daniil Harms. And the one in particular: "Hyppynaru" by Juha Seppälä.
I cried. Thank you.

All the James Bonds, Leon, Dogma, Star Trek 1-6, Batman and Batman Returns, Crow, Blood In - Blood Out, All Pink Panther movies, Battle Royale I, The House of Flying Daggers, the old Saint movies, A Fish Called Wanda… All in all, I like movies.

Knight Rider, Street Hawk, MacGyver, OZ, Studio Julmahuvi, The Simpsons, South Park, the news.

Everything made out of beet root, steaks, (good) pasta, vorschmack, schnitzels, blinis. Pretty much everything except mustard, snails, whole mushrooms, caviar, clams, or oysters.

Energy drink, milk, water. Out of alcoholic beverages, Koskenkorva and red wine. Due to lack of sponsorship deal, can't mention the name of the energy drink, but for free I can tell you it's not ED, because ED sucks.

All animals, really. Wouldn't want to live with all of them, but generally speaking I like animals. The horse.

Far. The Restaurant at the End of the World.

Autumn, maybe. Stirs up thoughts and emotions.

What kind of a goddamn hippie question is this? Every time I go to sleep, the sun is rising, and when I get up, it's setting. Let's say sunset. Throughout the ages, people have tried to make the sun - that great enemy of mankind - go dark. See The Simpsons for Monty Burns's attempt.

Illu and Dina. Wish I could call them. I think they're in Jyväskylä for Christmas. It'd be nice to see Jippo again, too.

Being caught in a never ending cycle of roadie work. Try pushing some box when there are flames up your ass. With a broken rib. Naked. A whip. Kari "Kyrpis" Saarilahti. Eyes. A tongue. Let's not talk about it now. [Translator's note: This guy has stopped making sense a long time ago.]

I like to relax. Candles, red wine, you know the deal... I also climb rocks and walls, do a little swimming, cycling, reading, playing "rock croquet" at a professional level. Listen to music almost constantly. And play Pro Evolution Soccer and poker.

Playing poker and all the symptoms caused by it. Which, however, haven't yet included going broke. Yeah, not yet! Hi, mom!

I am Miika.

Myself. My daughter. Friendship and friends. My siblings, my mother. Trust. Options. Work. Hobbies. Humanity and being humane. Living and sharing joy. Helping.

Out of light desks, I prefer Chamsyss, MA, or Hog. Midi pedals from Üli Behringer and Sounddata's Wilska. Preferably lights that mix colors at different heights. Strobes. A lot. Don't need too many lights, as long as they can be directed and operated easily. A storm lantern. A scroller. A Leatherman. Aker computer and Motorola cell phone. Energy drink comes from Austria.

www.saunalahti.fi/vworks/