Interview with Mr Lordi / Lordi

After releasing their 5th studio album "Deadache" in October 2008 Lordi hit the road again in early 2009 for gigs in Germany, UK and some other European countries.
The first show was scheduled for Hamburg and after their gig we met Mr. Lordi, singer and frontman of Lordi and really likeable monster, for a little chat and asked a few questions.


finnbands: Your best of album "Zombilation" will be released in five European countries on February 20th. And your website says with this release you want to show that you are not a one hit wonder.
Mr. Lordi: Yeah, that is something what the record lable of course wrote. *laughs* But of course that is something that we try to prove all the time that we are not a One Hit Wonder.
finnbands: And can you tell our readers a little about the album?
Mr. Lordi: Ah, well, the Zombilation is a compilation album of course. That's the name. And it's something that we, the band ...
We wanted a compilation that has all the songs the band likes and also all the b sites of the singles that were not released in every country before this. There are a lot of ... You know, when we release b sites that are on the singles they could have only released for example in Finland, so people in let's say Germany have no way of getting those songs, but now they do, now they do. So it's basically, I think it's all the b sites we had so far.

finnbands: And you decided to release it only in Germany, Austria, Switherland, Italy and Spain. Why did you choose these countries?
Mr. Lordi: Well, that is... of course it will be released in other countries too. .... Not understandable due to one of the other bands being pretty noisy in the backstage. Later Mr. Lordi politely asks them to be quiet.
But unfortunately our deal with Drakkar Records, which is our German lable, ended with "Deadache" album, our new studio album. That's because the contract says they have the right to do a compilation album. So of course this they needed to do.
And those five countries are mainly the area or the terretory of Drakkar.

finnbands: As I told you before my son is a big fan of Lordi ...
Mr. Lordi: Yeah cool!
finnbands: Kids like monsters and due to this some might say you are a kiddy band. But I think you see yourself somewhere else.
Mr. Lordi: Oh yeah! ...
finnbands: What do you think about this statement ....
Mr. Lordi: I also think who ever says that and really thinks that, it's just a way of saying and raising his hand: "I am an idiot!". Music has no age limit.
I was a kid when I got into KISS and Twisted Sister and WASP and Alice Cooper and bands like that. I was a kid. But I am a kid still and I still like those bands. And the thing is there is no age limit in music.
I mean ... In usual I'd say that... Some bands, for example KISS they "suffered" the same thing that people said it's for children, you know. Or anything. Look at KISS today.
So I think it's only good when you have a very very big age variety amongst your fans. I mean it's cool to have little kids as fans as eighty year olds and every age between. Because let's face the rock bands and especially metal bands, which we are not. But most metal bands - their fans are mostly between 15 to lets say 35 and that's it. There are no younger fans and there are no older fans. It's pretty limited age. So I think we are doing good. Any band that has really much young fans and old fans and all kinds of fans or with all different ages. I think it's only a plus. It's only a good thing for the band. Of course the other bands might *laughs* be jealous about the fact.

finnbands: Now I was supposed to ask about scaring people in general and especially on the ferry to Suomenlinna once some years ago. But as my information was wrong with "recording session" - damn for my own incapability of reading Finnish newspapers correctly - Mr. Lordi got my idea not as I ment but he disclosed the mystery.
Mr. Lordi: Well, we actually have never recorded anything with the make up on because that would be just stupid. But we have done listening sessions for record lables in the studio with the make up on when the album was already ready.

finnbands: Do you use make up in private life as well?
Mr. Lordi: No! I think it is quite enough *laughs* when you do it every other night. So there is no need for make up during the day.

finnbands: How long do you need for this make up?
Mr. Lordi: Ah, this costume, this make up is four hours and it's three hours for the face. So the whole day actually goes there.

finnbands: During the history of Lordi you reached a lot. You won the Eurovision, you released CDs and a DVD, books and even comics are written and there is Lordi Plaza with the monument in your home town Rovaniemi. Is there still anything you would really love to reach?
Mr. Lordi: A lot! I mean really! It's something I'd ... We don't feel that we have achieved that much. Because the thing it that ...
Let's put it this way: if an artist in any band thinks that we have done everything then it's time to quit. You know, when you don't feel the hunger anymore.
We wanna go further, we wanna go bigger, we wanna go everywhere. You know, we wanna play the stadiums! So this is nowhere near the end now. We gonna seal this to the end! .... noisy again
When we are only talking about Finnish bands, there are so many bands that are light years ahead of ours. You know like HIM, The Rasmus, Children Of Bodom. Those bands are light years ahead of us. So many bands. And we are just trying to come from behind.

finnbands: Did you like your show today?
Mr. Lordi: Yeah *sounding really happy*
finnbands: There were not too many people at all in the audience.
Mr. Lordi: Well, that was ok! The thing is, it was the first show of this tour. The first night of the show. The band was "öh äh öh öh". It was a little awful because we didn't remember all the things we had on stage. But besides that I think it was good. I think in one week the show will be better. We are getting the things together and we will start to remember what is supposed to happen in each town. So yeah yeah yeah!

finnbands: Are there sometimes fans waiting for you after the concerts?
Mr. Lordi: Yeah!
finnbands: Do you like to meet your fans after shows or is this just a part of your business?
Mr. Lordi: Yeah sure of course! We always take time for the fans.
Let's put it this way: I am a big fan of many bands myself so I understand what it is being a fan. So I would be pissed if my idol and does not give me an autograph or something.
We always take the time. When ever there is a fan waiting somewhere we give a bit of our time. Because the fans are our bosses, really. They are the reason, you know, they make it possible for us to do what we wanna do. Without the fans, I mean, what band could survive without the fans? Imagine a band without fans, there would be nobody, ... Yeah, they are the bosses!

finnbands: So the next and last one is a fan question and you don't have to answer this as it is a fun one: What do you think that many girls want sex with the monsters?
Mr. Lordi: Well, that's pretty good. That sounds nice. Yeah! Yeah!

finnbands: We are done now. Thank you very much.
Mr. Lordi: Cool, excellent, thank you!

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