Essentia's diary

01.02.06:

February 1st, the first day in the studio, EP recordings I made an early start to the studio and agreed with Big Brother that he would sit at the mixer board. We were again at the familiar environment of Deerhouse. The atmosphere was very sad and misty. It tells about how most of us have been left alone in this world. The Manager came to check out what I was doing. He hadn't heard that song either. I considered what kind of approach I should take with this song and I decided that 'the less, the sexier'. Why always bother using everything. In general, I think that the problem with Essentia's songs is that each one of us is always wanting to add something, which leads to the equation 'Everything x 5 = a mess'. Tuomas played guitars for this song - or the guitar, because I told him that one is enough even though the Manager would have liked to have more spheres. I understood that we are in different spheres when discussing this song. Honestly, I kept on singing this song for six hours. That's a lot considering that the song lasts just three minutes. Well, the reason was simply that when I had finished, Tuomas said 'oops' and everything vanished. So we had to record it again. It felt like a funeral, I was so pissed-off that I couldn't cry. After hearing the final version I thought that if this song was a woman, she'd forgotten her bikini on the beach.

The second studio day

Sammy came to Tampere Conservatory around 8 o'clock in the morning to put the drums together and I think that the drummer himself arrived later on. They fixed the drums, had a soundcheck and started with Servant. The Conservatory came up as an option when the keyboard-hero Teppo from our pal-band asked us. He was willing to have Servant as his study project so we were offered studio, recording and mixing - all this for free - so we agreed. Well, Essentia EP (2004) was done at Conservatory and it sounds awful but the technical equipment there is first class and because Teppo himself is known to be capable for the work, I think that Essentia will sound good, too.
Bailey fainted a couple of times before going to studio, his neck and shoulders have been quite stiff recently. Due to his back problems he hasn't even been able to go to school but a generous amount of relaxants makes any man smile. So, pretty soon Mr. Moshpitt was rocking behind the drums. He played so good fills that I thought they were machine-made. Or well, Bailey is a machine! Then Sammy recorded guitar parts (which were later re-recorded at Teppo's place) and the rest of us inserted sweet peppers to our noses. Cool shit!


The third day

We were fed up by the dustiness of the conservatory and continued to Onkiniemi, where Deerhouse studio is located. We chose Deerhouse, because the favorite band of all Essentia guys and Essentia-minded people is Yö and this is the studio where all the platinum records of Yö have been made. We were now striving for "Yöish" sound, quite fierce but oh so romantic. I even took a few singing lessons from Yö's vocalist Olli Lindholm to find the right touch.

We started building the songs basing them on drums. The songs are Bad Karma and Passion and it took several hours for us to notice that we hadn't gotten anything done. Or we had. But everything became far too complicated. Let's say that we've been working on Bad Karma for 8 months already and after some brainstorming at the studio we decided to do it again from the start. Now that I got started... Bad Karma is about our Manager and his bad karma. Everything began in May 2005, when we were playing in Helsinki, at Rokkikellari (see the diary). During that gig everything went wrong (and of course we lost money) and that was it, the start of Manager's bad karma. It went on and on. I even thought that he'd never recover. Bad karma includes all the shit that life's hell can possibly include. Nothing can go right under the influence of bad karma.

Well, then I traveled to China and told the boys that they'd have one month for writing new songs, try to get something done. Those monkeys did a monkey-like song, to which Managed wrote the lyrics, as he was suffering from bad karma and he didn't dare to leave his home because he didn't want to be exposed to the evil temptations of the outside world.

Those lyrics were so crappy that I changed them immediately and I think that the new lyrics address the audience, they're about war and the feeling of insecurity that people experience. The guys were like "politics again?" but I told them that I don't want to sing any shitty love songs We rehearsed this song during the summer, fall and winter and every time it changed its form. Each time it was ready and I and Sammy were contented, the next time we were rehearsing it, the song changed again. If we didn't change a guitar riff, we changed a verse or at least it's place. If we did not change the guitars then we changed the vocals, if not the vocals the lyrics were changed or at least the melody and even in studio the song was changed once again. Finally we had recorded a song that had more than 10 parts and Latomaa said "hey guys, nobody's gonna get the idea of this crap".

On the studio night I made a new chorus for the song and everybody liked it but Adam felt that it sounded too much like Passion and can't be used so the whole song is just a terrible compromise based on our personal preferences. Due to all the changes I now only like one part of it, the "smiling part", which Sammy wrote the previous night to be the chorus part. Well, it didn't become the chorus, it's just "smiling part".

Anyway, Bailey recorded Passion and had to skip school the following day due to the problems caused by the creative pain.


The fourth day

We returned with to the gloomy studio early in the morning, feeling a bit fearful, Adam still snoring in my arms. Studio shouted at us "Everything will be solved today". But our hero Sammy Black saved the day. He grabbed the guitar because he has lots of studio experience due to the weeks he spent there during the autumn with Lovex, and we got things started. Very soon the guitars for both Passion and Bad Karma were recorded. And that's quite mighty stuff.

Passion became so happy song that we had to wrote a farewell part. That kind of farewell where the Granny is falling asleep for the last time: slowly, peacefully but happily. In Passion dying is something nice. Anyway, death is as natural as birth. One day I complained late at night: "I wish there was even one day in my life when I wouldn't have to wake up in the morning." Sammy answered: "Joonas, be assured that there will be a day like that.." Yeah, and here we go again.

In general, we went to studio with a completely different approach than last year. Then we used most of our ideas and the result was quite a mess. Now we dropped most of the ideas, we have less guitars and the songs are more stripped-off versions. We wanted to make such a packet that everything will be heard. There are too many bands that have loads of nice stuff but you can't really hear them. Why put the ideas there if the audience can't hear them. This recording isn't as pop-influenced as the previous one. Give us the money, we'll give you an album, I have 20 smash hits in my pocket.


The fifth day

It's time for the songs and anthems. I had written beautiful melodies to both songs but when I started singing our Manager shouts "Where's your dick?". Nice, so much about those melodies, which were then replaced by shouting. Great.

At that point I thought that I'm not appreciated at all so I just kept on singing. But then they started criticizing the lyrics as well "this ain't good", "write something better here", "that sucks"... and then the sweat and hatred were streaming, which can probably be sensed in the final result. Those two songs are entirely opposite in nature: Passion is about joy, Bad Karma about hatred. Both are about faith, the question remains: which is false faith. I was thinking about singing as little as possible to leave more room for the instruments. The vocals ain't always the best solution even though people keep on saying that. We have so beautiful bass and guitar melodies that they deserve to be heard.

I kept on singing. Firstly I screamed my voice hoarse, after that it just became better. It's a weird thing, when there's just a wheezing sound from your larynx and when the pain is so great that you feel like vomiting blood, the voice starts streaming. Maybe I should throw up blood on the gigs as well to be able to sing well. So, as usual I spent the first two hours at the studio trying too hard and the result sounded unnatural. And then, when you're too tired to concentrate, the vocal parts become better without sounding tired, though. But I sang both songs for at least 30 times; at some point it was really annoying. I even got fed up with the lyrics. I hope somebody likes them.


The sixth day

It was a time for depressing Monday (remembering Pakkahuone and the afterparty) and Conservatory's misty studio attic. We weren't at our happiest. Let's say that probably there'll be more laughing at my father's funeral than this Monday at studio.

Sammy was like he'd swallowed a sabre. He swore a lot and was even more quiet than usually. Manager had lost even the rest of his will to leave. Adam didn't even show up, because he was pissed off. We didn't even ask about the others, they wouldn't have arrived, anyway.

It was time for Servant and last guitars and vocals. Things weren't too good to begin with (in addition to the issues mentioned above) because my throat was very sore (I've had a sore throat for the last five months); I'm into extremes: when I'm ill I prefer being ill for, say, two years in a row so that I might then be in good health for the next twenty years. Moreover, Sammy hadn't gotten the guitar equipment he had wanted and it took lots of effort to get the sounds right. Teppo from Lovex was recording this song, there are altogether three people recording/mixing for this album. So at least we kept the walls apart and the ceiling high.

We spent many hours just searching for the sound and I think that Teppo is the only one, who was eventually happy with it. Teppo was our studiowhore... when the rest of us were killing themselves, Teppo kept on working like powered with laughing gas and encouraged us like one encourages a stallion at horse race. Warmest thanks to Teppo for that.

The guitars were OK and the acoustic parts were handsome as well. Then it was time for singing. Again the melodies were redone, because there wasn't enough shouting. Sammy and Manager are hard to please. I would have been satisfied with beautiful melodies but they just kept on shouting back "Keep on shouting, bastard". A shyer guy would be in trouble. I started groaning with sweat streaming down my face and I think that they were finally contented. Damn, they wouldn't be happy even if you arranged an eternal erection for them or paid them a holiday in Columbia. Well, finding a good-enough solution makes you stop self-punishment, that kind of whipping adds to your stamina and stamina takes you further. A simple but efficient means.
The album became a mixture of overly positive attitude and endless sorrow. It reflects very much my own life and my way of thinking. I hope that it will give strength to our essentia-minded fellow people. Bye!


30.12.05 Talvipotpuri, Tampere

Is there any better way for starting a new year than Talvipotpuri? No there isn't. We spent a lot of time organizing this happening and it got the attention it deserved. You can read Moro's article about this happening on Media-section.

I wanted to organize a band happening where my favorite bands would be playing but all different music styles would be represented; that's how I got the idea of Talvipotpuri. Something for everyone. Consequently, there was a wide range of bands, from pop to aggressive metal. We were also playing there as part of the heavier department.

The first band started at 19:30. There were eight bands in total; somebody might think that as a kind of overdose but at least this was the biggest band happening in Klubi's history. Because the other bands played very good gigs it's now time to analyze our somewhat confusing performance.

1. We've been training a song called Bad Karma for half a year but two hours before the gig we decided not to play that song. That made me depressed because in my opinion the song really rocks.
2. I couldn't concentrate at all prior to the gig because I had all kinds of things to do as I was the host of the evening.
3. When the gig started, Bailey started off with a wrong song. My depression deepened.
4. After the first song Adam noticed that his guitar was in a different tune than Sammy's. So it was quite impossible to sing correctly the first song, which was Thunder.
5. So... right in the beginning of the gig we had to have an obligatory jam session, during which the guys tried to find the right tune for their guitars.
6. Before the jam session Bailey had had to interrupt Servant's intro and that sounded quite stupid. At this point I felt ashamed and I was just thinking that the audience would laugh at us.
7. I and Sammy had different set lists so I announced songs, which weren't the ones that the guys were playing.
8. After the gig many people came to us to say that they didn't like our new arrangements. We've been only working on them for a few months.
9. Luckily Mr Karisma had liked our gig. He told us after the gig: "You suck. I'm ashamed that I've ever met you." Because of Talvipotpuri I managed to collect the money for Essentia's next release. There were more than 400 visitors. Great! Special thanks to our Manager for acting as Mr Potpuri's right hand. Without you I'd be nothing.



17.12.05 Culture Center ARX, Hämeenlinna

It's fucking annoying to drive through the Finland. The drive from Savonia to Hämeenlinna feels like that. Besides, we don't have a tour bus where to lay comfortably but just Volvo 600, now that "Rasmus the Rocket" is not with us anymore. R.I.P. Let's raise a toast for his memory.

Bloodshot eyes, feet like glass and limping hands carried our essential family towards the venue. The team was like a tragicomic circus combined to an outdated emergency services. The issues of the previous day were still in our minds and kept our doctor busy.

That's true. We've invested. We have an own doctor for the tour. And not just any doctor but a beautiful, adult female with just a suitable amount of sleazy perversion. That's good. When Adam has a diarrhea while we're driving we don't have a time to go to the doctor. We must have one on the road with us.

Despite of the diarrhea (I don't know whether anyone noticed to take a look at Adam's backside after the gig) our guitarists played an active gig even though the stage was quite small. But we have this saying: "smallness gives room to creativeness".

In case you didn't know, I'm neurotic. That's why a scarf around my neck was no longer enough but I added long johns, too. Before each and every gig I'm sure that I can't sing, that's the reason for long johns.

Well, why the pink socks? That has something do with hysteria. The aim is always to play each gig better than the previous one and after Pieksämäki it wasn't easy. That is why I've been building "essenism", it's a bit like shamanism but much stronger. In order to make our gig better I changed my three layers of socks to our doctor/driver's simple pink ones and it worked!

The venue wasn't full though there was a free entrance. That gave born to my identity crisis and so I went onstage without passport. Fortunately the keen ones in the front row reminded me about my name during our first song and the monkey-like rage was in my nerves like a burdock in my butt.

After a long absence, Frozen Iron was again sparkling in our set and it made me think about the old times. Manager told me that I sang well. He lied. The gig ended with me laying on stage after having broken both the microphone and my lungs by roaring. Cool!

I must admit. Our street team in Hämeenlinna has had a good start. Or how many other towns have such a street team, which organizes a happening just to create a chance for Essentia to perform in that very town. Incredible!

P.s. The coffee breads were popular! Merry Christmas, everyone!


16.12.05 Talvirieha, Poleeni, Pieksämäki

Do you know why Jedi mixed a month old herrings with coffee? Because it tastes bad. And so started the gig in Pieksämäki. We had the special honor to be the supporting band for "51 Koodia" but I must confess that our gig was a lot better than theirs. I think they were embarrassed. The gig was a bit weird because the audience was seated. Yes, it was a theatre and you know that you're supposed to remain seated there. It was weird that even the rules of the happening told us that the audience must not stand up.

We need more gigs on a big stage to make the things work. In the beginning of the gig it seemed that Hanski would have glued Adam's shoe soles and that Sammy would have been hibernating but after a while they started rocking. In fact, the only thing that seemed to be lacking were Bailey's somersaults around the stage. He still didn't do them. For the next gig, could somebody do a sign saying "Do a somersault, Bailey!" Did you know that Bailey looks like a chimpanzee when he's naked? Isn't it cute?

During the gig I talked about the drugs and how they're about as stupid a thing as a third testicle would be. I told them that in Finland 12 per cent of the population has tried/used drugs, that in the world 200 000 people die every year because of the drugs, that three out of four drug users live in the developing countries and that cocaine was removed from Coca-Cola in 1914. Think about where the most popular drink of the world has gotten its name from!

We played Revenge as an encore and I've really started liking it. I can reveal that you looked so good that our next DVD may include something from Pieksämäki. After the gig we intruded into a hotel that looked more like a one-family house. Our groupies from Tampere had some program, songs and gifts for us. They brought us Christmas spirit. After some moments of dancing Jedi got bored and decided to join (with his best friend, Jägermeister) in Sammy's company to write new songs. Also Bailey has started composing. Everything was becoming so beautiful. Until we heard an ugly noise. Our hotel room is sick. So is Adam. About the audience. They obeyed the rules. They didn't stand. They went berserk in front of the stage. Great.

Ps. Jedi is the greatest greatness.


14.12.05 On the Rocks, Helsinki

Helsinki, the frosty home of snobs and superficial wannabe-people, is always a nice place for playing and On the Rocks seems to be one of the best venues in Helsinki. I was worried during our drive there. In addition to the sleep debt there were other problems. The timetables didn't hold at all because I had to strive for my band initiative and even though I was successful, we needed to speed to Helsinki and I had to go to the stage without any preparations made, trousers hanging...

Also these problems were solved by our excellent tour driver, who's also known as the social worker of this band. He decides who may be beaten and when. Sometimes beating is not allowed at all and that annoys Jedi a lot but at least he said the best comment he's ever said on stage: "Bring me Jägermeister!".

After the gig people were asking for new material and I promised that there would be some by the end of this winter. The old material is still selling well. There were so many familiar faces in the audience that I felt like playing in my own wedding - without a wife, though.

Despite of several requests I didn't surrender to carnal desires but trusted our manager's instinct and his taste. He prefers moisture. Adam likes it so much that he was caught in act on our way to Helsinki. Thanks to Antero Hedeik the after party continued until 7 a.m. Just remember: don't play Spede's games. Spede cheats.

P.s. Elvis sold me a black sausage at Hakaniemi marketplace. I didn't eat it though, because I'm a turnip. But the stick wasn't wasted. It never is.


10.12.05 Palatsi, Turku

I started off by deciding that I must inform people in Turku about violence. Did you know that one out of six women in the world faces physical violence. In the developing countries half of the women experiences violence, which is usually sexual. A rape is a common way of mishandling. This has caused that in some countries over 40 per cent of the population are HIV positive. Violence towards the minors is pretty much a tabu in Finland but that kind of violence is more common than generally believed, states a research by Stakes. It may be surprising but 30 per cent of violence comes from the women so it's not only the males who are the source of violence.

The audience was with me. They obediently said the declaration of Christmas peace after me and promised to serve Essentia well. We got some extra kicks because the gig was broadcast to all the world through the internet. Hopefully many people spotted it. The stage was big and showed the best qualities of Essentia. Especially our guitarists Sammy and Adam were in flames. And if Jedi hadn't done a good job while gluing his dreadlocks, they would have flied into the audience. It seems that Palatsi is the only sensible venue in Turku. Special thanks to the sweet sisters from Hämeenlinna, who were waiting at the entrance of Palatsi even before we had even arrived.

Then there are these girls from Helsinki, who did everything in a big way. They came to Turku, paid for Essentia's hotel rooms, offered refreshments and other goodies. By the end of the night the words couldn't describe what was going on, like I'd watched myself from outside of my body, from the ceiling...and all the words, deeds, art. This is how Essentia brought the Christmas peace to Turku.


05.06.04 Vernissa, Vantaa

It is always nice to rock somewhere near hear Helsinki, our capital. However Mikey, our bass player and Bailey, the mosh monkey fucker drummer had been in the band something like one week or so but it didn't matter. If they couldn't play some parts of the songs they rocked like hell! Btw, Mikey needs girls, so call him. If you are not a girl everything goes.
There were about 200 hundred pretty girls with blue eyes wouh! And I was shocked. They shouted like horny parrots, they jumped and cried. Jeah and I was shocked. We played our new song called Deluded, it is quiet punky and they liked very much.
But there is anything if there aren't some hotel rooms for the band. And there was. I mean was because they don't exist anymore. We broke them. I can't remember how it happened but I noticed it in the morning. I couldn't walk but I had friends to carry me on and they helped me in to a car.
On backstage there was lots of girls and almost everyone wanted our drummer, Mr Moshpitt. They asked if he is available. And mr answered: Tonight I can be a single if you want it very much..
We make our new video in that night, it is quiet crazy, you should check it out. We are men of honour..I mean humour.
We took our manager with us. He brought girls to hotell room..for himself. So we just wrestled all night long and then we passed out. Meanwhile our manager fucked.
In the morning manager pissed around in the hotel's parking lot and I fucked with a pig in front of the city council of Vantaa. Oh, it was great! I'm a biiig animal lover. C u soon Vantaa!

6.5.04 On the Rocks, Helsinki

You never know what is gonna happen in our gig. For example On the rocks was booked year before Don Thomas freeked out and jumped off the band. Two days before the show nobody knew who is gonna play fucking drums. Ok, it was good old Thomas and he hadn't practised with us during last two months. I was so anxious I shit my pants.
Once upon a time there was Bill and Mary and they liked each others and then they didn't like because life is so hard and this world is sooo nasty place and the pain kills me and Mary and then they took some Opemax, excellent painkillers, and they felt goog, not great because their brains didn't work but good. That is about what is going on in our only slow motion song called Fragile.
Mr Rockaholic was so wasted that he couldn't couldn't play so he wrestled and danced. We like wrestling.
Flylow organization was the band who played with us. I gave them this gig cause I they are great. Go and see: http://www.flyloworganization.com. We will cooperate in the future, too.