(a/n: me=Tina/MEM)
me: Pekka, would you describe yourself as a 'typical Finn'?
Pekka: Well, the picture other people have of the Finns is that Finnish people are shy and not very open. The Finns appear as sulky or moody, but once you get to know them, they slowly but surely open up. (pauses) Do you know these bottles you have to hold upside down and tap hard several times until something comes out?
me: yeah?
Pekka: Yeah, a Finn could be described as such a bottle. You need to continue tapping them until slowly, something comes out.
me (laughing): That's a good description. And what kind of bottle would you be then? (I mime shaking a bottle, and when it opens, everything comes splashing out in a fountain)
Pekka (grins): Yeah, tap me once and everything just spills out. So I'm not the typical Finn. I'm more open and outgoing.
me: Staying 'Finnish'… What traditional Finnish drink would you recommend to get drunk on the quickest?
Pekka: Hmm. As for really traditional Finnish drinks I would say Koskenkorva Vodka. You have to drink it ice cold and dry.
me: And Minttu?
Pekka: Nah I hate that. Torsti loves it.
me: Okay. Would you ever want to live in a country other than Finland? Because in some questionnaire you said you like it warm and sunny and I thought okay, you live in the wrong country then…
Pekka: Nah. I love this country. Of course we have long winters and it's dark and cold, but if I lived in another country like, let's say Spain, I would miss this. You have to appreciate where you live.
me: What were you afraid of as a child?
Pekka (ponders a long while): Hmm… Good question. I never really thought about that… What was I afraid of? (long pause again) I guess I wasn't really afraid of anything.
me (grinning): Okay, that's cool. Well, so then, staying in the childhood… who was your favourite cartoon character?
Pekka: Oh I'm a huge comic fan. Batman was a hero of course. And Spiderman. me: Oh, do you like the Spiderman movies as well?
Pekka: No, they are crap unfortunately. Well, the comic book series that is my absolute favourite is called The Preacher. Do you know it?
me: No… What's it about?
Pekka: Well that's a long weird story but it features a preacher man, an Irish Vampire and God.
me (laughing): Okay, sounds weird indeed.
Pekka: Yeah. It's a really great comic.
Since the full story is way too long obviously, we switch topics.
me: In an interview for powermetal.de last year you said that Finnish lyrics have to be well written to sound good. What do you think of bands (and their lyrics) like PMMP, Apulanta or Uniklubi then?
Pekka: Well I'm not that familiar with those bands except Apulanta. Toni is a great guy and what he does, he does well. I can't say much about the lyrics but the guys are nice and Toni digs the same music as I do. I can't really say anything about the Finnish bands and their lyrics though. But the greatest lyricist who wrote in Finnish would be Juha Vainio.
me: Okay. So, to come to Leverage… How did you come up with the band name?
Pekka: Tuoppi came up with it in the end, when we realised that this would not just be a project but something serious. I remember we were texting possible band names between each other and went 'Oh what about that one?' 'Nah, but that one?' 'No, and how does that sound?' (laughs) Well at some point we were sitting in McDonald's and Tuomas just came up with the band name of Leverage. And he asked 'Do you know what that means?' and I was like 'No'. He explained it was a term used in American Football a lot.
me: And in what way?
Pekka: Oh, I think you have to ask Tuoppi about that. But 'Leverage' can mean many things actually. It has several meanings. For instance, if we have a conversation and I have the possibility to say something about a topic and you don't, I can leverage it or, I have the advantage.
(a/n: There are really plenty of definitions of 'leverage' in the dictionary)
me: And what does that have to do with American Football?
Pekka: Uuuuuhm. (laughs) Nothing! Well, also, Leverage is a word nice and sweet and easy to remember and pronounce, even for the Finns if you pronounce it the Finnish way. And when Valtteri designed the logo, we thought okay this really is it. It looked perfect.
me: How about the Leverage lyrics. I noticed that the Brother Firetribe lyrics contain a lot of passion, you write about women and sex. And Tuomas writes about war and warriors and strong guys. Have you ever thought about writing together?
Pekka (laughs): Well can you imagine Brother Firetribe singing about war??
me: Ehm no not really.
Pekka: See? Well Brother Firetribe is all about the music and the feeling and the good time. We are having fun. As for Leverage, Tuomas is an excellent songwriter and his lyrics are awesome and deep and I think much better than mine. And I can sing both Leverage and BFT lyrics, I can get into both the same.
me: Yes, it's noticeable when you're on stage. You look very into it when you sing. Very passionate. What is your favourite Leverage song lyric- and musicwise?
Pekka: Strangers is a great song I think, in any way. I think everyone can relate to the lyrics and there's a lot of feeling in it.
me: Any favourite song that you love to perform live?
Pekka: Yes, that would be Twilight Symphony. It has a great rhythm and beat.
me: True! I love to hear it live too. Hey what was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you on stage?
Pekka: Well there were a few moments when I was close to falling off the stage. And not so long ago I messed up a song. In fact that was my favourite I just mentioned. Twilight Symphony. I totally fucked up, I started singing the chorus like four bars before I should have, and Torsti almost fell off the stage laughing, and Tuoppi shouted into my ear what to sing, like 'Chorus, Moron!' and I was just standing there smiling.
me: Did you or would you ever perform drunk?
Pekka: Not in public. I try to avoid that. But there was one occasion when we played at a friend's wedding and we all were hammered. Thankfully no-one recorded any of that.
me: Is there a special festival or place you would like to play at?
Pekka: No not really, it doesn't matter where you play as long as people show up. It comes down to the people. It is the audience that makes the gig.
me: Is there a Leverage gig you look back on as the best so far?
Pekka: I think that was the one at Virgin Oil Co.. It was clear to see that people had actually shown up just to see us, and they were singing along and all. That was really nice.
me: Are there any new songs for a new album yet?
Pekka: Yes! There are. In fact, we're in the middle of writing and me and Tuoppi already demoed 5 or 6 songs. And Torsti is also writing something!
me: That's great news! Really looking forward to it! You said that Brother Firetribe is a fun project. How do you feel about it with Leverage, would you like to get really big/internationally known?
Pekka: I have to say that right now I am so lucky and fortunate to be involved in both bands. Now is the time for that kind of music. I mean Tuoppi and Torsti already had stopped playing and making music, in the 90s, because there was no room for that kind of music. And they picked it up again now and the time seems to be just right!
me: True. And that's a really good thing, and you'd definitely deserve getting really big. Are there any plans for a music video? Personally I had a story in mind for Twilight Symphony that would include an evil woman and you tied up on a bed with handcuffs.
Pekka: Well, I wouldn't mind that.
me: What? The handcuffs? (evil grin)
Pekka (laughs): HAHAHA! Well no, the video. Making a video is all about the money. I mean we wouldn't want a low-budget video. But we will see how it goes. Actually there's a video up on our website, but it's no real music video, it's a mix of live performance clips.
me: Ok I'll check that out – if I haven't already. Now that we're kinda at it though, what do you think of bondage?
Pekka: Bondage… (a/n: I don't think there's an expression for the face he made then 
) Welllllll… Why not? I mean each to their own as long as no one gets hurt. Or hurt deliberately. But generally I'm not really interested in what happens in other peoples' bedrooms…
me (laughing): Okay. Well, last question is going into that direction too; did you ever do a secret striptease backstage?
Pekka (for facial expression see above question): Well usually the backstage bit contains the band… And stripping in front of these guys… would be a bit ugly. (grins) But of course unnecessary nudity is always a good thing otherwise.
me: Haha, alright. Thank you very much for this talk!
Pekka: Thank you too!
***
Interview © MadEyedMoose.com 2007
Pekka /© MadEyedMoose.com 2007
