And it's fucking done!

Tonight I got everything recorded, edited, bounced and whatnot for the Sydänpuu single, now all I have to do is wait for Wednesday when we start mixing this puppy with Mr. Kortelainen @ the Tico Tico Studio. And I don't even have any drinks to celebrate with :( Oh well, no harm no foul. I'll do that later :)

This is what music looks like.

Bounce bounce bounce...

Bouncing the Sydänpuu tracks... Still... This takes forever...

Luckily I found this to amuse me while doing this brainless, yet pretty demanding (you have to be aware at all times not to fuck up) task:

How to get your band ready for the studio

It's hilarious, but also sadly pretty fucking true... :)

Almost the final stretch

Today I've once again jogged, and yes, practised the wonderful art of guitar. Now during the night I received some backing vocals from Mr. Petri Aho -who also lent his beautiful voice before for Altaria and Cain's Offering- for the Sydänpuu single. Been putting those tracks in place and doing some final bounces for some software synths. Should still go through the sampled orchestra tracks, but I think I'll save that for tomorrow, as I think I will have to do some edits there to make them sound a bit more "realistic", if that word can even be used here...

Now I've done it...

Today I have gone running again (already 100km+ for this month, way to go me), learned rest of the songs for Railio setlist (sans one, as I don't know what kind of version of it we are going to do yet), and...

*drumroll*

Practised! I have actually practised guitar -electric guitar- today, and I've had fun doing so! Just coming up with new licks and shit, trying to get my technique back together after shying away from the electric and the more technical stuff for quite a while now. I think I'm gonna start doing this on a regular basis, who knows, maybe I'll even start shredding again one day :) Playing the fuck out of the guitar and coming up with new stuff is shitloads of fun, why didn't anyone remind me of that before??? :)

More is More

Oh me oh my...

Victoria Beckham Won't Do An Australian Spice Girls Tour

"Are you disappointed?", the article asks. You know what, at first I thought I would be, but then I remembered I don't give a flying fuck, so I guess the answer is "No, I'm not disappointed".

Every now and then...

Morning coffee, checking the news and emails, 8km run, shower. Now some food and then I'll continue rehearsing the songs for the Railio setlist. Who's a good boy? Me, that's fucking who :) This time next week I've spent my first day at the new school studying the wonderful art of songcraft. The sun is shining and life ain't half bad these days ;)

Sunday funday?

Well, not really. Fairly basic shit to be honest. I tried writing some new music, but for some reason I couldn't really concentrate, so I went jogging and rehearsed a few songs from the Railio setlist. Gonna be pretty fucking hectic for a while, but hopefully -and most likely- I will survive. Been also in contact with some of the other guys I'll be sharing the stage with during the Railio shows, haven't met most of the guys, but they seem to have a great sense of humor. I wrote to the guys saying hi and and asking some actual questions about the setlist. Couldn't resist so I had to conclude my question cavalcade with "Can you get pregnant from masturbation?". The first answer was "Yes, a pregnancy after masturbation is a FACT. Good luck with your first prenatal!" I think we're gonna get along just fine :)

Back to the soberness + some news

So, yesterday was the party-party-day, feeling surprisingly well all things considered :) We consumed large quantities of alcoholic beverages -including but not limited to- beer, lonkero, wine and cognac. Went with misters Waho, Tepponen and Railio to see Mr. Anssi Kela perform at the Virgin Oil, shitloads of fun :)

In other news: a lot of people have been telling me they would like to see/hear me playing the electric guitar again as well, and now comes your chance: I will be joining the wonderfully large Voice of Finland-winner Mr. Antti Railio and his band for some shows during the summer. I will most likely do at least 8th of June in Kokkola, 15th of June in Jyväskylä and 29th of June in Himos, so if you feel like seeing some cool shit, now's your chance :)

I have to start rehearsing the Railio setlist next week, as the first week of June is fully booked in my calendar already. 3rd and 4th I'm starting my studies at the conservatory, 5th and 6th we are mixing the Sydänpuu-single at Tico-Tico Studio, 7th I'm playing an acoustic show in Tampere with Mr. Kotipelto, and 8th I'm performing with Mr. Railio in Kokkola. Now I'll try to chill and take it easy for the rest of the day, tomorrow I'll have to get back to work again.

Rock on, you silly people! :)

Soon it ends...

I've been sober for over 2 weeks now, not a single drop of alcohol has made its way down my throat (I know that doesn't sound like much, but for me that's a considerable break already. I don't get drunk all the time, but I enjoy a drink or a few on a semi-regular basis :) ). But that all ends tomorrow, as tomorrow I'll head over to Helsinki, and for once I don't have any work booked. I'm just going there to meet some friends and have a good time.

I just came from running, had to drag my ass out of the door even though the weather is pretty bad, raining and stuff. Way to go me. Been also working on a composition for a few days now. It's sort of a poor man's poor man's Hans Zimmer-pastiche, but it sound pretty nice and works as practise for orchestration and shit. Besides, some of the parts are pretty cool so I'll probably take the piece apart at some point and recycle the good bits into actual songs, wouldn't be the first time :)

Becoming a part-time Lapland Man

Wow, that sounded dumb.... :) But yeah, I'll be basically living in Kemi part-time for the next year or so. Funny how things work out, I thought I had left that town for good :) Well, actually I have left it for good, as I mentioned I'm going to be there only some of the time.

"But why Jani, WHY??? Why would you do that to yourself?", I hear you ask.

And that is a totally valid, very well thought out question indeed. Well,  it's because I'm going to be studying songwriting/composition at the Conservatory Lappia for the next year. I've known I have been accepted in for two weeks already, but now I got the official results so I can say it out loud. Gonna be pretty interesting :)

Found it again

The inspiration to write something new that is, been working on a new piece for a few hours now. The thing is, again I'm writing something that sounds pretty good, but what I have really no use for. Still, it's fun to play around with different sample libraries, writing some orchestral piece that no one will probably ever hear :)

I'm waiting for this:

Learn Guitar With David Brent

I bet he can really broaden my horizon and teach me a new way to look at playing the guitar :) 

Well well...

...ice hockey results for today weren't as good as I hoped, but so what, I wasn't playing :) I've been rearranging the Sydänpuu single a bit today, totally changed the style of a musical interlude before the last chorus. It was this orchestra break with a guitar solo before, but now it's more, well, dance-ish break. I'm such a great guitarist that I remove all the solos from the songs I write :) But in all fairness, I thought the solo/orchestra break was kinda out of place in the song, it sounded kinda old and blah, so now it's something different :)

ESC

So, I did watch most of it, wasn't too impressed. My favorite with flying colours was Norway, darkish synth pop always works in my books, very good, could listen to it at home easily. Also the contratenor dude was funky, and Sweden wasn't all that terrible, that Robin dude was pretty damn good when he was in "Idol". The Danish song had "Eurovision" written all over it, maybe even too much.

And of course Greece was good, how could I resist a song called "Alcohol is Free"? Hell, that's almost my mantra :)

So, Finland lost...

Like I'd care :) The game was pretty boring, so I stopped watching and got back to work after the second period, and now I have my backing vocals done for the Sydänpuu single. I even showed some restraint and didn't do a 50-part choir, even if I do love stacking a track over a track over a track :) Not quite sure what to do now, maybe I'll watch some more hockey and root for Switzerland, and then maybe, just maybe I'll try and endure at least a little of the Eurovision-crap.

I think I'll skip the drinks anyway

Was thinking maybe I'd have some whiskey tonight, but I'm not really feeling it. I've had a pretty good sober streak already and have been exercising regularly, so why blow it over some ESC-crap that I'm not really that interested in this year anyway. I guess the competition requires certain parameters to be fulfilled for me to truly enjoy it, and I have a drinking session booked for next Friday anyway, so it's not a big loss :) Now I'll go running for a while and then it's time to check out the ice hockey World Championship semifinals.

Backing vox n' stuff

Today I didn't go running as it has been raining all day, but then again I've gone 7 days in a row now and I hear you should have an off day every once in a while. Instead I've laid down some backing vox for the upcoming Sydänpuu single (at home, my neighbours must love me by now...), it's starting to come together nicely. I'll still lay down a few more tracks tomorrow, and I'm having few friends contribute their lovely voices on this one as well, when I get the tracks from them this shit is going to be pretty much ready for the mixing. Could it be that for once everything is recorded before one starts mixing? Trust me, that doesn't happen all that often in these circles :)

How is this possible?

I woke up today, and I have a hangover. That is pretty fucking interesting considering that I haven't had a sip of alcohol in over a week. But my mouth was dry, head was aching, slight nausea... Trust me, I know these symptoms all too well... Maybe it's my body telling me to not be a pussy and have some drinks. Anywho, it sucks, undeserved hangover sucks.

It goes on and on and on...

Today I've mainly been watching hockey and rooting (unsuccessfully) against Finland at the ESC (I only saw the results, couldn't be assed to watch the whole thing), as well as the already almost traditional jogging extravaganza of course. I've also been trying to figure out how the hell am I going to manage the first week of June. It dawns to me that I have booked stuff for 6 days straight, involving 5 different cities, so it might be stretching my nerves and capabilities a bit, but I'll come up with something and make it work...

But this day is through and I'm tired, so good night to you all, go fuck yourselves <3

Today's deeds

Today I've once again gone jogging, as I've done almost everyday now. Aside from that I tried to write some new music (got some ideas down, but sadly not much), and I've started working on the lyrics for one new project I'm glad to be a part of. Maybe I'll still try and write some music tonight, I'm not tired and I'm kinda disappointed that I didn't make anything that sounds great yet today. Oh well, can't win all the time, and aside from composing I've done pretty well today anyway, so no worries.

I didn't even bother to watch the Eurovision crap last night, so I have no deep insights to share about that either. Tomorrow would be the second semifinal, but I'm really not that interested, and the Finnish song is so goddamn horrible I can't listen to it even one time, so I'm kinda hoping it doesn't get to the actual final so I don't have to bother to mute the TV for 3 minutes, lazy as I am...

Oh, and I ordered new shoes for the summer for myself, hopefully they'll arrive next week:

Coffee and Zimmer

Waking up, drinking coffee and reading an interview with Hans Zimmer. Feeling like I should write some new music. But first a cigarette and another cup of coffee.

If you're interested in what Mr. Zimmer had to say (and it has an audio excerpt from the new "Man of Steel" movie as well) you can find it HERE

These were pretty funny

Uncomfortable Plot Summaries

Some of these were pretty damn accurate. Personal favorites at the moment are Rocky, Terminator, and especially Titanic.

Arbeit macht busy

Tonight I've apparently booked even more work for me, don't really have to worry about how to spend my time anytime soon. But I'm not complaining, lots of really cool things happening at the moment, and there will be a time when I'm gonna be bored and out of work, so I'll just enjoy this while I still can :)

6 out of 7

I've gone running 6 times this week, only took Thursday off as I had a few beers on Wednesday, and I know better than to exercise after a night of drinking. Off to a very good start, damn if I won't be a fucking Sporty Spice (or Old Spice) after a few months :)

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to most mothers. Not all of them, because lets face it, some of them suck at it, but most of them anyway:) My mother is of course the best one and rules supreme, but yours might've put forward a valiant effort as well, so remember your mother today.

"El Reino jätti kotinsa kuusi ja puoli vuotiaana

Hän hyvästeli hänet synnyttäneen naisen joka oli ollut hänelle kuin äiti"

-El Reino

Underwhelming Saturday

So, it's Saturday. Today I've, surprise surprise, gone running and watched ice hockey. My life seems to be getting pretty boring, again I have no intention whatsoever in going out and about to have some beers. I've been doing pretty well on the being healthy and stuff - stuff, so why ruin it.

That said, I don't know if my sobriety will hold for the 24th as I was planning to, since I just noticed that next week is the Eurovision week. I have had this long running tradition of watching that crap, guilty pleasure or some shit like that, and lets face it, I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to sit through hours on end of campy crap on a Saturday night while totally sober. When you're a bit drunk it's way more fun and a bit less cringe-worthy. Anyone know if there are any good songs this year? I already know Finland is terribad, but hopefully there's at least something I can root for...

Randy Jackson...

Randy Jackson is leaving "American Idol". That's all fine and dandy, don't care, but this comment really didn't sit well with me:

"I am very proud of how we forever changed television and the music industry"

Really? I mean REALLY??? You're proud of what you've done to the music industry? Dude, once upon a time you were an actual musician, what happened? Go fuck yourself.

It's Friday, no beer

Today is the day many people around the globe drink alcohol and stuff. Not me. I went jogging and had a healthy meal. Later I'll watch some ice hockey and then just take it easy. I think I'll pass on the drinks for two weeks now, unless something extraordinary happens.  Sun is shining, maybe I'll even bring out my hookah for the first time this year :)

Food for thought part X

Almost about ice hockey

As I've mentioned, I'm not a huge hockey fan, but sometimes you just gotta love the Finnish commentators, there's some funny shit there. Take a gander:

I mean, WTF? :)

Also, Mr. Tamminen wears some pretty eccentric stuff :

Looooove the shirt, should get one.

Yeah, seems about right.

Beer & stuff

I have had the most excellent week so far, got some great news earlier and booked quite a lot of work for me today, on top of feeling really good about shit in general, so I just had to go and have a beer all by myself tonight, just to celebrate. I guess the sun truly shines on a pile of shit anyways :)

Confirming the obvious

Musicians really ARE sexier

My Runmeter thinks I'm Jesus

I went running today, as I have done also yesterday and the day before that. I was meaning to have an off-day from exercise, but the weather was just too damn fine to pass on the opportunity. Thought I'd take it easy though and did my shorter route, which is pretty much exactly 5km. I was pretty confused when I arrived home and checked my Runmeter application, as it said 11,8km. Now, I KNOW I ran 5km, and there is no way in hell I could do almost 12km in 35 minutes. A quick look at the Runmeter map revealed that apparently I'm even tougher SOB than I thought. Apparently I can also walk on water. Step aside Jesus, kaupungissa on uusi sheriffi.

That being said, things are going fine. I've had a great week so far, been running every day, eating (fairly) healthy, and haven't had a sip of alcohol since last Thursday. If I'm turning into a better person you're all gonna be so disappointed, because that would mean that this sad excuse of a blog would turn out even more boring than it already is. Somehow I doubt that though... :)

I hope someone films this

I'd love to crack open a bag of popcorn and watch these ignorant wastes of flesh and space get their bigoted asses handed to them by a bunch of metalheads while listening to "Raining Blood". Does that make me a bad person?

Not all mondays suck

So far I've gone jogging, had a somewhat healthy meal and received some very good news. Now I could go to the store to buy some groceries, and later tonight I could for a chance pretend to be a decent Finn and an average-ish man by watching some ice hockey.

Even the sun is shining, life is good.

Finally, some stupid week I can get on board with

So, apparently today starts the first annual International Clitoris Awareness Week.  What a slap to the face for all those burly manly men who went "You can have this one but all your rest of the year are belong to us" when discussing the International Women's Day, or as I call it "The International Women Have No Sense Of Humour and Get Butthurt Over Nothing Day". Now women have at least 8 days, one for all the bitches, one for mom's and a whole week for clits. I'm sure there's more, but I'm too lazy to do my research. Be it how it may, looks like the prettier sex is slowly but surely taking over the whole year :)

This week also puts some of the lesser-minded individuals of my gender in quite the pickle, as they don't have clits, but for some reason they think they do; Just because you have a girlfriend or a wife or something in between doesn't mean you have the ownership of the clit, oh no. Sure, the female probably carries your sad little excuse of balls in her purse right between her lipstick and her tampon, but you, my dimwitted little friend, have no claim for the ownership of the clit. You're merely leasing it, with no option to buy. This is because women cannot be repressed or objectified or sexualised, as we all we know from the previous incidents.  The Sisterhood of Emasculation And The Righteous Castration Of All Things Penis will rip out your testies and feed them to a rabid poodle with a pink collar.

I'd like to bash this clitfest as well, but I have never seen a clitoris do anything dumb, which is more than I can say about a lot of women. Besides, I can find the damn thing without a map and a flashlight, which gives me a huge advantage over most of the manly men of my gender, so I can't really be too bitter for the clitter. So, let us celebrate this joyous week! :) And if your clit is feeling sad and lonely, you know who to call, because:

(Disclaimer: Anything and everything above may or may not be a joke, so don't get your ovaries all worked up over it. I know FGM and all that jazz is bad. Doesn't mean I can't joke about it fuckers.)

Again this happens...

I wake up on a Sunday without a hangover. I hope this isn't anything serious...

I received a gift

Someone had given Timo a shirt to deliver to me while they were on their eurotour. I'd like to think I have big, plentiful balls, but I'm not sure if even I can pull off wearing this one publicly :) It's pretty damn funny though, not to mention true :)

So, thank you, I guess :)

Ozzy says Bill Ward wasn't in shape for Black Sabbath tour

This coming from a guy whose recent appearance with Sabbath was something like this. Talk about the pot and the fucking kettle...

On the road again...

Actually on my way home, not touring. Today I finally sang the lead vocals for the upcoming Sydänpuu single, and I can definitely feel it in my throat. Although singing that stuff is nowhere near as taxing as for instance singing harmonies for Timo I can still feel I've done a full days work today.

I also got to go through some of the files from the computer I used to write and record most of the Cain's Offering album and found one unreleased (and unfinished) song that had some pretty cool shit in it, even if I say so myself. Definitely gonna rework that song into something at some point when I've got the time. Probably not anytime soon though, have quite a lot on my plate already as it is.

Tomorrow it's time to continue doing the final edits for Sydänpuu and maybe lay down some backing vocals. Maybe even go jogging and try to tone down my Vappu-swelling. Things got kinda out of hand in Helsinki, but sometimes they do, and that's fine, because nowadays I also know when to stop. Wasn't always so, I tell you :)

RIP Jeff Hanneman

Kevyet mullat

Helsinki has been most interesting...

The Governor approves.