An Interview with Bad Valentine

Rocking the planet, Finnish style – here’s Bad Valentine…

What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
Kupe: Our latest and first release is the Mariia single, which was released in June. As many people know, war is like a brutal beast and inhumane experience. People’s despair and the resulting nightmare are a daily reality for some. Mariia is a cultural way to address this issue and, for me, a reminder not to ignore the suffering of others.
HON: Kupe says it all. Mariia is a strong hymn against war and suffering. I love to play in a band, who has the courage to address issues and injustice in the world. The song means a lot to us, because we all share antiwar values, so we get quite passionate on stage, when we perform it.

What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
Kupe: Actually, it wasn’t hard, but our schedule in the studio was tight. It took us about 4 days to record the four songs on the EP. It was really efficient work.

Who produced the release – what did they bring to it? If you produced it yourselves, what do you enjoy most about producing your own material?
Kupe: A well-known producer in Finland, Petri Majuri, asked us if we wanted to make recordings with him, so we definitely said yes. Petri has worked with a lot of artists like Hanoi Rocks, Michael Monroe, Franz Ferdinand, Billy Cobham and the list goes on. So with him, we recorded all the instrumentals for the four tracks. We recorded the vocal tracks with another producer, Sammy Aaltonen, who has previously worked with Andy McCoy, the guitarist of Hanoi Rocks, for example. Petri and Sammy brought with them a lot of experience and good ideas for arranging the songs. Small things can make a big difference to a song. The EP called Memory Tattoos will be released from that four-song collection. And, before that, one more single, ‘Last Days In The Sun’.

HON: Working with both was such an honour. For me, this whole band experience is very new, cause Valentines is my first real band project, so I was quite nervous in the studio, working with such great guys in the music industry. But they were awesome and patient with me and for sure my bandmates also cooled me down. The feeling, when Mariia was released, was incredibly good. Knowing that people around the world can listen to our music is just awesome.

What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
Kupe: I want to give them permission to process their feelings. With the help of music, it’s okay to be angry, sad, happy or whatever the song brings to your mind.
HON: Yeah, and also I think a lot of people can relate to the lyrics of our songs. Some are telling about personal experiences, others about issues in the world. When playing live, I wanna make people dance and shout and smile and have an awesome Punk’n’Roll time with us.

How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
Kupe: At first, there is a very simple recording, guitar and vocals, so that we can get into the song and the chords. Then at the rehearsal place, we finish the song together. Very old school, but it works for us.
The songs take shape as we play them, possibly still in the studio.

HON: Yeah, our songwriting is very efficient. Pekko writes most of the songs, and who never met Pekko, let me tell you he’s a genius songwriter! Then, when we come together at practice the magic happens. Kupe, Pekko, Sirpa, and Edu are incredibly talented musicians, so I am always stunned by how fast we get a song together.

What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
HON: Well, we are all influenced by different genres, so I couldn’t name one band particularly. We kind of bring together different genres and subgenres. Some songs remind of Green Day, some of Foo Fighters, others might remind of Interrupters or Social Distortion, then again our three vocals together with Kupe and Pekko as back vocals bring some Beach Boys flavour to it all.

What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
Kupe: I know that Germany has a huge music industry and many places where we could perform. But I will go anywhere with an open mind.

HON: Germany would be awesome, so we could play in front of my folks and friends there. Especially awesome would be Molotow and Fabrik in Hamburg, SO36 in Berlin, Schaubude or Pumpe in Kiel, and Volksbad in Flensburg. I have seen countless bands in these locations, so I guess it would be an incredible feeling to stand on those stages.

If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
HON: Tough one. I can’t decide on one. I would say our single “Mariia” and “Last Days In The Sun”, which will be released soon, as Kupe already mentioned. But I think a whole idea of the variety of our music, the listener will understand when we release the whole “Memory Tattoos” EP.

What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
Kupe: My ambition is to play good gigs and release more great music. We have a lot of great songs. That’s it, and let’s see what the future brings.

HON: Yeah, I agree with that. We just wanna keep doing music and make people dance at our concerts. A tour would be awesome but we have no pressure with that. We just wanna do what we are doing and enjoy it.

Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
Kupe: Thanks to everyone and keep rocking.
HON: And “No fuc*ing war”!

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