Interview with Tuomas at Paris, Le Zénith, on Tuesday March

Papilon

Elise : With the hindsight, how did you like the first shows of this leg of the tour ?
Tuomas : Really good, really, really good. This tour has been the most relaxing and easiest in many ways. London was a blast; every single show of this tour has been really good. Mainly because we had a long break so everybody got a chance to build up their energy levels back to a normal state, and also we have a new set up onstage, some new songs and now we have Troy with us so it’s something really special for us as well.

Nicolas : So no pressure ?
Tuomas : Pressure? Not anymore, no. A little excitement before every show of course but, you know, the fear of dying has passed.

Nicolas : About the new songs, can you tell us why you chose these? Was it a popular demand or your own choice ?
Tuomas : It was our own choice. Actually, Romanticide is Anette’s favorite and that was her request, she wanted to do that and we said “ok, we’ll give it a shot”. Ghost Love Score was my personal favorite but she had prejudices about that song, she was scared because it’s so Tarja-related, but she’s doing it really well. And then, Escapist was a common decision, we all like that song and wanted to play it live. It didn’t fit the album but it’s a nice treat. And Dead Boy’s Poem is just for good old times’ sake. And the new intro it was an obvious thing because Troy Donockley has this song on his solo album, he has recorded Finlandia. Finlandia is almost a national anthem of Finland. It’s composed by John Sibelius, he’s our most well-known classical composer and it’s a song that everybody knows in Finland, it’s like a national anthem for us.

Nicolas : Why don’t you want to play the end of Dead Boy’s Poem ?
Tuomas : I never liked the ending, I don’t know why. That’s the only reason. I think it just works fine like that, and we extended the guitar solo. It’s just an arrangement that we all like.

Guillaume : Paris is the only city where you play two times in a row. Why Paris ?
Tuomas : Because of the popular demand, I guess. Yesterday’s show was sold out pretty quick so they wanted to have another day, that’s fine by me. If people want to come and see us we’re just flattered.

Nicolas : In an interview, you said you had plans with some side projects, can you tell us more about them ?
Tuomas : “Side Project” maybe is a bad term. I’ve been doing a couple of songs for some other artists in Finland, then I have this little movie project going on, this kind of stuff but they told me not to talk about them so I have to keep my word. But there are some little things going on beside Nightwish all the time as well. But nothing that big, I wouldn’t call them “side projects”. And also, I’ve been working with Indica for the past half a year: we’ve just finished the English album about a month ago and that has taken a lot of my time, but it’s a fun thing to do.

Elise : You rearranged Vuorien Taa but did you rearrange other songs as well ?
Tuomas : Yeah we took the old songs and rewrote them a little bit. Some songs changed quite a bit, some songs didn’t change at all. And for 4 songs on the album, we went to London, we used the same orchestra as we used for Nightwish, The London Session Orchestra and Pip Williams did the arrangements for the girls as well. And there’s the same choir and Troy is playing some pipes in one of the songs.

Elise : Were there some songs that you rehearsed with Anette that didn’t make it to the shows ?
Tuomas : Actually no. At some point we tried Elvenpath but it just didn’t work, for some reason I don’t know, but that’s the only one. And there are some songs that we totally dropped out like we’re never going to play Bye Bye Beautiful again, that’s for sure. Because it feels so corny, because of the lyrical content of that song and we’ve played that song again and again so it’s dead and buried.

Elise : Is there any chance that you’ll play Erämaan Viimeinen with Jonsuu ?
Tuomas : Yeah there were some talks about that but I don’t know, we’ll see. There’s a possibility and actually she told us that she would like to do it.

Elise : What about tonight ?
Tuomas : No, we have never rehearsed it, we have never ever played it together so it would take a lot of practice but maybe. But it works so nicely with Troy as well, so…

Nicolas : And Anette doesn’t want to sing Follow Me with Pain ?
Tuomas : I don’t know, maybe she will at some point.

Nicolas : Will Troy be there for the whole tour ?
Tuomas : Yes, for the whole European Tour.

Nicolas : Crimson Tide is over ?
Tuomas : Yes Crimson Tide is over for now.

Nicolas : Why did you choose to play it again because you used it for the Wishmastour initially ?
Tuomas : Well this tour is called “European Déjà Vu Tour”, that’s why. That’s why we brought back Dead Boy’s Poem and the old stuff, and I still think it’s the best intro we ever had.

Guillaume : Did you choose to be the one in the boat, as the captain of the band ?
Tuomas : It was actually our pyro technician’s idea: “we need to put you into a boat”. And the whole idea of the nautical, the ocean theme, came from him: “let’s put an anchor, a boat and some rocks” but it was not my idea to be in a boat in the first place. I enjoy being there because I can always hide, when I go down, nobody sees me and I can drink my wine.

Elise : You didn’t play the “The Piano” theme last night, and even on Made In Hong Kong, is it a copyright issue ?
Tuomas : No, it’s not, it’s just because now we have Troy here and it’s his solo part. When Troy is not there I always play it.

------ Some other questions... --------

Nicolas : What are the first things that come to your mind when you hear the word “France” ?
Tuomas : Disneyland Paris, wine, this hat that people wear…beret! Baguette, Thierry Henry, World Cup champions of 2004 or 2000… oh 98 yes. And Asterix, I love it, I have every album! And I’ve never been to the amusement park but I’ve heard of it. And also I have to mention quite rude waiters in restaurants ; maybe it’s a cultural thing !

Elise : Do you know any French artists ?
Tuomas : Mylène Farmer. I have a DVD, it’s one of the best DVDs I’ve ever seen. I’m not so much into the music but the whole set up and everything is “waow”.

Guillaume : What bands or albums have you been listening to lately ?
Tuomas : A lot of Indica, through the past year because of this producing thing, I really try to go into the songs. Also, a lot of soundtracks, a lot of James Newton Howard lately. The new Delain is really good, I just got the CD a few days ago when I met the guys in Rotterdam. So that have been the albums that I’ve been listening to the most during the past weeks.

Guillaume : What’s the last concert you’ve been to as a member of the audience ?
Tuomas : I went to see Sabaton in Helsinki, I loved it. It’s like really traditional Swedish power metal, with a good attitude and a big smile on their faces, a wonderful band! And I will see AC/DC in June in Helsinki, that’s going to be a blast.

Elise : What’s the last book you’ve read ?
Tuomas : Insomnia by Stephen King. It had been the only book by him I had not read. I read it all. And I think that’s probably the worst Stephen King I’ve read. It was still ok but to his standards it wasn’t that good.

Elise : What’s the last piece of news that surprised you in any way ?
Tuomas : Well this morning I was in the headline in the Finnish tabloids again. The headline was like: “I have a bad self-esteem and I’m the most unsexy person in the world” (laughter) They sure know how to put on those titles.

Elise : Do you react to that, write to the paper ?
Tuomas : No, never. It’s no use.

Nicolas : What’s your favorite expression or phrase, something you’ve been saying a lot lately ?
Tuomas : [Something Finnish]: “I don’t fucking care”. But that don’t mean that I don’t care, it’s just a phrase that we use, for example “what’s your opinion about this?” “[Finnish phrase]”.

Nicolas : If you could be anyone in the world for one day, who would it be ?
Tuomas : (long pause) I’d like to be the Beast, from Beauty and the Beast, because Belle is my all time favorite character in my little day-dream so I wouldn’t mind changing places with the Beast for one day.

------ About the others members of the band -------

Elise : What are their strengths onstage ?
Tuomas : Emppu’s always happy. I don’t know how he does it but he’s always happy. Even if he has a bad day he gets a smile and gives energy to the others. Anette is a perfectionist; she really really gives her everything and never leaves anything half-way so she’s really strict about her physical condition. I would say the same for Jukka, he’s always like that, he always has the energy. And Marco is a natural phenomenon because even though he’s sick, he has a hangover or he feels bad for some reason, he always puts it up perfectly. I don’t know how the hell he does it. I’ve never heard him sing a wrong note no matter how bad of a day he has.

Elise : What are their strengths offstage ?
Tuomas : Just the best of friends, all of them.

Nicolas : What are their favorite phrases ?
Tuomas : A lot of Finnish and Swedish swearing and “what time should we open the bottle tonight?” which is agreed on 8:30 pm for tonight.

Guillaume : If you were in their shoes for a day, what would you do ?
Tuomas : I think that would be a really good chance to really see how they feel about being in this band, and how they feel about me as the band leader so I would really check their inner thoughts to find out because I honestly don’t know.

Guillaume : Would you like to play their instruments ?
Tuomas : No… I love my piano and my keyboard. I leave the playing to those who actually can play their instruments.

Nicolas : No singing ? =)
Tuomas : No ! (Laughter) Not ever. Actually I sang two lines on the new English Indica album, I sang background “oohhh”. You can actually hear it, it’s so loud on the album. But I don’t like to sing, I just don’t enjoy the idea of singing, that’s the problem.

Elise : What are their best feature and biggest flaw ?
Tuomas : For Anette I would say her perfectionism is a virtue as well as a flaw; she’s sometimes really annoying because everything needs to be perfect. Jukka is the hard worker of the band, he keeps this whole organization together, the financial stuff, which I could never ever do. His biggest flaw is that he’s also really strict and perfectionist. Sometimes it’s hard with him about that sort of stuff because he’s so “this thing needs to be done like this, that’s all”. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s a flaw. Marco is the most loyal person in the world and a really sensitive guy so if I need somebody to talk to in the band, it would be him, he’s the first choice. He has a big shoulder you can lean on. And his flaws…I don’t know. He’s getting old, I don’t know if he can take this for many more years (laughter). (In the microphone) I’m sorry, that was a joke! And Emppu: he’s like Marco, he’s the friend you need. He’s always the one who asks “are you okay? Everything’s okay ? You want to talk about something ?” so he’s really empathetic. But he’s also probably the most absent minded person I know. If we don’t practice some songs for a week he forgets them and he can’t remember what he has said the day before, he can tell the same joke again and again so he’s really absent minded, but in a cute way.

Elise : What about you? What are your flaws and best features ?
Tuomas : Erf, you need to ask somebody else ! I think I’m kind, I try to be good to people and I’m also creative, and empathetic. But I’m also really impatient: I want everything right here and right now, I can’t wait. And I’m also quite selfish for some things.

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