Wywiad z Tarją dla hiszpańskich fanów

Patty

Nightwish Spain: First of all, I was told to say that I'm here on behalf of Nightwish Fanclub Spain and that I'm supposed to send you all their love and support.
Tarja: Oh, thank you very much!
NWS: And from the Argentinean Fanclub too.
T: Oh really?
NWS: They really wanted to be here but couldn't make it because it's quite far away...
T: I really understand. I've been in contact with both of you, I think, also with... ¿Rocío? From Spain...
NWS: ¿Rocío?
T: Yes exactly but before everything happened.
NWS: Rocío said that you'd be meeting her in Spain...
T: Ah yes yes yes, small girl...
NWS: I don't know, I've never seen her
T: But yes, I know who she is...
NWS: Right, so let's get it on with the official part. If there's any question you don't want to answer, just tell me and I'll drop it...

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First of all thanks for the opportunity, it's really great to be here. So let's start with a classic: If there was a chance to start all over again, would there be anything that you'd do differently or not do at all in regard to the whole thing?
T: If I think back now to what has happened, or how I and everybody have been... well, we're definitely human beings, everyone of us making mistakes like in normal life. But If I think back in time, from my point of view I need to say that I should have been talking even more about things. I really have been trying and still there came a time when we weren't able to face each other anymore. The true is that there has been a lack of communication within Nightwish, not very nice. That is something I would change if I had the chance, and something to keep in mind for the future as well.

I'm a very open minded person, a very sensitive person. At the moment it's crazy to think about it but many people are asking "and what if you got together again"? Now I don't need to think about this, of course, it's not in my hands to make any decisions. I'm facing a situation that is very awkward, not easy.

I do not have the strength to talk about all of this with the band yet but if they would come to me I would talk. In a way I'm expecting that from their side after all of this. Marco contacted me via sms, and I contacted Emppu via email, but only for a few words and nothing more.

But yes, we are human beings and all that I want to put in a picture is that. Whatever has happened, media, press, has a lot of power. People have taken sides and that is the most horrible thing in here. I never, as a person myself, would have put somebody into that situation that other people should take sides, that is horrible, that is really painful. I am trying to get through without blaming the band, without accusing or getting dirty. I have never been that kind of person, I don't want to be that kind of person.

NWS: You mean how they described you in that letter?

T: Yes, definitely, there were many things that were very private, talks about my personality and me. In that letter, they try to put words in my mouth, thoughts in my head and feelings in my heart without giving me a chance to talk or respond in any way. I need to face this situation now, as the Tarja I have been, and the Tarja I am and that is that person that is not accusing or attacking with anger. I cannot do that.

NWS: So, talking about that letter, there is this part where the band, or Tuomas in that case, said that you were supposedly "after the money" and that you always wanted bigger venues etc. You were mentioning the conditions before (Note: see press conference), was that the reason why you wanted bigger venues? Because they probably had better conditions for you personally or is that all just some kind of misunderstanding?

T: The misunderstandings were in the air all the time during the band's career, and got to a place where the band wanted to make more concerts than I wanted to make . If there had been a chance to do more concerts, I would have been the first one to tell them, yes, let's do it, if I had really been all after the money. If I had been the one I would have said "yes, I want more money, I want more money.." and I would definitely have taken all the possibilities to do all the concerts, but I could not risk my health for the money ...
From the beginning on we have been sharing the incomes equally, and since those days, I never came to the point where I wanted more for me, I never wanted to change that situation of how it was shared, and believe me, I never heard that the money the band got was given to charity.

NWS: Ok, I understand that. And regardless of who is to blame, I personally can't decide that and it's all really complicated, do you think that this whole thing has caused irreparable damage, especially to your friendship? Though you said you had never really been friends at all...

T: No, not really friends, as I told you, not that kind of friends who would share private things. Or even talk with each other like it would have been necessary to do, it was not like that.

I mean, even with the damage the letter so far has done, I can't say that I won't be talking with the band anymore. I know they feel sad about this, I know it. But the fact is I don't know if they really considered what all of this, the situation they put me in, would cause to me, my private life, my marriage, my husband, my relatives and my family in general..
I have never needed to face a situation like now that I am concerned about my security.

NWS: Is it that bad, were there threats?

T: Yes, there were threats, and were serious ones. And I am not the only receiving threats... Nightwish has been a band that some people take as a religion.

NWS: Yeah, some are really fanatic.

T: Very fanatic. And it's the fact that the letter was not given to me alone. I would have understood if they had given the letter for me, only for me, to read. But all the things that were mentioned in the letter, they put them from their perspective for the whole world to see, and that is the thing that I will never understand. What was the reason to do this? To the person they have been working with closely for 9 years, doing that great music, amazing music together? Why was this the only possibility the band saw, that by doing this, everything is solved? Because harm it did. It did a lot of harm to me and the people close to me.

NWS: Well, I've heard that they did it because they wanted to avoid conspiracy theories and all those wild things people can come up. Rumours...

T: I don't know, Yeah, but what this brought into my life, from my point of view...

NWS: It wasn't much better.

T: Not at all better. Until yesterday, the band has been on the media talking about this, and this is something I didn't expect, but I have seen it, yesterday they were doing a TV show. This is something that I want to handle very quietly, like the way I have done it, with a press conference. I wanted to see people and to be open for questions. I wanted to be there because of the fact that it was not clear to many in which light they should see me nowadays. What kind of Tarja I have been all those nine years and what kind of Tarja I am at this point in time. This was important and after this, I'm not going to discuss these things anymore.
I believe it's fair to the band, to all the members of the band, that they are going to continue their career, and thus it's also fair that I will be able to think about different kinds of things in the future and to be able to see things in a better light.

NWS: So I say we just move past the whole Nightwish thing, because I was sent questions and so let's just go on to the more you-centred stuff.

T: Okay

NWS: You'll be doing a show in Barcelona...?

T: Barcelona? Barselona? (laughs) I'm not speaking Spanish Spanish, I'm speaking Castellano, that is the Spanish used in Argentina, which is very different. BarSelona for me, BarCelona for the Spanish people.

But yeah, I will and it's something that I'm really looking forward to it as I've never been performing in Spain on my own. When I got this chance, I was all worried about how it would turn out to be and I still am because it will be in a couple of weeks. (laughs)

I'm expecting to see fans of Nightwish there and people I've been in contact with. It's so nice for me after all what has happened to go there and to sing for them.
I will sing in a way they have never heard me singing before. They will have the chance to hear my real voice. Before, in all those nine years, people heard my voice through the amplifiers and the microphone, and it's not the real voice, it's different. The music is quiet, it's for Christmas, and I want to say: "Don't be afraid to come to my concert, it's not only classical music and you don't have to wear suits or anything like that. Come on, I will wear my dress and you are going to be accepted as you are. It's not like.. "oohh.. what kind of suit do I need to buy now?". It's the same girl, me, as you have seen in before , doing something else.

NWS: Will you be doing more than just Christmas songs or will it be a whole Christmas concert?

T: It's a Christmas-oriented concert, it's really about Christmas. The program includes classical songs like those that are usually sung in churches in Christmas time or Easter time. They are religious, church music. And then there will also be international songs that everybody knows...

NWS: Like ¿"Silent Night"?

T: like that, and also one Nightwish song! Oooh, (sings) what might it be?

NWS: (Sings back) I don't know.

T: Then there are also some surprises from the pop side, maybe unknown songs for the listeners.
I think it's gonna be something very different. And then also traditional Finnish Christmas songs that is something I think people don't really know, songs from Sibelius and Merikanto...

NWS: Are they like the ones on your single?

T: Yes, exactly. Two of those I will also sing at the concert.
I'm going to perform with a string quartet, a pianist and a flutist. It will be honest, pure , quiet, very nice...

NWS: Chamber music maybe?

T: Kind of, yes... without any microphones.

NWS: Will you attempt to sing in Spanish?

T: YES

NWS: You will? Oh, they'll be so excited!

T: I will try my best!

NWS: Oh you'll need a souffleuse or something going "c"

T: It's not gonna be "c", it's gonna be "sss", sorry (laughs)

NWS: Do you want to do something with your brother though?

T: Yes, this is not a rumour, this is real. My brother is a singer. He's seven years older than me, my big brother, and very dear to me. But he's a kind of singer that is like..if I say "Schlager", it's like ewww... arrrrgh...

NWS: More like folk? (Note: Schlager is the evil side of German folk, all cheesy and cheap

Folk itself isn't necessarily a bad thing).

T: Yes, it's kind of like that, but with pop elements, he has a very rock voice, cigarette smoker's voice.

NWS: So not the scary Schlager style? Good! Oh you don't like it either?

T: It's not one of my favourites, it's not the kind of music my brother makes (his name is Timo). He's got his album ready and I sang with him in a duet. I was also also making all the arrangements for the vocals. I was doing the vocalizing for him and also for the background vocals. We have a little choir singing, and I'm one of them. And yes, this is a very different kind of music, it was very fun to sing with him in a studio. We don't know the release date, but it will come up. In Finnish unfortunately.

NWS: So again we won't understand a thing.

T: (Laughs) Yes.

NWS: Ok, so thank you very much.