by Morgan Y. Evans
So many bands are trying to seem cool and vampire-y in the wake of the Twilight craze and I can only bet that The 69 Eyes or real hardliners like Christian Death must be smirking at all the hoopla and at all the half-ass pretenders out there. Sensational and powerful yet full of dark charm and black humor, Back In Blood is the best record of its genre in years. The band worked with producer Matt Hyde (Machine Head,Funeral For A Friend) and really made a monster. The 69 Eyes have managed to somehow improve on the ‘80s Sunset Strip meets goth party vibe that they nailed so well in their popular song "Lost Boys" a few years ago, while vocalist Jyrki 69 sounds bolder and catchier than ever. The band are on fire on Back In Blood and if it is from sunlight, then you know damn well it's because they stayed out partying so late that they forgot to get home before sunrise. Talk about a hangover!
In all seriousness, I see a lot of shows and the band’s 2009 stop at Gramercy was my first time seeing them live. The sheer ease with which The 69 Eyes commanded the stage and whipped up the crowd was truly impressive. They had looks and chops to kill. This band is full of surprises (not the least that Jyrki is also a Unicef ambassador). Like the Ramones themselves, the band oozed rock’n'roll from the stage, Jyrki courting the crowd with his signature spin moves and enthusiasm. New material like the burly title track of Back In Blood and the hypnotic "Lips Of Blood" balanced well with "Perfect Skin" and the chant-inducing "Devils". The whole band worked together in ringing Halloween in a few days early, the best fright NYC was gonna get this year (though I must also mention I'm sure The World Inferno Friendship Society also had a great Halloween show on the real day). The room exploded when Bazie and Timo-Timo's distorted guitars filled the room with "Dead Girls Are Easy" (the lead album single which, like "Lost Boys", had a corresponding video directed by band super-pal Bam Margera). It's no wonder these guys can hold their own playing with everyone from Ava Inferi, Fair To Midland and Cradle Of Filth.
The Back In Blood tour also featured top notch up and coming opening acts Dommin and The Becoming, both of whom are sure to leave a lasting bite mark if they stick with it. We've already lost some great rock and metal bands in '09 with The Old Dead Tree, Opiate For The Masses and American Head Charge breaking up, so hopefully some of these newer acts will pick up the slack. Caleb Owens of The Becoming is one of the best front men in a new band that I've seen in a long time, towering above the NYC audience with commanding presence and vocal control that was reminiscent of The Cult. That's why it is such a shame that their VOL.1 release for Tooth and Nail has production that kind of squashes the band. They write great songs, but they don't need such a polished, almost emo production. It doesn’t do them any favors and tricks the ear into thinking on record they are far less dynamic. Live, these guys made me jealous I wasn't in the band, with everything from presentation to execution tightly wired and compelling, particularly during "We're Already Dead".
As for Roadrunner Records' Dommin? Well, they allowed no chance for the crowd to even begin to be skeptical. You were immediately drawn into the bands’ world from the first note. The Type O Negative meets Danzig stomp of "My Heart, Your Hands" is one motherfucker of a great single, and I'm voting it's already gonna be classic. There were certainly some girls in the audience who looked like they were never going to forget the night as they grasped desperately for the roses Dommin were throwing from the stage. The carnival vibe of "Dark Holiday" kicked ass too. As long as Danzig doesn't try and kill vocalist Kristofer Dommin for sounding a lot like him, they are gonna be in good shape. (But really, these guys are an awesome band).
Pre-show I learned that there seemed to be a serious appreciation for Masters Of The Universe among some of the kids on line, because some dudes and I were suddenly geeking/gaying out hard about it while one guy's girlfriend rolled her eyes at us (though I guess she had good reason since he had actually once seen the He-Man Power Tour Ice Capades show years earlier and met the guy who played Fistor)! After this diversion I got inside and proceeded to the basement area of the Gramercy where I had the pleasure of interviewing The 69 Eyes' thespian drummer Jussi 69. Jussi is one of the most animated, economic/no bullshit drummers going. That said, Jussi and Tommy Lee should have a contest to see who raises their sticks higher in music videos. Jussi also has a really cool accent. This guy can party all night and still deliver a rock solid performance, something I had to admire after having reached the end of my own three day NYC bender come the night of this show. Hell, I'd thrown up in a trash can in this very same venue the night before after dancing way too hard for Cattle Decapitation.
Jussi offered me a beer but when he went to grab it somebody had accidentally locked the dressing room door, so he banged on it and yelled "Motherfuck" for a second before we gave up.
MORGAN Y. EVANS: Ok, man. Let's get started! I was listening
to Lacuna Coil's song "Survive" and thinking about survival.
Your band has survived a long time but it seems you are stronger than
ever and still getting great responses.
JUSSI 69: It is awesome. I know that it's unbelievable that we've been around for so many years. Still, in my head I really feel like we are just getting started! It doesn't feel like that long. I think we've really learned how to write songs and make it work on an album. Surviving? Yeah, if you look at it from a record company's point of view then it is all about surviving, economics, and nobody buying CD's. That's not why I wanted to be in the band. I wanted to play rock music and write it, so in that sense it is just getting better and better. (pausing and looking up at a guy) Hey! What's up?
(In the party spirit Jussi is greeted by another reporter who gives back Jussi a CD that Jussi apparently lent him years earlier! A second later we get back to it).
JUSSI 69: Sorry.
MYE: No worries. But yeah, you can tell that, the energy of the band is still there so much. It's actually better than ever! "Dead And Gone" has the great vocal interplay between band members and you can tell from the chemistry that you guys have this invaluable level of experience. That song is so catchy and Jyrki's croon works great against the back up vocals.
JUSSI 69: We're getting better and now are mixing up pretty much our own styles with the new record. We're mixing up the early 69 Eyes with the gothic vibe and the rocking out. We put it in a whole new level. We really wanted to do hard rock sounding songs like the opening track "Back In Blood". We're ripping ourselves off!
MYE: [laughing]
JUSSI 69: [chuckling] But, Jyrki's singing his ass off. He never sang that good! There's a couple of things I'm super happy we finally achieved on a record. First of all having the energy like sounding live, like you can smell the sweat of the drummer and feel the energy. You can tell we are having fun while playing and having the songs still be colorful, not twelve goth tracks one after another. Most of it is because of Jyrki's vocals. There is gothic but he is also screaming and doing the low thing, everything.
MYE: What were you proudest about with your own performance, and was it hard recording in Helsinki and Los Angeles?
JUSSI 69: Recording actually is kind of the same thing, I mean, it's a studio. I used to say there was no way we were ever gonna record in Hollywood because there's way too many distractions—too many parties, too many friends. I don't wanna record there! [grins]
MYE: [laughing]
JUSSI 69: Well, I had to do it, but I was a good boy. I didn't see anything but the recording room and my drums and the producer and the highway until I was done. But THEN I stayed there for, like, an extra...(slightly ashamed pause) six weeks to party.
MYE: [laughing] I knew something was coming!
JUSSI 69: Yeah! We learned a lot from Matt Hyde. You don't hire a producer to be your buddy at the bar and tell you "You're so great, man. You're music is awesome"! You need someone to tell you, "Fuck! You can do better! That sucks." [laughing] He was really hard on us and to hear the result, he was totally worth it. He's not messing around. He's been doing bands like Slayer, so you don't go there telling that dude, "I know my shit." We had open ears and open minds to listen to his ideas and whatever he had to say.
MYE: The record title works because it is aggressive but still has the vampiric, seductive quality.
JUSSI 69: I'm super happy with the title. It tells quite well, I mean...that's where The 69 Eyes are at the moment. I mean, 2000 we've been waiting and now we're back. Back In Blood! Back on track! We're Helsinki Vampires and now we've covered ourselves again. Now we know how to do it.
MYE: I feel like this is one of the best records in this genre that I've heard in years. You guys also often have had the campier side, where you'll have real rock stuff but then a funnier song like "The Good, The Bad & The Undead."
JUSSI 69: It's a thin line between being seriously gothic, especially in the gothic scene. Sadly, in Europe, people, it's like the European goth people's sense of humor is a bit more serious than you guys over here. Especially for the first single "Dead Girls Are Easy", we were thinking what to do with the video and we wanted to underline the tongue in cheek fact that we were having fun. Still, not being a joke. That's why we wanted to have Bam doing that and giving that Viva La Bam flavor to the vampires and the hot girls and the cool looking dude.
MYE: When the video for "Lost Boys" came out, I think it was better than the real sequel, Lost Boys: The Tribe. [laughing]
JUSSI 69: [Grinning] That's what I think! The Lost Boys movie sequel is kind of a rip-off from our video. There's somebody who has Jyrki's leather jacket in there and a skate dude who is like a Bam lookalike. Well, alright...thank you. I take that as a big compliment.
MYE: A lot of bands like H.I.M., Slipknot and other bands have gotten a big push in popularity from being in stores here like Hot Topic. Sometimes people frown on this, but I think in some ways it is better than the ‘80s when someone with purple hair might get jumped on the street. I mean, there's pros and cons, but it doesn't mean the bands can't be good. It is just different sides, but it doesn't mean you can't still have integrity because of commercial opportunity if you think it is a valid way to do it.
JUSSI 69: I never lived in the U.S. when I was a kid, so I dunno what changed, but it's insane how many new ads I see for whatever tv vampire thing or books. When it comes to the rock scene, it is great for us. I don't have to like Twilight, but it's still a vampire movie and it's huge. So, we do have something to do with that scene,even though we are not Twilight, for example. When it comes to the rock scene, this whole country is all about rock’n'roll. I don't get that when I go back home and talk to a sixty year old lady who is selling me the coffee over there.
MYE: [laughing]
JUSSI 69: In a Finland sixty year old lady is not asking what band are you and starting to come up with her favorite bands like, "Stones rule, man!" [laughing] We don't have that. You're having like, the second and third generation going on over here. In our country it's like kids and the other world.
MYE: So, I'm friends with some of the ex-members of The Cycle Sluts From Hell and I know you guys are also friends with some of them.
JUSSI 69: We were out with Raffaele (aka. Queen Vixen) until 6 in the morning last night! [laughing]
MYE: Damn! What'd you guys do last night!?
JUSSI 69: We went to Manitoba's and after that...Motor City.
MYE: Motor City rules. My buddy Andy from The Stalkers used to DJ there. Good watering hole.
JUSSI 69: Yeah, Motor City until four o'clock and then Jyrki's room until 6:50. We could've gone to bed a bit earlier.
MYE: You guys have the sex side of the band but you also support girls. Do you think there is a double standard for girl bands if they go out and are dominating in the way they look or act?
JUSSI 69: I don't know. I guess it is a double-edged sword. There's a huge advantage being a hot looking, sexy babe and the criticism...what the fuck? Then there's bands like Kittie who never made it to the biggest fame but they are working hard and are "one of the guys". I think they have evolved with both things and I don't see anything different from me being in a band and doing the best we can but at the same time I am posing in a picture with no shirt on. I mean, what's the difference between a girl selling things by showing her boobs and me taking my shirt off?
MYE: How does it feel to be in New York right now and also how was your New Orleans' show at Howlin' Wolf? I heard it was pretty crazy?
JUSSI 69: Yeah, New Orleans was crazy. I could show you pictures that looked like Katrina was going on that night. I was walking in the French Quarter and there was knee high water everyplace and it was super hot. I love that city. I know it's all about tourists and that kind of thing going on there, but it is still magic and so cool. And New York? New York Fucking City! Streets to kill. I wish I had more time in here but I actually had more time than I ever did. Usually I'm here with just three hours off but last night we were done by two and so we had all night to hang out. I don't use taxis that much. I wanted to walk. I don't know the city that well. I've been here like six times, but I like to walk and learn it. As you can see right now, schedules are crazy. But, I love this city. This is rock n' roll, this city.
MYE: What do you want to say to the fans tonight as far as a special message from you guys?
JUSSI 69: I'm absolutely stoked and believe it or not, I really do appreciate that there is actually anybody coming to see us. That is the person who makes it possible for our touring and to play New York Fucking City tonight. Thank you!