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To/Die/For: This time it’s forever!

The Finns TO/DIE/FOR have been around in the music biz for quite a while and therefore know all about the good and bad aspects of it. In April 2009 singer Jape decided to quit, which also meant the end of this band. Luckily he reconsidered his decision, and also the other band members were ready to revive TO/DIE/FOR once again. We met the band from Kouvola in Helsinki at Trash Fest, where they „premiered“ after their long absence with a new bass player, and tried to find out a bit more about their upcoming new album „Samsara“.

Hi guys, how are you doing today? Ready for the show tonight?
Juppe Everything is great!
Jape Yeah, and we are excited! It’s a long time when we played our last show.

So what do you expect from the show tonight?
Jape I don’t have any expectations cause all we wanna do right now is play the show. That is all! And I don’t know about the audience at all. We’re just gonna have fun at stage, that’s our job.

How is it to be on stage again after such a long time?
Juppe It’s very exiting! I think we are getting more exited after the gig, actually we don’t know what to expect.
Jape If it’s gonna be a good show then you want some beer and you are smiling and if it is a bad show you need a beer and yeah…(makes a unhappy face)

You are now working together with Mama Trash, how did that cooperation came up?
Jape Actually we are in the beginning with them! We don’t have any deal yet so this is the first thing we are doing with Mama Trash.

And how did you got to know each other then?
Jape I think Jaani from Iconcrash, he informed us about Mama Trash.

I heard Josey Sandman is no longer part of the Band, what happened? And who is your new Bassist?
Jape He found a new girlfriend …
Antza Love….and he got a new job and he just moved into another town to Tampere and so he had no time to play
Jape He wasn’t interested anymore to make music actually because he’s making love.
Antza But actually we are like good friends of course with Josey but it is good this way because we found a better one to play bass (laughs)
Jape And a younger one because Josey is so fucking old. (everybody laughs)

So you have now someone for the younger girls
Antza Yeah, definitely!

So Eza, how is it for you to be the new guy in the band, is it the first time you play with them tonight?
Eza Yeah, It is just fucking awesome. It’s a warm feeling in this band and I feel welcome.
Antza Thank you very much Eza, thank you very much!

Maybe you don’t think like this anymore after the gig, let’s see!(everybody laughs)
Antza Yeah let’s see after the show what happens!

In April 2009 To/Die/For called its quits, what was the reason for this?And what made you reconsieder your decicion?
Jape I think it was already 2008, actually we changed our minds because we had a break for two years and we noticed that we can not live without music. And the reason that we quit was because, we somehow just lost our motivation because of many many reasons. But I think that the break was only a good thing.

So you found your motivation again?
Jape Yeah, and new ways to write music again.

And does it feel better now to be back again, or do you already regret
All It feels better
Jape No,No! We don’t regret it!
Antza Already regretting? NO,NO!
Jape No, we don’t have any kind of stress which we had couple of years ago
Juska Personally I can say I got Fun back into my life when we started to play again. My life was happy and everything, but now I got fun into it. So it’s kind of like that everything comes with the band. Friendship, Music and Everything (others agree)
Antza Only one sad thing there in the whole fucking this is that we just said: That we are gonna break the band. We should have said that we take a little break and that’s it. We will come back if we feel so. But we just said: That’s it!

Yeah, I can remember the fans reaction on your break up!
Antza Yeah it was a damn radical thing, that was the only sad thing but now it is very very good!

Did the reaction of fans also affect your choice to come back?
Jape Mh…No!
Antza Not really actually! It was just that Jape had so good new songs, what I heard and Jape just send me one Email That: “we had one gig coming in Kouvola and do you wanna come and play with us? “ and things like that and some other guys come back to play one show and let’s see what happens . And we just played that one show and it was so fucking great, and then I heard some new songs, that Jape had wrote. They where so good Songs that I was like immediately: “Oh fucking Hell Yeah!”
JupeThe main point was also that we decided when we started again, that it must be fun, if we don’t have fun it’s not worth to do it!
Juska And I remember back 2006 when I was, lets say “Put aside” from the band, I was having a holiday for many years. I remember saying to Jape everytime from 2006 occasionally “Don’t Stop it, because you will regret it!” And now I am so happy that he started again and I am again in this group. So you shouldn’t stop it right away, like Antza said first take a break. In the end it just counts that we are here and we are having fun and that is amazing.

But did it maybe affect that fans care now more about you, because they are afraid that you could quit again?
Juska This is not gonna happen because I think this will last forever!
Antza Hopefully!
Juska I can promise that, I’m gonna do my own shit if we break up again
Jape You do it anyway! (everybody laughs)
Antza But next time when we get tired of it I think we will just take a break and not break the whole band.
Jape But it was my fault actually because I was so fucking in the end and I am so fucking (says a word in Finnish)
Juska Which is like making decisions really fast...

Well, luckily you can still change some of your decision
Jape If I would take couple of hours more to think about it maybe I wouldn’t have done it! But that’s past that’s all gone.
Antza But people are learning things! The point is that now we have so much fun! And that’s the main thing. And a new album coming with great songs. And its gonna be like… It is always the same story that they say the new one, the New Album is the BEST we have ever done and blablabla but this one is really something special.
Jape Which is almost recorded!

Jape, you also have another Band called Sundown Sindrome, what is going on with this one now?
Jape Ah, we don’t have any time to do it and also the bassist in that band got married ,so: I don’t like that kind of people! ( everybody laughs)

So married people are not good for the band!
Jape No,no but it was too difficult because I am here in Finland and I am doing To/Die/For, I don’t have energy to do it so. We are good friends but we just made about nine Songs where we had fun but it’s over now.

You are currently working on your upcoming Album, called “Samsara”, so what about the name, what is its meaning?
Jape It is the circle of life! You find it in Buddhism and Hinduism, but we don’t have anything to do with that kind of religion things. Because most of the lyrics are from the year 2010 and it is like a circle story of the year, or something. So it is called “Samsara”, like the circle of the year!
Antza So there is not any kind of religion bullshit! Or anything like that.
Jape And it sounds also good for Finnish ears.

Do you already have a release date for it?
Jape No, not yet!

So you are also looking for a new deal?
Jape Yeah and actually we should do it really fast because we would like to start touring next autumn.

Oh, Ok so is there a chance you are also coming to rest of Europe then?
Antza Hopefully!
Jape We are ready to play anywhere.
Juska We’ve played only couple of gigs here and there and it feels so good to be here that we would like it to go on and on and on. We are just in the beginning again that’s why I promised to you this last forever!

What inspired you when it comes to the lyrics of the new record?
Jape Well, mostly they are about very real things. Not any Gothic kind of fantasy shit. Not any sparrows on a grave Stone (other laugh) But actually about life and personal things.

Ok and what are the other plans for the rest of the year?
Jape All we wanna do is rehearsing a lot and play a lot of shows. Nothing else.

And release the album! If you don’t get a contract, what are you gonna do?
Jape then we will release it through our own record company
Antza The album will come out, that is for sure!
JuskaMaybe it slows down things a bit, but we gonna make it happen anyway, it is just a question about when, where and how!
Jape It is not difficult to get a label deal, but it is difficult to have a good one.

If you would have one free wish for TO/DIE/FOR what would it be? Juska, I guess yours would be that it lasts forever? (everybody laughs)
Juska No, that’s not a wish I know it’s gonna last forever! Until we happen to rest somewhere Six feet under. What would you say guys?
Jape I wish that we all would live like until we are 80 or 90 years old and no matter what happens between that we go on with the band.
Antza And hopefully lot of people know the band and get our music and lot’s of gigs and touring
JapeWe don’t have any other dreams, that’s very poor.
Antza And I really hope that we get some more weed and cannabis
Jape Yeah, I wish that they would legal it in Finland!

Yeah and to mention that is also very helpful to get a new record deal
All Yeah (Everybody laughs)
Jape If some label would give us like 10 kilos of weed I will sign in immediately!
Antza We don’t need the money about selling records just a lot of weed!
Jape Lot of tours and cannabis!
Antza Peace and Love! (Juska laughs and looks confused at him)

Well, Ok if this is your final words! (everybody laughs)
Antza Our final words are : Remember to smoke! Manjamanjamaaa!(laughs)
Juska He is not speaking about all of them!

Ok then thank you for the Interview!
Antza & Jape Thank you very much!
Juppe& Eza Thanks
Juska Thank you!

http://www.myspace.com/tdfrocks




Author: Sandy Mahrer, photos: TO/DIE/FOR , Karen Fader McBride
Date: 2011-06-02

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