Interview: Starbuck - Michael Majalahti: “People need to wake up!” - part 2 - STALKER MAGAZINE inside out of rock´n´roll

Starbuck - Michael Majalahti: “People need to wake up!” - part 2

Find out more about the multifaceted Starbuck - the graphic designer, musician, personal trainer and life coach. In the second part of the interview he reveals more about his life philosophy and why there should be an “Icelandic revolution”.

Next to the wrestling you also work as a graphic designer for Bands like Hevisaurus, the Heavy Metal Band for Children. But you also do your own artwork, are you doing it only on request or also to sell it?
Yeah, for Sony Music I am drawing the Hevisaurus characters, where I created the way that they look, I didn’t create the concept. And I do the Children’s books for Otava, the third Hevisaurus Children’s Book is currently on its way. Someone else digitally paints my drawings, but I am the one who does all the layout, the actual fundamental artwork. By Pen & Ink! In black and white, the old Marvel comic style. But I don’t do the colors.

But you also do your own artwork, on request or also for yourself?
Yeah… I draw logos for companies. I draw, if somebody wants a portrait or something, I do this. Sometimes I draw for myself but not much. Some of the ones on the website (www.starbuck.fi) are for my bands. But otherwise I don’t do a lot of artwork just for the hell of it.

So would it be an option for you to do an art exhibition or even your own comic book?
That’s possible. I haven’t had one so far. There is a movie about my career that’s been in the making now for almost three years. It’s got the Finnish film foundation and YLE behind it. It’s gonna come out next year, it is a full 90 min documentary movie about my career and they’ve been with me to Japan, Germany, United States and then all around Finland with me. So it’s very international in flavor.

So is it just about Starbuck the Wrestler or…?
No, no Starbuck - Michael Majalahti the persona. But still mainly thought the Wrestling perspective of it. So it’s kind like Mickey Rourke in the Wrestler, but the real life version of it. It is not like a scripted film, where I’m acting something out. There where some portions of the movie which were actually scripted, but they are almost like dream frequented, that kind of tie the movie together. But when that comes out at some point next year, I think there’s gonna be a lot of people, not just in Finland, because the trailer of it has been shown around in the US and I’ve heard that ESPN is already interested, and in Canada there are also some TV Stations that are interested. So I think this is gonna be a global thing. And when it comes out in Finland, I think at that point the media is really gonna take notice of who I am; that´s the point for me to have an art exhibition, ´cause that is gonna be when people are like interested in it. Everything is about timing.

Is it so that you are also planning to write a book?
I wrote the book already, it’s finished. I am doing the final editing now, to make sure that this is really me talking. You know what I mean? I wrote all myself, I didn’t have a ghostwriter, so it is like straight from the horses mouth. It is fantastic, I have a couple of friends who read it from chapter to chapter just to give me an honest opinion, and they are not Wrestling fans, but they know me for many years. When they give you that kind of honest feedback, that’s one hell of a opinion. My publisher already told me that this is the best photographic journal of anyone that he has ever produced. I’ve been blessed. When I look back to my life I see that all with the hand of god and the blessing he has given me. And one of the blessings is that god has brought professional photographers who became close friends to mine. Who never have asked for one single penny of my money. So they come to my Wrestling gigs, they shoot them, they give me the photos and they never ask for a single penny. And that’s a brilliant blessing that I feel that I have. Especially in a world like this. There is a saying in English: “Perception is reality!” The way the people perceive you, the public image that they have of you - whether or not it’s true has no significance - is how it actually is. That’s the thing I have realized. The thing with with FCF Fight Club Finland is that I’ve been able to use our photographers for our events and our image, if you go to our website (www.wrestling.fi), you see that our level of photography is higher then any of other promotion in the world.

As this wouldn’t be enough, you are also a rock singer in Crossfyre, Stoner Kings, Overnight Sensation and three other bands. How many of these bands are still active and what is going on with them at the moment? What about the Stoner Kings, are they still active, what happened to them?
They are not active right now. I’ve done some personal demos with songs that I’ve written during the years. I have a band called Angel of Sodom which is like Old School Thrash, a mixture of Testament, Kreator and Exodus. I just love it. And with the guitarist of that band I’ve spend a while on the computer to write some demos. I still wanna do the third Stoner Kings Album, I really feel it with my heart and my soul. I have the songs ready, I just got to lay them down. With Crossfyre I’m gonna be playing at the Harley Davidson Club of Finland Summer Festival in Himos, Jämsä, on the mainstage and I think we are the head act for the Thursday night. Yeah, we were in the US actually with ZZ Top and on the Rock legends Cruise. Then I have a traditional rock band that plays something like Kiss-style which is Called Overnight Sensation. So that’s what I do. Three Bands right now just keep me very busy. And with two of those we are going to release an album now at the end of the year, with Angel of Sodom, and Overnight Sensation´s album Name is going to be “Life is a bitch!”

Stoner Kings

Do you already have a couple of gigs planned?
No not at all. Well, I’ve been actually talking with a couple of musicians at Tuska. The gig scene here has changed, I don’t know how it is in other countries, but here it has changed so much. Right now all bars and clubs live and die by their alcohol sales. Which is kind of sad, because what they really do is almost advocating alcoholism, the more that they drink, the more these places make money. The thing is that now one pint in a bar is so expensive that a lot of people don’t have the money to go out. They buy the ticket to your show and then they buy this one or two pints, and then it’s done. So, what’s happened now is that a lot of bars and clubs are not taking bands or acts of those they aren’t sure that they are established. Of whom they know that they sell enough tickets. Because the thing is when you only draw 100 people and those people only buy two pints of beer, the bands still have to get some money. And unless it is a door deal, where you make your money based only on the ticket sales, the club has to pay your set fee. And it really makes no sense for any band - even the smaller bands - to sell for under 500 e. It makes no sense to sell yourself cheaper than that.

Well, compared to Switzerland that’s still a lot, because usually you have to pay there to get gigs or you get just a small amount of money.
Well, the thing is, let’s say there there is four of five guys in the band. If you ask for 500 E for a gig, now let’s say the transportation costs 50-60 E or something, depending where the gig takes place. You take your food and eat on the road, so lets say 40 Euros goes to that. When you got 4 guys in the band that’s a 100 Euros for that one gig per musician. If you got 5 then it’s less. The thing is, as musician you are in the club as a worker, as an entertainer, so that they will spend time in that certain bar to spend money on alcohol. That’s the foundation of a club. That’s why they have a live band there. So if this is my job, then I expect to be paid. I’ve been doing this since 1999, and at this point after 13 years I would expect to get paid. That’s why this troubadours are so common now the people still show up and the club doesn’t need to pay 5 guys, they only pay 1 guy´s gas and his personal performance. Or then they have known artists, who are doing DJ-gigs at a club. That makes no sense to me - why the fuck would I go listening to some musician playing other bands music from the sound deck?

Guess they doing that because they think they get to know them then?
Yeah, but it’s not like that, you´re not sitting down at a table with them. It is senseless, the people still fall for the mirage, for the illusion that they get some kind of a emotional experience out of seeing their favorite rockstar doing a DJ gig. So that’s why when you ask me, do you have any gigs coming up? My answer is NO! Not at the moment.

In 2008 you organized “Saturday Night Rock Fight” where Wrestling met Rock music. Do you plan to do another event like this?
Well, it was OK but but not enough people came to those events. Because its like between 1 and 3 bands and the Wrestling - it is really difficult to say, what band has the same fan base as wrestling does. I’m sure there are a lot of Metal-Hard Rock fans who like hard action, like in action movies. We tried with different bands, Sparzanza, Godsplague, Los Bastardos Finlandeses in Turku, but we still haven’t found the working potential combination. Maybe with Turmion Kätilöt it would work. As a visual. But it is hard to say. I think there is potential there to do this combination of rock and wrestling, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.

You are also working as a personal trainer and a life coach, how does this work look like, especially as a life coach?
I integrate that in personal training. I’ve been actually able to help a lot of people, those that have opened up to me. I noticed that I have a personal gift which in one word is: clarity! I just see things clearly. And when people open up I have an ability to see to at least one branch of their problem, so I can give them something they can work with to actually remedy their situation to some degree. I am not saying I’m fixing the whole thing, I am not there to fix it. I don’t fix anybody’s problems, all I do is I give them the tools. Right? You know you got to fix your own problem, that’s the way it works, nobody is going to do it for you.

But sometimes when you don’t have the knowledge, when you don’t have the understanding, you don’t know what to do. Sometimes you need somebody who’s got the ability to actually know the key to the lock. So that’s my gift. It doesn’t work with everybody, we can’t have keys to everybody´s heart. And that is true. There are some people that hate me, to them I have nothing to say. You know, I can give a shit what people think about me, but then there are those kids coming up to me, young guys from different family backgrounds, 14 or 15 or in their 20’s, and they say: “Man, what you said and what you did that really impacted me!” That really made me think, you realize your contribution has been of value to somebody.

I think a lot of people walk through this life and all they think about is Me, me, me ,me and ME! That is a big fucking mistake. Cause the thing is, relationships work like mirrors, what you give is what you get. And if you don’t add value to somebody´s life, you gonna be lonely, lonely, lonely. People don´t wanna be around you, because things are all about you. It’s narcissism, it’s fucking bullshit! I’ve been involved with some girls in the past, where it’s all about them, just me,me,me,me,me! You know what? Those relationships don’t last for more then two weeks. If you can’t talk sense to them then there is a no win situation. Then I am done. You could fuck a girl like that, but you know what, after that you have no more use for them. They make a nice little fucking decoration on your couch, AND THAT’S IT! They don’t make food for you, they don’t do the household, they do nothing. They are no use. Anybody can open their legs and get fucked! You know what I mean? It doesn’t make you special. So that way, I think that is where a lot of people these days are missing the point. And that’s where life coaching comes in.

A lot of guys and a lot of girls don’t know anymore what it is to be a man or a woman, because it is so convoluted. This whole fucking propaganda about the equality of the sexes and stuff like that. And what they try to do is to androgynise male and female roles, there is no separation really anymore, there is no difference. That’s a huge mistake. When you look back on world culture in general, nowadays over 60% of Finnish relationships fall apart. Divorce this, divorce that. It’s miserable, it’s fucking terrible. And there are kids who don’t know what´s up and what’s down, because at home daddy is not the man of the house and mom is the one calling the shots - it doesn’t work that way. I am sorry but I grew up old-school. My father was the man of the house, my mom listened what my dad said. When he put his fist of the table and said, no more, finished, it was done. You know what I mean? She had that respect. There was a healthy respect right there, that’s the way I was brought up. From that era there are more couples that are still together with that mind set. Then there are these days with a curved mind set, everything falls apart after a few months, everything is just fast food. All relationships are just fast food. If somebody doesn’t fill your needs , if they don’t satisfy you with what they do, then get the fuck rid of them. People have no values, no morals, no substance anymore and that’s why people nowadays, they have a screaming need for somebody who actually can talk sense to them. That’s where life coaching comes in and that’s where my gift is coming in: clarity!

Maybe it’s also a problem that people can’t be alone anymore!
Yeah, they are dependent, just like addicts! And I think people are oversexed! Everything is sold, whatever it’s a vacuum cleaner or a tomato, they will sell it to you using sex, putting a girl into a bikini or whatever. And somehow it is supposed to make your vacuum cleaner better because you got Pamela Anderson in bikini holding the fucking thing. It doesn’t work that way! A friend of mine from Sweden said that very well: “Nowadays there are no more customers but patients, and the companies, by inventing their products, are telling you that you are sick and they are selling you the cure.” At least that’s the perception of it. If you don’t have this kind of thing you are not sexy, you´re not desirable, you not hip, you know what I mean? It is fucking sick! You got young girls putting Botox in their lips, girls under the age of 18 getting breast implants, guys who got silicon implants in their calves because they aren’t big enough - that is sick. This is where life coaching is fitting in. Now you understand why I do what I do, and talk like I talk.

Is there still something you dream of or that you want to reach within the next few years?
The movies! I wanna get into movies. Lead roles. I don’t want side roles, I want lead roles. If someone sees value in what I do.

What kind of movies?
Something with substance. No Bullshit. I think the world is already suffocated in this stream mass of bullshit. And I don’t think that anybody needs more bullshit. But I think still that Sylvester Stallone really has cut on to the substance part of what movies really need to be. The last Rambo movie,I went to see it with Alexi Laiho, Children of Bodom and we got out fucking shaking, so full of testosterone. But the thing is that that movie has got a very strong moral argument behind it. Stallone said it in the movie:” Die for something or live for nothing !” Brad Pitt in the movie Fight Club, that movie has got incredible substance and it’s got an amazing message behind it. And the message is “People spend their lives, working in jobs they hate, they buy shit they don’t need!” That is the message of the movie. That’s why Edward Norton blew up his fucking own apartment. Because he doesn’t need all that shit. He realized his live was empty, he couldn’t sleep he couldn’t life, he was dying, he was the walking dead person. That’s what people are, they are the walking dead, they made a fucking TV Series out of it. And the thing is, people don’t have substance in their own lives, they try to fill their lives with material things, like buying shit that they don’t need to impress people they don’t like! With money that they don’t have! Just to feel the illusion in your own mind that you are accepted. That is weak! That shows me that those people have no faith, no belief in themselves.

How to change all this?
An absolute revolution on a national level like it happened in Iceland, where the fired the entire government and told the foreign banks “get the fuck out of here”! All the politicians who drove them into debt - they jailed them! Everybody had to wake up. Have you seen the John Carpenter Movie “They Live?” Just like in this movie, everybody has to get those sunglasses and see it all. We are at the shopping mall right now, when you put on those glasses, you see all those slogans, all these signs around you saying “Slave, Obey, do not question authority, do not question what you were told!” That’s what you would see around here. And if everybody would have the presence of mind to actually think for themselves, people need to wake up get out of the cities, get into the nature. What actually would help would be if the electricity would shut off. I mean for a month, people would go back to the stone age, no more phones to call, so you know what you do you go knock on somebody´s door. “Hey man, do you have time?” You know what I mean?

There are people who would die!
Yeah, they have to go back to the forest and have to learn how to hunt, how to fish! It would be good. Honestly it would be good for the people. I think unless people hit the rock bottom, they’re not waking up. When I was young in the 70’s & 80’s we had a saying there “ A man is only as good as his word!” Nowadays when somebody gives you their word they gonna do something, most of the time they don’t do anything. Their word it’s worthless. And if you can’t trust somebody, then why do you have them in your life? Why are you surrounding yourself with people who are untrustworthy and who are self-seeking fucking materialistic leaches? And people are like that until they hit rock bottom. Until they are so lonely that no relationship is gonna work out, nobody wants to touch them, nobody wants to even fuck them. No matter how much make-up they put on, no matter how big muscles they have, nobody wants to even fuck them, because they are so detestable. There is something about their character which is so empty that everybody just feels it! Until they reach that point, they’re not gonna wake up.

Do you have some final words?
Final words? You’ve got one life to live, what is your contribution? Dave Wyndorf from Monster Magnet said:” If you have nothing to contribute, stop breathing my air!” and I agree with him. In this incredibly self-centered selfish cold materialistic empty age, I would say, “make your contribution, your fellow person, your fellow man count. And consider the fact that your life is short.” My mother just got diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, she might not even have 10 years anymore. When you take a look at your life from the end towards the beginning, you’ve gotta think, “if I die tomorrow, was my life worth anything? Would I be happy with the way that this thing ended? Would I be able to say that it was worth it? That I had a good time and you know, that I fulfilled my dreams? And that I feel complete as a human being, if I die tomorrow?” That I could say that I can leave in peace. How many people can say that? Not many! And then on top of that enclosing: You are mind, body and Spirit! You are a 3D person. One day your body will die, your mind will shut down along with your body, and your spirit, your eternal soul, is the only thing that will last forever.

I wish you the best of luck with your plans. Thank you for the interview.
Absolutely!

More Information:
www.starbuck.fi
www.myspace.com/stonerkings
www.myspace.com/starbuckrocks
www.reverbnation.com/overnightsensation
www.myspace.com/angelofsodom
www.myspace.com/klaatuurocks
www.myspace.com/thecrossfyre

Author: Autor: Sandy Mahrer, photos: Pasi Murto, Markus Paajala, Klaudia Weber
Date: 2012-08-14

Read comments: Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /var/customers/webs/stalker/www.stalker.cd/inc/kommentar.inc.php on line 8 0 Write comments