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MoonMadness: Wild Girl and fast Bikes

The Finnish newcomer band MoonMadness was the Stalker Fresh Act in August 2007, and after such a long time and this year´s release of their debut album "All In Between" it´s time to find out what´s going on in Tampere (the band´s hometown). Beautiful singer Heidi revealed to us her passion for motorbikes and how to take care of a hard rocker voice.

Hello, how are you doing? It has been a while since our last Interview.
Hi there! I´m doing very well and the band is doing great, thank you! I am very excited to tell our latest news. There is much going on...

What happened since then in your career?
Oh, where to begin… First big thing after the last interview was of course finishing and releasing our debut album All In Between, which got a great response from the listeners and also received a whole bunch of good reviews all around from Japan to US. Fantastic! Lots of interviews, promotion and showcases and a new music video! We have been busy!

We have also been doing great shows all around Finland and just to mention few, there was a Metal Festival called Sauna Open Air here in Tampere, where we had a slot between Sonata Arctica and Sebastian Bach on Saturday, not a bad place to be. The weather was warm, the crowd was hot and we were ON FIRE! And just a week after that we were proud to get on the stage at Olympic Stadium in Helsinki as a support act to rock-hottie BON JOVI. Things that you will remember for the rest of your life… wow!

Everything can be seen in www.moonmadness.fi, check it out!



In May you released your debut record All in Between, can you tell us something about the producing process?
The whole process of recording the album was long and hard. But the result was of course something that we can all be proud of. It took many long long nights in studio, blood, sweat and tears as they say. The songs were recorded in “old fashioned” way. Meaning that we did not use, for example, autotune in vocals or copy parts from here to there. No, no, it was all done for real. I think that it is the biggest reason for the album to sound as real as it sounds... but the producing the album was mainly Otto´s ground. Although we have to give credit also to Mikko Saarinen, who recorded the album and co-produced it also. (...and stuck with us at 5am...) Good guy, great work. Overall it was hard, but who said that it was supposed to be easy…?

Who wrote the music /lyrics for the new record, or are all in the band responsible?
Mainly the songs in the debut album are written by Otto and Turkka and the lyrics are written by Satu, former singer of MM. We are now at the process of making new material and also I will be very much involved with the lyrics… After all when we have a new song to play, I think that everyone of us makes their own things to make it sound like MM… So yes, I think that the whole band is responsible for the new material…

Which song are you most proud of, and why?
I am proud of the whole album! There is so many different things in different songs that I cannot really say what is the one song that is the best or that I´m really proud of… Hmm… just mention a few:

Ain´t no Angel- a great song to sing live
Victims of the Moon- a song that has a strong story and strong feel, love the strings there!
Shot Through the Wing- a song to get you in to rockin´ and rolling…
On the Edge of Madness- THE SONG of the album, epic, big... gives me the chills.

Do you have a special Story behind the Bandname, why did you choose Moon Madness?
I think that Otto would be the best person to answer this question... I don´t think that there was any particular reason for the name. Otto had a vision someday to have a band called a moonmadness, and guess what happened!? Haha... So there´s no big story behind the name. But it´s a good name, and also British prog band Camel knew it back in the days.

How are your experiences nowadays, you have played more shows, met more people , reached a bigger crowed- have you learned anything from it since last year? Did anything special happen that was special for you?
We are on the process of learning by doing all the time. And I think that it really never ends… All the time as we confront new people and new situations, we learn and pick the things that suit us… Remember the good things and develop them into better. Keep your feet on the ground and be grateful for everything that you can get, because it is a hard business...

The show at The Olympic Stadium, I think, was the big learning point for me personally. Not so much about what happened on stage during our show, because that was the familiar part, but everything that was going on around the show. Wow! It´s a hard work to make something like that happen. Big hand for the whole crew. Also there was the biggest crowd ever for us, so that was a big thing to step into the stage and put on a show to win them over! That was great!

Are there plans that you tour outside of Finland ?
Simply: YES! I think that we have something on our sleeves... negotiations to get the album released in other countries in 2009 are on the process and some touring plans are also included.



Can you tell us something about your musical backgrounds? Where did your music career begin?
I have been singing since I was a little girl… I performed here and there and also recorded a song, a Christmas carol, when I was only 11 years old. Since then I have been involved in some kind of musical things as I also played the flute. Then I joined my first metal-band at the age of 17… and after one thing led to another, here I am as the lead singer of MoonMadness… reaching the dream that I always have had.

Heidi, it is seldom that a girl sings like this nowadays, it is normal that every one wants to be little Tarja Turunen, can you tell us why you chose this style?
I never was a big fan of classic singing, even if I was a soprano in the choir (back in the days) and sang some of the songs with the classical singing -technique. I think that I never choose to sing this way, I just do. It feels good, it feels me and I feel that I have a lot to give by singing as I do... I think that it is also a bit more down to earth-kinda singing, so I would love to think that it´s easier for people to sing along and feel somehow closer to the songs.

And what are you thinking about your colleges who are singing like fairies?
For by all means, sing! Sing loud! There really is plenty of room for songs to be sang, no matter what the style or technique is… There are many good singers out there that are doing a great job in the music business, and so many that cannot get their voices heard. But that doesn´t mean that you should not sing, it means that you should sing louder! Haha...

On the website you mention that you like Motorbikes, do you have your own one? And what´s your favourite custom, Streetfighter or Motorcross Machine?
Yes, I was born to be wild with my motorbike! Haha... I have a Custom-kinda bike, Yamaha. My girl... Maybe someday it says: “Harley Davidson” on the side of the fuel tank, just maybe.

Did you had any vocal training lessons or is it all learning by doing?
Most of it is learning by doing. But I have had singing technique-lessons and also lessons for breathing- and relaxing techniques. And there is a whole lot to learn!

What do you do to foster your voice?
Typical things, breath hot steam, drink water with honey... do various different practises to open and relax my vocal cords… Stretch my upper body… There is actually a lot what you can do! And to keep in shape is important for the breathing and for the lungs, so I jog and do different kinda sports. So there´s no magic there!

What do you plan in the near future?
Well, that´s a hard one, for there is so much to be done. Well, I think that in the near future we are going to be busy making new material, great shows and by staying healthy.

Do you have some final words for the Stalker readers?
The hard rocking debut album “All In Between” is available for you too, so go and get it! NOW!
I´ll see you in the MM -show!

Thank you for the interview.
Thank You, it was my pleasure!



Author: Sandy Mahrer, photos: MoonMadness, K.Weber
Date: 2008-12-17

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