The Carnival
Great Finnish hardcore raised on beer and metal, dirty and cold, not unlike Terveet Kädet. And if TK's singer Läjä is their fan and write half of their lyrics, well, than probably there really is something good on this band. To me these drunkheads (I met them and I know what I'm talking about) are not good, they are great! I talked to Heikki, their drummer.
When you started with The Carnival? Have you played or maybe still play in any other band?
We started The Carnival somewhere in 1999/2000. The line-up has stayed almost the same since then. The four of us have been in the band all the time, but our 2nd guitar player left the group before the recording of our first EP. We all have some other bands as well: post punk group AKBAR, heavy metal band HEAVY METAL PERSE, hc-band GERDT, black metal band ANGMAR and so on... But as this is a The Carnival interview, let's concentrate on that one.
What’s the history behind the name of your band? Honestly, it sounds like some support band for Blondie …
Hey, there's nothing wrong with Blondie! ;) The main idea behind the name can be found from writings of Mikhail Bahtin. The carnival is a celebration of laughter, in which death is always present. In the carnivals of the old days the kings and priests were mocked and the grotesque sides of life were brought up. The hidden sides of human nature were present and people behaved freely, without any moral limitations. Sounds pretty deep, thinking that we are simple people, haha.
You already played in Slovakia, right? Any memories from here?
Actually no. But we are coming there next autumn ('07) and I can assure you that we are looking forward to it!
Can you introduce a bit the second band that will tour with you this year, and so will play here as well?
Creepy Crawlie is an all-female, chaotic grrrlcoreband from Finland. They are our friends, but I'm also a big 'fan' of their music. They just released a new 12' and I'm dying to hear it! t's actually pretty hard to describe their music, because it is not ordinary hc-punk or whatever, but something much more insane-sounding and primitive.
I’m looking forward to your live performance … who’s your favourite live player/singer? You know, I mean which singer jumps the best, the guitarist who is the best to imitate on air guitar …. somebody you enjoy to watch live, that stuff.
Many of the performers I like are already dead or old and tired nowadays (I mean classics like The Who with Keith Moon, Ozzy's Black Sabbath etc.) One of the best live performers is/was the doom metal band Reverend Bizarre from Finland. They did not have tricks or choreography, but their live performances were full of atmosphere. I say 'were' because they sadly played their last gig last new year's eve. The ones I like the most from the punk circles are perhaps Forca Macabra and Kuolema. Their live shows are intense and entertaining at the same time.
What is the best finnish band ever? Convince me that it is that one and not any other … why should I listen exactly to them?
This is easy... of course the almighty TERVEET KÄDET. They are not a classic just because they have been around for so long (from 1980) - they have great songs and not the most usual type of lyrics. And - they could really play their instruments. TK's EP Ääretön joulu ('the infinite christmas') is the best hardcore record ever. And I'd also like to mention, that even nowadays they still are worth checking out. They are not boring old boozers but still one hell of a live act.
I expected this... so now, the question is: how the hell you got into the cooperation with TK's vocalist? He did some lyrics and few covers for you, didn't he?
Indeed he did and most likely will do in the future, too. When we released our first demo, which is basically just a raw rehearsal tape, I sent it to Läjä. Just to say something like 'Hi! We have this band in Kajaani and your music has been a big influence for us.' Then some time went by and he sent us a post card saying that he liked our music very much. At the time we were planning our first EP and we thought of asking if he could do the covers for it. Surprisingly, he liked the idea. And as he had some unused lyrics, he also sent them to us too. Which we are very grateful for, as he is a top lyricist. And the rest is history, as they say. I'm very pleased that we don't have to use the same old 'World War II' or 'A pile of skulls' -imagery as most of the bands in the scene do.
You also used to write lyrics for The Carnival,you still write some or did you stopped? If yes,why?
I haven't stopped. 'Kivulias' had one lyrics written by me and I have written more to the album which we
are now making. Writing lyrics for this band is pretty difficult but challenging at the same time. Because, in my opinion, we do not sing about being 'At War With Satan' tongue-in-cheek or the most childish kind of 'Fight The System' kinda stuff but something more... I don't know what! Personal in a very twisted way, perhaps?
Musicwise in Finland, can you recommend me some festival/venue/squat … I should see, something that’s really crazy in some special finnish way … and musically good of course.
Puntala Rock in the summer is the best Finnish festival. It is a punk rock festival in Lempäälä and quite a usual one I guess: drunken people having a good time. VT-klubi in Helsinki is pretty legendary but unfortunately also pretty quiet nowadays... It's an old fire station and I've seen and played some pretty fucking great shows there. The most Finnish atmosphere is of course when you tarvel up north. In my old home town Kajaani we have had some great gigs... It is a small and cold town up north. No posing or scene-shit of any kind as far as I can remember.
What was the coldest place you played show at? And if there is -20C do you still like your beer cold?
Beer must ALWAYS be cold, hehe. When we were too young to go to a bar and still lived with our parents, we used to go out to drink beer, even if it was -20C. Nowadays we are too used to more comfortable enivronment. We have never had any cold outside venues, but I can remember quite a few times driving home from a gig when the night is cold and the beer is cold... Ah the memories! But even though the winters are cold in Finland, the gigs are usually very warm, if You know what I mean. The coldest atmosphere so far has been Warsaw. There were people in the yard, but nobody bothered to come in and watch us play, heh.
I quite like some obscure finnish blackmetal / misanthropic bands, and there is quite a lot of theme these days, right? Like Circle of Ouroborus, Azaghal, An … can you recommend me some good finish metal/noise or are you completely against it?
We are definitely in favour of metal music. The metal-scene is pretty crowded these days, but most of the bands are shit in my opinion. Weak-posers trying to be 'UG'. I can recommend you Angmar. Our singer Vesa sings in the band. It's grim and raw black metal. And if we talk about classics, 'Drawing down The Moon' by Beherit is a definite classic. Obscure yet powerful!
Thanks for the Angmar tip ... I have checked it on metal-archives web and guess what ... The Carnival is there! It’s also mentioned there you started as Mörka Skoget .... why you changed your name than and was the music different from what you‘ve begun to play as The Carnival?
It's pretty funny that we are there, in the Metal-Archives, considering that most of the time the people in the metal scene seem to consider us a punk band and, vice versa, the punks think that we are a metal band. Mörka Skoget was the proto-type of The Carnival, even though we had the same members and even played some songs that we also play with The Carnival. Mörka Skoget is Swedish, written wrong intentionally. But the name is so stupid we changed it.
Now, The Carnival exists for how long …. 8 years +/- and you still have no full length out. Why? Are you working on any new songs or have some plans at least?
Actually we are working on a longer album at the moment! We have 5-10 songs almost ready and we will write some more. It seems that the record will be an obscure mix of raw hardcore, old-school thrash, and even some primitive black metal - not to forget our Celtic Frost influences. For us it is important that the full-length has the right kind of material mixed together - not just 25+ hc-songs in a row.
Will you bring some Carnival merch for the tour? And one more request … I have never drink kilju, can you bring some with you ? I’ll trade for local homebrew … deal?
Yes, we will bring all the records that are not sold out by then, and maybe some t-shirts or patches, who knows? We have never drunk so much kilju, because Hannu, Vesa and Jani (they're two years older than me) got used to making home made wine in an early age (ok, it's like kilju but better.) Perhaps we can bring some of that? It's total d-i-y alcohol punk madness, haha! If that sounds interesting to you, then it's a deal!