Hi all,
Her some of the lates tour dates for August and September 2003 in Europe

Upcoming performances 2003
SAT 02.08. ANKKAROCK, Finland  
FRI 08.08. TAUBERTAL FESTIVAL, Germany  
FRI 15.08. OPEN AIR GAMPEL, Switzerland  
SAT 16.08. HIGHFIELD, Germany  
THU 28.08. PUKKELPOP is CANCELLED !!, Belgium  
FRI 29.08. TERREMOTO FESTIVAL, Weeze, Germany        
FRI 05.09. WEMBLEY ARENA with Ozzy, London  
SUN 07.09. NEC, Birmingham with Ozzy  
TUE 09.09. AHOY, Rotterdam with Ozzy  
WED 10.09. ARENA, Oberhausen with Ozzy  
SAT 13.09. ARENA, Helsinki with Ozzy  
MON 15.09. GLOBEN, Stockholm with Ozzy  
TUE 16.09. SPEKTRUM, Oslo with Ozzy    
FRI 19.09. HALLENSTADION, Zurich with Ozzy  
SAT 20.09. STADION, Salzburg with Ozzy  
MON 22.09. SCHLEYERHALLE, Stuttgart with Ozzy  
WED 24.09. STADTHALLE, Wien with Ozzy  
THU 25.09. OLYMPIAHALLE, Munich  

Interview with Ville Valo 28.01.02 in Helsinki / Finland

(WARNING: Finnisch-Ironic Humor included!!!)



1.) Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
V: What do I like to do in my spare time...mmh I like to sleep, unfortunately it's impossible because of all this promotion...this is torture...basically to bath and read good books and you know, ... high culture is my hobby....

2.) Q: Is an acoustic guitar part of your luggage when you travel?
V: Well, nowadays it is...or usually I just purchased for the German tour I just bought myself a really cool Gibson guitar, which is like the same sort of a model that Elvis Presley used to play. Yeah, I do! I have this sort of Johnny Cash fixation, so I do tend to carry around with me...and a laptop for internet porn.

3.) Q: Between the five with you in your band. Will you all choose different holiday locations?
V: Basically, I had my last holiday in `91...we had like two weeks off basically in Rome on tour, but yeah we do ...Gas is going to watch some hockeymatches in the United States of America, Linde and Migé just went to Nepal (Kathmandu) and I don't know where Burton goes. He is a mystery man, so don't have a clue.

4.) Q: Are you gonna have a holiday soon?
V: No! I have a mission to accomplish. To record a new album. So, I don't have any time to have any holidays. Unfortunately...this is my holiday.

5.) Q: You are nominated for the German Echo-Award in 2002. What do you think about getting an award in general?
V: Well, if you get an award which is presented to you by Iggy Pop then it is really cool. But otherwise I don't really care...but it is nice when the viewers sort of like ...they give their calls and it's a viewer's choice thing. That's cool. But when there is like a some celebraties like just picking one band or artist out of a million that's pretty sick to my opinion.

6.) Q: What about the German Echo-Award, which one is it?
V: which one is it...I don't have the clue about the Echos. It might be that we got one...but I have really really bad memory nowadays. I smoked to much hash when I was younger. You shouldn't be doing that. It's very, very bad for the shortterm memory. But ECHO, well that's the sort of like very critically acclaimed thing. Well, that's cool- you know- we get free flights to Germany, free booze and get hang around with a bunch of models and the record company is offering us cocaine- that's cool...

7.) Q: Where do you plan to be in five years time?
V: Five years then I'm gonna be 30...so if I am to maintain a status being a legend I have to die when I'm 27 so let's see what happens, but....30, ähm...hopefully fishing in Marocco. A couple of my friends are doing that. It supposed to be really good.

8.) Q: What motivates you?
V: Well, my motivation... it's just music. It's an obsession anyway just gotta do it...so...it's a drug. It's a badthing- you know- basically I'm hooked.

9.) Q: The Music motivates you?
V: Yeah, basically yeah. A lot of things motivates me: Cars, Mc Donald's, ähm...what else...arts in general. Mc Donald's is art. Mc Donald's is also murder. Meat is murder. Remember that.

10) Q: Is the break the only opportunity to keep HIM alive?
V: Well, to keep us alive...we would...you'll never know how long a band is going to be together. You know we are five different personalities. Gas is like the overbloated fat fellow who's trying to lose some weight now which is cool. But everybody is so different in the band so it's hard - you know- hard to keep the whole thing going on. Yeah, we write new songs and we are feeling very, very good about the next album which we gonna hopefully record in next autumn and release early next year.You know, shortterm plans. It's better that way, you know.

11) Q: Are there any songideas for the next album already and if so in what direction are you heading with HIM?
V: It is hard to say before you go into the studio...and there is a producer and - you know- different sort of equipment which we are using. It's always pretty weird, because you just turn one knob and it's going to be totally different. So you never know in advance, but hopefully it's going to be a bit rougher. That's what we are going to do with the album anyway. Basically I consider the first three albums to be sort of like a trilogy and now we have to start from the beginning again. You know, to start to like a sort of like create something new totally and not just to continue the boring chapters which are already written. So, hopefully it's going to be a bit more Stooges and you know...Or basically we check out the Billboard-Charts and you know what...whoever is top of the charts we usually try to rip off from them or copy them. It is much possible. So, hopefully it's not gonna be a Ricky Martin this year...

12.) Q: What qualities should be on the next HIM album if you compare it with the "Deep Shadows & Brilliant Highlights"?
V: What qualities? What qualities...well,...

13.)Q: Will it remind? Will it be a continuous process developed from the...?
V: No. That's basically what I just told you- you know- ...in a sense that I consider that... We are doing albums... You know, basically "Deep Shadows & Brilliant Highlights" is a good album, but we can't continue in that sense, because in that way because it is pretty mainstream. We...of course we want to be part of mainstream . We want to have loads of money and loads of Echo-Awards , but we are no hookers, so -you know- just trying to do what feels best in the moment.

14.) Q: Did the album-tour-album-tour cycle harm your creativity personally?
V: Now, album, tour, album, tour...-cycle.Yeah, it does because we don't have any time, you know. That's basically what happened with "Deep Shadows & Brilliant Highlights" and that's one of the reasons I'm not 100 % satisfied with that. But it's a cool album anyway...but it's a different thing. Personally... artistically I like our first album the best, because we had loads of time to develop the music there, because that was the first thing we worked together for about five years before. So, you can...you know cycle things around in your mind and try to, you know, be better every day. This is the reason for the break that we wanna really like to concentrate on the music. This is our fourth album and it's an important one.

15.) Q: How long is this break for?
V: I' m not sure actually. Our plan basically at the moment with this break is that...Migé and Linde they went to Nepal to have their holidays- you know- . Everybody is taking it easy, because everybody in the band was really frustrated after the tour, because we like continuously worked for about three years. Not having like a couple of days off every now and then, but really doing that tour-album-tour-album thing, so after "Razorblade Romance" so...what was the question...?

16.) Q: Did the stress in the past harm the band atmosphere?
V: The stress in them...well, we're never stressed out as a band, you know ...completely. There's people in the band who are continuosely feeling good. For example Gas. He is a happy personality. He is the one to keep us alive, you know, in many ways, because he's rather big . So if we would be stressed out because of starvation he would be a good sort of like a prey for us. He is a multitalented person in that sense...

17.) Q: What changes have you made in your personal life that you are the most proud of?
V: mmmhhh....ähmmm...Well, I haven't changed so much in the past couple of years. I don't know I haven't made any conscious- you know- changes . Well, maybe I'm trying to take it a bit more relaxed- you know- nowadays. Not working my ass of - you know- meeting my friends and playing pool and playing chess... I don't have to be write music all the time or stresssing me about that. So, that's basically one of the changes....probably.

18.) Q: What have you learned from the last HIM record?
V: That you should...the big lesson we learned making "Deep Shadows & Brilliant Highlights" was that we learned that we are not supposed to be hookers for the industry. And we are not supposed to be having a sort of family mentality with the record company people. There is a couple of personalities which we worked closely with ...who have been there from ...äh since the beginning ...then there was loads of like...too many cooks. Telling their own opinions. Opinions are like assholes. Everybody's got one except Noman (?!??!). That's why they are so big .

19.)Q: What would be the result if you decide the songwriting process for the next album right now?
V: If I had...??? I'm constantly - you know- constantly at the moment I'm working on new stuff, so ...there's a couple of songs I wrote last year, but most of it... I'm working on most of it now. I don't know- you know- it's gotta be a bit different. Lyrically & musically, but it's still gonna be the same. Those same three chords - you know- trying to rip off "Wicked Game" over and over again. You know, that's our mission.

20.) Q: How long is Ville Valo able to relax from songwriting?
V: I just lost a girlfriend and I bought myself a guitar which is like the substitute for the particular person. I basically sleep with the guitar ....and there is couple of holes in there...as well, so...whatever...so, basically it's impossible to take a break there. No, every... like a couple of hours everyday. So, basically- you know- I wake up start playing guitar, search for some funny sexsites from the internet and then I go and play some pool and drink a couple of beers and then I start all over again. That's what I do.

21.) Q: So is it that like for example breaking up with the girlfriend will that affect your music - the way you write songs?
V: Oh, it's hard to say. Everyday life affects the whole thing, you know. In everybodies' lifes, whatever they're doing of course it affects the mood and stuff like that. Now it's getting pretty dark here in Finland. Well, it's been dark for a while so probably it's going to be a very doomish and very gloomy and very gothic...the record which I'm going to do. I don't know, you know...let's see. But Migé and Linde they still don't want to wear any black clothes, so that's a problem for a gothic imagery. And Linde and Gas are too fat to be Goths. Overfat Vampyres...that's what I call them.

22.) Q: How would your best friend describe you?
V: All my best friends basically call me a cunt. That's probably the best way to describe it. I'm egocentrical...and alcoholic...and a very boring personality with no sense of humour at all.

23.) Q: And would you like to say something for all the fans?
V: Hello people...äh...ich liebe dich...tschüss!