Taken from Vampire Free Press - February 2001 issue

Coming Out of The Smoke Screen: The Monroe Stalgerholm Interview

Although he rarely grants interviews, unless they are for regarding his career, Monroe Stalgerholm has decided to forgo a little of his precious privacy to give Vampire Free Press an exclusive, personal interview.

Like Blues, Monroe is approximately 38 years old. And like Blues he was wise with his finances and is quite well off. Unlike Blues, Monroe marketed his various talents, which are in both the musical, and artistic fields, to get his money. He is also a famous pin up star of Japanese girls’ comic books, which is how he got his start in 1987, in Japan. His trademark, platinum locks and outstanding attractiveness has set him apart from the competion.

But he is a prisoner of his good looks, and high profile. This is often his motivation for keeping his life very confidential. Unless a person is very close to Monroe it is nearly impossible to know much about him. This cloistering has spawned many rumours about him. “It is time”, he said that those “rumours were to be destroyed once and for all.”. This is what he intends to do with this interview.

He flew to London for the meeting. We set up shop, as it were, in a hotel room that was not his. He admitted he was staying elsewhere. He was well dressed, in casual clothes. Casual, having a ‘rock star’ quality. A loose, white shirt with purple stars on it, black jeans, boots, and plenty of jewelry. When asked about the various trinkets he wore, he remarked that all were gifts from his fans. He wore them to show his appreciation. He also said he was just “used to them”. He wore a little eyeliner, and no other make-up. His trimmed nails were painted purple to match his shirt. His tale tell tattooes were all covered except a small black paw and muzzle of a panther tattoo on his upper forearm, where his left sleeve was rolled.

He had been up all night working on projects, and listening to music. He had also checked out a few local bands. He was allowed to sing a few songs with a band at Blues’ Born Again Electric club. He said “Blues was not in attendance.”. Despite the lack of sleep he was energetic, pleasant, and very sweet.

VFP: “ You wanted to get this whole mess sorted out, am I right?”

MS: “ Right. I was rather shocked when I saw the interviews Finn[Stalgerholm] and Blues[Von Hulkol] gave. I don’t actually read Vampire Free Press myself. Saigon[Jaffe] had an advanced copy and sent it to me.”

VFP: “ Were you surprised by their words?”

MS: “ Not by Blues. I have put up with his antics for years, and have gotten used to them sadly enough. Finn, I can’t be too angry with, he did the least damage. He tries never to be as bad as Blues, but when the two get together well, it’s bedlam. Normally the two are quite responsible. . . I cannot figure what Saigon did to get them so upset, though and neither can he. I have given up trying to understand Blues and Finn.

VFP: “ Do you think the friendship can be salvaged?

MS: “ At this point anything can happen. Both Saigon and I have walked away from the gang a number of times. We come back each time. Blues and Finn need the gang. They identify themselves as gangers. I try to be more than that. I dislike the politics that go on. Territories, money, alliances, it’s bullshit to me. Finn is my brother and because of that, if he is willing to apologise, I will reconsider leaving Hanoi Boys, again, should I leave, that is.”

VFP: “You’re not going to commit to a statement on that?”

MS: “ No.”

VFP: “ Speaking of Finn, being your brother, has that made things better for you? Is he a burden for you?”

MS: “ I would never call Finn a burden ever. He saved my life. His family took me in when I needed caring for. I may call Finn many things in the heat of an argument, but never ever is he a burden to me.”

VFP: “ Since Stalgerholm isn’t your real name, and unlike your gang brothers you don’t seem to go by a gang name, is Monroe your real name?”

MS: “ Not that it is really a matter to me, but I will give you an exclusive, here. Stalgerholm is my adopted name, as is Monroe. I don’t like to be reminded of that, so I do not go by my real name, which is, by the way,  Makke Hejari. Like with my Stalgerholm name, I have no middle name, or gang name. Monroe is sort of my gang name.

I do not like to be reminded of the Hejaries. To me, the Stalgerholms are my family, they are the ones who gave me the love and encouragement, I not only deserved but needed desperately.

I can’t say much for my adopted siblings, they treated Finn like shit. They hated me muscling in on their relationship with their beloved mumma, so they treated me like shit too. But Mumma and Isa[Stalgerholm] were saints in my eyes. Especially Mumma. She was a saviour. When everyone else saw an animal, when they looked at me, she saw a child who needed her love. It was unconditional love, which I never knew until then.. Mumma gave her love to all us Hanoi Boys. Her and Isa were the only ones who cared about us.

VFP: “ Since you are moving backwards, it seems, why don’t we atleast talk about your childhood. It has been shrouded in mystery, abounding with rumours.”

MS: “ I’m uncomfortable speaking about that subject.[ Monroe shifted in his chair. He twisted a lock of hair on his finger, and narrowed his blue eyes.] The Hejaries were terrible people and I won’t give them power by reliving the past. That portion of my past does not exist for me."

VFP: “ Did the Hejaries, beat you?”

MS: “ Naturally.”

VFP: “ There have been rumours, of heinous indifference, neglect, mental, physical, and sexual abuse. There was even a rumour you were kept in a dog cage.”

MS: “ Lets not go there. The dog cage, for one, is not a lie, though. I know where that rumour began, and it is true. I was kept in a dog pen which was about 4 foot by 5 foot, by the Hejaries. There was enough room for me to sit or lie down, but not stand. As I said before I don’t want to give them any power, by keeping them inside my head. I had to let go a lot, and with it, goes a great deal of the pain involved.

This much I will tell you. When I was a kid, I was thought of as stupid, as inferior to the others of my age. The way I looked singled me out as something to be beaten up, ridiculed. I have spent years not only over coming those ghost, but being successful at proving them all wrong. I went from no language skills whatsoever, to being fluent in five languages. I prefer to speak English as much as possible. And it has been said, and I acknowledge this myself, that when I am frustrated I forget my English and revert the the language I know best.”

VFP: “ What language is that? Finnish?”

MS: “ Surprisingly , no. I revert into Jippenish[Language started by Jeepinah youths in the late 60’s, a hodge-podge of various languages.]. I think in Jippenish too.”

VFP: “ I would have thought it would be Finnish. You were born in Helsinki, Finland, right?”

MS: “ It’s only assumed I was born in Helsinki. No one knows for sure what part of Finland I was born in. I was merely found in Helsinki. As far as speaking Finnish, I was taught only basic words at first, by the Stalgerholms,  I had a real trouble with them. Jippenish I learned as my first real language. Finnish and the other languages came after that.”

VFP: “ You don’t like talking about yourself much, do you?”

MS: “ Not really, no. I enjoy talking about my career, my comics, and such. I am not thrilled with the thought of strangers knowing all about me, when I don’t know anything about them. It’s not a fair trade.”

VFP: “ No one said life was fair.”

MS: “ You don’t have to tell me!” [Monroe smiled, a famous smile.]

VFP: “ Why comic books?”

MS: “ Why not? When me and the boys had a stopover in Japan, way back in the 70’s, I took an interest in the genre. I began to draw then.

I came back here and got my start with the pin ups. Then they found out I could actually draw, and jumped on that. I did my first series 'Polar Voice' for Shogankukan, in 1988, lasted for a few years. It was made into a feature cartoon, in 1989, that still gets played on American cable television stations. When it was found I could actually sing, they had me do the music for the film, and I got promoted as a musician as well. There are scores of platinum blond Japanese boys who were influenced by me.

I have had two other successful series, for Shogankukan and their 'Young Sunday'[ Comics for teenaged boys.] bi-weekly books, 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams', and 'Nasty Vamp'. I enjoyed 'Polar Voice' and ' Boulevard ' the most. They were truer to who I was, not 'Nasty Vamp'. I threw that together for a quick sell. It was all T & A, and not much else. I get the most praise for 'Polar Voice' strangely enough. It became a break through for foriegn artists in Japan. 'Polar voice' for me is very personal, it was written out of pain, and grievance.”

VFP: “ Recovering from the loss of your gang and Baz[Basil Razadal]?”

MS: “ Most definitely. The first issue was dedicated to Baz.”

VFP: “ The other guys have said he completed the gang. That he was very important to them.”

MS: “ I agree with that whole heartedly. Baz was a great guy. He gets a bad rap as a drunk, a party animal. He wasn’t perfect, but he took the time to teach us boys how to read, speak, and write in English. No one else would. Baz helped us assimilate into the scene. We wouldn’t have stayed long in Los Angeles if he hadn’t come along. We would have gone off to London, or taken our chances in Sweden.

 He had no idea, he was a Finn. His family had isolated him from that whole part. They raised him as a citizen of Britain. In our village in Vietnam, we had a family of Razadals, living there. They were his relations, he never did and  never would meet. Well, probably up there. [ Monroe pointed to the ceiling. He seemed saddened for the moment.] He has a younger brother, and sister. I send them presents each year for Christmas, and each year Baz’a mumma sends them back.

They live in denial that he was part of a gang, and that he was Finnish at all. It cost him his life in the long run, if you ask me. I have had some conversations with his mother, Inge, and they were not good ones. The Razadals are prejudice against all Finns and all gangers. It is very sad. When we buried Baz, they wouldn't attend his funeral. Baz deserved better than that. It was bad enough he was forced to die alone.”[Monroe stopped and looked out the window, collecting himself. After all these years he has yet to fully recover from Baz’s death.]

VFP: “ One of the things that is most rumoured about is your um.. “

MS: “ Get on with it, my what?”[ He fixed his large, baby blues back on me.]

VFP: “ Your sex life. Blues had referred to you as “An ice prince”, and frigid. Others had insinuated you were homosexual or bi-sexual. Where does  the truth lie there?”

MS: “ This is the last fucking time I am going to say this, I am in no way gay! If thats what you’re into fine by me, just don’t go making me out to be something I am not. I am very very straight! Men have wanted me, but I don’t want them in the least!

I don’t understand why appearances play so much a role in what people think about a person. They look at me and see my make-up or my nailpolish, my jewelry and get the idea I’m gay. Most gay men I've met have been very muscular, and masculine. They don’t show any interest in me, usually. . . Thank goodness for that. . . I am not typical of the “look”. I am not a transvestite or gay, happy?

Some of this started when I hit it off with Gator [ S. “Gator” Bostra]. We met on a street corner. He was in bad shape and I looked after him, for cash. He had a fixation on youth. He had been robbed of his, and ever since had a sort of fascination with it. I was barely 23 when I met him. He liked having me around. We were very good friends and I took good care of him. We were friends only! I don’t care what anyone else says! It was the same with Thunder [ Johnee Westurn]. Just good friends.

Actually, Gator has junior. I send the boy’s mother money every month for his welfare, since Gator can’t do it himself. Thunder, has a boy,who’s older, named J.T. . I send his mother money too. They were good guys and I miss them as much as I miss Baz.”

VFP: “ You’re a good guy, for that Monroe. But we got off track. You have destroyed the gay myth, but the ice prince? Most are hardpressed to find an ex-girlfriend.”

MS: “ It is true, that I have not had as many ‘adventures’ as my gang brothers. Then again I am not half rabbit, like them, either. Vampire groupies were always after me. They wanted me as a notch on their bedpost. I’m not like that. I have no interest in being a conquest.

Girls would try to bargain me off, in order to show up their friends. They didn’t love me, they just wanted me. They wanted to go back and brag that they fucked Monroe Stalgerholm. They didn’t care about anything else. I had to get good and high in order to take part in the gang bangs. I would have rather sat in with the band that was playing at the parties, which I did most nights, than screw groupies.

But I have had relationships. They have always been bad, but I have had them. A couple years ago, I  had broken it off with a woman, who had my child. At least we think it is mine. I am dubious. We are awaiting the results of a blood test. He is blond, he looks a little like me, other than that I can’t say much else.”

VFP: “ What’s the boy’s name?”

MS: “ Nikki, however I don’t want to identify him any more than he has to be. I think he’d be better off not being my son, because of The Exterminators[The group who is assasinating all Finnish vampires]. I do get to see him now and again, and take care of him. We aren’t close though.”

VFP: “ Are you in a relationship currently?”

MS: “ Yes, I am. “

VFP: “ What is she like?”

MS: “ She is unlike any of the she-vamps you see around. She’s not like the groupies either. She loves me for me, and not what I look like. I have known her off and on for years. She is my equal, in my opinion.”

VFP: “ What do your gang brothers think of her?”

MS: “ They say I can do better.”

VFP: “ Why would they say that?”

MS: “ As I had said she is not like the typical girls who run around in the gangers circles.  She is rather 'normal', I think is the word. She is extremely talented and we work a lot together. She is my partner in every way.”

VFP: “ Do you live together, you and your mystery woman?”

MS: “ No, not at this time. She lives out in the Japanese countryside. I still live in Tokyo. I do go, every chance I get, and stay with her. I get more work done then. She moved to Japan to be closer to me. She is someone I can trust.”

VFP: “ Are you going to tell us her name, or do we have to guess? What does this woman look like? What is she like? You have to throw us a bone, Monroe!”

MS: “ For her sake, I’d rather leave her out of this.”[ He looked serious.]

VFP: “Please! You’re making me beg!”

MS: “ Alright![ he smiled.] She is around my age, which probably surprises most people. And she has dark hair and eyes. You might call her plain but then I’d have to punch you, because I think she’s beautiful. But that is all I am saying! I want her to be respected, and that means her privacy as well.”[ It was later determined, through other sources, that this lady was his associate on the 'Polar Voice' soundtrack, long time collabourator, Judah Fire. She is a well liked, and respected musician, and lyricist, in the music and vampire scene.]

VFP: “ We will lay off you about your love life. It’s just so many readers are interested in you.”

MS: “ I just don’t want to break any hearts.”

VFP: “ Totally understood.”

MS: “ Thank you.”

VFP: “ Back to Blues.[Monroe leaned back in his chair, rolling his eyes, smiling behind his limp hand, which flopped at the end of his arm which rested on one of the chair’s arm rests. He crossed one leg, over his knee.]

MS: “ Do we really have to talk about him?”

VFP: “ Well, we didn’t get to fully go into what you two’s relationship is like.”

MS: “ It’s relationshipwrecked!”

VFP: “ If Blues is such a bad guy , why put up with him all these years? Why not disassociate yourself with him?”

MS: “ No, I couldn’t just drop Blues. I can’t really explain it. It’s like a totally fucked up marriage. He needs me to be his foil. Blues needs someone to argue that the sun is the moon, when it’s clearly the sun, or vice versa depending on how right he wants to be, or contentious. He's got an incredible mean streak when he wants to. That takes some getting used to.

Blues gets off on being an asshole. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he had to be good all the time. I imagine he’d snap. He has to be the baddest boy on the block. It’s just the way he is. He is a liar, a thief and a drug addict. It is hard for me to forgive him for stealing from me that one necklace. He could have taken anything else and I would have forgiven it, but not the necklace. I don't know where he got the idea the snake was leather. It isn't a leather necklace, it is all metal. The scales, were rows of black metal in rings. The head and tail were gold painted silver. The eyes were plastic gems. It was a cheap necklace, Gator bought and gave to me, later. Luckily, I still own the bracelet that matched. Blues would steal the coins off a dead man's eyes, and the gold out of the teeth, when he's on a bender. He can't be trusted on the little things in life.

However, he had never let me down when it came to the big things. . If I needed him there asap, he was there. If I was in trouble, he had my back. He always stuck up for me. Deep inside he does not dislike me as much as he would claim. And true deep inside I don’t dislike him as much as I act like I do. Blues has got to be the man, and for him that means reducing me sometimes. It hurts, me when he does. But he does apologise, later.”

VFP: “ Some people have said he must have a unconscious desire to be with you. His girlfriends and his wife, all share a similiar resemblance.”

MS: “ Yes, I have heard that too. His playmates and his wife, are usually young, tall, and very blond. I don’t think that has anything to do with me. Most red blooded men prefer blondes.”

VFP: “ He has called you ‘his real wife’, before.”

MS: “ Only because it aggravates me to no end! He means something totally different. Blues just doesn’t know how to phrase it otherwise. Partner is what he wants to say, but wife is what he ends up stateing. I think it shocks others so he says it all the more. He loves to shock. I talk his words with a grain of salt.”

VFP: “ So you are saying it’s been blown out of preportion?”

MS: “ Pretty much.”

VFP: “ How do you feel about Saigon? You’ve talked about, Baz, Finn and Blues, but not Saigon.”

MS: “ He gets left out a lot. What can I say about Saigon? He has always been willing to lend me a hand when I needed an extra musician, or just support. He is a good guy. He is not nearly as bad, or reckless for that matter,  as Finn and Blues. He knows his boundries.

He’s a good guy. He’s a good father too. He takes great care of his son, Sami. Sai is not like his father, who was very strict and I would call him mean. I don’t have much to say about Sai. He’s great, I adore him. He’s got an odd sense of humour, but I adore him.”

VFP: “ What else do you think needs to be said?”

MS: “ That we aren’t trying to close ourselves off . Us Hanoi Boys have just gotten use to having no support. When you get used to something like that, it’s hard to break the habit.”

VFP: “ Do you drink alcohol?”

MS: “ No.”

VFP: “ Do you use drugs?”

MS: “ I plead the fifth. I’m not a junky, though.”

VFP: “ Okay. What’s next for you?”

MS: “ My ‘Polar Voice’ series, and movie has been so successful, that I was approached by a company to do a new series of ‘Polar Voice’, which would also have a cartoon feature film, out with it within the year. ‘Boulevard’ is still in it’s first year in Shogankukan’s ‘Young Sunday’. A movie of ‘Nasty Vamp’ is slated for release in the US in spring. Musically, I just put the finishing touches on an ep of my renditions of songs by my favourite bands, it’s called ‘Million Miles Away’. Saigon donated his time on the album. It’ll be out in the next month or so. I suggest readers should check it out.”

VFP: “ What is on the horizon for you, personally?”

MS: “ That I can’t say, because I don’t know.”

VFP: “ What’s left to say?”

MS: “ Goodbye. Nahdaan! Bye!”

After the long talk, he was ready for more action. Monroe headed back out into London to look up some friends, and maybe got out to more clubs that night. He was first going to Harrods to buy a gift for Judah, and toys for his living and fallen comrades’ children. He was, later, going to see Baz’s mother again, as he does every couple years., out of habit.***

Return To Characters