All: Hahahaha.
Jarkko: That´s always a question that we have been asked.
Nils: First, "Trio Niskalaukaus" sounds better than for example "Quartet Trio Niskalaukaus" (laughter) em, "Quartet Niskalaukaus" or something like that. There is no specific reason.
Jari: It just sounds better this way.
Ok. So there is nothing like in the beginning you started as a Trio?
All: No, never.
Jarkko: We´ve had - wait a minute (asking Seppo) - we´ve had six members at one point in this band. So there is not - it´s nothing but a name.
For how long does TRIO NISKALAUKAUS exist?
Nils: For 7 years now. Some members have changed over the years. Me and Seppo have been original members. So you can see.
Jari, you told me yesterday the lyrics are very important. Those lyrics are in German or Finnish. Does one of you speak German?
All: No. None of us.
Jari: Timo has studied German language for 5 years. But he can´t make a real conversation.
Nils: Maybe order some meal or beer in a restaurant, but... His pronunciation is based on imitation.
That´s better than my Finnish though.
Jari: Yes, there´s very much hard work in this album.
"In frostigen Tälern" was translated by Teemu Kautonen of Eternal Tears Of Sorrow/Wizzard. What´s with him now, what is he doing now?
Jarkko: I don´t know.
Nils: We haven´t heard of him since a year and a half now. We don´t know what he´s doing now.
Jarkko: Hopefully he´s alive. Greetings, if he reads this.
Who did the translation this time?
It was German language professor Pekka Kujamäki. He did all the German translation. Plus, Timo had a German language teacher in the studio, a women called Nina Nieminen.
Why did you record a second German album?
Nils: Martin Purr from Cyclone Empire wanted us to do.
Jari: So we were like: "Why not".
Jarkko: We put out "In frostigen Tälern" and we thought that´s it. But now Martin wanted us to do a second album, and we were like "ok".
We haven´t got better things to do.
Back to the lyrics. You have got a bunch of people outside the band who are writing the lyrics, right?
Nils: There are many writers. For example Jarkko Martikainen...
Jari: Who is our producer also.
Nils: Reidar Palmgren, a Finnish actor. He, for example is a good friend of us.
Why do they write lyrics for you?
(Everybody´s laughing, Finnish words are booming across the room, again more laughter...)
Nils: Because they are good writers.
The topics are a bit strange for Germans, even if you translate them to German language. I think you have to dig deep in Finnish mentality to understand a bit of it. can you explain something about it? Lots of those lyrics are about loneliness. Where are you from, are you from the countryside?
Jarkko: No, we live in the center of Finland, in a small town.
Nils: ... with about 80.000 inhabitants.
Jarkko: I don´t know. Maybe because we are so lonely and sad. Actually it´s more like a Finnish mentality. It´s got to do something with our feelings. Stop. Ok. That´s bullshit. If you think that we´re so sad, because of the winter, the cold winter or something like that. But, I don´t know. It comes from somewhere, I don´t know.
There are other bands from Finland, like for example SENTENCED, who are more ironic about this Finnish mentality. You lyrics seem to be really straight - or is there a kind of irony hidden somewhere?
Jarkko: There is some slight irony as well, but I think that people often don´t.. because we look so seriously. But with our stories, sometimes they are ironic.
What happens first - do you first get the lyrics from your friends, or do you write the music first?
Nils: Timo has the first idea of a song and if he does the lyrics himself or gives them to somebody else to do this. He has the main theme of the song.
What does "Nyt on Mies" mean?
Jari: "Now is man".
Nils: It´s like the adress of an impression. When somebody is doing something overwhelming and all the guys around him are like "wow!, you´re the man!"
Jari: That´s "Nyt on mies!"
There is another thing in Finnish mentality I never understood: What is "sisu"?
Jari: it´s also candy. (laughter)
Nils: It´s like when you walk against the wall - with no help or something, you just push something very hard, that´s sisu.
Do you thing that some of your lyrics as well as the duration of some of your songs would be best described with "sisu"?
Nils: A few songs, maybe. Like "Nyt On Mies", yeah. "Nyt On Mies" is that kind of song. Some do fit, some don´t.
What are you expecting from this tour? I do remember the HIM tour where the crowd was not really into your music.
Nils: I don´t think we have this much of expectation. We just expect to have fun on this tour.
Jarkko: That is like a vacation. Vacation work in Germany and in German.
So touring in Finland is not a vacation compared to this one?
All: No!!!
Nils: It´s hard work.
Jari: This is our third tour in this year. If you take a look at our faces...
Nils: ...than you can see something of that. You can see the miles we did.
So you played every place in Finland where there is a stage?
Jari: Almost.
Jarkko: Look. Finland is of course not a big country and there´s are a few places which are very cool and there are some, we call them Nakiputka in Finnish...
Nils: "Sausage shop"
Jarkko: ...which are just some bar or like that. We´ve been touring a lot lately.
That sounds like miles and miles and miles. And lonelyness.
All: (Laughter again.)
Nils. Many, many miles and lots of empty bottles.
Tuomas Holopainen of Nightwish was just looking around the corner. What kind of role do friends of yours like Eicca Toppinen (Apocalyptica) or Tuomas play? Are they any influential, or are they just supportive friends?
Nils: They are supportive friends, they didn´t influence on the music in this album. We just asked them to play and they were like "Yeah!"
And there are a lot of people who are quite popular in Germany who are doing free promotion for you, for example Ville Valo is sometimes wearing a T-shirt of yours.
Nils: That´s very nice.
Years ago Ville was wearing Impaled Nazarene T-shirts and in the end Mikka didn´t even allow him to do some background shouts on their record back then. What would you do if he comes up and likes to play bass on some songs on the next album for example?
All: (yelling with laughter)
Nils: Maybe those guys kick me out of the band after this tour...
Jarkko: And we would say you are so fucking drunk.
Jarkko (now very earnest): On this tour, Everything started out with Tuomas. If he wouldn´t be... He is a very good friend of ours. He gave us the opportunity to tour with him.
All are talking Finnish and there is even more laughter.
Jarkko: I love Tuomas so much.
Nils: We all love Tuomas. And Tuomas loves us, too. Em, that was a little bit gay.
But fine for the famous last words.
Nils: That´s true. We really love Tuomas. And the other guys and one girl in that band.
Jarkko: Not girl. Women.
