SHIRAZ LANE interview

Shiraz Lane on ‘Carnival Days’, videogames, dreams, Ghost, fans and local gossip

Hello, guys!

Joel & Jani: Hello there, what’s up?

You released a new album half a year ago (‘Carnival Days’). So how are things going? What response from the audience did you get, did it meet your expectations?

Joel: It did and it was much better than I.. not better, but bigger than I thought it would be. It’s not, you know, huuuuuge, but.. But it’s been really satisfying.

Jani: It’s been really good, you know, we played lots of shows in Finland, there were lots of people. We also had the first solo show in Helsinki, and some songs have been played on the radio.

Joel: Yeah, that didn’t happen with the first album..

Jani: So, it’s been really good. And the reviews!

Joel: The reviews are all good! And the thing I may like the most is that people get our, you know, weird things like ‘Reincarnation’. And it’s a big fan favourite on this album, so.. I like that. I thought that just some, not all of our fans, would get this song, but all of them did!

Jani: Yeah, it’s a long song with different shit going on, so..

So one of the fan favourites it ‘Reincarnation’. What are your personal favourite songs from the album then?



Joel: ‘Reincarnation’!

Jani: Yeah, probably ‘Reincarnation’, and 'Tidal Wave’..

Joel: ‘Harder to Breath’, ‘War of Mine’..

‘Reincarnation’ plus all the rest?

Joel: ..’Carnival Days’. Yeah! ‘Gotta be Real’, ‘The Crown’.. Haha!



Jani: Every song has SOMETHING in it, so..

Joel: It’s a mood thing.

Jani: Yeah, that’s why it’s hard to say, but well, if I need to pick one song, I’d say ‘Reincarnation’..

Joel: If I am in a heavy metal mood - my favourites are ‘Harder to Breathe’ and ‘War of Mine’, when I’m in this easy-going mood, then my favourite is ‘Gotta Be Real’.

Jani: But still, If I have to pick one song I’d say ‘Reincarnation’.

After the release of ‘Carnaval Days’ you have been playing at big festivals, and your career has been going upwards. What are your career goals, your dreams that you’d like to achieve?

Joel: To have a long and healthy career. There is nothing healthy about this whole thing, but, you know.. I’d like my career to be long and stable. I don’t want this overnight success like ‘Despacito’ that was popular for a few weeks and then - nothing. I’d like something more like Children of Bodom type of career. It becomes big and stays big, but it’s also long and stable.

Jani: And it would be great to tour abroad, play festivals abroad.. well, just play lots of shows and write great albums.

Joel: And like any band on the face of the earth, we, as well, would like to be the biggest band on the planet.

And headline all the festivals, of course.

Joel: Of course! And expand on Mars when it has population.

Your songs were featured in that game, ‘Wreckfest’. How do you feel about it? Have your songs been featured in games or movies before, or is it the first time?

Joel & Jani: No, it’s the first time.

Joel: And it’s brilliant, because of this game’s developer company. We, as kids, played a looot of their games. They had ‘Flatout’.

Jani: That’s the same kind of thing.

Joel: You know, the destruction derby. And we all remember the soundtracks of these games really well, even if it was like 15 years ago. So it’s mindfucking to think that some kid might be playing ‘Wreckfest’ now, and then, in 10 years, if he thinks about that game, he will remember the song as well. That’s what I’d like it to be..

Jani: That would be really cool, yeah.

Have you played it already?

Joel & Jani: Not yet!

But you look so excited that I guess you will.

Joel & Jani: Absolutely!

Joel: I’m waiting for my free copy of it. I’m not gonna buy it!

Jani: And it’s not out on PlayStation yet, it will be out later this year, so I’m probably gonna play it on the PlayStation.

Joel: I’m looking forward to hearing my song in the game.

Alright, that was one piece of the recent news that I’ve heard, but hey, you’re going to tour with H.E.A.T! How come?

Jani: Well. It’s a match made in heaven!

Joel: What else.. We met the guys when they were in Finland, and we had a great time. The tour had been already talked about.

Jani: Yeah, and that was the first time we met the guys. But Joel had met them before..

Joel: Yeah, I was photographing them. They are really nice guys, and I’m looking forward to the tour. It were the business people who made it happen of course, but we strongly suggested the business people to do so.

So I suppose you’re big fans of H.E.A.T?

Joel & Jani: Yes!

What other bands would you like to tour with, if you could choose any?

Joel: Not as the match made in heaven, but I would like to tour with Ghost, so that I could see them every night, and also play at huge arenas and stadiums. And, obviously, Guns‘n‘Roses, what else.. With a good friend of mine Noora from Battle Beast. That would be a fun thing to do, a short Europe tour or something.

Jani: Whatever rock or metal.. Nightwish, maybe.

Joel: The fuck?..

What are your favourite bands?

Jani: Ghost.

Joel: At the moment Ghost.

So you would like just to tour with your favourites.

Jani & Joel: Yeah!

Joel: Ghost is the first band in a long, long time that has made me a fanboy.

Jani: And I’m getting there as well. We went to the Ghost show in Tampere, South Park festival, three weeks ago. And that was fucking awesome! 

Joel: It’s like seeing KISS when you were 12 years old. But they are better than KISS.

Jani: The new album is really good. I love the songs and the whole live thing and stuff like Papa Emeritus, the Cardinal..

Joel: And the whole story line, everything goes into this. It’s genius. So at the moment - Ghost.

I hope one day your dreams will come true. How was your performance at Tuska this year though?

Jani: Really fucking gooood.

Joel: I would say so, yeah.

Jani: We’ve played in that big hall, and it was packed! And sweaty. We’ve played a good show, and the audience liked it. There was a special connection between us and the audience. Really great.

And that’s your second time at Tuska.

Joel: Yes, first time was in 2015.

Jani: And we also played at Tuska Heatseeker. This is the pre-party show before the festival.

Oh, I’ve been there as well, that was great. You played with Santa Cruz back then. Speaking of which, what do you think about their break-up? You’re the only band that is left at the hard rock scene right now, well, maybe not the only one, but..

Joel: But on the Finnish scene - yes..

Yeah, I mean the most popular young Finnish bands.

Jani: I feel sorry for the guys, you know, they had to make this hard decision to leave the band. But shit just happens. Well, of course, this is kind of a good thing for us, because.. well, you know..

Joel: The sad answer is.. it was, you know, kind of expected. If you’ve seen what happens close enough. But it’s not my business to go into that, so I won’t. But I wish them all the luck in the world, and I hope everything will come out great for them. Because, of course, they all are going to continue with music, and I really do hope that all of them do a great job in anything they have planned.

Have you planned any new releases this year?

Jani: A new music video.

Any new ideas or riffs, maybe?

Jani: We are starting to write, but I don’t know..

Joel: I don’t think we are going to release anything this year.

Jani: I think that would be too early to start going to the studio. But still, we are making new music for the next year. 

Joel: The process for the third one has started, but I have no idea what’s going to happen and when.

Jani: Probably next year there will be something. A new single maybe. And a new music video is coming out next month.

Can you give us a hint about the new music video?

Joel: Different, humorous..

Jani: And no instrument. Or, no playing.

No playing?

Joel: Yeah, different.

Oh, that’s exciting! What would you say to your possible new fan, who doesn’t know anything about your music? How would you persuade him to watch this video or listen to your songs?

Joel: It doesn’t matter if you like pop or heavy metal or whatever.. If you want to hear a good song or an album that has diversity in it - check out ‘Carnival Days’ - and most likely you’ll find at least something you’ll really enjoy.

Jani: Hopefully you’ll find a lot of things you like. Kick-ass rock’n’roll!

Joel: And something more.

You recommended ‘Carnival Days’ on the spot. Do you think your new album is better than the previous one?

Joel: Easily.

Jani: Better songs, better sound production, better riffs. Everything is better.

Joel: It just feels better.

Do you have any songs that you’re ashamed of then? Like, you listen to them now when you have ‘better’ material and think: «Oh my god, I couldn’t have written THAT!»

Joel: Yes, from the time that I was not in the band yet. Haha. I actually have two EP’s that are not.. anywhere.

Jani: Well, you can say anything. I can’t say that, because I didn’t write that.

Joel: You were playing them.

Jani: We can also talk about the first band songs.. Haha. But I’m not ashamed of them. We were young men, we had just started, you know. Not big. So I’m not ashamed of them. Of course they were not that good. But if you think about our latest albums, I’d say there are no songs I’d be ashamed of.

Joel: And if there was some kind of nativity - we weren’t ready for that song. But it’s not a problem. We don’t need to listen to it, but we don’t need to be ashamed of what we have done either, because it was a picture of that time, a picture of our mindsets and souls at that time. That was something we wanted to do, and we did it, it had to happen. Be proud. No shame.

What was the most memorable experience with your fans?

Joel: I like the fan tattoos that I get.

Jani: Yeah, that is certainly one of the biggest experiences.

Joel: That’s a huge thing. It’s huge for us. And obviously we’ve done something huge for these fans, that they decided get something needled into their skin for the rest of their lives.

Jani: Also some gifts from fans, and when you see people travelling for gigs from faraway countries, or from one gig to another. You see some people every night. And you get along with them, that’s great.

Joel: I don’t know if she reads this, and I don’t need to say her name, but I want to say hi to you! To the British girl that came from the Great Britain to Germany to travel after us to Poland, then, I guess, back to Germany. She followed us for about 4 shows and then, when we went to the UK, she was there as well. We went near her, so it was not needed to come to the Central Europe to see the show, but she did, and that was pretty cool! All these things matter, you know. The dedication.

And last but not least, since I am from Russia, would you want to say something to your Russian fans?

Jani: Hope to see you soon!

Joel: Actually we are working on it. So, hopefully, we can come to Russia soon and see all of you there.

Author: Ksenia Klishina

All photos from https://vk.com/shirazlaneband.