Interwiev with The Vantages

«One time recently, I had a panic attack on stage»

The Vantages is a Finnish band from Helsinki, founded in 2020 by vocalist Tim Mikkola and keyboardist and guitarist Anton Froloff. Their debut single, "Leather Jacket" was released after two years of their collaboration. In November 2023, The Vantages released their debut mini-album, which included the previously released singles "Leather Jacket", "Danger" and "You", as well as the new track "Alone". The song "Danger" has received special attention so far: it has gained over a hundred thousand listens on Spotify and YouTube, as well as being played on Finland's biggest radio station YleX. The Vantages have been recognized by Soundi as promising newcomers to the Finnish scene. The musicians describe their work as "decadent love songs." The Vantages frontman Tim was kind enough to answer our questions about his relationship with Ville Valo, fanfics, the process of procrastination, and panic attacks on stage. 

First of all, I want to ask you a question that you will probably hate very soon. Which of these is true: Tim, are you Ville Valo's little brother? Are you Ville Valo's illegitimate son? Are you a spurned Ville Valo fan?

We're still waiting for the results of the DNA test, so your guess is as good as mine...

No, but in all seriousness, we're not related, nor am I a spurned fan. We've met and talked, he's a kind soul and very talented at what he does. If I can be compared to those qualities - I'm very flattered.

In my opinion, you have more of a Jim Morrison vibe. How much are you into 60's and 70's music?

Extremely. Well, maybe not as much anymore as I used to be. I went through a bit of a phase when I was younger. What started out as listening to The Doors on repeat ended up being a deep appreciation for the production and sound of that era. I guess you can kind of hear it on the EP, there's a lot of stuff in there from those decades. Surf guitars, Vox organs, Wurlitzers... Stuff like that.

Some people want to know, so who owns the car from the "Leather Jacket" video? And why does the song have such a rock'n'roll name? And who's the girl in the "You" video?

As much as I'd love to claim ownership, the beautiful green '65 Pontiac Bonneville belongs to a friend of my moms. He was kind enough to lend it to us and hang around for the roughly 13 hours we spent shooting the car scenes of the "Leather Jacket" music video. The song originally had a different working title which was quite horrendous, in the end "Leather Jacket" seemed a pretty obvious choice and we rolled with that.

As for the lovely lady in "You", let's say that she was an expensive bit of CGI...

Is it scary to be a musician now when you have to beat the competition with other young bands, with other old bands, and with technology like AI? Does artificial intelligence scare you?

I think the competition is the same as it's always been, although the world is a very different place than it was 20 or even 10 years ago. It depends a lot on what you're trying to do and where you want to end up. Despite their obvious flaws, streaming and social media have democratized music quite a bit. Let me put it this way: I don't think we'd be having this conversation had it been 2004, seeing that as of now we're an independent, unsigned band.

As for AI, I'm not really scared of its competition or of it taking the shape of Arnold Schwarzenegger and demanding my clothes, my boots, and my motorcycle. From a studio point of perspective, machine learning has the potential to make pretty awesome things if used right.

Is it hard to force yourself to do music and your own promotion when there are so many distractions in today's world like social media, phones, TV shows, and all sorts of sinful hobbies like going to the bar or having a new crush? How much time do you spend on the procrastination process?

I'm a bona fide procrastinator, but I think it's a somewhat healthy part of the creative process. Everything you do outside of writing reflects itself back into it. Going to a bar and meeting a special someone is a great prompt for a song; you've got to have something going on to have something to talk about. That being said, it's really important to stay organized. I have working hours and deadlines.

In the band, we've all got our own duties that we take care of daily: someone handles the socials, someone does maintenance on the gear, etc.

If we can believe some rumors that many musicians are pretty narcissistic people, How do you think it's just a rumor, or do you think that lifestyle leaves a mark on the character and behavior of creative people?

Good question.

I think you have to be at least a little self-absorbed to do this. There's the thing: you don't want to be 70% as good as your favorite bands; you want to be 100% up there and even better. You have to trust that you're the chosen one, like Neo in The Matrix, or like your idols were. Keeping that blind faith up requires some careful gaslighting of your self-doubts. Mind you, this is all an internal exercise—the thoughts you think when you feel like you're going down and getting a real job start to seem like a viable option. Things start getting really out of tune when people start taking it way too seriously. That's when the don't-you-know-who-I-am's start flying. It's a sad state of affairs for everyone involved.

Which musician's or band's career ending do you regret the most?

Probably Children of Bodom.

I never got to see them live or meet Alexi. They were a huge deal for me as a kid; I practiced their songs on guitar for hours on end every day. I don't know if I'd be doing what I do now had I not come across them.

Do you have any advice for a young musician to overcome their fear of going on stage? Or how do people overcome their fear of performing in public?

Just do it.

It really sucks that there's no better answer for this, but it's the only thing that works. The jitters mean that it matters a lot to you, and that's a good thing. Everybody gets nervous, and while you'll never likely stop getting nervous, you will find healthy ways to manage it the more you do it. I struggle a lot with anxiety, and most times I'm absolutely terrified before I get on stage, yet I always end up having the time of my life up there.

One time recently, I had a panic attack on stage, but guess what? Nobody noticed.

You're so much more resilient than you think; you've got this. You're a rockstar, and anyone who says otherwise can go and get fucked.

One more thing: I know it's tempting, but try not to drink before a show. The best performance you can give will always be a sober one.

Tim, you smoke a lot in your music videos. Aren't you afraid that it will make your voice worse? What do you think of the idea of a complete ban on cigarette sales that some countries want to introduce?

Weeeeeell... I try to take care of my voice the best I can, and it's true that cigarettes don't exactly help with that. While the idea of cigarettes getting banned for good gives me great anxiety, smoking is still very bad for you, and I can't recommend it to anyone.

Do you remember what the very first song you wrote was about?

Oh wow, I wish I could remember. It was probably a love song or something about beers in the park.

Do you have some sort of crush from the music world?

Anton Froloff from The Vantages. I'm blushing...

What 5 facts/stories about yourself (real or made up by people) do you find the strangest?

I haven't really heard much. It's probably the Ville Valo thing, to be honest. Oh, and there was the fan fiction about me and Anton, which was a wild read to say the least.

Is it true that Finns are very gloomy people, and that's why depressive and sad bands sell so well on the Finnish music market?

I'll have to go with a definitely maybe on this one.

I guess Finns are quite reserved and introverted people. It's also very dark and cold for most of the year. And it's also... Actually, the more I think of it, the more it makes sense.

Is it difficult to write lyrics in a language that is not your native language? Is there any chance that your imagery and speech patterns would be richer if you sang in Finnish?

I've been fluent since I was small, so I haven't had much trouble expressing myself in English. Then again, I don't think I've ever seriously tried to write in Finnish, so it's hard to say. It would be different, for sure.

I think in English certain words don't have the same sort of "weight" as they do in Finnish. As an example, the word "love" is thrown around a lot in English; people love ice cream and the dress their friend is wearing, but if I were to say that I love either of those things in Finnish, it would be a bit strange. Then again the lack of a certain weight in English makes the language more malleable, you rely more on painting a picture rather than trying not to damage the canvas.

At least that's my take on it, if it makes any sense...

I researched your social media profiles and your YouTube channel, and it's amazing. I didn't find any negative or abusive comments there. How do you think it's because you really do make such cool music or because you're not famous enough yet and the haters come with the fame and money?

I certainly hope it is because people find it cool.

Anyway, I think it's a good sign that people either love it or hate it. The single worst thing you can hear is "nice job guys," followed by a thumbs up.

Do you already have plans for what your next album will be about? Do you want to direct your creativity towards exploring your inner world, or will you explore the outer world with its problems too?

For me, it all comes from a pretty introspective place; it's an emotional outlet for me. I can't really imagine going all "God Save The Queen" anytime soon.

The first EP was basically cutouts of my diary. A streak of failed relationships, of which some were abusive, being lost and self-destructive—you know, that sort of thing. It was a pretty emotionally draining process for me; I was still going through a lot of it in my head at the time we recorded it. By the time it was released, I felt relief. I'd like to feel that same relief again.

Fans and journalists from time to time cross some boundaries and invade personal space or privacy. What can make you angry?

I'm happy to say that I haven't had many negative experiences with either so far. Especially our fans that I've talked to and met, who have been some of the sweetest and most supportive people you can imagine.

If you hadn't become a musician, what would you be doing?

I love producing and mixing. I'd still keep doing that. If I weren't a musician, though,

answer feels like I'm cheating. If music was completely off the table, then I'd probably work in a restaurant and dream of owning a small cafe.

What would you like to say to yourself if you could go back in time?

I would say that I love you, that you're enough, and that you matter. Oh, and stay away from the smokes.

Jenet Bonishi