KORPIKLAANI - "Our Merch Guy Almost Got Killed Once By A Fan Because We Didn’t Play 'Happy Little Boozer'"
December 24, 2011, 12 years ago
Mark Morton at the Examiner recently caught up with KORPIKLAANI guitarist Cane (real name: Kalle Savijärvi) and vocalist/guitarist Jonne Järvelä. An excerpt from the interview is available below:
Q: What goes into the emotional base of each album? The last album, Karkelo was light and romping, but the one before it, Korven Kuningas, was really dark.
Cane: "Of course, we have different kinds of feelings that we put into our music. And what we noticed over time is that people actually want both sides of us."
Q: Do you have any difficulty bringing those worlds together live? I am reminded of W.A.S.P., which has one school of fans completely devoted to the drinking/party/fight songs and another school that swears by the progressive moodiness of The Crimson Idol.
Cane: "We’ve actually been trying to mix that all together, so that everyone gets something. People are always yelling 'Play 'With Trees'' or some other really slow song. Especially girls; I think they like the dark side of us. And the guys are always screaming 'Vodka!' (laughs)"
Q: Since you have fans of different mindsets, does it bother you at all that a portion of your fans are missing out on a big part of Korpiklaani’s charm just because they focus their energy on the drinking songs?
Cane: "Well, as long as they are coming to see us for some reason, I am okay with it. And maybe they will get what they want, and maybe they won’t."
Q: Yeah, but I can’t imagine that you would do a show and not play 'Vodka'. Do you feel obligated to play certain songs, because a portion of your fan base is so loyal to that side of you?
Cane: "No, because we don’t actually play those songs all the time."
Jonne: "But our merch guy almost got killed once by a fan, because we didn’t play 'Happy Little Boozer'."
Click here for the complete interview.