HMTV Canada Tina Interviews Finland Based Overhead
www.overhead-band.com
www.myspace.com/overheadband
HMTV Canada Tina: 1. Hi Overhead How are you?
Overhead: Hello Tina, we're doing just fine!
HMTV Canada Tina: 2. What city in Finland is your band located?
Overhead: We all live in the capital city-area, Helsinki and Espoo in other words.
HMTV Canada Tina: 3. When did you form your band and who came up with the name Overhead?
Overhead: In this form the band was formed in 1999. We had been friends and played together in different bands before that too. The name Overhead was just a last minute thing when we needed a name, there's not really a bigger story behind it.
HMTV Canada Tina: 4. Who are your current band members?
Overhead: Jaakko Kettunen - guitar, Tarmo Simonen - piano and keyboards, Alex Keskitalo - vocals and flute, Ville Sjöblom - drums, and Janne Pylkkönen - bass.
HMTV Canada Tina: 5. Can you tell us about your unique style of music - major influences?
Overhead: We make music without restrictions or commercial pressure. It has been label as progressive rock and that describes it pretty well. We all have our favourite bands that we listen to from many different genres. So you could say that we are a melting pot of our own ideas and many different influences. So it all results in very versatile kind of rock music. Some bands that we listen to and you can call influences are for example Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Tori Amos, King Crimson, Metallica...
HMTV Canada Tina: 6. How has your music evolved or changed since you first began playing together?
Overhead: I'd say it's become more dynamic and atmospherical, and better composed, better melodies and arrangements. It sounds more mature and we have found our own sound and style.
HMTV Canada Tina: 7. Who writes your songs and what inspirations or topics do you write in your lyrics?
Overhead: The music we all compose together in our rehearsal room. We start jamming on some existing ideas or try and come with new ones. And sometimes the music just sort of starts flowing and almost writing itself, and new ideas arise. But everyone is involved in the writing process and has their input on the outcome. Alex writes the lyrics after the music is more or less ready. Generally they deal with humanity and emotions, from different angles and points of view.
HMTV Canada Tina: 8. What can you tell us about your album Zumanthum (2000) and Metaepitome (2005) anything from messages, inspirations challenges to producing this CD?
Overhead: Zumanthum was our first album. It was mostly recorded in our flats that we lived in at that time. Even with some limitations in the production it still sounds pretty good, although we certainly have evolved from those days. We play the title track often live. Lyrically it wonders about life and death, real and unreal and imaginary things.
Metaepitome, the second album, was received very very well. It good great reviews and many people have told us they love it. Better production and songwriting, I'm proud of it. Lyrically talks about what makes each of us what we are...among other things, anyway. The success of the album gave us name, new listeners and eventually the possibility to tour in Europe.
HMTV Canada Tina: 9. Why did Overhead drop Mellow Records Label and accept a record deal from Musea Records?
Overhead: It was a natural development, Musea is a bigger label and has better distribution channels and they are very nice people and easy to work with.
HMTV Canada Tina: 10. How is the mixing turning out for your new album that's in the final stages currently?
Overhead: The album sounds really fabulous to me. I'm always amazed when I hear Alex's newly recorded vocals or the first time I hear rough mixes of the new stuff. It's been a long time, it always takes us a long time to make an album. I know a lot of people are waiting for it anxiously but it's certainly worth the wait. There's still some more mixing to do but we hope to have it released this spring or early summer.
HMTV Canada Tina: 11. What are some of the highlights of your new album coming out what can the fans expect?
Overhead: It continues the development of the band. It has familiar elements of our previous albums, like melodicity, dynamics and melancholy. But it also takes steps into new directions and thus sounds fresh and exiting. I'd say it's much better composed, played and produced, the band sounds more together now.
HMTV Canada Tina: 12. Any ideas for quality art work for your CD and will there be a new video with the new album?
Overhead: The cover and the booklet have basically been designed. We'll just have to finalise it soon, it already looks really nice. We have thought about a video too, but nothing certain about it yet. We'll see if we can get someone to do a video for us.
HMTV Canada Tina: 13. Do you keep a constant changing approach to trying new things when it comes to recording or mixing your sound?
Overhead: Absolutely. We now have much better recording equipment and experience. You learn all the time and we do always try different things and approaches in recording and mixing, we go with what ever seems the best for the song we're making. The new album does sound better than the previous one, as it should be if you're going forward.
HMTV Canada Tina: 14. What is your criteria for a well mixed and engineered song?
Overhead: Hmm, well it has to bring out the essence of the song and also add or bring out all the nice little nuances and details as well. And as it's rock'n'roll it has to kick butt and make you feel the groove:)
HMTV Canada Tina: 15. Have your compilation experiences for Tuonen Tytar - Tribute to Finnish Progressive 2000 and Kalevala been well received by your fans?
Overhead: Yes, they've been pretty well received. I think they have also brought us to peoples attention that haven't heard us before, which is great. Those songs actually really come to life when we play them live, the live-versions are better than the recorded versions I think.
HMTV Canada Tina: 16. Where have you performed Live?
Overhead: In Finland of course, but lately mostly around Europe, like Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Sweden. It's always much fun to play in these countries, lovely audiences and venues and the countries themselves are beautiful.
HMTV Canada Tina: 17. Have you shared the stage with other bands and do you have any upcoming shows?
Overhead: Sure, most often we share the stage with one or two other bands. We've met some good bands and nice people on the road, such as Circusfolk, Sylvan, Indukti to name a few. We have a few upcoming shows in Helsinki, and likely a lot more after the new album is ready and released.
HMTV Canada Tina: 18. What are Overheads hopes and goals for the future?
Overhead: First to of course finish and release the new album and get a good promotion going for it. Hopefully many people buy it and like it. Then we look much forward to playing again around Europe, and maybe in a new continent in the future as well... Things have been going onwards and upwards all the time, and hopefully it continues.
HMTV Canada Tina: 19. What is your opinion of the music industry today and what is the music scene like in Finland?
Overhead: Well a lot of the main stream music to me sounds awfully shallow and meaningless. The commercial music seems so disposable and most radio stations just play the same hits over and over again. But there are good bands around as well and audiences for them, but they seem to be more in the underground scenes.
HMTV Canada Tina: 20. How is the internet helping for marketing your music, digital distribution, collaborating with PR's and networking with your street teams and fan base?
Overhead: It's helping a lot, without it a lot of things would seem much harder. People find out about us via the net, the word of mouth travels now also in the web. E-mail makes it so much easier to communicate with record labels, concert organisers and the listeners all around the world really. It's always nice when the fans give direct feedback.
HMTV Canada Tina: 21. Is Overhead affiliated with any music organisations or underground scenes?
Overhead: Yeah we have friends and are in co-operation with progressive rock-associations around Europe, you could say there's a strong underground scene of prog-rock fans and an audience for more challenging and profound music.
HMTV Canada Tina: 22. Before we close our interview do you have any shout outs or any last words?
Overhead: Hold on a bit longer for the new album! And then come see us live when you get the chance. And thank you Tina for doing this interview!
-Jaakko/Overhead
www.overhead-band.com
www.myspace.com/overheadband
Thank you Overhead for allowing HMTV Canada Online Ezine to interview your band.
You Rock
Hollywood Music TV Canada Tina
www.hollywoodmusic.tv/tina
www.overhead-band.com
www.myspace.com/overheadband
www.hollywoodmusic.tv/tina
