STRATOVARIUS INTERVIEW |
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With their new album "Intermission", the Finnish/German/Swedish all star metal band Stratovarius is celebrating the first decade of their career, and also marking the beginning of the next. As a matter of fact, "Intermission" will be the last sign of life from the kings of melodic speed metal for the next two years, as Stratovarius will be taking a break, which really is well deserved. So, with the chance of getting a quick interview done with drummer Jörg Michael before his hiatus, I decided to do this in an unusual way … knowing that almost every other metal-journalist would do the typical interview, plus the fact that I know Jörg so well in private, made me come up with twenty questions to which Jörg should give me the first three answers that came to his mind. Here we go:
Interview by Claus Jensen |
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WACKEN OPEN AIR FESTIVAL
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- Biggest heavy metal festival in Europe, and possibly in the rest of the world as well - Nice chance for young bands to play on a professional festival in front of a lot of people - Rain, mud & stress |
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JAPAN
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- Culture shock - High prices on everything - Weird mentality - different |
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HELMUT KOHL
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- Old!!! - Betrayer - One of the last old-school-politician with a moral borderline |
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TOURING
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- Lack of sleep - Alcohol - Too much puke |
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BEER
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- My favorite drink next to Vodka - German beer is the best in the world - The second best beer is also another German brand … haha, you thought I'd say Danish beer … |
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GROUPIES
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- What can I say ? … ehhh, they don't exist, hahahahaha
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GROWING OLDER
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- Not necessarily a bad thing - it's very human-like - Growing wiser - Facing reality |
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HEAVY METAL
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- Judas Priest & Rob Halford - My heart - Attitude and revolution - honest belief |
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FINLAND
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- It's getting more and more my favorite country with tall blonde girls - Always looses Ice-hockey against Sweden, except for one time… - Drinks more alcohol than they can consume |
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BORRUSIA DORTMUND
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- The upcoming Champion in German soccer - My favorite team - I even hold stocks in them - They have the best stadium and the best fans |
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MONEY
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- Important if you want a convenient life in this society - But it shouldn't be the most important thing in your life - It can turn people into bad persons |
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DENMARK
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- Shitty weather - High prices on alcohol - Nice people |
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NUCLEAR BLAST
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- Biggest heavy metal label in Germany - Our recent company - The best label I've ever worked with |
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TIMO TOLKKI
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- The best composer/producer/guitarist in the world - all in one person - Very tall - Very wise |
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TIMO KOTIPELTO
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- He is from Lapavieri (or something…), which is different from the rest of Finland, and this makes his attitude different from the other Finish guys in the band - Best singer I have ever played with - A friend |
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JARI KANULAINEN
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- Ice-hockey - Mountain-biking - Watches TV all the time |
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JENS JOHANSSON
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- This is easy… because Jens is "Jens" - Lunatic - Crazy |
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STRATOVARIUS
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- Hard work - Fun - My job |
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THE NEXT TWO YEARS
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- Working - Working - Working … on bettering my skills as a drummer, working on the whole Stratovarius organization and on the music of the band |
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JÖRG MICHAEL
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- He is going to be a father soon (September) - He is growing wiser and more patient - But he is still the same old idiot as he was twenty years ago when he started in this business … haha |
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