Catamenia

Interviewed by Kaheli, Narri and Heili

So many times you’ve been asked the meaning of the ‘name’ Catamenia, what we would like to know is what does Catamenia mean to you, not the meaning of the name but the entire ‘being’ Catamenia?

(Ari)

For me it means attitude, lifestyle and another family. It’s also the music that lives in us and the coolest way to express ourselves. It’s much more than just a band’s name, because we live and breathe this thing all the time. This band is old enough that we can tell jokes about real meaning of word ‘Catamenia’. Also it is nice to see that we have gone bit further than Tom Jones for example! People throw sanitary napkins on stage beside ladies underpants. So we are way ‘deeper’ in and with this issue .

15 years is almost a lifetime for most bands nowadays, any secret to maintaining your longevity? Any advice you’d like to offer the up & coming bands out there?

(Ari)

Yes, it is very long time considering how fast bands come and go today. One reason must be this fucking reality show – ‘Hey, nice to meet you…Wanna be a star?’ -shit. Also this hectic way to do business in many big record companies who have seven ‘next big things’ waiting in their closets if one doesn’t get immediate success in one night. Seems like all the patience to do things calmly and in peace is gone. But giving an advice to bands which are starting their own, I can’t underline too much PATIENCE and BELIEVING TO YOURSELVES! If you believe what you are doing, you are on the right tracks. Then none can say that you are doing wrong or you’re not good enough. Just keep on banging your head against that wall…IT WILL BREAK!

Given the number of lineup changes, set backs and obstacles you’ve faced over the years, was there ever a time when you thought ‘this is it, it’s the end’?

(Ari)

Yeah, every single time Nah, first few situations were quite shocking, but with time these things has just grew us and made us much stronger. We have gone thru things where most of bands would at least throw a law suit or break up. The humor and tight brotherhood has guided us on clear waters every time. Also very thick skin and understanding the value of our fans has pushed us further instead of getting stuck and whine about obstacles. Nowadays when we step on a bigger shit, we just open the bottle and laugh it off from our shoe bottoms.

(Riku)

Heheh, that reminds me the quote of our good friend and a funny guy Juha Aunola from a band called Kätyri. He always says: “When it winds, why always against and every step I take, why I always land on a shit!”

Did the departure of OJ affect the band in any way? If so, how?

(Ari)

Yeah, now we don’t need so many flight tickets! Actually, there was no time to let it affect when that happened. It was our flight from Paris to Canada when OH JEE (name changed like in good crime series) went to smoke and disappeared on that spider web they call Charles De Gaulle -airport. Next day we had our first concert in Canadian soil and we didn’t go there just to say that there is no tour because of one lousy cigarette! I had already sung backing vocals before and they say that my vocals are bit similar with Mika Tönning, so what the fuck. After five seconds of silence in a hotel room, Riku said that I’ll do the screaming vocals and parties continued like nothing ever happened J So, if this has affected in some way, it is that I have played with Riku so long that I know what he is seeking and meaning how to do vocals without writing a book of it.

Looking back to the beginning of Catamenia, did you ever expect to find yourself with nine albums, a DVD and tours spanning the globe? Looking ahead, what do you think the next 15 years will hold for you?

(Ari)

I’m just a novice with my 11 years in this band, so maybe Riku answers to the first part of this question. About the future of Catamenia, I’d like to see us doing more tours and albums and going at least as strong as now. Our music has gone through some changes into more mature and better direction and there is new musical flame burning bright inside us. So everything should be right on place now for the future.

(Riku)

When I formed this band with Mika while smoking a cigarette secretly from our parents somewhere in a bus stop, I did not have any expectations what so ever for this band. It was just a therapy band for all of us, to have something nice to do after school. When the time passed by and we started to talk about a possible demo tape, then I knew that maybe there could be something bigger behind this all and that’s basically when Catamenia was really born. When the tape was recorded and the feedback was great, we started to realize the possibilities in this band and we started to send the demo around the world to the different labels. Bunch of interest letters came in from the labels and one lead into another, and the second demo lead into a contract with Massacre Records where we’re still standing tall after all these years.

You’ve just released your ninth album, ‘Cavalcade’, has the fan response been what you’ve expected? More or less?

(Ari)

We decided that whatever the response is, we will stand behind what we feel and this is the direction we want to go. We waited some objection, but surprise, surprise, people took this album very open-minded and 99 percent of feedback has been very positive. Also we got shitloads of new fans which is always a great pleasure. Also most of our long time followers took this change very well and it feels that reading between the lines they were looking some changes too. Of course there are these random die-hard black metal people who scream from their basements that we have ruined it all, but that is something they have to live with or focus into other bands they still like. If you give a good listen to our music now, there are so many new layers in it and overall atmosphere is so goddamn crushing that you have to seek fucking far for more harder album than this one!

(Riku)

This was also expected that some people say that we have done this for money and it is all just a commercial move, but the clear answer is: If we did this for money, would we’ve done this over a decade ago? Hahhah, fucking hilarious! Our music always comes deep from our hearts and nothing’s forced into any directions. All the music and all the changes are a result of natural evolution in our music.

(Ari)

If we want to earn billions of euros or dollars, we’d volunteer to next ‘Idols’ -season and learn all the mysteries of playback while looking pretty in TV .

We were wondering, as so many have , where did the wolves go… and they seem to be quite popular with metal lately…

(Ari)

Those creatures finally got their well-earned retirement party. When our style changed a bit, we thought that what the hell, lets shake it well! Also like you said, there are bands using wolves as trademark more than sailors have crabs. Besides starting to fight for ‘our’ wolf, we wanted to focus into music and let it speak for itself. When this band was formed, the wolf image was quite unique thing to use as trademark, but now every single band from Kemi to allover the world uses them. There is a funny story about Sonata Arctica’s guitarist when he arrived into a local metal bar around 2005 wearing their own short, the doorman noticed it and said ‘Ah, you’re wearing Catamenia shirt, nice’. You can guess the color of his face back then, heheh. About trademark, it is tempting idea to take something new to present Catamenia, but if that happens it will definitely be as unique as wolf was in it’s time. Then we have another decade time to use it before we have to re-think the next one.

Did you encounter any difficulties while recording ‘Farewell’, your cover/tribute song to Miika Tenkula and Sentenced?

(Riku)

No, we did not have or face any problems at all while recording that tribute song to Mr. Tenkula and Sentenced. Everything went well and fine from the very beginning. We wanted to respect the original one as much as possible, but still giving it a touch of Catamenia’s style and sound in it and I think we’re succeeded in it really damn well. When Ville Laihiala came to the studio to sing his parts on the album, he listened to the song and he was just all quiet for a while after hearing it, because he did not have a clue about we had recorded it, heheh. Anyways, he just stood still and quiet and said in a low, but happy voice: that was a pretty fucking great song and then we continued working and listening to the rest of the album.

Besides your current schedule, any plans to do summer festivals and/or tour abroad in support of ‘Cavalcade’? Any hope of another North American tour?

(Ari)

For few years now we’ve been waiting for that chance to play in the States. Three times there has been things going on for a tour, but something not related to us has always destroyed those plans. It would be truly perfect to finally get the chance to play there and show what we are made of. There are some festival shows coming in Europe on this summer and also plans for tours in Europe, Russia, Japan and Australia.

(Riku)

Actually when I am writing this answer now, I am also having a discussion with couple of promoters there in the States about possibility to bring Catamenia there, so fingers and toes crossed towards the sky that all would go well and fine and we’d be able to come to play there finally.

Going back over all the shows, venues and countries you’ve played in, is there any particular one that is the most memorable? Your favorite to play in…and your least favorite?

(Ari)

There are series of superb shows in our past almost everywhere we have played and we have enjoyed all of those. But to mention the least favorite, it is not a specific concert or anything, but overall feeling with our first ‘touring agency’ we’ve toured with. They were natural born onion dealer gypsies and tried to rip everything off from bands they were dealing with. Well, let’s just say that this guy with the wallet got his final paycheck in a parking lot of hotel in Budapest after three weeks of touring, when he said that we won’t give us a cent – not even for the accommodation for those two days left from the tour that we had to spend there before our flights departure back home.

(Riku)

As Ari said, there have been so many great memories through these years in different places and countries that it’s just impossible to say any specific ones – Moscow, Bucharest, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Sofia, Montreal, etc. Just damn great and awesome memories! But I think my worst experience is from years ago when we played here in Finland in a city called Jyväskylä. I was way too drunk and I lost my pick from my hands all the time, could not even stand properly. I am still so ashamed of that, but it was a good lesson, because after that I have known my limits in drinking before gigs and shows, so that’ll never happen again and has not happened after that. I think my accomplice agrees with me in this one … right, Ari?

(Ari)

Guilty as charged and learnt my lessons also, heheh

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever had happen while on tour?

(Ari)

Actually, we have suddenly lost two members on the road in Moscow and in Paris! Those were pretty weird experiences, you can imagine. Also I didn’t know that size of Mount Everest Minigrip bags exist, until I saw the weed sack of our Canadian bus driver, heheh. On the other hand, he didn’t know that it’s Ok to drink bottle of Vodka and countless beers while smoking few joints Strange thing was also spend over 20 hours in Russian train with old granny’s toe in your mouth while she sleeps on a weird top shelf. There are hundreds of strange stories from the road and there will be a book where we’ll tell everything. I’m sure that most of people will not believe what we reveal in that book, but I can assure that all there is true and without coloring or censoring the stories.

(Riku)

What could I possible add on this one? Absolutely nothing, heheh

About the title song of your latest album, ‘Cavalcade’, I noticed that this song, more so than any other of the tracks, has the vocals equally prominent…was the song written intentionally to be like this or was it just a twist of fate that it turned out that way?

(Riku)

It was written like this intentionally. When I wrote this song I knew how the vocals are going to be equally spread over the song because it brings so much dimension, depth and variety into the song. The three vocals we use on our songs are so damn great and works perfect together, so it was actually pretty easy to think the use of vocals meanwhile composing the songs itself.

When you’re writing the lyrics, do you write them to be more geared towards people relating to them or are they more internal to you and what you relate to?

(Ari)

It depends. Some of the songs are more personal by their lyrical side and some of them are just our way to see things or they are our opinions and aspects of different issues. The basis for everything is that we create a red line where all the songs are somehow connected and follow the same mood throughout the whole album. We cannot say that there is a concept on every album, but it is something pretty similar with some space and air to meander around.

Riku, I see you’ve listed Diablo Swing Orchestra as one of your favorite bands, are a fan of jazz and swing music? Have you ever gone swing dancing or would you consider going?

(Ari)

Aaaahhhaa, TOUCHE!!! I will make sure that he’ll enter the swing dancing lessons

(Riku)

Heheh, thank you really much for pointing this out here, Ms. Interviewer, heheh Now I know I will surely hear about this for the rest of my life and every single time we pass by some dancing school, I will hear about it, heheh. Anyways, I listen to so wide variety of music that also Diablo Swing Orchestra belongs into them. No, I have not gone into a swing dance class or anything like that, but I have a strange feeling that some day I will be forced to take one. Maybe a day when I will get married and there’s bachelor’s party!

Pizza or kebab? We call this ‘The Great Debate’

(Ari)

Definitely Pizza! The thing is that I’m on a Kebab strike since lousy organizer fucked up one festival in Turkey! I promised that I won’t eat Kebab until we have played in Turkey, dammit

(Riku)

Pizza with a kebab topping on it! But as Ari already mentioned, we’re on a kebab strike until we have played a gig in Turkey!

If you could live in any time period, which one would use choose and why? What would your job be?

(Ari)

Hard one. There is too many options now, but let’s see… Yep, I would be Neil Armstrong when he visited the moon. I would have done a huge big dumb on it, called home and asked what do you see with your best telescope? Dunno why, but it would be something to think that you’re the first man in the moon and all you do there is to take a huge dumb on the surface of the moon (No, believe me man, I haven’t smoked anything). And think about this – while people argue that has man ever taken a step on the moon and try to seek those footprints from there with their telescopes, would it be more sublime to seek this mysterious Mr. Hankie

(Riku)

That’s small poop for Ari, a giant dumb for mankind! Speaking of that, then I think I’d be this conspiracy theoretic who would seek the truth behind everything and did Ari actually ever made that dumb on the moon or was it just a butt-breeze in the desert, heheh!

Here at Finnish Underground Radio, we all have alter egos…what’s yours and why?

(Ari)

We have many and they are changing frequently. Maybe it’s better that you don’t ask Let’s just say that on every trip we have found some new characters from every member and then he carries that character throughout the whole trip. It has something to do with keeping our (in)sanity.
Rodriguez Rodriguez Rodriguez: Mi habla no ingleses! Donde esta mi cerveza!

What do you consider to be your main comfort? Such as food, hobbies, places…is it a mental and/or physical comfort?

(Ari)

I have this video production thing and that is very refreshing and kind of a hobby from my day job. I want to explore whole production line as much I can and there is so wonderful moments when something new you can do succeeds. Also I’m a documentary freak and try to watch as many I can on my spare time. It is great to hit with ‘asshole trivia’ about random strange things when there is silent moment in tourbus for example. Yes, I know, I’m pervert and need instant help.

(Riku)

It depends completely on my mood what I do to comfort myself or to relax. Sometimes I just want to be at home and watch documentaries from TV or movies from DVD, or just to sit in silence and think different things, make new songs, etc. Sometimes I want to go to rollerblade my ass off or then I just want to make some work which contains websites and graphic designs. As said it depends on my mood and time.

You once stated that if the beer isn’t Finnish, it’s piss water…how do you know what piss water tastes like? Have you ever actually compared piss water with other beers?

(Ari)

Of course we have tried, so we can use it as unit of measure! Speaking the beers, I’m really omnivorous with beer so I won’t underline that view. There are only few beers I don’t like that much. Those were some strange mixtures of spices and beer and tasted like silicone. Yes, I have tasted that too! Here we come into strange detail about my affections considering beer. See, when I’m having a hangover the best drink to balance everything is to drink that beer which was left open the last night and has lost all carbonic acids and is pocket warm, yummy!

(Riku)

I actually prefer German beer. Beck’s and Bitburger are by far the best beers in the whole wide world. I wonder who might have given such a statement about those other beers? Maybe it was someone who was totally piss-drunk when answering that question, heheh. Maybe I am totally wrong person to answer this question at all because I do not even remember how beer tastes like, because I haven’t had a single beer for over six months now!

If you had the chance to go back in time to last week, what day would you go to and what would you change

(Ari)

That would be last Friday. I wouldn’t start my ‘little summer service’ for my scooter! I was thinking to change the oils from it and somehow after seven hours that whole scooter was in pieces in my living room. Now I can safely say that there is no scooter in better condition than mine in whole Europe, heheh! And yes again! What would be more metal vehicle than scooter?

(Riku)

I would go to back to last Saturday and I would change my lottery ticket numbers, heheh.

One last question that is always a FU standard …boxers, briefs or commando? What’s your take on the subjects?

(Ari)

COMMANDO! There was minus 30 degrees Celsius last winter and I didn’t use any protection for my balls. It hardens a man and teach you to swear in Finnish, PERKELE!

(Riku)

Definitely boxers! I just could not live without them, heheh.

Catamenia, 10.0 out of 10 based on 4 ratings