Anette and Tuomas from Nightwish questioned by readers (or somethingrather... couldn't quite translate it literally...)
Question: How can a Swedish woman be the lead singer of the best band in Finland. Doesn't feel very good!
Tuomas: I guess Stratovarius is ruined also then, they have 2 foreigners? And Finland never won the ice hockey world championships because then we had a Swedish coach? Thank you, this'll go well.
Q: If Anette and Tarja would meet, what would happen?
Anette: I'd tell her how amazing singer she is and how it's nice to meet her. And of course I hope that she'd be nice to me too!
Q: Is your manager Ewo Pohjola a nutcase, can you tell me?
A: Ewo is the funniest man I know! He's not a nutcase!
Q: Tuomas, who are your favourite quitar players?
T: Dimebag, Alexi, Emppu
Q: Are those the final versions of the songs you have on your website? For example 7 days to the wolves? Anette's voice fades in to the background a bit.
T: It's because Marco is singing the lead and Anette is singing background
Q: Has Anette used the chatrooms in the Net?
A: Not so much nowadays. Earlier yes.
Q: Do you feel you have big shoes to fill, Anette?
A: Of course, because Tarja is an amazing singer and I don't want to copy her, but do this my own way
Q: Does Eva tell about a dead child?
T: It might tell about a child who will die soon if nothing is done. The end of the song is left open for the listener's imagination
Q: What would be a band you'd like to tour with?
A: I haven't thought about that. If Abba was still alive, I'd naturally say ABBA
Q: Tuomas, you said Moominmamma is your idol, but who in the Moomin Valley would you have been?
T: Snufkin (Nuuskamuikkunen), definitely
Q: Tuomas, has 7 days to the wolves something to do with Stephen King's Black Tower-series? (I don't know if the series is called Black Tower in English...)
T: You are a genius! It is where the idea of the song came, but the lyrics have nothing to do with the saga.
Q: Anette, do you know what game is pesäpallo (Finnish baseball) and do you play it in Sweden?
A: I know what pesis (pesäpallo) is. We play more dodgeball (not sure about the translation again...) in Sweden
Q: How are you planning to spend summer? Happy summer for you both and good luck!
A: We'll make a video and do a promo tour in Europe and Asia. And of course practise for the tour. I'll try to have time for a little holiday too.
Q: Why was Anette's age a problem first? You aren't teenagers the rest of you?
T: The age was never a problem. From the beginning I rather wanted a 40-year-old than a 20-year-old. Of course everything is up to the person. I was scared of the child.
Q: Tycker du om The Ark (Do you like The Ark in Swedish)
A: Yes!
Q: Do you like horses? What about riding horses?
A: I had a horse just for riding!
Q: Anette, in what country would you like to visit?
A: In Australia and Iceland. And I'd also like to visit Lapland
Q: Tuomas, you are a good friend of Hynynen's. Did you ask his opinion about the new singer before you choosing?
T: Of course Jouni's opinion was the crucial one. In a serious tone, he digged her...
Q: How Anette is getting along with Finnish men?
A: I like long haired men, and you have a lot of them in Finland
Q: How old are you, Anette?
A: 35!
Q: How's Anette's moshing?
A: Not very good! It hurts my neck!
Q: Tuomas, what is the best Donald Duck-story through the ages?
T: Barks' "Try to Guess" !! (again, not sure what this is in English)
Q: Anette, do you sing in shower?
A: Yes!
Q: What is your favourite food, Anette?
A: Sushi and Chinese
Q: When you'll go to the US, try to get to play in Conan O'Brian's show
T: We talked about that on the last tour. But then the US was cancelled...
Q: Anette, what is your most important album and why?
A: There isn't only one album, but Sonata Arctica's and Tarot's latest are really good
Q: Hi! I heard Eva on the radio lately, it sounded very good. Is Nighwish going to be softer for now on?
T: No, the new album is the heaviest and most melancholy what we have ever made. Eva is only 4 min 75 sec of the whole.
Q: Anette, what type of music do you like the most? Is there a genre of music you don't like at all?
A: I like many different genres. Opera and a real jazz aren't my thing
Q: Has Anette met Tarja? Greetings to Tuomas from a Kitee-guy in Stockholm blink2.gif
T: Oh thank you! Who are you?
Q: Can't you take Tarja back? Nightwish is nothing without Tarja and no Swede can replace her!!
T: And my afternoon is nothing without questions like this in a hellishly hot afternoon paper's office
Q: Has Anette done other jobs than singing? I myself do boring dayjobs and hope that one day my business will give me living. Good luck and success to you and the whole band!
A: I have been working in an office for 10 years and I'm actually a hair dresser for education. I've also done waitressing.
Q: Anette, do you believe in God?
A: I'm a spiritual person and I believe in something, but not necessarily in a man in heaven
Q: Anette, does your family follow you when you visit Finland?
A: My family hasn't visited Finland with me yet
Q: Why start the tour from Israel? Or is there a surprise gig somewhere before it?
A: It'll start from Israel!
Q: Is there something going on between you two?
T: Yeah, a huge fire is blazing. Soon I'll fire her.
Q: Is Anette supposed to be a partner of Scene Nation at some point?
A: I'm not a partner yet. I really don't know if I'm going to be one
Q: Anette, what age is your child?
A: He is six years old
Q: Anette, who is your idol?
A: I don't really have idols anymore. Of course I could list an endless line of musicians.
Q: Do you think listeners will leave you because Tarja was really good and Anette is different?
T: Some surely will. Has left already. But there are a lot of people out there who have digged the music in particular, but the voice of the vocalist has been too much...
Q: Anette, do you have a driver's lisence?
A: Yes! Just a normal one.
Q: Anette, what kind of relationship you had with Finland before this and what did you know about Finland?
A: I know you are good in ice hockey and ski jumping. I saw Tarja Halonen in Conan! And of course you have a lot of great bands, like Sonata Arctica.
Q: Hey Anette! Can you play an instrument?
A: I've played oboe for eight years and I can press the keys in piano
Q: What is your real hair color?
A: I'm middle blond like every Scandinavian probably is
Q: What is the best place in the world for the guys in the band, after Kitee of course?
T: The Finnish Lapland
Q: I missed the info about when the new album is released
T: 26th September. A single about a month earlier
Q: Anette, what other hobbies do you have than singing?
A: I run many times a week and work with weights. I also like to take walks.
Q: Tuomas, how do you take the fans that are "on Tarja's side"?
T: Of course I understand them and the thing is okay. I just hope that people wouldn't go into personal and tasteless stuff, and that Anette would have a peace. She just did her best, it was our four's desicion to take her in.
Q: Anette, have you heard of Hanna Pakarinen?
A: Of course! I voted for her four times in the Eurovision! The whole Sweden liked her!
Q: Anette, do you already have favourite songs from the new album? What is it?
A: There are so many. Eva is one of them, Seven days, and then there's one quite ethnic song that hasn't got a certain name yet
Q: Were you very exited about how you'd be judged after Tarja?
A: Of course I was a little nervous about that, if I'd be welcomed or not... But not very much
Q: Anette is GREAT!!! Can she speak any Finnish? For example swearwords smile.gif But seriously, can she for example say words you need on tour or is it all English?
T: Yeah, she can say "I'm a drunk Swedish moron", "Maybe I'm a Swedish but you are really ugly" and the juiciest swearwords. We communicate in English
Q: Have you heard what Tarja thinks of Anette?
A: At least I haven't
Q: How living in different countries affects the cooperation between the band and the singer?
A: It's working pretty well. Nowadays we have internet, e-mail, SMS's and stuff
Q: Tuomas, why was Anette's child a problem first? Isn't the motivation more important?
T: Yes it is. I was stupid and too much on the edge. Luckily Anette is a stubborn girl.
Q: Hi Anette smile.gif What was your favourite subject at school? Were you good at school?
A: I think I was pretty good. I liked all the languages.
Q: What do you think of Popeda and Pate? (really, really bad but for some reason popular Finnish bands)
T: Popeda was fed to me in mother's milk, and I've been a fan as long as I can remember. Honest backwoods rock, like us. Best in live.
Q: Anette, what is your favourite movie?
A: Pirates of the Caribbean
Q: What things did you do to hide Anette's visits to Finland?
A: I lived in a hotel in Helsinki with different names and the flights were booked for someone else than my real name. We drove different cars and sat as far from each other at the air port than we could
Q: Are we going to hear the legendary AFF and Oceanborn songs like Stargazers, Gethsemane, Know why the Nightingale sings, on gigs? What songs Anette can't sing?
T: What is so legendary about them? I don't think we are going to play those songs... Though Gethsemane is a good song. We haven't run into a song Anette couldn't sing. Others she can do easier, others with practise. We won't do Phantom of the Opera anymore, though.
Q: Anette, what is the best country?
A: I have to say Sweden or all the Swedish people will get mad
Q: How well do you speak Finnish?
A: I understand a lot of words already. And I can say the basic pleasantries like Thank you, Good night, Good day and so on
Q:Hi Tuomas and Anette! Are we going to hear the high songs of Nightwish sung by Anette? Can she do Sleeping Sun etc? Thank you boys, you found a good and charismatic singer. Every time I listen to Eva I disappear far away from reality and it hypnotises me. Great song, can't wait for the new album!
T: We tried Sleeping sun at rehearsals. It sounded good.
Q: How short are you?
A: 169cm. Pretty normal
Q: What kind of singing history does Anette have? When did she start as a singer and what kind of music schooling does she have?
A: I've been singing my whole life, and in a band since I was 17. In cover and studio bands. Last I sang in Alison Avenue and background for a metal band Cloudscape.
Q: Do you think, Anette, that you can follow Tarja's footsteps, because that is what people are expecting? You and Tarja have quite different range (register...) and Tarja was the soul and emotions of Nightwish, and particularly her voice was the Nightwish.
T: Anette has actually the same range than Tarja, we haven't had any problems with any of the old songs so far. If particularly Tarja's voice was the Nightwish, listen to Beto Vasques' album. Tarja is singing in that too, so it could be Nightwish.
Q: Have you already visited Kitee?
A: Yes I have!
Q: Do you speak/sing in several languages?
A: I speak English and Swedish. I understand French and German and nowadays little bit Finnish too. A singer needs to be ready to perform in several languages.
Q: Do you smoke? What is your favourite drink?
A: I don't smoke. I quit. My new favourite drink is Jägermeister-Red Bull. I learned it from a Danish girl. Good and refreshing!
Q: Anette, what is the last book you read?
A: A book by Paulo Coelho
Q: Do you think you'll do as well overseas when such a high quality vocalist such as Tarja is not with you?
T: I don't know yet. The album is ready and it's the best we've made so far, so it's a good start. Tarja was really good, her follower is too.
Q: Has Anette met Tarja?
A: I've never met her, but I've of course seen the DVD
Q: What of the older Nightwish songs is the hardest?
A: I don't have any particular song, but very operatic songs with high sound might be hard.
Q: Why Anette? The singing style will change dramatically. I understand you didn't want a copy of Tarja, but I think her singing style + your music made Nightwish the Nightwish. And how about the gigs? Are you only going to perfor new songs? Or is Anette going to sing older songs too?
T: Her because she was the best. The style doesn't even change that much in my opinion. There's still froce, soft singing and everything between. And feeling. Opera and the classical was left behind. A band is never a genre of music, or bound to any format, a band is a group of people who makes their kind of music and how they want it.
Q: Anette, what is your favourite Nightwish-song?
A: There's many! Ever Dream!
Q: Why Anette had to dye her hair, isn't it good to be natural?
A: Dying the hair was a desicion we made together!
Q: What language do you talk with each other?
A: English. I'm trying to study Finnish too.
Q: (in Swedish) Do you like icehockey? Who do you cheer if for example Finland and Denmark play?
A: I watch the icehockey world championships and cheer for Finland after Sweden has fell off
Q: Are you going to pick berries or go to woods this summer?
T: In the woods, yes. I've been away from the wilds for about four months now and I miss trees and water.
Q: Does Anette have classical music background?
A: I've taken classical singing lessons when I was younger in a music conservatory in both Copenhagen and Helsingör.
Q: Because the new singer has woken up questions about if she is able to sing the old songs, wouldn't it be fair to put her application demo that convinced you to the net?
T: A lot of people are doubtful and I understand. Putting the demo in the net feels like needless excuses and explains. You have no other opion than to trust. Girl sings the old songs really awesomely (it's a word...)
Q: Anette, what were the first thing your family said when you told them you'd been chosen.
A: Fan vad kul! (with my limited knowlege of Swedish swearwords: "Fuck how cool!")
Q: What's been the hardest thing since you've been in public as a Nightwish's new singer?
A: The media hysterics last week
Q: Anette, did you know beforehand how big a band it was?
A: I heard about the band a couple of months before leaving in my application. But when I looked at it closely, I started to realize how big a band it is.
Q: Is the typical Nightwish-genre going to change because of the new singer?
T: No, music and Nightwish's ideology will be the same. Some things will be changed, just like when Marco came after Sami left.
Q: Has your joining the Nightwish gotten a lot of attention in Sweden?
A: There's been something in every day paper, but the afternoon papers haven't noticed it. Today I'm interviewed for the Finnish news in Swedish television.
Q: Tuomas, when will you bring the band to Kitee to perform?
T: If it was up to me, as soon as possible. But the timetables have been decided till far next year, and we have no idea about the next Finnish tour. We'll try!
