Email Interview March 29th with vocalist Juha Pekka aka Jussi!

from snow covered Helsinki Finland!

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jo: For those of us not familiar with Charon give me some band history. How did you get together? When? How did you choose the name of the
band?

Jussi: The band was found -92 by Antti, Teemu, Pasi and Jasse. I came in -95 and we recorded our first promo with this line-up, that was called “pilgrimage”. Few years ago Lauri replaced Jasse. Teemu found out the name of the band from Dante's literature…

jo: How would you describe your sound?

Jussi: It's pretty much rock-oriented sound but we use a lot goth 'n metal influences in it. It's been always the great seek for the right atmosphere and the mood by the means of melody.

jo: Musical Influences?

Jussi: Any music that gives me the right kind of vibes. From Tori Amos to Edge of Sanity!

jo: What made each of you become musicians?

Jussi: To be honest there was nothing reasonable to do in our hometown, so we chose music instead of stealing cars.

jo: Give me one word to describe each of you.

Jussi: Zoo!

jo: Favorite Charon song to perform live?

Jussi: House of The Silent

jo: Any plans to come over to the United States?

Jussi: Of course. We just have to wait the opportunity for the right headliner to pick us up first.

jo: What bands are you listening to right now?

Jussi: Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Cake, Spiritual Beggars, Kent, Soilwork, Deep Purple, Nightingale….

jo: The best quality and worst habit of each of you.

Jussi: uh, this one is tough…we are really pain in the asses while drinkin’ so the best quality must be that we are not doing it that much anymore. I mean being pain in the asses, no one said anything about drinking…

jo: When are you most inspired to write songs?

Jussi: Whenever. The right moment comes when it comes. It has nothing to do with the state of mind for me. I think I'm most inspired under pressure.

jo: What do you miss most about home while touring?

Jussi: My wife and kid…and my albums and my own bed.

jo: If you could tour with any band dead or alive what band would you choose and why?

Jussi: Led Zeppelin. I'd just like to see how they manage to squeeze themselves into those pants. And they had huge orgies during the tours of course.

jo: If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why?

Jussi: haha, Sloth! Just hanging around and nothing else to do…

jo: What do you like most about being a musician? Least?

Jussi: I have the opportunity to express myself better. I hate being musician at family reunions when the oldest person in the house gets the ideathat “hey, i heard JP sings in a “orchestra”, I bet he sings to us now, don't you JP?” Christmas is Purgatory for me…

jo: Message for your fans??

Jussi: “When the cities are on fire
With the burning flesh of men
Just remember that death is not the end”
-Nick Cave-
 

If you have not heard Charon yet, head on over to their official site or their MySpace page and do it now! They are Gothic Rock directly from Finland! This band is awesome. I will be reviewing their CD "Songs for The Sinners" very soon! I would like to thank Jussi for taking the time to answer my questions and look forward to bringing you more from this band in the future!

~jo~