On Sauna Open Air festival I met Rainer Nygard from DIABLO. What is Sauna Open Air? - Big and really nice metal festival in Tampere, Finland, holded every year in June. What is Diablo? - one of the great Finnish bands, they play since 1990, and did some number of great shows, including with Metallica, and this year they released admirable album "Icaros". Check it out, and check our interesting talk with Rainer:
Simple story about ordinary guy
Lucky: How did Diablo become such famous band? What’s your secret? Can you say that after some special day you woke up famous?
Rainer Nygard: It takes a lot of hard work. That’s basic and simple story behind our success in Finland. But in 1999 there was a kind of situation to do something to our music. We cut off some parts of songs which are not necessary, you know. We produced our material. We woke up and set ourselves that we have to do something, because there was so progressive stuff at that time. We started to make songs in more simple way. That was a big step for us. After that we just concentrated on making better songs for every record.
Lucky: What does mean “better” for you?
Rainer: We tried to overtop ourselves, you know… The song is a big big picture. There are lyrics, and a feeling, and notes, and riffs, and so on. We tried to make better songs, which we like best. We don’t think about audience, about people who buy our records, we only think about ourselves. That is that “secret”!
Lucky: So you can advise to young bands just to work hard…
Rainer: Yes, yes. And trust yourself, and do your own stuff! Don’t try to copy anyone else.
Lucky: As I know, you work with some indie label?
Rainer: Yes, Sakara.
Lucky: Why? Don’t you want to work with some major?
Rainer: Because when we’re doing with a little firm, there’s a little theme, and to make connections to everyone is easier, and guys are very enthusiastic (what a word, I can’t pronounce it now!), they’re living so hard in that firm, so we trust them.
Lucky: Do you like to communicate with fans? Out of the stage, I mean.
Rainer: Of course! Of course. If someone wants to talk with me at the gig – of course, if I have enough time, it’s ok.
Lucky: You play almost at every Finnish summer festival.
Rainer: Yeah.
Lucky: It’s quite hot weather, isn’t it hard?
Rainer: Yes it is, very hard, if you’re playing at noon. But fortunately this summer our schedule is so that we start about 10 p.m. or something. And it’s big relief us, because playing that kind of heavy metal is quite hard job to do on stage.
Lucky: Do you play just summer festivals?
Rainer: Yes. Just one club gig in Tavastia, Helsinki, but after that all summer goes in summer festivals. And when the autumn comes, then we make some club gigs. But I’m not sure yet, there’re few plans that we’ll go to Europe to play (maybe) as a support band.
Lucky: Have you played in Europe a lot?
Rainer: Like 10 times… No, no 15 gigs! 15 or something, but very little. So far, so far!
Lucky: Of course :) What country did you like most?
Rainer: We have only played in Germany and Estonia. Both countries are fine! :) Estonian people are funny, because they are talking like us, but I don’t understand what they’re saying! [laughs] Like, “whiskey” is “vodka”, you know, words mean different things than in Finland. But they sound exactly the same!
Lucky: You played with Metallica.
Rainer: Yes.
Lucky: Is there in the world some other big band with whom you’d like to play?
Rainer: Maybe Testament or Megadeth. I’d like to meet Dave Mustein. Because he’s a kind of cryptic person, you know. Some people say that he is very… difficult person, and other say that he is not. I think it would be nice to meet him some day, and check it by myself!
Lucky: Do you compose songs specially for albums?
Rainer: Yes, yes. The main songwriter for the music is Marko, he makes like 90% of music. He makes it his way… He doesn’t think about albums. He makes some demos and together we choose the best ones, which we like. And then I try to write lyrics to those songs. I write with the feeling, I listen that music and I just write, write with the feeling.
Lucky: But do you have some unreleased material?
Rainer: No. No. We make music only for the records. Because the bands who make like 40 songs to one record, the rest of that stuff which didn’t end up in the record, - it’s mostly certain shit. I’m pretty sure about that. Why waste time to make worse songs?
Lucky: Oh, yes!.. Do you like show-business part of a being musician: photo sessions, interviews, signing, so on?
Rainer: Yeah, signing is ok. Interviews are ok. But photo sessions and video sessions are shit. I don’t like them.
Lucky: Why?
Rainer: A, I’m waiting and waiting and waiting and posing “I’m bad guy” [laughs] and so on.
Lucky: Why wouldn’t you make “fun” photos?
Rainer: We make! During this photo session, which we made for “Icaros” album, we took one shot where all of us were laughing. And the picture is good. It’s funny. It’s on Sakara’s website.
Lucky: By the way, your website is only in Finnish, why?
Rainer: Because it’s so little going in other world, so we think we’ll put the story in English when it’s necessary. At this moment it’s not. There’s MySpace.com, and there is some English stuff, and on our own website there’s a link to German site.
Lucky: How is it going with album in Europe?
Rainer: Our record company has just found ways and the new album is going to be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and they’re negotiating and checking out if they can make the tour in Europe next autumn.
Lucky: And what about Russia?
Rainer: Maybe someday, when someone just pays enough. So we will come…
Lucky: Are you expensive band?
Rainer: No, no. But actually last December we were supposed to come to Moscow, but promoter for some reason wanted to postpone the date for January or February, and we said “no, no, thanks, because we are in the studio that moment”. But maybe some day. We’d like to come to Russia! Because we know where people and fans are so into metal… and they like it!
Lucky: Do you feel yourself in the vein of “sex-drugs-rock’n’roll”? Is it your style?
Rainer: Nooo! I’m… I’m ordinary guy! Of course, when I have enough free time, I like to take few beers and vodka or something… But I have my day job, and my family, I like them very much. Music stuff is a hobby for me. Very dear hobby, you know. I’m ordinary guy.
Lucky: What is your day job?
Rainer: I’m a foreman in garage, we repair Volvos. I have been foreman for… 10 years now. But I like to work at normal day job. It keeps you… your feet on the ground. You know what the real life is. I don’t like that night life in rock’n’roll bars and so on. It’s so… so lame! [laughs]
Lucky: Do you have children?
Rainer: Not yet.
Lucky: But would you like? :)
Rainer: My fiancé says, she is wanting a kid and getting married, and so on, but… we are planning [laughs]
Lucky: Don’t you earn enough money for living by music? Can you some day change your day job and music, so first will be just hobby and second becomes a job?
Rainer: I can change, but it’s different question if I like it. But if recording are selling enough, I can stop my day job like for 2 or 3 or 4 years, and then come back if I’d like to.
Lucky: And what about other Diablo musicians?
Rainer: Same thing, same thing. Our live guitarist is just getting his second child, and he’s working at very responsible job, in Stockmann… We have our own lives, and we have our music lives. And they’re doing together very well at the moment.
Lucky: Do you know any Russian bands?
Rainer: Unfortunately, not. But that Eurovision song contest winner – it was awful… Ah, I remember one – Gorky Park!
Lucky: Can you know remember some funny cases from studio work or concerts?
Rainer: Studio work is just work. There’s no big things going, but on gigs, there was a funny case on Tuska 2 years ago, when I had to go to pee before the gig, but unfortunately the monitors on the stage… there were some misconnections in wires. And I didn’t have enough time to go to men’s room. And so first part of the gig was oh-hohoho! But I was lucky that it went over.
Lucky: What do you like more, studio work or concerts?
Rainer: Concerts, of course. Studio work is just putting your ideas on the tape. There’s nothing really mixing going on. It’s just hard work. Try to sing right, on the right notes, and play right notes, so on. It’s just work. But making those songs in the very beginning, when you’re making riffs and playing with the ideas - that’s funny. That is the soul of the things. Making something new, creating something new.
Lucky: Does it take long time?
Rainer: Yes. With last tape it took 2 years to make a record.
Lucky: And composing songs?
Rainer: When we’re working hard, we need like… 8 months. When you have basic ideas, it takes approximately 8 months until you’re ready to go to studio. Because we’re making the music in our free time, because we have those jobs and so on, we don’t have unlimited time. We have to work in evenings, weekends and so on.
Lucky: Can it be sometimes that you sit with music all the night, composing, writing lyrics?
Rainer: Yeees. Just before the studio. I don’t do anything, I come home and then start to write. It’s quite hard job to do, because you’re already tired and then you have to get some energy from somewhere to make the job.
Lucky: How do you find themes and subjects for lyrics?
Rainer: With the new record, “Icaros” album, I remembered my childhood, one old Finnish movie, and that I is the big picture of the whole record. And I borrowed that DVD from the library, and watched it again, and my fiancé bought this DVD – “8 killing bullets”. It’s based on the real story, very tragic, which happened in Finland in 1969.
Lucky: I though “Icaros” has some connection with Ancient Greece story?
Rainer: Yes, but the title song is a different story. Because when Marko gave me the idea of that music, I’ve just heard the “Icaros” in chorus. I’ve just heard it, then I wrote the song under that name. This particular song has nothing to do with whole big thing on the “Icaros” album. Because I made one song, “Icaros”, I thought that it must have something with that old Greek legend. But the lyrics itself are quite universal. There’s no connection to the time or place. I think! And I hope! :)
Lucky: So do you like psychological and philosophical themes? Or sometimes there’s no big sense?
Rainer: Within every song there’s some meaning. But when I have lyrics ready, the original idea have blurred, you know. It changed to something else. So often I laugh after I wrote lyrics: OK, it’s like this! But anyway I like all of my songs.
Lucky: Journalists ask you about your music, lyrics and everything. Is it difficult to analyze everything?
Rainer: Yeah! Because if you ask some question, I give you some answer. But if I go home and think that question again, answer may be different, you know. Because questions can came like from behind the tree: oh, really?! What can I say, you know.
Lucky: Ok, your plans for future.
Rainer: Making great shows, having good time with our tour crew, making people happy on the gigs, and… and maybe some rest, and maybe planning new songs. Maybe.
Lucky: Often in music of bands with similar style we can’t hear particular words. In Diablo case we can listen not only music but also lyrics. How do you make it? What’s your secret?
Rainer: Do you know the band “Death”? Chuck Schuldiner (RIP) was my inspiration… by music also. I like his style, because he pronounces clearly, at least at his last records. And “Pantera” also. I’m not a big fan of “Pantera”, but I like the style of singing. He makes things with crunch. You can hear words. There’s absolutely no secret. I would say that it’s also some kind of a talent. You just have to know what you’re doing, and thinking in a whole mixing, it’s a question of your own mind. I mean, you cannot teach. If you ask me if I can teach you to sing like I do, - I cannot. Because I don’t know how I do it. I just feel myself and go on. Eh, I don’t know. But something like that.
Lucky: Is there something I didn’t ask, but you would like to add?
Rainer: Eh… How can you sing and play together.
Lucky: Oh, is it difficult?
Rainer: Yes! Try it. Yesterday we played 4 new songs. Guess how many hours I have practiced to make them live?
Lucky: Mmm, maybe 5 rehearsals?
Rainer: Five, no! It took over 100 hours to practice. Yes, playing is easy, singing is easy, but if you’re doing those things together, properly, it takes – 4 songs over 100 hours.
Lucky
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