Upstairs in the spot booth of Jaxx, I anxiously await the arrival of Jyrki69, lead singer of Finnish Goth/rock band The 69 Eyes.  And, gentleman that he is, he doesn't keep me waiting long.  He recommends moving to a smaller, more private room in order not to be disturbed by the upcoming sound check.  So, I gather myself up and allow him to lead me into a back storage room, where he takes a seat on a wooden stool and situates himself for the interview.  I couldn't help but notice him stealing a quick moment in the mirror before settling in.  I rummage though my purse, and pull out my trusty digital recorder, turn it on, and hand it to him.  Amused, he takes the recorder, and after giving it the once over, he looks up at me expectantly.

J:  It's running?  Alright. Hi.  This is Jyrki from The 69 Eyes, your favourite Helsinki Vampire, straight from Helsinki, the city of vampires.  We arrived today about, like four or five hours ago, to Washington, DC, and now we are really scary, at the really scary backstage room of Jaxx.

M:  So how does it feel to finally be here touring in the US?

J:  Oh, wow.  It's like, it's something that was in our mind when we first ever started the band, like 17 years ago.  So finally, we are here.  But, actually, I think it's kind of like, um, maybe it's even better that we took this long because, um, well, I mean, I think everything has its purpose and so it was meant to happen like this here.  And I'm really, really happy.  I'm really excited.  I'm jet-lagging as well, so if I start to talk too fast, don't mind about that.  But I mean it's about the time, and I think we really also deliver.  I mean, I think, like, at this very moment, the 69 Eyes has a lot to offer that no other bands have.  So this is the beginning of a new chapter for us and I thought, also think this is like also, sort of I would say new beginning for some area in, just to be immodest, in American Goth rock or glam rock or whatever, scene.  You know, I think, you know we are recycling a lot of stuff, like musically and artistically, so I think we are sort of like bringing back a lot of elements that maybe some kids here have forgotten, like the whole dalliance of like black hair, black leather jackets, and you know, black sunglasses.  So those are the three holy elements that we have been, you know, truthful to over the years.  But I mean, it's not a new thing, but it's like something that never, which is never, it's never trendy, but it's never out of style either.  You know what I mean, hopefully?

M:  Yes, I do.  Now, when you're touring and you've been to different countries, do you notice a difference in the audiences based on the countries, say, differences between German fans versus Japanese fans versus Finnish fans?

J:  Well, in Finland we are like a mainstream band, like our recent five albums have sold gold and platinum, so we are totally mainstream band.  And the maturity of our audience is like, we're like all ages band there, even teeny-Goths favourite.  But that is something different, and that's like in Finland.  But everywhere else where we go, we are like more like a cult band, like here.  So like, in Finland we have like totally mixed audience, like ordinary pop/rock listeners and, of course, teeny-Goths and so on.  But wherever we go to some other country, like Brazil or Italy or something like that, we have like this, you know, this kind of like grave robbers, horror film fans, you know, and wannabe vampires.  So it's a little bit different, but the maturity of our audience somehow, I don't know the real reason, but seems to be like 90emale.

M:  Well, that can't be a bad thing now, can it?

J:  Well, I mean, for us every time we, for instance, we did a short tour in Sweden like about a month ago, and we were, like after the shows, we were talking at the backstage, "Did you notice there were so many guys in the audience?"  And we were like, "Yeah, that's actually nice."  So, I mean, I remember seeing some interview of Slayer, where they were saying that, "Oh, yeah.  We start to get girls finally, after these 25 years, to the audience."  And we are like after 17 years, "Hey, we got some guys in the audience now!"  So maybe we should tour with Slayer, to make, you know . . . . . . .

M:  To make it balanced.

J:  Yeah, yeah.  (Laughs)

M:  So, at what point on a tour do you get fed up and say "Fuck this.  I want to sleep in my own bed and I want to shower in my own bath."  At what point do you get to where you just can't handle it anymore, where you're done with it and it's time to go home?  Do you ever get like that when you're on the road, or is the whole thing always exciting?

J:  Mmmmm, this is much like, um, touring is much like, you're competing with yourself, how your physics can stand, and how you can maintain your, for instance, my voice.  How can I, it's just like, you know, I'm like, I'm responsible more to myself, of course for the audience and so on.  But it's like really something that you are pretty much by yourself, totally alone and then if you're, well, since I'm hyperactive I've done the mistakes that, I just can't go to sleep.  I run around and chase around, well, girls or whatever, and then just, you know, you loose your voice if you're awake too long.  So that's, sometimes has been pretty hard for me.  But, and then, if you start to feel like that, like you said, or if your throat gets sore, you're really, really alone.  But, I mean, just, you have to survive it.  And eventually when you are home, after a couple of weeks or even months, you really start to miss the feeling of being in the, sleeping in the tour bus.  It's kind of like, really like a vampire life, because the bunks where you are sleeping, they are pretty much like coffins.  So you're like these vampires sleeping in these coffins, and the big bus, which is like a huge hearse, is moving.  So, it's sort of like, you start to miss it for some reason.  I can't explain.  Sometimes you feel like, this is not like, well, it's really anti-glamorous, but still, you know.  And especially, it's like something extremely exciting to do this tour.  So I don't, huh.  Well, there's no straight answer for that.  It's just, those were the feelings which came into my mind.

M:  O.k.  If you could not do this as a profession, what would you see yourself doing, something other than this?

J:  Oh yes.  Well, actually I got a profession.  I'm a, I got a Master of Science degree in chemistry.  So I can do, you know, like, science.

M:  And that is something you enjoy doing?

J:  Yeah!  You know, I don't want to limit myself.  I would be ridiculous that I can have a Master's degree and I would be only a singer in a rock band.  That would be like limiting myself, you know.  So, I mean, I love to do everything I can and I'm always eager to learn something new. So, it would be really dull to, for instance, if I meet some girl I would never say I'm a singer of a band. That would be so fucking boring. I guess I'm so much, you know, else as well.

M:  There's much more to you than just that.

J:  Yeah, right.

M:  What about a job that it does not matter how much they pay you, you could never do?  It's just not for you.  No matter how much money they gave you, you would never do it.  It's the worst job ever.

J:  Um, well, to be the president of any country, really.  I don't want to get elected.

(Much laughter)

M:  Alright.  Now I'm going to ask you a few James Lipton-ish questions.

J:  What's that?

M:  James Lipton was the creator of the Actors Studio Drama School, and he hosts a program called "Inside the Actor's Studio" where he spotlights different actors and talks about their craft, and he has some standard questions he closes his show with.

J:  Alright.  Sounds good.

M:  What is your favourite sound?

J:  (Thinks for a minute or two.)  Um, yes.  Kissing.

M:  O.k.  What is your least favourite sound?

J:  Fart.

(There is some giggling on both our parts.)

M:  What is your favourite word?

J:  (Ponders a bit.)  Jiminy Cricket.

M:  What is your least favourite word?

J:  (Again ponders a bit.)  Nazi.

M:  What turns you on?

J:  (Ponders a bit more, and then flashes me a sly grin.)  American woman.

M:  What turns you off?

J:  Finnish bitch.

M:  What is your favourite curse word?

J:  I don't curse.  (There's that grin again.)

M:  O.k.  So, if you had to talk to one person, either living or dead, who would it be and what would you say to them, or what would you talk about?

J:  Mmmm. I'd like to talk with Bono about his visions about the, you know, about the issues of like globalization and how he sees the situation of Africa.

M:  That's right.  You were selected for the UNICEF . . . . . .

J:  I'm a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador of Finland.

M:  Yes, that's right.

J:  I actually just met about a month ago Sir Bob Geldof.  So, Bono, I haven't met him yet, but that would be interesting to talk about the issues that I know of.

M:  Do you do a lot with UNICEF?  Have you gone out and done . . . . .

J:  Yeah, I was in Kenya.  About a half a year ago I went to the, now there's a really bad situation in the border of Kenya and Somalia.  There's a really dry time.  They were waiting rain when I was there and they were really expecting it to come, but it never came.  So it's really dry there, you know.  So, I'm aware of what's going on, especially Africa seems to be like close at my heart.  And I'm proud to have the chance to, you know, to tell about these things to the people who probably would never give a thought about, you know, those issues.  So, it's really interesting and I think UNICEF was really clever to pick me because I'm totally different kind of, you know, character than they've been using before.

M:  I think it's wonderful.  I like forward-thinking people like that. 

J:  That's good!

M:  Now, if you could talk to God and ask Him only one question, provided you believe in God, what would it be?

J:  (Without much hesitation at all, but with an obviously pained expression)  Why Elvis?

(Much laughter all around.)

M:  Good answer.  Well, I don't want to take up much more of your time, as I know you're busy, and I know you're probably tired . . . .

J:  Well, I have to, wait.  Do I look like I'm tired??  (He stands to check himself in the mirror again, adjusting his jacket, his glasses, and his hair.)

M:  No! You don't look like you're tired.  I've just done enough international travel to know that landing only 5 hours ago can be rough, especially since you have to go on and do a show.

J:  But I look, I look real fresh.  (He's pouting when he says this. I can't contain my laughter, and that elicits a grin on his part.)   Well anyways, thanks for these interesting questions.  And, Jiminy Cricket wasn't actually one word, but it sounded funny.  Yeah.  He should be walking around here, telling me to go do . . . . . . (Now it's Jyrki's turn to dissolve into laughter.)

M:  (As I'm laughing)  Is that your conscience?

J:  Ah, I hope, well, let's see what happens.  Maybe if my godfather fairy comes up and then I'll be a real boy one day.

M:  I wanted to know if it was possible if I could get a couple of pictures before we close.

J:  Yeah, yeah.  I look like shit, but don't mind. 

M:  (He's stunning, and I think he knows it.)  I don't think you look like shit.  (He flashes me that sly grin again.)

J:  Alright.  This was fun.  Goodbye everybody!

M:  Thank you.