Jyrki 69 of The 69 Eyes: "We get back to square one with the new record."

Exclusive interview with Jyrki 69 of The 69 Eyes © Jourdaine Middleton

On October 20th, 2009, the “Helsinki Vampires” came to the Blender Theatre at Gramercy in New York City, much to the delight of their dark children in America.
Finland-based The 69 Eyes began touring the United States in support of their latest full-length album, Back in Blood. Returning to the city where frontman Jyrki 69 said “where it all started,” the band didn’t hesitate to express their love for New York City.
   “Let me tell you guys something. The 69 Eyes are all about New York f**king City,” said Jyrki on stage, in between songs.
   With a combination of the red velvet drapes and darkness of the vintage theatre, as well as the dark swooning sounds of opening bands The Becoming and Dommin, The 69 Eyes played a venue very fitting to their persona.
   Before The 69 Eyes played their set, Jyrki 69 sat down to discuss the new album, the slight changes in music style, and traveling to outer space in 2010.

JM: Since you've been in the U.S., have you had the chance to visit Graceland, Elvis's [Presley] estate?

Jyrki: No, never, never. I never had the chance and I guess I should, of course. It's strange, I never had the chance to go there. It's still waiting for me. I've never seen the Pyramids either, in Egypt.

JM: When you became a serious band, back in the days before Bump N' Grind, who were your major influences at the time?

Jyrki:   Well, like, I guess one of the things why we started the band, one of the things was of course Guns N' Roses. That album, Appetite for Destruction; that was an album by five guys in a rock band, and it was amazing. They were the biggest thing happening in the world, so of course when that kind of record comes out, you're like, “Hold on, I'd like to be in a band too, because that's amazing. I'd like to be the center of [attention] for people.” That's actually the reason where you stand in this life, it's bulls**t that people say they start a band for different reasons. We started the band-- I started the band because I wanted to be, like, a cool rocker that people are interested in.
    At some point also, I was always asked, “What's your band? What band are you playing in?” And, you know, I wasn't in a band so it gets frustrating. The same thing happened. I was hanging out here in New York in the late 80's and people asked me what's my band, and then they told me, “Hey, you look like a vampire.” I guess because I had an accent.
    So, all of these same things over and over again, a couple will say, “What's your band? Hey you, you look like a vampire.” Here I am after 20 years, you know.

JM: How old were you when you started writing music and lyrics?

Jyrki: Uh, I guess, 20. 20, or 19. Maybe 20. Actually, pretty old. What the hell... what was I thinking of when I was 16? Probably Spiderman. [laughs]

JM: Were you interested in becoming a band when you were around 13, 15, 16?

Jyrki: Well, you know, when I was like 8-years-old, I used to play Elvis in front of the mirror. I used to listen to Elvis and I was mimicking with a hairbrush in front of the mirror, like I am trying to get the moves or something like that. At the early age, I thought I looked like a guy who might be in a rock band like that.

JM: What's the earliest song or poem that's stayed with you throughout the years?

Jyrki: By the way, you have very great questions.

JM: [laughs] Thank you very much.

Jyrki: Probably The Doors, “Light My Fire.” That's something I remember hearing in my childhood, and I later recognized the song from the radio. One of the songs also is Jefferson Airplane, “Somebody to Love.” I heard it last night here in New York, in some restaurant. The song still gets me nervous, you know.

JM: How so?

Jyrki: It touches me, really, somehow. It's, like, ever since it starts, I guess it takes me back to when I heard it the first time. The song caused me to be a child again, or something. I guess it touches me, and that's why it's important in that sense.

JM: How did you make the transition from the early 69 Eyes to what you have now with your mellow, gothic sound?

Jyrki: I think it has something to do with my getting older. Like, what's so interesting about singing about getting sex diseases from girls? I mean, I just tried out how to sound if I sang lower. It sounded pretty nice, it actually started to sound pretty. I just kept on doing it and all of a sudden, we're a glam band; a glam, metallic, dark rock band. I was screaming from out of my lungs, and all of a sudden I was thinking, “... What about when I was singing with a lower register?”
All of a sudden we were having songs on the radio, so all of this happened. But still, it's the same guys writing the same music, with the same ideas, with the same principles. I don't know if we ever changed, but I guess we changed when I stopped screaming.

JM: How have you progressed as a band over the years?

Jyrki: Actually, I think we stopped progressing a couple of years ago. I think with the new album, we went back 20 years to find the joy of playing together, being loud, being pretty simple with chords [and] with the songs. All of a sudden we realized that actually, we've been doing this so long, that's the best we do. I mean, our music is pretty simple if you compare it to Mastodon or something like that, so we're closer to The Ramones or AC/DC than anyone else. But I mean, that's the thing. It's just one of those things. We get back to square one with the new record, I guess in that sense. I like to keep it that way because I like it.
If there's an upcoming song with The 69 Eyes called “Baby” and the words are “baby, baby, baby,” or “cool, baby, baby, baby, baby,” that's probably the best lyrics I've ever written because I like that, that's my goal. I'm trying to rewrite “Tutti Frutti” [by Little Richard] all over again. Maybe someday I'll succeed.

JM: As a lyricist for the band, where and how do you write your music?

Jyrki: Our guitarist writes the music, he gives me the songs. He used to give me C-tapes, you know cassettes, then CDs, and now he just e-mails me the songs. So, I [laughs] just listen to them and all of a sudden have, like-- when a song comes up, I immediately have an idea for the lyrics. Not all of the lyrics, but the first verse and the chorus comes first, like immediately. Then that's a good song. If I have to listen to it over and over again, like, “Hm, what does this song symbolize? Where does this song come from?” Then I'd return to him and maybe throw it in the garbage can, then he tries to come up with the song maybe sometime later.
It comes from somewhere in the self-conscious. I mean, I don't know! I don't have, like-- well, now I have a book [a gift he received], I should write a couple of ideas here. It's like, I don't try to read my ideas over and over and try to figure it out. I'm open there and when a song comes up, I can do the chorus out of nowhere. Especially lyrics-wise, the lyrics come out when if I'm walking out in the night outside, or if I go to drive with the bicycle, sitting in the bathroom or something.
If I preserve some time, “Don't call me, I'm writing songs, please, from 6 to 10,” nothing happens. I'm bored to death or fall asleep. But if the lyrics come when you don’t expect it, I don't know where they come from. They just show up like, “Hey, here we are. Please write us down quickly.” “Okay, what was the last word here?” It's hard to explain.

JM: Besides vocals and lyrics, do you have another kind of musical contribution to the band?

Jyrki: Well, I'm there arranging the songs, which means… Some song needs something like a bridge, or double-chorus at the end, so I’m there to arrange them. That’s pretty much [it].
I don’t play anything. I don’t know, it’s probably kind of stupid that I ever tried to start to play. I mean, I played piano and guitar, I learned that as a kid, but with the band I don’t do very much. I’m big on not taking this too serious. It’s strange. Thanks for reminding me. [smiles]

JM: [laughs] When you went to L.A. to record for Back in Blood, did you show up prepared with what you thought was a complete album?

Jyrki: No, no, no, no, of course. I think it should happen that way. Of course, it turns out to be, in the end, what it sounded like during the process of the recording, and that’s how it should be always. I, actually, I always leave the lyrics to pretty late moments. So, I had some open lyrics and stuff like that, then I finished them there. That’s also stupid but I like that, I want to keep something open, you know? And I enjoy that. It’s exciting, it gives you a pressure.
Making a movie is different, but I mean, just keep it fresh. It should be something that happens at the very last moment. Like… the expiring date is not there…

JM: Well, you keep things at your own pace.

Jyrki: Yeah.

JM: So, why don’t you tell me how this album was written?

Jyrki: It was like how I already explained, our guitarist sends me some songs and then I listen to them. I get the lyrics ideas immediately. We wrote some 25 to 30 songs. I even sang them. You just have to do them. Even though at the moment I’m singing them after reading the lyrics, [inaudible] you just have to get them out of your system.
So yeah, we wrote the songs together, and then the record company guys listened to the songs because, you know, times are tough and so on, so everybody’s considering what’s going to be released. We wrote again and again different forms, and then we had them out like that. Actually it took, like, a year and a half – all of the last year – to write the songs because we had so many different options.
I just, uh, I felt stupid because the maturity of the songs were all about vampires and [I] was like, “Don’t I have anything in my mind? Why are these songs coming up?” And then suddenly I just realized that maybe it’s a good idea to keep it like that – the entire album [being] vampire-influenced.

JM: Your producer, Matt Hyde, really helped to take away layers of keyboards, background choirs, etcetera. It really got to the heart of what you guys really are. As an artist, was that challenging, or just a great exploration of your work?

Jyrki: That was, like I said, getting back to square one. Matt just wanted to show us that we can trust ourselves as musicians – as a band. You do a record and there [is] a lot of extra stuff over your music that always sounds polished and nice like that, but Matt told us that we’re a rock n’ roll band, we play our own instruments, there’s five guys, and nothing can stop us. That was his idea and that’s going to be heard on the record.

JM: After listening to the album a few times, I feel that it’s a real breakthrough that can get you some exposure in the mainstream…

Jyrki: Oh, wow! Cool.

JM: … I think “Dead N’ Gone” is a standout track on the record. Can you tell me how that song came about?

Jyrki: That’s a breakup song. It’s the only non-vampiric – [not] that much – of a song on the album. It’s a breakup song about, like, boy and girl breaking up. It’s a radio-pop tune off of the album. I don’t know, I just came up with the lyrics. There’s nothing mysterious about it, it’s just a pop tune on the album. Pop is nothing you can really explain. Pop is “popular,” so it’s the most pop song on the record.
We just did a video with Bam Margera for it. Bam is playing the main part; he’s a sad guy who leaves a girl, so it’ll be fun to see what this brings to us also. It’s fun to do. We did it two weeks ago in San Francisco. Actually tomorrow morning at eight o’clock, we’re going to film something more to it. [mumbles to self] Oh God.

JM: Do you feel you derive lyrics from what you personally feel, or from what other people feel?

Jyrki: That’s why the songs are inspired by the movies and the vampires and horror scenes in general, because that’s easier to write from inspiration, from somewhere. I haven’t written a lot of songs about myself, how I feel, for a while. I used to a little bit, but it’s not my style. I’m more into popular culture like, I won’t be repeating myself [smiles], but it’s not my style.

JM: What’s your favorite song on the album, and why?