and found this interview
you had toville in last week
if this were not here at the forum, since I'm new and not seen all the e-post
interview
Some women might find it interesting to know that rockstar Ville Valo is no longer celibate. Nor has he ever been, even though for the past year he has marketed himself as being completely without sex. "It was total rubbish, a joke. Somehow the story just got started.", HIM's frontman who turns 32 next Saturday laughs. It sounded surreal that the world's most famous Finn would spend his nights sleeping alone in his impressive, eight-cornered tower in Mukkiniemi, Helsinki. "I've found a lot of lunatics that are fun waking up next to in the morning", Ville sneers. "Both heads are still playing, but there's no big romance going on. Let's say that this man's hook is still the water (ie, he's still looking), 'cause I prefer intense and long relationships." Is his alcohol strike just a facade too? (Sentence I don't completely get but it's about the interview taking place in their manager's office.) Ville seems to be well and is surprisingly fresh looking. He swallows some Coke, his second - and once again his lungs are filled with nicotine. "Smokes and Coke are my only vices. And before it was four packs a day, now I'm fine with one", the singer says. "Still no alcohol, unfortunately. My stomach (I think, not completely sure) can't stand the sort of drinking that I did for over ten years any longer." It's been a year and a half since Ville went to the rehab Promises in California. Ville gravitated towards alcohol because he was looking for countenance and oblivion. "Drinking was my self-medication. In Finland, we don't go to the doctor and say that we're feeling bad. We go to the bar", Ville says. During his worst years Ville drank a crate of beer in a day. In the morning he'd have eight beers to soothe his hangover and then another eight to get drunk again. "The drinking started to affect our gigs and my sleep. The final wake-up call came when the doctor told me that I'll go into cardiac arrest. My body couldn't take it. Despite this I'm proud that I could do it for so long. Many are ashamed of their drinking, but I see it as some great parties." Suffering from panic attacks since 2003, Ville crashed mentally. HIM's American tour took it's toll and so did the break up in 2006 with Jonna Nygren. "It's fucking hard, traveling all around the world and only seeing your own home and girlfriend for three weeks in a year. And you always had to give it your all", Ville says. At the stars' favorite clinic, Ville recieved intensive care for a month. Before that they used to, but now Ville's hands no longer shake when he lights another cigarette. "How has being sober changed my life? When I get pissed off, I know why. I sleep better and because of that I have the energy to do more, even cleaning. But in the end, surprisingly little has changed." But the rocker's life has still changed a lot in ten years. In the beginning Ville had do steal, even toilet paper, but for the past few years he's earned several thousand euros a year. How much has stardom changed the man? "Well, my feet are hairier and I'm no longer scared of flying. But I'm sure I've grown up, with the music", Ville, who's played different instruments since he was seven years old, says. Ville, who writes all of HIM's songs, still has room in his life for more. Under way, among other things, is a British book about the aestethics of goth-love in rock. The theme can be found in Ville's home. "I'm really comfortable at home and the interior design takes up a lot of my time." Ville has also had time for the saving of the youth center in Munkkiniemi. It's where HIM put together demos before their first record deal. "We did a single with some friends to try to prevent the destruction of the youth center." In his youth, Ville also found a place in Oulu to spend his time at, where he played Trouble with his friends and ate 'siskonmakkarakeittoa' (soup with a certain Finnish sausage). "In youth centers you tie important friendship bonds." Getting rid of them will not do any good when there are people needing help in mourning of the school in Kauhajoki or similar tragedies, Ville explains. Ville will soon travel to the United Statec to meet with record executives. "We're speculating about the band's future. What's going to happen, with whom and when?" In 2005, HIM made history when their album Dark Light reached gold status in the US, having sold more than 500 000 copies. 2007's Venus Doom debuted at position 12 at the US Billboard album charts on it's first week of release, a difficult thing to accomplish. During the Christmas holidays and on New Year's Eve, HIM will play three gigs, ending at Tavastia in Helsinki and the others being in Tampere and Oulu. The band is still on a "leave of absence", with no mention of how long it will last. Forever? "Could be that the band is over next week. But we might just as well still be playing in ten years", Ville contemplates. "I've written new songs. Just yesterday I got really inspired by a melody and I've had fun adding to it." According to Ville the band will head back to the studio in January. "The new album will be out on September 12th 2009." (Sentence I don't get, sorry!) Where does Ville find the melodies and lyrics for his songs? During his youth he didn't have any close friends, to whom the could share his troubles. "So I decided to tell them through music." We'll have to see if HIM's new album will beat the previous one. What about Ville's sobriety - is it a lasting decision? "Drinking wouldn't make any sense, but I haven't made any deals with myself. I might go straight to the bar after this interview." One of Ville Valo's new projects is the animated movie Madagascar 2, where the musician lends his voice to the movie's hippo star. The movie will premiere in Finland next Friday. "At first I thought it was a joke, me being asked to do this. But it was an interesting and fun project, that didn't force me to stray from band stuff. The studio had a mike and director giving instructions", Valo tells us. Wasn't voice acting difficult? "I've been using this voice at bars for almost twenty years. And it's for an amorous hippo, who isn't in the movie all that much." Valo doesn't dream of becoming a serious actor. "I don't have the talent for it, just like many other musicians. Jon Bon Jovi is a good example of someone who's continued movie flops you just have to laugh at."
pictures of interview
so we will see new disc in September so that speaks ville
