Bad Valentines of Finland released their debut single, “Mariia,” a few months ago. The punk rock band has an attitude and sound that I find appealing. The song definitely has a place on our punk rock playlist on Spotify.

We are pleased to have Kupe and HON from the band here today for an interview. Please welcome Bad Valentines to the blog!

Who is answering the questions?

This is Kupe (guitarist) and Hon (vox) talking.

Band/ Artist Name:

Bad Valentines

Tell us about your latest project.

HON: We had an awesome summer with lots of gigs. Now we are concentrating on writing new songs and practicing an acoustic set, to play some acoustic sets during the winter time.

Where was your first concert as a fan? As a performer?

HON: The first concert I went to was when I was twelve. My big brother took me to see the Beastie Boys, cause I had been listening to them already for two years then. I`ll never forget how they kicked ass. They made quite an impression and since then I got addicted to live shows.

As a real performer I had my very first concert with my Valentines last year in October. I had never performed in front of a real audience and on stage before…if karaoke doesn´t count here.  

Kupe: As a “fan”, first bigger concert was Metallica in Helsinki, I don’t remember the year but somewhere in the mid/early 90s. I’m not a huge fan of theirs, but I remember the gig was great.

As a performer, I’m not sure about the year again… but it must be the summer of 1994 or -95 in Helsinki. I was just a kid and I remember how nervous I was because I was a guitarist-singer at the time.

What is the secret to writing good music?

HON: Well, our secret is our guitarist Pekko He is an extraordinary songwriter. So, we got lucky!

In general terms, I think it is important to stay authentic, when writing music. You need to stand behind the lyrics you´re writing and you need to stay experimental, when composing a song. We have some songs, we played a million times at rehearsals, changing parts over and over again until they were perfect to us in the end. An open mind is crucial in songwriting as also a strong melody of course.   

Kupe: Don’t bore us, get to the chorus.. is a good rule to remember. Then you have to have skills for good melodies, lyrics and vocal harmonies. With these you’re well on your way.   

Do you have a bucketlist? If so, what´s on it?

HON: I would love to have a little tour somewhere in Europe, maybe back in my home country Germany. I have never toured before, so that is definetely something on my bucketlist.

Kupe: Touring in Germany sounds fun. I’ve done it once with another band and that was great.

What was the last thing that you read?

HON: IQ84 by Haruki Murakami.

Kupe: Please kill me: Uncensored history of punk

What are you listening to at the moment?

HON: I am listening to a lot of music and all kind of genres all the time. But right now Hot Water Music and Get Dead are running on extra high rotation.  

Kupe: I’m interested in new bands. In recent years, we have had an active rock scene in Helsinki. That’s why I recommend check it out Bad Valentines spotify playlist: Helsinki rock jukebox.

If you weren´t a musician, what would you be doing?

HON: I would run a dog shelter.

Kupe: Sometimes I wanted to be a watchmaker. It’s not too late to study it, but music comes first.

Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?

HON: Well, if I am allowed to “Reach for the Sky”  now, I would say Social Distortion

But more likely will be probably colloborations with local bands. There are so many great bands in Helsinki and around! It would be an honour to colloborate with one or more of them.  

Kupe: I would like to do gigs with The Interrupters. They are cool. 

What do you want people to know about your music?

HON: We love what we do! We stand behind what we are singing about and for sure we are authentic, when we go crazy on stage. Our music will stay something people can relate to. 

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