Interview with Alexi Laiho, 8.4.1979, Espoo
Taken from the TV show Jyrki
FIRST INFLUENCES:
Bands: W.A.S.P, Twisted Sister,Poison and all kinds of glamrock
but Steve Vai made me play guitar.
CURRENT GEAR:
3 Jackson RR custom guitars and the rest are professional secrets.
OTHER INSTRUMENTS:
Drums and Bass but guitar is my thing!
Jyrki: Is there going to be any changes to your music taste?
Alexi: No .. not at the moment.. I mean yeah and no but I've been playing many kind of music.. some of them I've played because I was in Ogeli and there I had to play things like Jazz and Bossanova and all other kind of neat things but those aren't so much like my thing. I don't know what I'll be doing in about ten years.. if I'll be doing anything.. I don't know.. I guess well see that then.But at the moment music is my thing and if I can do it for living.. then everythingis perfect!
Jyrki: Where comes your nickname "Wildchild"
Alexi: Well.. that comes from totally different asspects than music.
Before guitar Alexi played violin for 5 years and also got familiar with secrets of piano. However W.A.S.P and Co. got Alexis interests...
Jyrki: Do you have any kind of other life.. meaning outside of musicstuff.
Alexi: Well not really. Everything I do is somehow related to music. I don't really do and I really don't want to do anything else. I have three bands and I write all the music for C.o.B and C.o.B is the most important thing for me.. meaning that even if all the other bands I play in would fuck up I'd still have C.o.B as number one!
THE MOST IMPORTANT PROJECT THAT YOU'VE PLAYED IN:
Children Of Bodom
THE RECORD THAT SHOWS HOW YOU REALLY PLAY:
Probably the latest Sinergy
Jyrki: Do you think yourself more as an songwriter or guitairst.
Alexi: I think myself more as an guitarist but in the other hand I think myself as an songwriter cos' I do all the writing for Bodom. But I really want that people think me more as an guitarists than as a somekind of great songwriter. Let's say From last summer till now I've been reheasing my playing more than almost ever and noticed that "hell.. I wouldn't have been able to play this lick a year ago" and if I compare my playing to our first record.. back then I wouldn't have been able to play any of the solos I'm playing now.
GREATEST GIG:
One of the 2 Tokyo gigs
GOAL AS A GUITARIST:
To improve technique and of course trying to keep all as clean as possible. I mean.. I know my own limits and speed limits and so on.. I never play anything I'm not capable of.. that wouldn't make any sense.. let's say that there's a guitarist that has some ideas on his head but his technique isn't so good. That .. i think .. is a very traditional thing.. like I had it myself. After three years of playing I tried to play everything as fast as possible and that sounded.. would I say.. like shit and I didn't realize that If I'd play bit slower things.. that I was capable to play then everything would sound much better.. but after all that's a phase almost everybody goes through..
THE BEST FINNISH GUITARIST OF ALLTIME/NOW
Roope Latvala
Thanks Pekka for the translation!!