Interviewed by Brian Rademacher
Date: June 10th, 2005

http://www.feiled.com/

Hello Anton and welcome to Rockeyez.com. It is a great honor for us and for our readers to get to meet you. Do you have any opening statement before we get started?
Greetings from sunny Finland!

As a young man what was the first album you bought or was given to you?
I know that I should lie about this one but I'm going to be really honest with you guys. It was "Like a Virgin" from Madonna. I got it from my sister as a present. That was the start of my decay.

What was the first concert you attended?
Some local band had a gig at my home town so I was eager to see them. I didn’t understand anything of what they were doing. A tango-meets-rock type of shit!!

Did you collect anything as a child?
You could say that I "collected" my dad’s drums! =) And pictures of girls who were on the same class. A bit weird don’t you think?

What kind of kid were you in school?
Lazy. I only wanted to play music so I skipped classes!

Did you sing in school chorus or church?
No, but sometimes we jammed with my music teacher after school. He was a huge fan of Led Zeppelin and Johan Sebastian Bach.

Did you play any sports in school?
I tried but it didn’t really work out. I was too skinny for ice hockey and too dumb for tennis. I didn’t like team sports at all anyhow.

Were you a member of any clubs in school?
No. we didn’t have anything in our school. It was because of this bunch of stupid religious teachers who were mentally wrecked.

What song sticks in your mind that you used to listen to repeatedly as a young man?
Stairway to heaven! =) and Pearl Jam's " Jeremy" because my brother was a huge Pearl Jam fan.

When you were growing, up what singer did you admire?
Well, before I fell in love with Jeff Buckley, I liked Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder. I also liked how Ville Valo sang on "Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666.”

What was the very first band you were in?
A humorous black metal group called Riptured. That was shitty! =)

What was the first band that you were in that released any material?
That same group. We did a bunch of gigs at school parties and recorded horrible demos.

This is your first full length release with FEILED. The pictures on the cover and inner sleeve are heavenly. Tell me the image that you are trying to project?
When we were talking about the cover art, I watched hundreds of icons and other religious artwork to find ideas. I wanted the cover to give an expression of what the music was all about. Moody and sacred.

Track one on “Midnight Poems - Dive” is an amazing track. Can you tell me your experience writing this song?
I did that one with the piano so that gave it the proper mood that I was looking for. I was feeling sad and I had this inner longing for something that I couldn’t put into words. So I used music to help me out!

Listening to the new CD, many of the songs could make it to the top of the charts. You wrote all the songs on it. Tell me how you go about writing songs?
I love doing songs and writing in general. It’s something I try to do everyday. It's my savior and my meditation! =) It makes me feel that my life has a meaning. I write with the guitar or piano and just try to let things flow from me! That’s all I can say.

What is the most exciting part out being in FEILED?
The fact that you never know what's going to happen next. I like that!

What is your personal favorite track on the “Midnight Poems”?
“Contagious” and “Frontier.” They are really personal.

What is your favorite song to play live?
That’s a hard one. Maybe "Dive.” It’s the opening song so you can feel the adrenaline coming.

How was the band put together?
We’re old friends so it was easy.

Was FEILED the original name for the band?
Yeah. FEILED has always been FEILED! =)

Tell me your feelings about each member of the band?
Henri Ukkonen – Guitar
He is weird. You can’t really say what’s going on in his head but when he starts to play, beautiful things come out.

Martin Lindholm – Keyboards
A very loveable dude. Comes along with everybody! A shitty player though! =) (just kidding)

Panu Keskinen – Bass
The "father figure.” And likes dirty humor. When playing live, he has the aura of Nikki Sixx!

Hannes Pirila – Drums
Very musical and hard working person. Likes to drink a lot!!=)

How long did “Midnight Poems” take to record?
From 3 to 4 weeks. If you don’t count the preproduction.

Can you tell us of any experiences while recording the CD?
I had some fights with the producer and I'm still not satisfied with the result but I think that after a couple of therapy sessions I might be alright!=) Other than that, we had a great time!

What are the plans for FEILED for the rest of the year?
I'm making new songs for the next record and we play as many gigs as we can!

Will you come to the USA?
I would love to come. I hope we can!!

Tell me what a typical day for Anton Laurila is like?
I wake up and start making songs. If it's a good day something will born, if not, I go out and have a drink! =) other than that, I do Wicca and read books or watch movies. Boring huh?

What do you ask for on your rider (what do you ask for in your dressing room)?
Just good atmosphere! Nothing fancy!

What is the most memorable moment of being in FEILED?
Our first gig. I'm still having nightmares because of it.=)

Tell us your feelings about Finland?
I would prefer a change. it's too darn cold!

Are you married?
No. And I never will. If I love someone, I don’t need to tie them just to feel safe.

If you were co-headlining a US tour. What band would you like most to go out on tour with?
A Perfect Circle. I love them!

If you had three wished what would they be?
Gigs, gigs, gigs!=)

I am going to mention some words. Tell us what comes to mind.
Image - Jesus and John Lennon

Ego - Useless

Fans - Love

War - Hate

God - Doubt

Women - Yin Yang

Contract - Cheating

Dislike - Racism

A day off - Beer

Wild - Nature

Anton, Rock Eyez thanks you for taking the time to talk with us and to help us get more familiar with yourself and the band.

Rock Eyez Review of 'Midnight Poems' by Feiled