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Music Interview : Ville from I walk the line   When and how was your band created? We started playing in summer of 2002. At that time our members also played in Wasted and Manifesto Jukebox and we didn´t have any tours or recordings going on with those bands, so I guess we were bored and needed some action , so we started jamming some different kind of stuff than our other bands were playing. So, at first it was just a sideproject. The other bands are more straightforward punk rock/hardcore and with this band we wanted to play more rock´n´roll, with wider musical influences. We all shared the same kind of taste in music and we all also listen to a lot of other music that just punk and hardcore and we wanted explore what we are capable of creating. Then a bit later when we got a few songs together we thought of expanding our sound a bit, so we asked our friend Anna to play the keyboards for us. So we got enough songs to go and do gigs, then we thought releasing our first album. Our first album was released in 2003 by our guitarist own label Combat Rock Industry and an UK label Bosstuneage. After that we toured Finland a lot an also did two tours in UK/Ireland and Germany. This year we just released a new album called Desolation street and it was received really well at the gigs and in the media. Actually it was on the official album charts for two weeks. That was a nice surprise… After releasing it first we toured Finland for three weeks and Germany and Austria for three weeks. In summer 2006 we play a lot of festival shows in Finland and record a new single. Then later this year we tour Central Europe again for three weeks. Where is the name of the band coming from? Well, quite obviously it´s a name of a Johny Cash song. When we thought about the name we wanted it to reflect our attitude towards music and life and that it would give some kind of an idea of our sound. That it´s not just punk rock, but also something else, both musically and attitudewise. Kind of "go your own way and never give up". At that time Johny Cash´s name wasn´t all over the media and he was still alive. If we had known that he´d be in all the papers now and that they´d make a movie of almost the same name as our band, we´d have picked another name. But of course we still like the name… What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work? When I started my musical "career" at the age of 10 playing drums, I used to listen to a lot heavy metal, like Metallica and Anthrax. The a bit later I found punk rock and started to listen to Black Flag, Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, Agent Orange etc. Those bands influenced me a long time and still a little bit. With I walk the line our major influences have been The Clash, Rocket from the crypt, Murder City Devils, Lords of the new church, The Cure, Social Distortion, Living End and some Finnish artists like Badding and Agents. What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland? The positive thing is that a lot of good music come from Finland and at least at punk rock gigs there´s always a lot of people and people are active in the scene. Finland being isolated makes us try really hard to make really good stuff cause it´s so hard to get out of here to the rest of the Europe. The fact that Finland is really isolated from the rest of the Europe makes the touring bands usually skip Finland when they tour, because it´s expensive to come here and they miss a day, cause of the ferries and stuff. Also a negative thing is that the music scene is really small, you can only tour like once a year here. But that makes us only try harder to get out of here… How could you define your style of music? Melodic and melancholic organ driven punk rock´n´roll with a twist of northern anxiety. During the years how has your musical style changed? It hasn´t really changed that much, because with this band and we´ve only played for four years. The first album was a little rougher, more punk, more straightforward. At least soundwise. Maybe the new album has got more influnces from different musical genres like rockabilly, country and indierock and it´s more melodic. How do explain these changes? I guess we are a little better musicians now and also we want to go forward with our music and experiment new areas. We have no boundaries where we can go with this, we don´t limit ourselves just because we´d have to fit a certain genre. What are topics you treat in your songs? The lyrics of the latest album are mostly about personal experiences in life and how I see the world surrounding me. How to deal with changes, fears, anxiety and loss. Some songs also deal with being part of the society and your place on the world. The songs aren ´t necessarily too happy or positive, but that reflects the time when they were made. I was going through a very depressive period in my life. And making lyrics is a really good outlet for those emotions, like seeing a psychiatric. What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why? There´s a few favourite ones, but maybe "When I´m Gone" could be the one, because it´s the most different of our songs. It´s the poppiest song we have, kind of mellow, very melodic, but still melancholic. When we play it to an audience who don´t really know our songs, it´s nice to see their reaction to it. At least in Germany where people expect us to play energetic, fast punk rock. And it´s also very catchy and fun to play. Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio? Well, in studio it´s really hard work for weeks and there´s moments when you get really tense when something doesn´t work out, but it´s fun and the result usually  totally blows your mind away. But when you´re playing it live, you give your 100% and sweat like a pig and then you get the audience´s response right away, whether they´re singing the lyrics or dancing or applauding, it´s all so great. You get such an adrenaline rush that you don´t even have to be drunk…hah. During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer? It´s the moment when you´re strumming by yourself with your guitar and the song starts to get its´ shape and then all the melodies and parts start to click and you notice that the song is gonna be a killer. A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song? It´s totally impossible to pick one song or even one artist, it changes from day to day. I have these periods when I listen to an artist/artists a lot and then I forget about it for a few years and then come back to it and if it´s good it still sounds really good after those years. If I have think about a song that makes that effect, what came to my mind first was a Lou Reed song "perfect day". It reminds me of the good old days. What makes a good song good isn´t necessarily the song itself, but also the way it reflects the emotions you had when you listened to it the most. So, that song always reminds of good times. What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet? It's a really good medium for getting new listeners and getting to know new bands. Lately I have found loads od new through internet radio and stuff. I hate national pop radios, but in the internet you can choose from loads of alternative radio channels and you get to know really good bands unknown to us here. I don´t really care if people download our stuff free from the net, at least if they come to the gigs and tell their friends how good we are, hah. At least if I´m interested in a new band I listen to it on the net and if I really like it I wanna by the whole thing with the covers and the lyrics, not just the music. Because it´s the whole thing that matters. With some bands the lyrics are even more important than the music. What are your projects ? Well, I don´t know what you mean by projects, but me and the guitar player of IWTL also play in Wasted and the other guitar player Jani runs a record company called Combat rock industry and a record store called Combat rock shop. And I´m also really active in skateboarding, I skate almost every day and sometimes we tour Finland with our skateboard team called Tikari hateboards… What "image" do you have of French music? I don´t really have an image about it, but I have this feeling that they mostly listen to French artists that are mainly known only in France and not the rest of the Europe, but I might be wrong. We don´t hear a lot of French bands up here…I mostly have heard some good French hip-hop, I think it sounds really fluent when they rap in French. Then I have listened to some Edith Piaf sometimes. On tours we have played with some good French punk bands like La Fraction and Wrensh. Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it? I don´t remember the names of the songs, but that great Edith Piaf song… Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2006

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