Musta Joutsen

Questions Mr. Juan Pablo Diaz  from Argentina

-First, could you tell us a little about your musical background? Did you go to music school? What bands did you listen to when you were a kid? -My musical background is actually not so typical for a rock singer. I have studied music and theatre and performed in musicals as a dancer and singer. Before that I was in gymnastics and trained every day for hours. Music has always been a big part of my life. I guess my musical influences came from my big brother who listened bands like Whitesnake, Stray Cats, Toto, Accept etc.
-What or who inspired you to start singing? Do you play any other instruments?-When I studied musictheatre you had to sing during studies of course. I always thought I was a better dancer than singer but look what has become of me. I have a plan to learn how to play guitar. I'd love to make my own compositions.
-And when it comes to metal, what bands do you like?-My foreign favourite bands at the moment are Korn, Perfect Circle and Porcupine Tree. I've also been listening some Pantera (Cowboys from Hell) and Sepultura (Roots) albums. I'm very interested in listening new bands and new music. It's not so important what style they represent. For example one of my favourite bands at the moment is Röyksopp.
-How did Timo Tolkki contact you to become Stratovarius new singer? Did you guys know about each other before this?-I contacted first our common concert arranger Jouko J. Karppanen and he recommended to take contact with Timo and so I did. Timo and I didn't know each other before this.
-Timo was going through very difficult times back then, did he tell you why they where in need of a new singer?-That time of my life was like a soap opera. Timo told me this and that, you can only imagine. It was really crazy and hectic.
-During your time in the band, did you get a chance to try or work on any of the new songs?-Actually I made a whole record as Miss K but Timo decided never to publish it. I was really pissed off. I worked really hard for the record and made all the lyrics for the songs. Also "Maniac Dance" was a song written for me. Timo wrote it after I had told him that I often dance alone at my house like crazy.
-And why did they asked you to leave the band?-Well, it was decided that Miss K will have her own album and Stratovarius goes on like before. It sounded cool for me because the guys had been together for so long.
-At some point did you felt like being with disrespect, since you where hired and asked to leave almost within the year?-I didn't feel like that because I was making my own record. But later on yes of course! You can only imagine how I felt when he decided not to publish the record. Especially not telling any reasonable reason for this decision. I took a long time to recover and start making music again. But that's when I found Musta Joutsen. It was my healer.
- Has being the temporary singer of Stratovarius helped your career in any way? Like people who didn't know about you, now they did.- There are some good and some bad things. Of course I got a lot of publicity but Timo also took couple years of my life. I believe I would be here anyway.
-When you're walking down the streets, or touring or meeting fans, do people still recognize you as Startovarius singer?-Thank god no. Now they come to talk to me as a Musta Joutsen singer.
-Are you still in touch with Timo these days?-No. I don't want to hear about him anymore because he always confuses me. It would be hard. I tried to understand him for a long time but nowadays it's better to be apart. Timo is really nice and wise person but not very easy to be with.
-And what did you do after you left the Stratovarius?-I was singing in one band, but that just was not for me. Then I found Musta Joutsen.
-Please, tell us something about Musta Joutsen! How did the band come together? -This band has a long history. The guys of the band have been around in Finnish scene since early 90´s. Half of the band (Toni, Teemu and Markus) has been played together since teenagers. Me among our guitarist (Ertsi) and drummer (Tepeskeli) found the band (or other way round...) from internet. I answered Tonis (he is the leader of the pack) add and after try-out he liked my voice even though I had never sung in Finnish before!
-If I got the translation right, the name would be "The Black Swans" in English. If correct, could you explain why did you choose this name? Who came up with the idea?-It's never easy to decide what's the band's name is going to be. There's really no special story about this.
-How did the fans react to the new album? Did it have a nice reception?-Yes, I'm really proud of our new album! Reception was good and we have been making a lot of gigs while marketing it. At the moment we're planning to make acoustic record which includes our older material. And then during the springtime we're starting to compose new rocking stuff. So everything's cool!
-From the info I could translate from your MySpace, something about the songs telling "about Finnish everyday life and dreams of all the serious issues without any fear" struck my attention. What would these issues be? What do your lyrics usually dwell on? And who writes them? -The lyrics of Musta Joutsen are in Finnish and the writer is our guitarist composer Toni Loimuneva. At the moment we are in the Finnish markets and your translation is correct "about Finnish everyday life and dreams of all the serious issues without any fear".  The emotional difference comes from the quality of the lyrics and the nuances of it. How does it touch my life and my feelings and my way of thinking the world in general.  Toni is really genius in writing lyrics and I when I sing these songs I really feel that Im singing from my heart. We also work together in lyrics and I have always the final decision what Im singing. I have to stand behind the words Im singing.
-How did you got involved with Poko?-Once again I can thank Mr. Jouko J. Karppanen who liked our first demo and took it to Poko Rekord's manager Mr. Epe Helenius. The rest is history. Jouko knows my musical career from far behind so we can thank him.
-With the new album out, what plans do you have for the future?-Guess I told it already. We're moving forward all the time and getting better with everything. Life's good.
-And finally, any message to both Stratovarius and Musta Joutsen fans out there?-Believe in your dreams, they usually happen if you really want to. Love, hugs and kisses!