Last Panda's lead singer and songwriter Henry Ossian took a moment to answer some questions by yours truly. Did you know the pandas tried their luck already last year in UMK and how did that end? And what was he doing when Lordi rocked Athens? Find it all here. And don't forget to vote for them in my poll on the right hand side of this page!
It
was 2007 when the journey of Last Panda begun. I was at the back stage
of Bar 45Special, which is a legendary gig place in Oulu, Finland. The
walls of the small back stage room are full of hand written messages,
band names, stickers you name it. I decided that if I ever started a
band it should have a name that matters. And then it hit me: Last Panda.
I guess it’s my way to say that look around you what’s happening in the
world.
You have been playing together since school, right? How did you get started and has the line up been the same ever since?
Actually
only original members of Last Panda are me and HC Knuuti. We didn’t
have too much luck with drummers though. We had two different drummers
until Aapo joined our group in 2010. Some time later Laze came along
and brought keyboards in the scene. Looking back at that moment I
realize how important thing that was considering how much that improved
our music. Our newest member is the lead guitarist, Matt. He brings
dynamism to the band. We all have been playing music in different
groups since we were kids but Last Panda is something special. We all
have different qualities that produce something great when combined.
How did you start writing songs and do you remember your first song you wrote?
I
had my first band when I was six years old. I played pillows and cans
with drumsticks and my friend tried to get some noise out from the
acoustic guitar I had as a Christmas present. I think the band name was
The Lions but then we changed it to Space Cowboys for some reason I
can’t remember. It was fun. We wrote songs about my cat or Donald Duck
comics and stuff like that.
If you were offered a recording deal
and rush to make an album, would you have enough material? How do you
feel about covers and is there a song or two that you'd like to cover?
Oh
we have plenty of our own songs. I am confident that Last Panda could
record a killer album that people would really like. So record labels
hurry the hell up and catch us! We are not a cover band but we have a
couple of cover songs in our set list. I think it’s rude to play
relatively new songs of still active artists so we have tried to give
our rock and roll touch to songs like Because The Night, 867-5309/Jenny
and Maniac. I really look up to the artists that have made such awesome
songs that can stand time.
If you could work with any musician (living or not), who would it be?
I
have to pick two on this one: Elvis Presley and Freddie Mercury. No
doubt about that. Those men had the voice nobody had and nobody will.
And the way they performed and expressed feelings through
songs…spectacular.
Ideal duet partner?
I
can’t say who would be ideal duet partner for me but I can say whom I
would love to duet with, and that somebody is Maja Ivarsson of The
Sounds. She has an awesome singing style and a unique voice that I think
would match very well with my somewhat high pitch and strong sound. Also singing with Iggy Pop could be an interesting experience. The man’s a living legend that I respect greatly.
Who are your idols, musical influences?
This
is a very hard every time because there are so many artists and bands
that have influenced my music. Even though Last Panda plays punkish rock
I do listen music from classical to reggae to metal to hardcore punk.
Music is universal and you can bend airwaves so many ways. If I had to
name three I would pick Saves The Day, Queen and Rancid. But of course I
could name some twenty more.
Did you watch UMK last year and if so, what did you think about it?
We
had a gig at Bar Bäkkäri in Helsinki so we watched the final in our
hotel room. We were very surprised that a song that was sung in Swedish
won the whole thing but that’s just another example that surprises can
happen in music business and even in the institution of Eurovision.
Maybe someone else will say the same thing about Last Panda next year.
You never know.
I think the quality of songs is much better this year, do you agree?
I
think there has been much more resources and careful planning in the
concept this year. It’s not a secret that Last Panda qualified to last
40 last year with a different song. We were disqualified because the
song had been released on Internet. Good or bad luck?
Are you
happy how everything is progressing in UMK this year?
I
think it’s unfair that some songs are played on radio and some or not.
Radio Suomi picked five or six songs and they are on air all the time.
YleX picked only one song and it is playing all the time. Are other
songs so bad that they can’t be taken on those lists? If so, why they
have been taken in the competition? Otherwise it’s been a great
experience.
Are you an Eurovision fan and have you followed it?
I
can’t say that I am a Eurovision fan. I watch the competition every
year though and of course I feel good if Finnish artists succeed. It
would be an honor to represent Finland.
We just saw this Thursday your first performance to the judges? How did you feel it went? Were you nervous?
Of
course we were a little nervous because it wasn’t an ordinary gig. We
had to play just one song in the middle of the day in front of four
judges that we didn’t know beforehand. Maybe it looked like we didn’t
perform at our full potential because we didn’t. We were just trying to
play the song as well as possible. I promise that Last Panda is going to
shine on television screens when we get on the stage.
You have been playing countless gig but was it your first time on TV?
Yes,
it was our first live performance on TV. It’s harder than it looks
outside. We certainly learned a lot and we will be much experienced next
time.
What do you think about their advice and opinions?
I
really respect the judges. They gave us some good advice that we have
really thought about. Especially what Toni Wirtanen said brought us
confidence.
Are you going to act on them? What can we except next week in live gig at Circus?
You
can expect Last Panda coming to town experience. We will give our all
and see how far that carries us. People will decide by voting and all we
can do is hope that our music and attitude on stage will be enough to
convince them.
Where were you when Lordi, another rocker from the north won Eurovision?
I can’t remember. Probably partying somewhere.
Did you think one day you would be very close to that stage as well (well, not Athens but Malmö...)
I’ve
had this dream of playing my own music on big stages but I never dreamed of Eurovision. Life truly is an unbelievable journey.
How will
you get your fans to vote for you in UMK? Are you busy in social medias
and what plans do you have on that? You have said you represent the
whole northern Finland, all you need to do now is to get them all vote
for you....
We’re just going to be honest and do
our thing, play our song. After that we can only hope that people like
us. It’s not the end of the world if we don’t make it to Malmö as long
as we know we tried our best.
Last Panda is very active in social
media and everyone who likes our music is welcome to the crew. Like you
said we’re going to need all the support we can get. We represent
Northern Finland and of course we hope that people of our home area will
support us.
Thanks for the interview, Henry. Would you like to say hi to the readers of Blogilkar?
Music
is nothing without listeners. You make us musicians matter. Listen to
our song Saturday Night Forever and more importantly feel it. Check our
band out because Last Panda is coming! Keep on rockin’!
Originally posted Jan 8, 2013
Originally posted Jan 8, 2013
Comments