Conference report: Musexpo 2010 / April 25-28 2010 / Los Angeles

by Toni-Matti Karjalainen

Musexpo is an annual music industry event in West Hollywood, organized this year for the 6th time at the exquisite London West Hollywood hotel. The conference gathers together an impressive line-up of industry people (music industry executives, managers, label reps, marketing experts, game industry people, etc.) in the format of interactive panel discussions and key-note presentations. The expo, in addition to the annual sister event in London, is probably the best place to get an overview of the industry development and valuable insight shared by the industry leaders. Moreover, the atmosphere is extremely relaxed and inspiriting.

Even though the event is characterized by talks and more talks about the industry logic and trends, the music itself is really put to the forefront. Not only are music presentations included in the lunch pauses and between sessions but also is the tonal and visual pleasure offered by a number of showcase presentations by artists and bands from all over the world, taking place during the four evenings at the Viper Room and Whisky a Go Go. Also this year, the first but certainly not the last one for me, I met a bunch of open-minded people and managed to do lots of networking in the London hotel and nearby conference venues. This year’s event hosted some 30 artists from 14 countries and delegates from three dozen countries on five continents.

The origins of Musexpo, as explained by the organizers, stem from the roots of the A&R Network networking dinners in Los Angeles. These exclusive dinners were organized by A&R Network and A&R Worldwide architect Sat Bisla with the purpose of bringing together friends and like-minded relationships from the global radio, A&R, film/TV music supervision, publishing, new media and artist management communities to engage in creative dialogue and establish fresh business relationships. It was the positive culmination of these organic networking dinners that spawned the creation of the four-day event, still successfully hosted by Mr. Bisla himself.

The conference program started with a keynote panel, moderated by Nic Harcourt, a highly acknowledged music writer in the Los Angeles Times Magazine. The panel, one of the interesting ones in the event, consisted an impressive lineup of industry leading executives: David Glick (Edge, UK), George Ergatoudis (Head of Music, BBC Radio 1), Harvey Goldsmith (Harvey Goldsmith Presents), Jim Urie (Universal Music Group Distribution), Steve Schnur (EA Games), and Jim Hollingsworth (Gracenote). Impressing and interesting was also the Global Managers Forum that followed. From this discussion, we received insights from highly experienced music managers such as Jeff Jampol (e.g. The Doors), Jonathan Shalit (e.g. N-Dubz), Rob McDermott (e.g. Linkin Park), David “Beno” Benveniste (e.g. System of A Down, Alice In Chains), Robert Reynolds (e.g. The Killers), and Ted Chung (e.g. Snoop Dogg). After the nice lunch, served by Gordon Ramsay Restaurant at the top terrace of the London hotel, discussions continued with focus on music publishing and marketing.

The 2nd morning of the event, following the also interesting Global A&R Forum with the focus on the future of artist development, was highlighted by the interview (by Kevin Wall) of the industry’s living legend Harvey Goldsmith. He is really a person who has personally experienced the development of rock music industry from its early years to the present time. His stories with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd and Bruce Springsteed, to name a few, as well as organization of the Massive Live Aid and Live 8 concerts were truly fascinating to listen. During the following lunch break, Mr. Goldsmith was also acknowledged with an “International Music Person of the Year” award. As a personal note, it was quite nice to shake hands with this English gentleman.

Tuesday afternoon then consisted of more discussion panels on the topics of “connecting the virtual and reality worlds”, “music for the masses”, and “the future of music”. The tight morning of the last Musexpo day was packed – perhaps a bit too packed in fact – with discussions stressing the sponsorship issues in the “music in visual media & consumer brands” panel, insights on the selection of music in films and TV by the Chop Shop corporation, experiences about music and gaming by the EA music team, as well as examples of music integration ant the NBC Universal TV.

In overall, despite inspiriting talks about creativity and future possibilities in the music industry, a slight flavor of cynicism colored many discussions. And despite several reminders of the importance of “good” music in the core of all actions, Musexpo really stressed the business aspects and, at times, music itself and its integrity were left at the background. Which is of course understandable – this is a music industry event anyway. Nevertheless, the current focus on building super stars, mass market attention, and global recognition could be shifted onto other kind of realities as well. Super stardom becomes reality for a very few; there are thousands and thousands of artists with a smaller but often loyal fan base, perhaps a local one, which often is a good ground for a sustainable and long-term career. There are possibilities to make a satisfactory living out of music without breaking big time. And it might be more relevant for many participants to get ideas of how to build, nurture and manage such success stories cases through different media than to listen to per se amusing stories of star building. New distribution methods and technologies were also embraced with too little self-criticism. Social media, stream applications and new gadgets are yet cool, of course, but guess what, there are still genres and countries in which consistent albums, tangible CD’s with rich visual contents still make a big difference for the true music fans.


Altogether some thirty bands and artists played in the showcase evenings. I was able to check the most of them on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. There were many interesting presentations by very talented musicians – not many of them particularly targeted to my personal taste, but interesting indeed – as well as some less distinctive ones. In addition to the memorable shows by Sissy Wish, Laleh, Dúné, Ingrid Olava, The Boy Who Trapped The Sun, and others, I was personally moved by two presentations: The Australian Birds of Tokyo in the Whisky on Monday and Danish Mads Langer in the Viper Room on Wednesday. A specific impact was made by the Birds singer Ian Kenny who I was very surprised to see playing this band as well. Only few weeks ago was I knocked by his charisma as his better known band Karnivool played a killer show in Helsinki. It was also a pleasure to meet this nice guy personally after the show. All in all, I felt an additional rush of emotions during the gigs, particularly in the Whisky a Go Go, by the fact that many of my 70’s through 90’s heroes had really performed in this very place.

Home sweet home, for now, and certainly back to Musexpo L.A. next year.

http://www.musexpo.net/musexpoLA10/
http://musexpo.wordpress.com/

Finns conquered the Sunset Strip: Sonata Arctica (April 24), and Swallow the Sun, Moonsorrow & Finntroll (April 25) at the House of Blues

Prior to the Musexpo 2010 in West Hollywood, BogFires had a chance to see a bundle of Finnish metal export hopes at the House of Blues. Both of the caravans, one with Sonata Arctica onboard, and another one comprising Finntroll, Moonsorrow and Swallow the Sun, had already done a number of US cities on their tour bills before hitting the Hollywood hills.

Thanks to the Volcano in Island, my post-ash trip to the U.S. became realized few days later than planned, which meant that I did not even except to catch the Sonata show in time. But surprisingly, against all the odds, the master of the air handed out an extra reward and my flight touched down at the LAX airport over one hour ahead of schedule. Perfect! A quick cab to Santa Monica Blvd, check-in to the Ramada hotel, and hop hop to HoB. Sonata was playing “Juliet” when I entered the venue, so half of the songs were still left in the set list. Unfortunately, I missed the opening acts Powerglove and Mutiny Within. The later is one tha I would have especially liked to see, as their recently published debut album is kind of a nice piece of technical metal, visibly acknowledged also by the Prog metal authority Mike Portnoy.

Sonata did a great show that was more reduced in terms of gear and visuals than for instance the three previous shows I have witnessed in Helsinki, Gothenburg and Tokyo. This was because of the lighter backline and smaller size of the venue in which audience gets quite close to the band. Although Tony Kakko and the rest of the band are able to create an intimate and positive atmosphere in any place, at the House of Blues the show was even more down-to-earth, even in terms of the sounds. And the crowd, perhaps a few hundred heads, enjoyed it as well. After the show, we had a good time with these jovial guys from the dark north at the legendary Rainbow and their tour bus. Warm thanks to the band!

By sheer accident, also the following night at the House of Blues was booked for another bunch of Finns, a larger one this time, as the Finntroll-headlining “The Finnish Metal Tour 2010” stopped by in the angel city. The evening had a bit of an unfortunate start on my part, as I only saw two last songs of the opening Swallow the Sun. The show had started half an hour earlier that announced on the web page, and I did not know that the original opening act Survivors Zero was excluded from the entire tour (due to Visa problems).

Anyhow, the two STS songs were cheered by the audience. A praising comment that I got from a local guy who was hearing the band verified this. And band itself also felt having played a very good show, as was reported after the gig. Already now it also seemed clear that HoB offers quite good sounds. Moonsorrow that followed was a new live experience for me, and a very positive one. The band put out a very energetic set which was welcomed surprisingly well by the audience. The band’s previous visit to the venue on the Korpiklaani tour a year ago had done the trick. Regardless of the Finnish lyrics (and sense of humour…) Californian kids liked what they saw. And much liked was Finntroll too. Mosh pit was immediately set in motion and did not stop until the final tune was played by the intense band. Neither in the Finntroll case, the Swedish lyrics do not seem to lessen the interest of the band’s devoted Yankee fans who may have been slightly smaller in quantity in comparison to Sonata but much louder and furious. An interesting evening. And it was again prolonged in Rainbow as the bands and a number of their friends populated the bar. Such a large representation of Finns in is probably something that is not often seen in Rainbow.

TMK

The Rise of Finnish Heavy Metal: A Survey of Finnish Heavy Metal and its Export to North America

Wyatt Marshall, a friend of BogFires, wrote an interesting paper as his course work at the Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. With his permission, we publish the text below.

***

The Rise of Finnish Heavy Metal: A Survey of Finnish Heavy Metal and its Export to North America

By Wyatt Marshall

A small European nation intersected by the Arctic Circle, typically known abroad as the home of the cell phone giant Nokia, can safely add heavy metal music as a component of its national identity. Finland, as the native land of internationally successful and critically acclaimed heavy metal acts such as HIM, Children of Bodom, and Nightwish, has truly become what a recent documentary following the rise of Finnish metal music has called the “Promised Land of Heavy Metal.” Finland’s heavy metal bands feature musicians who are often classically trained and write exceedingly complex compositions, and their talents and efforts are regularly rewarded with top spots on Finnish charts. Although in Finland heavy metal rests comfortably within the parameters of mainstream music, internationally Finnish metal bands cater to a niche audience and compete for market share with heavy metal bands of other nationalities. An examination of export techniques and strategies for the North American market employed by Finnish heavy metal bands and Finnish music and art industry support organizations showcases the ways in which Finland has marketed its heavy metal as a uniquely Finnish cultural product with remarkable results.

Finland’s heavy metal has been exported in a variety of formats that reflect the complexities of the amorphous music industry. Although traditional cornerstones of the music industry such as touring and sales of compact discs remain staples of the business, an increasingly diverse range of alternate income sources are available to bands and record labels seeking to reach consumers. Digital media downloads, web stores that sell band merchandise to fans anywhere in the world, licensing deals with instrument manufacturers to create signature models named after bands’ stars, and even downloadable ring tones for cell phones are all ways in which bands can monetize their music [1]. Finnish heavy metal bands have embraced both these newly emerging methods of monetizing their product as well as the more traditional approaches.

Measuring their success at doing so, however, can be difficult. Musex (Music Export Finland), an organization comprised of a number of companies and organizations that “facilitate the marketing, promotion, and sales of Finnish popular music abroad” provides some comprehensive data for the export of Finnish music. For the purpose of gauging the export of Finnish heavy metal to North America, a 2007 study published by Musex in which forty-nine record labels and industry-related organizations were surveyed offers some insight. Within the survey, record labels reported that North America accounted for fourteen percent of total export sales in 2007. Furthermore, seventeen percent of these companies believed that North America was their most important export region in 2007, up from fourteen percent in 2006 [2]. Assuming that labels featuring heavy metal bands were fairly represented in the study, North America became an increasingly attractive market for record labels seeking to promote heavy metal bands over the 2006-2007 period.

Touring schedules of Finnish heavy metal bands in North America over the past few years appear to confirm the increasing importance of the region in bands’ efforts to export and reap profits from their music. Touring is an effective method of spreading interest in a band and a successful tour will result in increased album sales and additional opportunities to gain market share in the region toured. Though touring can serve as a means to make inroads into a given market, touring is also important as a profitable venture in and of itself through sales of tickets and merchandise at merchandise booths. The Musex study of 2007 reports that twenty four percent of record labels believe touring will be the most profitable method of monetizing their bands’ music in the future. Toni-Matti Karjalainen, a researcher at the Helsinki School of Economics studying the Finnish heavy metal industry, has similarly suggested that “touring is an even more important measure of attention than album sales in metal, and increasingly important as album sales are generally diminishing" [3]. As Karjalainen and respondents to the Musex study indicate, touring remains a secure way to monetize music in the face of rising concerns about piracy and the difficulties it presents to the traditional music market.

Measuring venue capacities played by bands serves as an effective method of gauging a band’s success in penetrating a given market [4]. Over the past few years, Finnish heavy metal bands have toured the North American market extensively and have played larger venues on each successive tour, either as headliners or as support for popular American metal bands. Finnish metal pioneers Amorphis, for example, headlined a tour in 2005 supported by three bands and played twenty-nine dates at venues with an average capacity of 864 occupants. Amorphis’ follow-up 2008 headlining tour featured a more focused schedule of nineteen dates also with support from three bands and visited venues with an average capacity of 1096 occupants. The decreased number of tour dates and larger venues seems to reflect a better understanding by Amorphis’ tour managers of Amorphis’ position in the North American market and points to a more efficient allocation of resources.

While Amorphis has headlined smaller venues, the more commercially successful and musically extreme Finnish heavy metal band Children of Bodom have played in support of popular American metal bands at bigger venues on larger “blockbuster” tours. Over three tours, two in 2006 and one in 2009, Children of Bodom played venues with average capacities of 1402, 9636, and 3843 persons respectively. Children of Bodom played as second support in the first and third tours and as third support during the second tour, therefore either playing in an increasingly prominent spot on the billing order or before a larger audience on each successive tour. Although by playing as support Children of Bodom would receive a smaller percentage of the pooled revenue from tour ticket sales, the opportunity to play before larger crowds presents an attractive trade-off for a band seeking greater market share. To date, the highly successful “love metal” band HIM has been the only Finnish heavy metal band capable of playing large venues as a headliner. On their most recent tour in 2007, HIM played thirty-two dates at venues with an average capacity of 1967 persons.

Finnish heavy metal bands’ increasing success at penetrating the North American market and the global market generally has been due to a number of factors. Many credit the extremely high quality of Finnish heavy metal bands for their success abroad and critics typically praise their technical proficiency [5]. Also, the majority of Finnish heavy metal bands sing in English, thereby making their music accessible to a much wider audience than if they sang in their native language. Although these qualities undoubtedly appeal to consumers of heavy metal music, the uniqueness of Finnish metal comes through in the discernible traces of Finnish culture that color it.

Critics and musicians have a tendency to wax poetic when describing the elements of Finnish heavy metal that distinguish it from metal of other nationalities. An article published by the Finnish Music Information Centre entitled “It’s So Heavy to be a Finn,” explains the unique qualities of the Finnish landscape and Finnish identity that shape Finnish heavy metal:
But what is it that makes Finnish metal so unique? Anyone interested in the answer should dig deep into the snow and live the long, dark cold winter. They should also look for the answer in the woods, behind the trees. And do not forget the Slavic melancholy, either. For when the somber Finnish mentality meets yearning melodies, the result is something you’re not going to get elsewhere. [6]

Although the inspiration for Finnish heavy music is doubtlessly important for the individual listener who appreciates the music, Finnish metal bands have managed to successfully turn the inspiration for their music into a largely genre-defining and marketable characteristic. By focusing on unique elements of Finnish culture, Finnish metal bands, their record labels, and organizations that support them have separated Finnish metal bands from competitors in other subsets of the heavy metal genre.

An ongoing study at the Helsinki School of Economics and funded by the Academy of Finland entitled “BogFires” seeks to understand the ways in which Finnish heavy metal bands have marketed themselves using such techniques [7]. A large component of the study focuses on analyzing “concept building,” and in particular the ways in which Finnish heavy metal bands have drawn upon elements of Finnish culture to distinguish themselves in the heavy metal market, with the result that a “collective ‘Finnish Metal’” genre has emerged [8].

The BogFires project has thus far focused on the band Amorphis as a case study and studies their consistent use of Finnish cultural heritage as inspiration for their artistic concept. The research analyzes how the development of a concept, which is evident in musical tonality, lyrical themes, band artwork as found in CD booklets, and band image in terms of personal appearance onstage and in the media can be helpful in terms of marketing a heavy metal band as a unique identity that distinguishes itself from and surpasses the simple understanding of a musical group. Amorphis’ front man and lead guitarist Esa Holopainen, who has drawn upon the Finnish national epic the Kalevala for inspiration in his band concept, believes that the Kalevala concept has made a difference for Amorphis’ success in US and Japanese markets. The study, though in its preliminary stages, has also concluded that “tentative observations suggest that a considerable share of [Finnish metal bands’ international success] is based on the distinctive musical and visual concepts [Finnish metal bands] have created and communicated" [9].

Their successes have been actively supported by a number of Finnish organizations that promote the spread of Finnish music, and by extension Finnish culture, in a variety of ways. Particularly in the wake of the acclaimed monster-rock group Lordi’s victory at the 2006 Eurovision song contest, Finns have embraced their affinity for and talents in heavy metal. Musex, for its part, organizes and participates in trade conferences around the world in efforts to raise awareness about Finnish music and regularly promotes heavy metal bands. The Finnish Music Information Centre likewise seeks to spread Finnish music abroad and publishes a number of articles for the purpose of doing so both on its website and in print. Each year since 2006, the Finnish Music Information Centre and Musex have collaborated to publish a promotional collection of CDs entitled “Come hear. Finland.” [10]

The most recent edition featured four CDs, with one entire disc being devoted to metal music and another to rock music. There are also a number of governmental and non-governmental organizations that offer grants to artists of all kinds, and metal musicians have received grants alongside classical and folk musicians. The Finnish Performing Music Promotion Centre, ESEK, for example, has “awarded grants to hard rock/heavy metal bands quite often” [11]. Also worthy of note is RockPolis Oulu, an organization in the Central Finland city of Oulu funded by the Council of Oulu Region (EU) and the City of Oulu that seeks to guide aspiring heavy metal bands to commercial success with tips and guidance as to how to conduct themselves in the commercial music marketplace [12][13]. RockPolis Oulu also aims at development of the Oulu music industry as an alternative to the dominant music region in Southern Finland centered on Helsinki. The organization is particularly intriguing for study due to its focus on regional development, its grassroots approach, and its specialization in heavy metal that recognizes the importance of heavy metal in the Finnish music industry and Finnish culture.

With an active support structure in place, Finnish heavy metal bands look to enjoy continuing prosperity going forward. The focus on “Finnishness” in Finnish heavy metal, seems to only strengthen Finnish metal bands’ international prospects. Foreign markets, such as the North American market, have found the stylistic, tonal, lyrical, and visual concepts presented by Finnish heavy metal bands to be appealing alternatives to those put forward by heavy metal bands from America and other countries. The Finnish response to their newfound successes with heavy metal has also been remarkable. Although world-famous heavy metal festivals have filled public parks in downtown Helsinki for years, the success of Lordi at the Eurovision song contest has served as a unifying force in Finland that has helped shape national identity. In the “Promised Land of Heavy Metal,” one of the directors of the documentary asks Finnish President Tarja Halonen whether she minds that along with Finland’s pristine nature, technology, and high level of education, Finland is now also known internationally as the home country of Lordi. [14] Without hesitation she replies, “Do I mind? I love it.” With the president on board and recognizant of the importance of Finnish heavy metal in Finland, Finnish heavy metal has officially made it. Finnish heavy metal has taken Finland and the world heavy metal market by storm and it does not appear to be leaving anytime soon.

References
[1] Musex: Music Export Finland, “Market Value Research 2007,” http://www.musex.fi. (=Market Value 2007) See “Total Market Value and Structure of Finnish Music Exports in 2007” for a detailed breakdown of ways in which bands receive income.
[2] Other countries reported to be increasingly important export regions over the 2006-2007 period include Germany and the UK. The gains were offset by losses in perceived market potential in Japan, Sweden, Russia, and Others. It is noteworthy that the regions listed, with the exception of Others which defies analysis, are markets traditionally favorable to heavy metal. The focus on these regions suggests that heavy metal is significant in Musex’s study of Finnish music export value. Market Value 2007.
[3] Toni-Matti Karjalainen, e-mail message to author, April 28, 2009.
[4] David Throsby, Economics and Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 113. Throsby recognizes that measuring the output of an artistic activity can be difficult, but suggests that in the performing arts “output might be measured in different circumstances as the number of performances staged by a theatre company over some time period, the number of seats available or sold for a symphony concert series, or box office revenue for an opera or musical production.” In the absence of information about the box office revenue for specific tours, I have turned to venue capacity to gauge the value of a tour. Venue capacity, unlike total tour revenue, also has the added benefit of providing a sense of the amount of exposure a band receives on a given tour. Venue capacity data was obtained either from venue web sites or confirmed across multiple news outlets. Tour schedules were obtained either from band websites or confirmed across multiple heavy metal news websites.
[5] Gary Sharpe-Young, author of Metal: The Definitive Guide, writes that “…many [Finnish metal bands] are of such high quality that they have made serious inroads into the global market.” In profiles of individual bands in his encyclopedic book, he praises the talents particular to each band. Gary Sharpe-Young, Metal: The Definitive Guide (London: Jawbone Press, 2007), 390.
[6] Matti Riekki, “It’s so Heavy to Be a Finn,” trans. Tero Valkonen, Finnish Music Information Centre, http://www.fimic.fi/.
[7] BogFires Research Project, “Heavy Metal Bands as Entrepreneurs, Cultural Export, Finnish Identity,” http://bogfires.blogspot.com/.
[8] Toni-Matti Karjalainen, “Analyzing Concept Building and Visual Communication within Heavy Metal Music (Forging the Canopy of the Sky),” (paper presented at the 8th NORDCODE Seminar & Workshop Program, Kolding, Denmark, May 27-29, 2009).
[9] Karjalainen, Concept Building.
[10] Finnish Music Information Center, “FIMIC Publications on Finnish Popular Music,” http://www.fimic.fi/.
[11] Leena Hirvonen, e-mail message to the author, May 25, 2009. Unfortunately at the time of writing this I am waiting on a list of band names from Ms. Hirvonen, an employee of Gramex Finland, the parent organization of ESEK. It is currently around the date that all grant applications are due and she is very busy. How often metal bands apply for grants, however, is uncertain and is a subject of further study; Mr. Karjalainen has suggested that “many people in the [heavy metal] field that we have talked with [in the Bogfires study] are quite negative towards governmental support in general [due to the fact that] it ‘distorts’ competition and selection is not necessarily made on the basis of the bands’ musical qualities…” Toni-Matti Karjalainen, e-mail message to the author, May 29, 2009.
[12] RockPolis, “Info in English,” http://www.rockpolis.fi/.
[13] Matthew McCambridge, “Oulu’s Rock Police: One Year Up and Running,” 65 degrees North: News and Views from Oulu Finland, http://www.65degreesnorth.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=119&Itemid=73.
[14] Promised Land of Heavy Metal, “Promised Land of Heavy Metal,” http://www.promisedlandofmetal.com/

Bibliography
1. BogFires Research Project. “Heavy Metal Bands as Entrepeneurs, Cultural Export, Finnish Identity.” http://bogfires.blogspot.com.
2. Karjalainen, Toni-Matti. “Analyzing Concept Building and Visual Communication within Heavy Metal Music (Forging the Canopy of the Sky).” Paper presented at the 8th NORDCODE Seminar & Workshop Program, Kolding, Denmark, May 27-29, 2009.
3. McCambridge, Matthew. “Oulu’s Rock Police: One Year Up and Running.” 65 Degrees North: News and Views from Oulu Finland. http://www.65degreesnorth.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=119&Itemid=73.
4. Musex: Music Export Finland. “Market Value Research 2007.” http://www.musex.fi.
5. Promised Land of Heavy Metal. “Promised Land of Heavy Metal.” http://www.promisedlandofmetal.com.
6. Riekki, Matti. “It’s so Heavy to Be a Finn.” Translated by Tero Valkonen. The Finnish Music Information Centre. http://www.fimic.fi.
7. Sharpe-Young, Garry. Metal: The Definitive Guide. London: Jawbone Press, 2007.
8. Throsby, David. Economics and Culture. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, 2001.

Nightwish North American tour Part IV

New York, NY, May 2nd

Allentown, PA, May 3rd

Bogfires had an opportunity to see two shows of the fourth and last North American tour before Nghtwish will be heading back to the studio to record a new album. Dark Passion Play (DPP) world tour is scheduled to end in September when the band plays the last show of the tour in Helsinki Finland, at the same arena where they dramatically ended their Once world tour in 2005. Nightwish and Volbeat sold out the Nokia theatre in Times Square, New York, NY, on May 2nd. The bands provided the audience of over 2000 people an awesome show, with a special guest, Troy Donockley, who played the uillean pipes during the intro (Finlandia by Sibelius), the Islander and Last of The Wilds. Donocley played also on the DPP album and was originally introduced to the band by their producer. Bogfires had a chance to briefly discuss with Donocley about his collaboraton with Nightwish after the shows in New York and Allentown and he seemed very satisfied. He has become good friends with the band and especially with Tuomas Holopainen, so there is every reason to believe that the collaboration will continue on the next album as well. The setlist all together was similar than what they played on the last European tour a few months back. The venue at Allentown was also packed as hundreds of dedicated Nightwish fans had arrived to see the show at the Crocodile Rock Cafe. They did not have to leave disappointed because once again the band pulled off a great show and spent a long time outside the tour bus after the show with their fans. Special thanks to Nightwish management once again.

LL

Another report on the NYC gig here:
http://www.metalfromfinland.com/news/2009-05-07_09:03/NIGHTWISH:+When+Pigs+Fly,+Swine+Flu

Setlists:

Intro (Finlandia)

7 Days Of The Wolves

Dead To The World

The Siren

Amaranth

Higher Than Hope (NYC)

/Dead Boy’s Poem (Allentown)

Poet And The Pendulum

The Islander

Last Of The Wilds

The Escapist

Dark Chest Of Wonder

Wish I Had An Angel

MUSEXPO 2009 in LA

Bogfires attended MUSEXPO 2009 in LA April 26-29. MUSEXPO 2009 featured panel discussions on topics such as management, publishing, distribution, broadcast media and many more with the most legendary people from the music industry e.g. Seymour Stein, Bill Siddons, Bob Lefsetz, Nigel Lythgoe and Mel Medalie as panelists. The changing business models and the changing roles of different stakeholders in the industry were some of the main themes in the discussions throughout the event. Bogfires would like to thank Sat Bisla and A&R Worldwide for organizing an amazing event.

Finnish pagan-metal bands featured in Revolver magazine

In the April (No. 79) issue of Revolver magazine seven pagan -metal bands are introduced out of which four were Finnish bands: Finntroll, Ensiferum, Korpiklaani and Turisas. The bands were asked questions like what is a pagan-metal band, who was the first pagan-metal band, and questions about favorite instruments and outrageous outfits worn by fans etc. In the same issue of Revolver "This month's Hottest Chick in Metal" was Lady Awa from Finnish hard rock band Lordi.

Corey Taylor from Slipknot comments on collaboration with Finnish bands

Corey Taylor, the singer of Slipknot and Stonesour commented his collaboration with Finnish metal bands Apocalyptica and Children of Bodom for Bogfires earlier this week in LA. Slipknot toured with Children of Bodom in Europe in fall of 2008. Taylor said that coming up with the best mix of bands musically is the most important criteria for choosing the bands to tour with and reminded that the selection is also based on who is available at the time. Corey Taylor was featured on Apocalyptica's latest album Worlds Collide, doing vocals for "I'm Not Jesus". Taylor told Bogfires he was very happy with how the song turned out. Bogfires met with Corey Taylor on Monday April 6th at the Key Club on Sunset Strip, LA where he joined Steel Panthers on stage to perform a Poison -cover song. 

Children of Bodom in Vancouver, Wednesday April 8th

Bogfires visited Vancouver to check out the No Fear Energy Music tour featuring Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, Children of Bodom, God Forbid and Muncipal Waste. UBC Thunderbird Arena was nearly sold out and over 5 000 metalheads had arrived to the venue located at the beautiful campus of University of British Columbia. Children of Bodom played a solid show as usual, even though the setlist featured one less song than the previous shows on this tour, due to As I Lay Dying joining the tour in Vancouver. 

Alexi Laiho from Children of Bodom celebrated his 30th birthday that night and one of the highlights of the evening was having Randy Blythe form Lamb of God show up on stage just before Children of Bodom were getting ready to play their last song. Randy congratulated Alexi and had everyone in the audience sing happy birthday to him.  Special thanks to Children of Bodom Hate Crew!

Children of Bodom Vancouver setlist:

Silent night bodom night

Hate me!

Hellhounds on my trail

Living dead beat

Angels don't kill

In your face

Blooddrunk

Downfall

Smack, Raitsikka and Los Angeles

Helsingin sanomat (Sat 7 2009) published an interview with Rane Raitsikka, the guitarist of the 80's Finnish rock bands Smack. The band was one of the early pioneers of Finnish rock export, who tried their wings in the city of angels, reportedly caught the attention Kurt Cobain and GN'R members, missed a promising record deal at the time when Appetite for Destruction shook the world with alike street rock, and quickly vanished into the sea of lost hopes... After gone through a true survival story, Rane is currently playing in several small groups in Los Angeles, ranging from rock to blues to country.