Mape

Heh, some of the owls' hideouts are a bit tricky, I'll give you that! But if you promise you won't spread the info, I can reveal them. Some scattered memories from my tender days of youth: I believe my first contact with Nightwish was a song that I heard in a Spinefarm record store in Tapiola, Espoo, Finland where I lived back in 1997. The store teller played it from the limited edition of the Angels Fall First album. My friend, with whom I was browsing albums at the store like we used to do every weekend, bought the hand-numbered copy #91/500 of the album. That exact copy is now located at the Kitee's A Nightwish Story Expo. Also, around the same time I used to write to a magazine called Suomi Finland Perkele Metal Magazine. Their office was located in the basement of Spinefarm Records, where I got acquainted and befriended the awesome people (and a lot of the artists) of Spinefarm Records, most of whom I still love dearly. Suomi Finland Perkele Metal Magazine is also where I got to review the regular version of Angels Fall First in late 1997 and conducted a short phone interview with Tarja as well. Cue a couple of months. Starting from the New Year of 1998 Nightwish played their 7 first live gigs (with Samppa Hirvonen handling the bass duties) in Finland. Shows #2 and #3 were in Helsinki (January 9th & February 13th, 1998). I attended both of these gigs. By the 2nd show I already knew Tuomas too, as I had done face-to-face interviews with him (and Tarja) as well. I basically hung out and hovered around Spinefarm (and their label manager at the time Ewo) all my free time so I had also met Emppu and Jukka briefly by then. So, I've known the band from a fairly early stage. However, Marko Hietala is someone I've known since the '80s. We're both born in 1966. As a teenager I used to live in a little hamlet called Vesanto in central Finland. It neighbors the hamlet Marko hails from, called Tervo. We lived some 30 kilometers apart so I've seen his band Tarot play local joints numerous times during their 2 first albums. Marko even subbed as a music teacher at the Vesanto high school. Tarot was always (IMO) a band that should've made an international breakthrough in a time when no Finnish band had really made one. So, when Marko joined Nightwish, I was ecstatic and infinitesimally happy for him. He was a guy who had absolutely everything it takes, but hadn't really ever gotten to taste any real success. Now he at least had a chance. So, I was Spinefarm's guest at the Gold record party of Nightwish's Ever Dream single, which is the 1st ever Gold Record Award Marko has ever received with any band. There, in a somewhat moved state (ok, ok, I was basically moved to tears, a blubbering basket case) I blurted out to Ewo that "Marko is a guy I could write a damn book about." Ewo, ever sharp, did not even flinch but suggested I should write a book about the entire Nightwish. Instantly I was like, "F#*k no - vade retro, Satanas! Never in a million years!" ...But as it was Ewo, who can be REALLY persuasive (and secretly I realized what an incredible honor it would be), I eventually gave in. It might have taken a day or two of mulling over whether or not I would be able to complete such a task, as I had never written a book before. Somewhere along the book process Ewo left Spinefarm, and I, in turn started working there as the resident nerd, and as the A&R manager (who would later sign Emppu's other band Brother Firetribe). Eventually the book would take me 3,5 years to complete. And another 4 years in the court. But that's another story altogether. 😆 Btw, the A Nightwish Story Expo book will be out in Finnish this summer. The layout's being done as we speak.

I think there are two deciding factors to this. Not only does the sheet music need a publisher (not a music publisher, but a book publisher) but also someone who will transcribe the tabs. This far - with Nightwish Notevook (Once, that is), EFMB and H.:||:N. tab books that person has been Kasperi Heikkinen, the guitarist of Beast In Black. He's kinda busy on his own nowadays too, as Beast In Black has grown to the level where they do their own headline tours in Europe and the US.

There is a publishing deal done for it (Like Publishing), so it definitely will be out sooner or later.

Uh, wow. Thank you so much! There definitely could've been a lot more insight and personality in the book, but as it is basically an expo souvenir, I had to keep things reasonably curt. But should you wish to ask something about Nightwish that can't be found in this book or the other two, and still can be told, I can try to answer. If you ever have the chance, please do visit the expo. It might actually be worth mentioning that it's been lovingly completed by people who sort of know what they're doing. 😆 All the expo material has been donated/loaned by the band themselves, their management, record labels, production companies and Tuomas's parents. The ambient audio in the expo was done by Samppa Hirvonen, the bass player of the first seven Nightwish gigs ever. The Finnish audio guide narrator in the expo is Tapio Wilska, the original growler of The Devil and the Deep Dark Ocean. The English audio guide narrator in the expo is one certain Troy Donockley. The interior design and all ambient graphics in the expo were done by ToxicAngel. The expo script, website content and rather poor inside jokes were written by Yours Truly. Some stuff in the expo book was photographed by Ewo Pohjola's sister, Anniina. Talk about "keeping it in the family."

It's not an autobiography, but a collection of short stories. Dark fantasy & science fiction. As far as I know, it still remains unfinished, as Tuomas had very little interest to create much of anything during the mandatory covid pause. The extent of what I know about it is I have read one of the short stories and I know who illustrates the book.

Hi Fugazi, Did you find anything of interest in the book?😉 wbr, Mape Ollila