Summer Camp 2010 Diary 4

Another week passed by, another week of rehearsing, song-shaping, sweating, boating and fishing. The happiest event naturally was Anette having a baby and feeling fantastic with the newborn! Our congrats and blessings for the whole family!

Songs # 9 & #10 took shape last weekend. The #9 - one explores Zimmer-territories shamelessly with the chorus taking us back to our roots. Emppu`s favorite part of the whole album, I reckon. I`ve always had problems with short, simple - structured songs but this sounds very promising even to my cynical ears and heart.

Last song put together will be the last one on the album, an insanely ambitious piece. I assume it will be close to 20 minutes long. Uncle Walt`s spirit is already haunting in every note of this song. Still needs some arranging, though.

We have only one song left to practice after the monster song, an acoustic piece in the vein of "The Islander". Ennio Morricone meets Christy Moore. Emppu and me need loads of Guinness, some fine single malt and a windy day to bring this one alive. And Troy`s pipes & bodhran, of course.

Marco also sang demo vocals for almost all the songs so they start making more sense and so that Anette would be able to hear the vocal melodies and the pacing of the lyrics. I deeply enjoy this process of building the songs slowly together, weaving stories out of thin air, and it`s almost always the vocals that finally wake the songs up.

Yesterday I drove to Lappeenranta to play keys to Kotiteollisuus` new demo. Great stuff coming up from that front, too!

It`s about 3 weeks before we start recording the demo so now we have time to put final touches into the songs and perfect them the best we can. It`s fantastic not to be in any hurry for a change!
Which reminds me, time to go catch that trout.

Take good care everyone!


Tuomas


TOP 5 / Week 4


1. NW demo w / Marco`s guide vocals
2. Esko Valtaoja
3. Kitee - Sotkamo 2-0 / playoffs starting soon
4. Edward Scissorhands - the movie
5. Alfred J. Kwak

Written by Tuomas Holopainen on August 8, 2010

Summer Camp 2010 Diary 3

Good day everyone!

It`s 9 am. and I`m sipping my morning coffee while reading the latest NHL news and writing this down. When did I turn into a blog-writing computer-geek?
It`s been very hot, we`ve been struck by a never-seen-before heat wave for the past few weeks and I can`t recall when was the last time I wore socks or slept under sheets. No complaints, though, water sports and boating never felt so glorious as during the past days.
We got something done in the arranging - the - new - songs - front, too, even though the 35 C - rehearsal room isn`t the most alluring place just now.

The "Nukkumatti" song, as we call it, is among my top favorites of the new stuff, a pounding, twisted and chorusless ghost train ride is sure to bring a smile to your face. At least it has done so to everyone who has heard it. Danny Elfman goes humppa.

Then we took over a song which was more or less tailor-made for Troy. Loads of pipes to battle / to jam with Emppu and a raving c-part which was born after 10 pints of ale and loads of Old Toby. One of the cheerier tunes of the album, and a nice little cloudbuster.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos!

Song #8 takes us to whole new territories. Something completely different from anything we`ve ever done. All of us need to find new ways to play our instruments and use vocals for that piece. A terrificly challenging and mind-expanding song. I can`t wait to hear Anette and Marco sing that one.

On Sunday night the fellas from Northern Kings took over the campsite. We had agreed they can come and share our rehearsal facilities since they have a couple of shows coming up. Tony (Kakko) and Kai (Hahto) greeted me with 2 bottles of Yellow Tail which we enjoyed by a still lake at dusk. Finnish hippie-geezer-national-scenery - romanticism at its best!
Thanks guys for visiting, we`ll meet soon again.

Time to dive into Marco`s vocals today. And maybe for song #9. And that 5kg trout that`s been avoiding us for the past week.

Will write more soon (or somebody will), all best!

Tuomas


TOP 5 / Week 3


1. The weather
2. Longhaired hippies naked in the nearby forest
3. Solving the mystery of where the hell all the fishes are
4. Epcot`s Illuminations - soundtrack
5. Zombieland - the movie

Written by Tuomas Holopainen on July 30, 2010

http://www.nightwish.com/en/band/reports?c=17