EMQ’s With Overhead

EMQ’s With Overhead

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Finnish Progressive Rock band, Overhead. Huge thanks to their Guitarist, Jaakko Kettunen, for taking part. 

What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

Hi, I’m Jaakko Kettunen, the guitar player of the Finnish progressive rock band Overhead. 

Overhead began back in 1999 when three musician friends met this hippie looking guy at a bus stop.  He – Alex Keskitalo – became our singer and flute player and thus Overhead was born. We started  writing and rehearsing together and that led to our first album, which already got some great  recognition. But it was the second album Metaepitome in 2005 that blew the sky open for us. It got  marvelous reviews, radio play and the prog fans loved it. We got invited to play shows in Germany,  Belgium and France. We’ve been on the same track ever since, making albums and touring around  Europe at prog festivals and rock-clubs. 

How did you come up with your band name? 

It was a last minute silly thing when we had to come up with some name. When you translate the  Finnish word for something similar to ‘daredevil’ and translate it very poorly like translating it word  for word but not really translating the meaning at all, it becomes Overhead.  

What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there? 

We are from Helsinki, Finland. I think Finland is quite famous for its vivid metal scene, there are a lot  of bands and festivals in the genre. You might know bands like Nightwish, Amorphis and Sentenced  for example. Overhead is more rock than metal but we certainly have our heavier moments and  have been compared to Amorphis on some occasions. 

What is your latest release?

We are just releasing our sixth studio album titled Telepathic Minds. It’s a double album – 2LP & 2CD  – and it’ll be out on March 31st. 

Who have been your greatest influences? 

I personally grew up listening to Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Dio and everything in that  family. As a guitarist I learned a lot from players like Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. I also love Pink Floyd,  Kansas and Marillion. We have a very wide range of influences within the band and I think that  results in Overhead having an original sound that is difficult to compare to other bands. 

What first got you into music? 

My friend played the guitar and he started to teach me as well. I soon noticed that damn, I can  actually play something on that thing. I loved the 70s hard rock stuff and I wanted to learn to play  just like those bands and players. 

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be? 

I would love to play live or record with King Diamond, it’s so much fun to play those riffs! 

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

We’re waiting for someone, maybe AI, to invent a time machine so we can travel back in time  and play at Woodstock. Because who wouldn’t have wanted to play there? 

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be? 

I want to thank everyone everywhere for their patience while waiting for our new album to come out and thank them enormously for their continuing support and for coming to our gigs! 

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be? 

Ronnie James Dio. He should be eternal and never die. 

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate? 

I enjoy the creative part in the studio and also playing in front of enthusiastic fans who know our  music inside out. I hate the waiting part and there’s a lot of waiting involved being a musician. 

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be? 

I just generally hate trends. In order to make it big you have to be on top of all current trends. I wish  new artists could be more original and innovative. 

Name one of your all-time favourite albums? 

Marillion – “An Hour Before It’s Dark”. Truly a masterpiece. 

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads? 

I prefer CD’s. Perfect sound and I like having a physical product, call me old-fashioned. Vinyls are  extremely cool as well, I just don’t currently own a decent player. I sometimes regret a bit having  sold my top-notch Cassette player some years ago. 

What’s the best gig that you have played to date? 

Judging by the recordings and videos, I’m gonna say our gig at the Festival Crescendo in France last  year. Another one we’ll never forget is Night Of The Prog at the Loreley amphitheatre in Germany.  It’s such a legendary venue. 

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing? 

I guess playing board games 24/7. 

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party? 

My wife, Steve Hogarth, Sheryl Crow and then Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver for some help in the  kitchen. 

What’s next for the band?

Right now we are very busy with promoting the new album, we’re doing many interviews and trying  to get the word out that we have this new double album out. We are rehearsing for our upcoming gigs and look very much forward to playing the new songs live for the first time. We have a few festivals booked and are working on more live dates. We have just joined Splintering Booking Agency so hopefully there will be more live dates towards the end of the year and next year. We will of course also start writing the next album at some point. 

What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people? 

Official Website – www.overhead-band.com
Bandcamp – www.overheadband.bandcamp.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/overheadband
Youtube – www.youtube.com/overheadband
Instagram – www.instagram.com/overheadtheband
Twitter – www.twitter.com/overheadband

Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit? 

Oh no, the answer to this is going to make or break us in the UK, isn’t it? I haven’t the foggiest but  cake seems too obvious so I’m gonna say a biscuit. 

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add? 

Thank you for the interview! Check out our new video for War To End All Wars:  https://youtu.be/LA7zlWXFkg8

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.