29 March 2024

Hanoi Rocks – 31-10-2008

By: Nina Mende

Long lost and forgotton look what I found between the rotten Halloween candy I got from trick-or-treating in London, pushed aside in the year’s end stress and hussle of 2008: The Hanoi Rocks interview I did with Michael Monroe.
The hotel lobby we did it at was quite noisy, so please forgive me if something is not there but has been said. It might have been gotten lost in the noise. So Michael please speak up next time

Hey Michael, how are you?
“Good. ”

How did you get to play with Wednesday 13 tonight? Because it is not a band you’d be expected to play with…
“It was the promoters idea. I think Wednesday seems to appreciate my work. I think he wanted us to come to break the typical image. So, yeah, it’s great for us too. Hanoi has a new mission. It’s gonna be interesting what the Wednesday13 fans think about us and what our fans think about them. But I am sure both of our bands will touch all fans because all in all we’re not that different in the end, you know.”

Ok, nice. Thanks. Next question: Out of al venues, what was your favorite?
“Favorite? Out of all venues we played? A lot of places we played have stories for us now, so it’s hard to pick one. Tavastia is always great, Tokio Dome was nice. Tokio is always great. Japan in general.”

What’s so special about Japan?
“Special are all the people there. The people there do everything to make you comfortable, they treat you extremely well and are always so excited about everything. ”

How great. Ahm, in Helsinki at Tavastia you played an early set for and a late set. Why?
“The early gig was without age limit. And well the other one was with age limit.”

Was there a difference of the shows?
“Yeah, well. We changed the set, changed one song. And of course were we drinking something in the hours between. I pulled a muscle in the first show because we didn’t have shows for five weeks and I always jump around that much on stage.”

So be careful tonight. And was there a difference in the audience?
“In the early show the audience was more into it, at the late one people were sitting at the bar. You know? The kids had more energy. They were totally excited and jumped throughout the whole gig, well teenagers still have that power.”

Which one did you prefer personally?
“Both. They were both special. ”

Do you celebrate Halloween?
“No, I don’t go trick or treating. But tonight with Wednesday 13 will be great. In Finland it’s not celebrated. Only kids dress up. ”

Are you still in contact with some of the fans you knew from the beginning on?
“I see some of them at the shows. ”

But from the first shows?
“Well , some of them became close friends by now. I have a good one in New York.”

Can you still remember your first time on stage?
“Yeah, that was a show by the country side. Before that I had a couple shows elsewhere. That was before Hanoi Rocks. That was even before I was a singer. ”

I read that you split up by the end of 2008. And you will do a good bye tour in Japan in April, the good bye tour in England right now and last shows in Helsinki.
“Yeah, and we have shows in Sweden, hopefully. It will be the last chance for our fans.”

Is there anything you would like to let your fans know about it, that is not mentioned on the page statement?
“No, it says it all there. Andy and I decided this is how far we can come with this band. But we both want to step ahead, so this has to end now.”

What are your plans afterwards? Will you take a break for a while?
“I will just continue with my solo stuff and maybe some other projects. Will do a new album.”

Looking back on your music career so far what were the best and most impressing happenings that maybe even changed your life or at least had a slight impact on it?
“Uhm, yeah. Well all the fans that came to us and create artwork or get a tattoo. Actually everything that happend somehow impacted us . ”

Ok, so one last question. A little odd: If I or somebody was your manager or tomorrow, what advice would you give to them? Because you are in this business for that long now…
“If someone was my manager? Well they should give an advice to me. Because they are a manager. I had a lot of managers and have seen a lot, did not have a good relationship with all. I got disappointed. I think the point is you have to be convinced of what you do and show it and pass that convidence on. You have to be good at what you’re doing and have ideas for the band you work for. Be creative and open minded.”

Links:
Hanoi Rocks MySpace