pdn: Hello, George! Thank you for accepting this interview! How are you doing, are you handling this quarantine? :P
George: Hello and thank you, nice to be here. Well at first it was bizarre, but when i got used to it, it was fun actually and an opportunity to spent some time with your loved ones and get some rest as well, this was a break that i could use, so no big harm.
pdn: I see you are releasing the single entitled "Call Me Pain" in digital format right
George: Well yes, about that. The song is complete, it was recorded at Hell's Kitchen studios and
Soundflakes Studios by John Mcris, then it was mixed by Sky Van Hoff (Rammstein) and finally mastered by Mika Jussila (The 69 Eyes, Amorphis, Nightwish, To/Die/For) in Finland. We also shot parts for a music video but sadly because ot the COVID outbreak it was never completed so the new release date will be for September 2020, when those restrictions will be over and we will be back to normality.
pdn: How has this whole chaos caused by the virus affected the band and what do you think will be the first steps SadDoLLs will take once it's over? We can maybe hope for some tours sometimes? Would definitely love to see you guys live!
George: As mentioned before, we will release the new single and video later in September. The plan is to release a brand new single every year accompanied with a music video, we'll see how this will work out. We also had a show scheduled in Greece for this year but i am afraid it will also be silenced by the current measures. Hopefully in 2021 this will be over and we can get some slots again for the rest of Europe and also do one special show in Athens as well for our friends and fans who has not seen us live since 2017. We did 3 shows abroad in 2019 and it was amazing, so we are looking forward for some more.
pdn: As far a I've known, you have collaborated with some renowned artists from the gothic metal scene. Which were your favorite collaborations so far?
George: It was like a dream came true. We were fans of all those bands and artists before even our band was an idea, so it was a great privilege and experience. My personal favorites... Let's see... From studio works i would say Juska Slaminen aka Zoltan Pluto (HIM, New Dawn Foundation, To/Die/For) witch is a great guy, marvelous musician and a dear friend, and Skinny Disco (Deathstars). We also had the privilege to do live shows with those mentioned musicians back in 2012 and 2014 respectively, and an opportunity to shoot a music video with Skinny as well. We had also a great time doing it. Paradise Lost and The 69 Eyes were great as well, we opened for them back in 2009 and 2014 in Athens and Estonia. Looking forward for more shows like those.
pdn: Always a curious questions: what are your own favorite bands? Who influenced you mostly in your music? Also, what else inspires you?
George: We started in 2006 as a cover band mostly, we covered songs from HIM, The 69 Eyes, End Of You, For My Pain etc. We were always fans of the Finnish metal music scene and this was our main infulence all those years, but we wanted to add our own soul into the music, make it a bit darker and more synth driven. This was evolved in the years to come, and ulitimately became our sound (if we have one :P ). My personal favorite bands will always be HIM, The 69 Eyes, Deathstars, Poisonblack and To/Die/For. I Live and grown up in a country that is sunny and green with amazing islands and blue seas. But i always felt some darkness, since i was a child, maybe it came from all those horror movies i've seen all my life. I Think inspiration is a talent that comes and goes, you don't have it every day, you may have it for one week in a row and then lose it for a whole month. So as i always said it depends on the mood.
pdn: If you had to pick three albums and listen to only those for the rest of your life, which would these be? I know it is a cruel question...
George: Ahh easy, no problem at all. It would be HIM – Razorblade Romance, Poisonblack - Escapextacy and SadDoLLs – Grave Party, those should be enough for me.
pdn: What does the process of writing lyrics, creating the music and even preparing for gigs look like?
George: It is mostly fun, especially the rehersals to get ready for shows. Thing is we all have our lives now and our jobs so we don't have much time to hang out as we used to in the past, so being all five of us together for a rehersal or a music video shoot it's always fun. Music is mostly written by Paul our guitarist, and I only do the lyrics and the vocal lines, so i get an instrumental original piece and then try my best to make it sound right and as catchy as possible. Some times I succeed, some times, not so much :P But it's a fun and warm experience every single time.
pdn: What is one stage/event you aim to play someday and why?
George: We always wanted to be the support band for HIM tried it many many times, and one time we succeded to open them in a Festival in Latvia but the show was ulitimately cancelled by the promoter and it really sucked. We would love to play one day in WGT, Dark Castle, Hexentanz and why not M'Era Luna at some point. But mostly festivals in general, great way to meet new people and see how they react to your music.
pdn: Thank you for your time and your wonderful music once again! Anything you would like to add for your fans and friends here, in closing?
George: Thank you for this great interview and your time. I Would suggest to anyone, during this unprecedented situation with the lock downs and quarantines, it's an opportunity to know your loved ones better and have some quality time with them, now, that there is time to do so, because in a couple of months when everything will be back to normal you will miss it again. Be strong and optimistic and this experience will only make you stronger when its over. Be healthy and safe.
https://www.saddolls.net/
https://www.facebook.com/saddolls/
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/SadDolls/3540307671
