“The late ’80s were a very magical time in New York,” says Jyrki 69, the singer for Finnish gothic rock-and-rollers 69 Eyes. “There were clubs like the Limelight, the Ritz, and CBGB, and I’d see my idols like The Ramones and Johnny Thunders on the streets.” For a period of six years, the then-wide-eyed glam rock teenager would save enough money to make pilgrimages from Helsinki to the Big Apple and soak up as much of the Reagan-era rock scene as he could. These experiences not only inspired him to form 69 Eyes, but also helped establish the band’s aesthetic and lyrical themes, the latter thanks in no small part to Jyrki 69’s dabbling in NYC’s goth underground.
“People were always telling me, ‘You look like a vampire, with your blue eyes and white skin.’ I was even a member of the Count Dracula Society of New York,” Jyrki 69 recalls with a laugh. “So when we started the band we naturally explored vampires and horror movie themes.”
Since forming in 1989, 69 Eyes’ sound has evolved from the gritty street glam of Hanoi Rocks and Guns N’ Roses to the Sisters of Mercy meets ’80s hard rock style for which they’re now known. But Jyrki’s fascination with the undead remains a focal point of their lyrics, as heard on 69 Eyes’ latest record, Back in Blood. “With this record I decided to bravely go where no goth-and-roll guy had gone before, and make a concept record about vampires,” says Jyrki with another laugh.
And his timing couldn’t be better....
CLICK HERE to read the rest of this profile, which originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of Inked Magazine.
