Compelled by Punk: An interview with Pertti Kurikka's Name Day, J-P Possi, & Jukka Kärkkäinen on THE PUNK SYNDROME

Following up my review of music documentary The Punk Syndrome, I asked some questions via email to the movie's directors J-P Passi and Jukka Kärkkäinen, as well as members of the band Pertti Kurikka's Name Day, Pertti Kurikka, Sami Helle, Kari, and Toni.  I was also able to correspond with Kalle Pajamaa, who has worked closely with the band over the years. Below is a transcript piecing together my questions with responses from everyone mentioned above, from various spots between stops along the film festival circuit.  This leads up to the US premiere of the movie at AFI Silverdocs on Tuesday, June 19 and Wednesday, June 20.

IN THE PHOTOS (FROM TOP TO BOTTOM): Pertti, Jukka, J-P Possi, Kari)  

When and how did you form Pertti Kurikka's Name Day?
Sami: The band was formed three years ago. Pertti is the one in the band who really digs punk rock, he’s been listening to it since he was a little kid. Pertti wanted to form a punk band, and so he asked us to join him.  
Near the end of the movie, you are performing a song that seems to explain the meaning of your band's name.  But, could you explain a bit more about the band's name Pertti Kurikka's Name Day?
Pertti: 24th April is the official name day of Pertti, and then it all started. (Note: Name Day is a tradition in many countries in Europe that consists of celebrating the day of the year associated with one's given name)
Sami: Pertti was repeating all the time that it’s his name day, and then we just decided that this must end and that Pertti should have his own band with his own name.
How did you discover Pertti Kurikka's Name Day?
J-P:  Jukka discovered them. We didn't have any money and we didn't know what we would do exactly, but we really wanted to make  a documentary about the guys.
Jukka: I saw the band on television in December of 2009. Time passed, and I just couldn’t get them out of my mind, thinking how wonderful they are. Even if we wouldn’t really have had the time to start making a film about this band, they stayed deeply in my thoughts, and finally we just needed to start making this film.
How did you first get into punk music?  Both as a fan and as musicians?  
Pertti: I’ve listened to punk since I was a kid. I really like bands like Sex Pistols, Ramones, and Finnish bands such as Pelle Miljoona, Eppu Normaali, Kollaa kestää, Ratsia etc. Punk music was born in the 70’s, and I’ve been listening to it since the 80’s.
Sami: I’ve never listened to any punk, and before this band didn’t really even know what it’s all about.
Kari: I’ve been listening to bands like The Ramones and Sex Pistols, and some Finnish bands too. I’ve been playing drums since I was 15 and singing for a long time too.  Not punk music before this band, but other types of music.
Toni: I’ve played in many different bands, but these bands have mostly been playing other kinds of music besides punk, for example Schlagers.
How did you learn to play? Did you have formal training or were you self taught?
Sami: All of us have played in a music center in Kulosaari, Helsinki, and without it we wouldn’t have the skills to play now in this band.
How did you first feel upon meeting each other?  
Jukka: The only thing I can remember from our first meeting with the band was that Pertti asked if I had any CD:s, meaning if I have recorded any music, and I then let him listen to some funny songs I’ve made and downloaded to MySpace. We listened to those songs together, and it seemed to convince Pertti.
Sami: I was thinking that who are these guys, they’re a bit weird, and that are they really sure they want to make a film about us.
Kari: It was clear from the beginning that the people from Mouka Filmi (the production company) are all great human beings and great characters, fun and nice personalities, and people who do their job well.
Pertti: I was wondering ‘who are those guys and why are they here?’
Was it difficult to convince the band to allow you to follow their lives on camera?
J-P:  No, it was one of the easiest things we ever did, because they went for it right away. Of course we also had to convince their social workers in the cultural workshop where they started the band. One of them, Kalle, initially said he didn't want to be in the film and we respected that, but after a while he became part of the film anyway and he doesn't mind at all.  
Jukka: No it wasn’t. When I met them for the first time they said that they are stars and that of course a film needs to be made about them.
Were any of you in any other bands or have you played with other musicians before?
Sami: All of the band members have had other band projects besides Pertti Kurikka’s Name Day. There’s been a lot of different types of bands, and some of us have also played in other bands together.
Are there any artists, musical or visual or other, that have been an influence or inspiration?
Kari: I’ve really enjoyed films and TV shows such as Sunday Monday Happy Days, Fonzie and Richie, Cry Baby and American Graffiti and I think they’ve influenced me musically. I also listen to rap, reggae, rock, heavy metal, sometimes even soul and funk. During my free time I don’t listen that much punk. I also like Neil young, bob Dylan. Cat Stevens.
Sami: I really enjoy Finnish comedies such as Uuno Turhapuro and the actor Vesku Loiri, also Benny Hill, White Snake, Dream Theater, James LaBrie, Remu Aaltonen, Antti Tuisku and Urho Kaleva Kekkonen.
Pertti: My favourite is the singer Kari Tapio.
Toni: I listen to Schlagers, Kari Tapio, Antti Tuisku, Esa Pakarinen, I also really like jazz and play it too. Some other bands that have influenced are Eppu normaali and Kollaa kestää.
How much time did you spend with the band on shooting the documentary?  How many live shows did you attend?
Jukka: We spent about a couple of days a week with the band (over the course of) two years. We shot more or less ten of their live gigs.
J-P:  We shot about 70 days and around 10 shows, four of them were in Germany, the rest in Finland. That's quite long for a documentary, but some projects can take even longer.
Were there any obstacles of any kind to making the documentary?
Jukka: No, everything went really well. This has been an exceptionally easy project in that sense. We also had such a big urge to do this film that nothing could really have stopped us from doing it.   
J-P: After ten days of shooting we made a trailer, which they saw on Vimeo or YouTube, which contains some footage of them fighting. They really became conscious of the fact that we were shooting their lives and resolved not to fight anymore, even though we still had two months more shooting to go. It was very important that they understand that we were really recording their lives and that it had consequences. Eventually they returned back to being themselves very quickly and we ended up watching that fight about the pedicure, which is already a classic scene. 
While shooting the movie, did anything come up that surprised you or turned out very different from what your expectations of making the movie was like? Did it cause you to change anything about the production?
Jukka: We had been working with mentally challenged before in other films, so there wasn’t anything new or surprising doing this movie in that sense.
J-P:  Every day surprised us. We knew the story we were aiming for, but every day that we went to their workshop we didn't know what would happen and we didn't have a specific time table. We decided to focus on the guys' personal stories through interviews: Kari's relationship, Toni looking for a group home, Sami's political work and Pertti as the main character who has such complex back story.

We didn't really change anything, but we did add something at the last minute. We had almost edited the film already, when Pertti was invited to meet the president on the Independence Day gala, which is the highest official honor you can get as a citizen. So we decided to shoot Pertti going there and meeting this president.
Kalle, could you explain a bit about the workshop where the band is often shown practicing?
Kalle: Culture Workshop VALO is a workshop for nine mentally disabled adults who work in the field of performing arts. The workshop was founded in 2004 and is unique by its standard of activity in Finland.
Can you explain a little more about your role in working with the guys in the band?
Kalle: I started with the guys in 2004 as a civil servant.  It means that in Finland if you don't go to the army you have to do civil service for a year. And if you refuse, you go to jail.  I am not a licensed care giver or a nurse. I was offered a job here after the civil service was over. I was more than happy to take the job. I am self educated in music and these eight and half years has been my "school" working with people with disabilities.
When I first met Pertti in the beginning of 2004, I learned that he has been into punk rock since the 1970's. I had listened punk rock since the late 80's when I was about ten years old and played in several bands since the early 90's.
I had the idea for years that, shit, Pertti HAS to have his own punk band. It's the music he loves the most, although he likes almost every kind of music. But there's no better music than punk rock for him. Mostly Finnish punk rock so he can understand the lyrics.
I arrange the songs. Pertti writes all the music. Kari writes most of the lyrics, Pertti writes some too. And a few songs are from Pertti's diaries.  They can do the riffs and lyrics but they have no ability to build them together as a song. So I have to help them. I don't mess with the riffs or lyrics, I just put them in an order. Of course, with the guys.  The lyrics usually come as angry bursts while Pertti is playing the new riff. I listen and try to write down as much as possible.
OK.  I am the "manager".   I also arrange the songs, record the records, sell the gigs, road crew, photograph, etc etc.  The band takes so much time that my it's almost my day job nowadays! Of course I try to do other things too that the culture workshop does.
When you play live, it is seems a lot of distress disappears. Do you find making music therapeutic?
Sami: It’s therapeutic, especially when you have to work with these nutcases, heh heh.
Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for people that struggle in any way in their daily lives?

Kari: One must be brave and find sympathy towards other people. One must be interested in different things, and needs to be social and open-minded. With this attitude one can get really far in his or her life.
Pertti: I agree.
Toni: Same here!
Sami: No matter how hard your life is, you must not lose the joy of life. You can always do the things you like, then all the bad things will go away. Everybody is feeling a lot better when there are no prejudices. You have to have the guts to do different things, and to really take the bull by the horns.  Nobody else is going to do it for you.
THE PUNK SYNDROME is being screened at the AFI Silverdocs film festival in Silver Lake, MD on Tuesday, June 19 and Wednesday, June 20.
Me on twitter = @mondocurry

Passion in the Pit as THE PUNK SYNDROME comes to Silverdocs

We often hear talk of dysfunction amongst rock bands.  Bickering occurs and over what – having too much money? Not getting as much of the spotlight or money as one’s bandmates?  In the case of Pertti Kurikka’s Name Day, we have a band that we can truly say is dealing with dysfunction – all four of this Finnish punk band’s members have been clinically diagnosed with mental disabilities.  Yet amazingly and inspiringly, and unlike the collapsed Oasis, they have managed to keep it together and make powerful, tuneful rock music with no signs of letting up.

THE PUNK SYNDROME is a quick paced, eye opening documentary that introduces us to this enigmatically named band.  It focuses on the music, giving us plenty of well shot footage of raw live performances and the catharsis it stirs among its audiences.  Directors J-P Passi and Jukka Kärkkäinen chose not to give an account of the band’s history. Rather, we are given highly energetic look at their everyday lives and their surprisingly strong live performances in and around their native Finland, as well as on a tour of Europe.

To briefly introduce the band, there is Sami Helle on bass, Kari providing vocals, Pertti  on guitar, and behind the drum kit, Tomi.  They make simple, poppy 3 chord punk with vocals of the Norweigan “cookie monster” variety, commonly associated with death and black metal bands from the region. Their lyrics are frank and deal with matters that range from their frustration with aspects of their life being controlled by institutions, to mundane aspects of everyday life.  There is much mention of coffee.

Interesting details about Finnish culture bubble to the surface as a portrait of the band's unique situation is revealed.  Without making a big fuss over it, the film shows how supportive key people in the band member’s lives are, including  staff at the homes, family members, and Kalle, whose exact role is difficult to determine, but seems to fall somewhere between licensed caregiver and band manager.  His patient and persistent manner in dealing with the band, especially Pertti, make him one of the story’s most important unglamorous heroes.

Glimpses into the band’s creative process include imperfect practice sessions and a lyric writing session between Pertti and Kari.  These are nicely balanced by aspects of the band members’ lives outside of the music.  There is Sami Helle’s pursuit of athletic competition and interest in politics, Kari‘s increasingly serious relationship with his girlfriend, and Tomi’s anxiousness as he is faced with the possibility of moving out of his parents’ home and into an assisted living home.

Wisely, Possi and Kärkkäinen refrain from naming or detailing their diagnoses.  We learn of their symptoms by watching them interact with each other and those around them without getting bogged down by clinical talk.  And of symptoms, there are plenty.  Compulsive outbursts, uncontrollable physical mannerisms, and speech disorders are constant factors in the guys’ lives.  





The most complex and also most emotionally gripping case is Pertti’s.  The oldest member of the band, he is sometimes seen obsessively listing threats of physical harm aimed at both his bandmates and himself.  A few scenes later, he is bestowing poetic words of kindness and sharing wisdom from his years of experience with those around him.  Other times, he is appears to be afflicted by physical tics, speaking of imagined creatures that would manifest in other band member’s clothing. All the while, the audience sees him as the principle songwriter of the band, the one whom the band’s existence may well be most dependent on.

While there are awkwardly humorous moments that show things like arguments within the band or lapses in judgment, the film does not ever portray them mockingly, nor does it want us to take pity on them.  There is an upbeat progression of events that finds their experiences increasing in wonderment and live performances that keep getting better and better.  There are some amazing gifts for the audience in the form of surprising moments, ones which you wouldn’t want to have unwrapped until you are there in the scene watching the movie.
 
THE PUNK SYNDROME unflinchingly shows us some very difficult realities, without giving up a sense of fun.  It is also a great movie about music, with uplifting performances that will stick with you for a great while after seeing the film and likely send you running out to hear more of the band's output.

The Punk Syndrome will be screened at the AFI Silverdocs festival in Silver Spring, MD, on Tuesday June 19 and Wednesday June 20.  An interview with the directors of the documentary and the members of the band will appear right here in the days to come.


Me on twitter = @mondocurry

Let Fury Have the Hour: World Premiere Screening and Tribeca Talk, 2012

The revolution will not be televised. it will be screened in independent movie houses if Antonino D’Ambrosio and Shepard Fairey (director and collaborater/co-producer of Let Fury Have the Hour) have anything to say about it.  The movie, taking its title a lyric to the song ‘Clampdown’ by The Clash, had its world premiere this past week at the Tribeca Film Festival.  It is an absorbing, enraging, and often times inspiring documentary comprised of numerous talking heads discussing the covert tyranny of governments adhering to an agenda of greed, and their responses to it, primarily through (but not limited to) artistic expression.  The term ‘creative response’ is used as shorthand for ways of answering the oppressive mood of the times rather than giving in to despair.  In between the personal accounts and politico-social analysis of a good 50 interview subjects are actual propaganda clips and rousing performances by both artists featured in the film and those that inspired them to action.

After briefly introducing the idea of creative response, the film takes a sharp look at the rise to power of Reagan and Thatcher in the 80’s, presenting it as the beginning of a dramatic downturn of national morale in either of those leader’s countries.  Responsibility for others was discouraged while tacit approval of greed, selfishness, and disregard for those less fortunate than oneself thrived under the guise of ‘individualism.’  In essence a covert war was being established between the haves and have nots, with government pulling strings in favor of the former.  It is a densely packed section, fitting a great amount of detail into a relatively short chunk of time.

Antonino D'Ambrosio and Shepard Fairey have a posse

 

As the film moves on, we hear more about the formative experiences that lead many of the subjects into politically charged artistic activity.  Here is really the highlight, as the inspiration of music, particularly punk rock, is the veritable soul of the project.  A theme runs through the accounts of the musicians interviewed, showing disconnected suburban upbringings in which music seemed inaccessible until along would come each one’s discovery of punk bands like The Clash.  It is thrilling hearing about the sudden call to action this would inspire, with some artists forming or jumping into bands the next day.  Shepard Fairey had a similar experience, applying the punk rock aesthetic to visual arts with his mass produced propaganda style images being used to spread his creative response.  Parallel to punk’s influence is the impact made by the political hip hop of Public Enemy, who are referenced not only as an inspiration to musicians, but also on activism and protest within disadvantaged communities.

The most impressive achievement of the film is the weaving together of so many powerful voices.  The interview subjects range from musicians, poets, playwrights, visual artists, comedians and film directors to those from less celebrated professions like professors, lawyers, and essayists.  It would be hard to say whose voices are most significant as this is bound to be subjective to people’s familiarity or fanship of certain individuals.  Music figuring in as prominently as it does, I felt the words of Ian McKaye (Fugazi, founder of indie label Dischord Records), Chuck D. (Public Enemy), and Tom Morello (formerly Rage Against the Machine, currently Night Watchmen among others) had a particularly strong impact.  Sometimes those with less screen time, like comedian Lewis Black, offered up Fury’s most prophetic and memorable sound bites, while older figures like director John Sayles provided great historical insight.  Unfamiliar figures also provide some of the most poignant observations and moving personal stories.

From here, the film shifts back and forth between political discussion and somewhat celebratory personal reactions to taking part in creative activity, perhaps lingering a bit too long on the latter.  Its closing moments fittingly bring up the need for creative response to translate into mass organization and action, posing more questions about this next crucial step than definite answers.  

Furious 5:(left to right) Laura Flanders, D'Ambrosio, Staceyann Chin, Wayne Kramer, Fairey

When the film ended, a discussion was held by moderator Laura Flanders and individuals with varying associations with the film: Antonino D’Ambrosio and Shepard Fairey, both mentioned above, were joined by poet Staceyann Chin (whose intense spoken performance of one of her poems during the film caused an outbreak of applause), and Wayne Kramer, guitarist for the MC5, who spoke in the film and was also cited by many as another influential force in punk rock. While congratulations and compliments were bestowed, it did not take long before questions took on a demanding edge.  When asked why the film focused primarily on the politics of the 80s and not so much the era that would follow, director D’Ambrosio responded that the project is his own personal response to his experiences from the place in time that was most formative for him.  Fairey, in response to questions about the criticism of individualism spoke eloquently about the dangers of any political philosophy taken to a dangerous extreme (this was a handy reference point as the militantly anti-individualist stance of China’s government is rallied against in another documentary featured at Tribeca this year, “High Tech, Low Life.” He also discussed some connections to his recent work with the growing Occupy movement.

Kramer and Fairey (holding up some of his highly distributable art)

 

The question remains if it will be possible for the film to be both congratulatory the film subjects' collective achievements and at the same time enough of a provocation to make a difference.  The team on hand suggested plans to tour the movie around when it gets a release, with public appearances (and perhaps some uplifting performances) from those connected to the film.

Let’s do more than just hope that the project gets the attention and support that it deserves.  

“Let fury have the hour, anger can be power. Do you know that you can use it?” - The Clash. “The Clampdown.”