Timo Tolkki Calls It A Day

[MPF]

The very well-known guitarrist TIMO TOLKKI has decided to quit the music business, here's the official statement on his Facebook page:

"I don't know how many of you are interested in reading this and quite frankly, I dont even care so much, but I am just writing down some early morning thoughts regarding Symfonia and other stuff going on in my life.

As it turned out to be, it all started from a cake. I thought it might be some kind of a celestial joke and maybe it was, but when 2 fans handed me a Symfonia cake after the last gig of Symfonia's South American tour, after spending 3 nights in a 15 bucks cold motel with grey concrete walls looking like a prison in Santiago de Chile and flying 28 hours to another continent to play to audiences varying from 100 to 350, I started to think that maybe this really is it. The cake was in a funny way telling me:"hey Timo, don't you see:it's over".

And I started to really consider my whole musician's career. This happened in June.

Exactly a year before I had flown to Sweden to record 3 demo songs I had composed hoping to record some vocals of Andre. I spent there 6 days and from those days, I was able to squeeze about 6 hours of singing from him. In between going to supermarkets, changing diapers and me trying to solve some of their domestic disputes, I started to think if it was such a good idea after all.

But people liked the demos and I went full on producing the "In Paradisum" album to which I put around 1000 working hours. Andre Matos told me very clear that this band should not do any gigs if it doesnt make any money. I basically agreed but at the same time I knew that people would still consider it as a new band. Not "The Spartacus of Metal" where the gates of superstardom would open just like that. Uli Kusch had been in and out of band due to his hand injury and in the middle of vocal recordings in Sweden, he sent me a mail telling me he would never ever play any gigs in his life because "he was tired of piss smelling backstage rooms, the chaos, the travelling etc. In vain I tried to tell him that this was not what we agreed. He did tell me that if Symfonia would make a second album, we could use his name for 10 000 euros and use Alex Landenburg for the recordings. And after 10 minutes came a text message that he also wanted me to pay the taxes of his fee so it would total 13 000 euros for the usage of his name. I did not respond to that but I really found it hard to believe.

Then Matos lost his voice in the middle of the vocal recordings for 4 days and while hunting for cortison shots in the middle of the deepest Swedish countryside, I really started to think that this is not gonna work.

Well we got the vocals done, did the interviews and released the album. I still think it's a good album.

Also the Japanese earthquake messed the little touring plans the band had. Then Andre told me we could make a lucrative tour in South America booked by his manager. Apparently there was some mysterious investor that was in the game. I should have known better even hearing the word investor. I decided to do the tour and after flying 30 hours: Helsinki-Frankfurt-Rome-Sao Paulo we landed only to hear that the tour is cancelled. At that point I was already ready to buy a ticket back to Finland but they managed to make a settlement and we did I guess it was 6 gigs. It was the worst and heaviest tour I have ever done in my career.

Keyboard player Mikko Harkin developed high fever and lung inflammation that was bounding pneumonia.

While lying 2 days in Sao Paulo in Formula 1 hotel (the cheapest you can get there) in a darkness I was starting to really get doubts about my future as a musician.

When I got the sales figures from Edel Records and the report from the booking agency for the festivals of Summer 2012 I decided to call it a day. It didnt make any sense to try to "conquer" the metal world since it was obvious that there was not enough interest. Don't get me wrong, it's totally cool if there is no interest.

Then I thought about my career. Around 3000 gigs, 20 years, 20 CD's, productions, clinics, travelling. I realised that I have done a lot. I guess most of you know that I am suffereing from Bipolar Disorder, one of the worst mental disorders, but with medication and non stressful lifestyle, this illness can be controlled but never cured. Playing in a touring band is far from "non stressful lifestyle" and in fact the rock'n'roll life itself is manic with its highs and lows. In those long Stratovarius tours being undiagnosed with the illlness, I could have died. I am not kidding.

3.3 next year I will be 46. This autumn I made a decision to take some time off from music business and concentrate on something else. I have a wonderful wife and daughter, who also happens to be a world class singer. I started giving guitar lessons again. Im taking lots of photos. In other words, living quite normal life.

I do realize the marks the years have left in me and that I should rest and heal the wounds. There is a lot to heal. The music business is in extremely sick state in this moment and it's not gonna get any better. In a few years we will know what kind of form it will take. Maybe I one day take some part of it, maybe I dont. I really dont know at the moment.

So what about my future? If you are interested in that I can only say that it is possible that I will never record anything again. For some of you this might come as a relief. I don't know what the future will hold for me but I want to thank all of you who have supported me in these 22 some years. For you who havent supported me and continuosly are mocking me for example at Stratoboard (which makes me really sad mainly due lack of respect from a band that was my vision for 22 years and that still plays 80% of my songs although there is 2 guys left in the band called Stratovarius) I also want to thank you because without you guys, I could never have done everything I have done. It's been a great career. I hope the future brings more music but most likely it will not. But still after all I can say…I Did It My Way."

I guess no one told him that the cake is a lie.


But seriously, This is a very sad, but also, very real situation for some musicians that is very sad. Maybe he will decide to come back again some day, and if he does, he better go back to Stratovarius.

[Spiner202]

I'm pretty new to Stratovarius/Timo in general and I loved the Symfonia record, but as I got a couple more Stratovarius albums I noticed that quite a bit of Symfonia's riffs and melodies seem taken straight from the older Stratovarius stuff. If he could keep making music like that without ripping himself (or others) off, I think I'd still buy new albums from him.

I guess when you've been doing it this long and still have to deal with the stuff he posted above, it's understandable. I think he kinda screwed himself with Stratovarius, as that was a situation where he was probably making a decent living. If he comes back to music, he should stay away from Stratovarius. They are better now than they've ever been.

[SomewhereInTime72]

Well I mean.

When your band is actually better off without you.... maybe it is time to call it a day.

Honestly, this guy has made some awesome contributions to the power metal world. I think there's no shame in deciding he's done enough.

[brutal_descent]

First Jorg, and now Timo?

At least I saw the both of them play with Stratovarius before they called it quits.

[Epidemic Reign]

Does this mean we don't have to hear him whining about how God and everybody is taking advantage of him anymore?

Cause I'm OK with that.

[ravenheart]

Originally Posted by brutal_descent

First Jorg, and now Timo?

Wrong way round. Timo left Stratovarius years ago.

The only interesting thing I found in Timo's statement on Wednesday, because I too am tired of his whining, is it re-enforces what a cock Uli Kusch is.

[Maiden33]

He should have done this 4 years ago and just retired when he left Stratovarius. This guy was a borderline genius in the mid to late 90's and that era of Stratovarius is one of my favorite eras of any band ever - but he outwore his welcome. He hasn't really done anything great in years, and after that scandal about how he didn't even play the guitar solos on the last Revolution Renaissance disc... I knew he didn't have anything at all left to offer. I had some expectations for that Symfonia disc, but honestly, it pretty much sucked - so I'm not going to feel bad for them not achieving much success.

[Spiner202]

Originally Posted by brutal_descent

First Jorg, and now Timo?

At least I saw the both of them play with Stratovarius before they called it quits.

It wasn't really Jorg's fault that he left Stratovarius. And he will really be missed. He completely destroyed on the new album. It's probably one of the best drum performances I've heard in a while.

[ravenheart]

Originally Posted by Maiden33

He should have done this 4 years ago and just retired when he left Stratovarius. This guy was a borderline genius in the mid to late 90's and that era of Stratovarius is one of my favorite eras of any band ever - but he outwore his welcome. He hasn't really done anything great in years, and after that scandal about how he didn't even play the guitar solos on the last Revolution Renaissance disc... I knew he didn't have anything at all left to offer. I had some expectations for that Symfonia disc, but honestly, it pretty much sucked - so I'm not going to feel bad for them not achieving much success.

Pretty much this. And I thought all the Revolution Renaissance discs sucked too. Didn't he release all three on three different labels? He's clearly been a liability and a pain to work with for some time.

[Epidemic Reign]

New message from Timo:

http://www.bravewords.com/news/175934