INTERVIEW: Joel Hokka (Blind Channel)

QUICKIE OF THE WEEK: A short interview with Joel Hokka (Blind Channel) – May 2020

Pix666: Hello Joel. The most important question right at the beginning. Are you well and are you healthy?

Joel: All good! We’re getting ready for our streaming show at 45 Special Oulu & preparing for studio this month.

Pix666: About two months ago the third Blind Channel album ‘Violent Pop’ was released. Did you have concerts or
a tour planned for the release and did you have to postpone concerts?

Joel: Yep we had couple of headline shows ready for this spring and also some festivals for summer… all of them got cancelled but some of the headline shows has been postponed for 2021. Like our Helsinki headline which will take place at On The Rocks next February.

Pix666: The album was streamed a few million times. Did you expect such a success?

Joel: Our first single Over My Dead Body took off really well so that gave us a strong feeling about the upcoming success on Spotify. I think we’ve been grinding that hard to deserve that!

Pix666: When will your next concerts with an audience take place, and do you think that these dates
can be kept?

Joel: Our next show will be hopefully at Dark River Festival in Finland. After that we have a plan to tour with Smash Into Pieces (SWE) in Finland & Sweden but I’m a little scary about those shows… Let’s see what happens. We’re living in very strange times.

Pix666: How did the collaboration with the German label ‘Out Of Line’ come about?

Joel: Our Finnish label Ranka Kustannus made an licensing deal with them back in 2018 and we decided to do 2 albums with them!

Pix 666: How are the other guys from the band, how are your friends and families? How do you stay
in touch with them?

Joel: We’ve been practicing with the guys & doing new music. I’m also seeing couple of my best friends & meeting my family when I go back to Oulu (I live in Helsinki at the moment).

Pix666: You are from Finland – what is the general mood in the country regarding the Corona crisis?

Joel: People are little scared but things are looking better than 1 or 2 months ago. I guess the worst is behind.

Pix666: Do you believe that this crisis will change the behaviour of humanity in the future?

Joel: Yep. I guess world will never be the same. And the effect for a music business is huge.

Pix666: What things, apart from being live on stage, do you miss the most at the moment?

Joel: Getting wasted on bars and meeting all my buddies ! Also would be awesome to see some gigs as an part of audience.

Pix666: Do you have any other news about Blind Channel that you would like to share with the fans?

Joel: We’re doing something really really special this summer. Everyone will be surprised!

Pix666: Thank you very much for the interesting insights into your present life – Stay healthy!

Joel: Thanks ! Stay safe !

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