So, now you know that I’m a big fan of the Finnish hard rock band Lordi. I’ll go into more detail about my place in the fandom. I’ve only been a fan of them for about a year now. It was February last year around the time of the drummer Otus’s death when my friend and I were sitting in the cafeteria watching metal music videos.
We watched the music video for the Lordi song “Would You Love a Monsterman” 2006 version. The song was intense, melodic and catchy: the kind of rock music with the melody and vocals that I like. Also the music video was pretty cool.
Seeing all those monsters (it took me a while to get all their names) I caught the name of the one on vocals first: Mr. Lordi. Then later on I began to hear about OX, Awa, Amen, and then I learned about Otus’s death and then the other previous members. I was really intrigued. So after watching the music video a few times with my friend, the song found its place on my iPod in no time at all.
Soon I took the liberty of checking out other well-known Lordi songs turning to their Eurovision-winning song “Hard Rock Hallelujah” I only heard it once on a live concert video so I didn’t really remember what it sounded like so I bought it on iTunes just for the hell of it and when I listened to it I was amazed. At the moment, I fell head over heels for Lordi and that song. I loved everything about the song: The lyrics, the melody, the beat. EVERYTHING.
Today whenever I listen to it, I feel like myself whenever I do; I can forget all my worries, and just be happy as the song plays. That is why I like that song, and I don’t like it because of Eurovision because I’ve learned from fellow fans most of them don’t like it for that and/or are tired of hearing the song itself live or on the radio so many times, but hey I wasn’t around the fandom during the time the song was overplayed so to me I love the song!
As I went deeper into the band, I liked everything else about the band too; their music, image, and even their personalities! All the members of Lordi are friendly, and humorous when I started watching interviews with them. Soon, Mr. Lordi the lead singer became my favourite member of the band.
As I said earlier, he’s the reason why I want to improve my singing skills, and be the person I really want to be. I love everything about him, from his singing voice and costume, to his friendly/humorous personality. So, it’s no wonder I had a MAJOR heart attack when I sent him a private message last December on the band’s official forum.
It was six days after I sent my message to him, I was scrolling through my e-mail on my cell phone, and saw I got a private message from the forum. I opened my e-mail and it said the message was from “Lordi”, I knew it was him. I bolted upstairs to my computer to read the message. And of course when I read it, it was such a sweet message that, I had one of those fangirl reactions! Hahahaha! Yeah, it was a happy moment. If I could meet only one of the band members, I would choose him.
Love you Mr. Lordi! Hee hee yes I have a crush on him but don’t worry dear readers, I completely recognize the difference that he’s married and stuff so I’m not gonna try anything stupid or demanding. Another special moment was when I made a special drawing for him for his birthday this year and sent it to him, and then he replied back and said he liked it! Happy moments. Anyway, hopefully I will talk to him again someday! When he’s not too busy of course!
Yeah so I went from casual Lordi fan to hardcore Lordi fan in less than a year. How quick is that? So no wonder seeing Lordi live has rocketed to the top of my bucket list. Now that ties in to the title of this entry. Wanna know why I say it’s a rough ride being a Lordi fan? Well it’s not because of how well I can obtain their merchandise like their albums and stuff. (Though in some cases depending on the merch. I want, some of it is harder to get than the music)
The reason why it can be a rough ride is because since the band is at a label that only seems to want them to tour in Europe that creates a problem for me because I live in Canada. Lordi has not been to my continent or country since 2008 (to be honest I don’t even know if they even went into Canada last time they were in NA) It’s really hard to be happy for the fans in Europe that can go to the gigs because I’m jealous as hell and wish I could be there. I can’t blame the band for not coming to my country for quite some time because it’s not their fault. It’s their management that makes these decisions and it’s a burden to bear if you’re a desperate fan like me and you live in a country they haven’t visited in a while or have never visited.
There are some fans I know who have seen them live and maybe have met them more than twice, secretly I do not see the point of that because to me the first time is the best time and if I only get to see Lordi live and meet them once I’ll still be happy. If a second opportunity within my reach to see them comes along then why not? I’d see them a dozen times if I could because of the enjoyment it brings out of seeing the concerts, meeting the band, etc.
If I lived in Europe then I would go to see them many times and try to meet them too so that’s a different story. But since I live in a place overseas that they rarely visit that is also why I would like to see them and meet them at least once, but I wouldn’t mind a second time and/or more because of the excitement it is to see/meet your favourite band again. Some of you may not agree with me on that because they would say that whenever there’s an opportunity like travelling a short distance or they’re in your country you want to take that chance and go. That yes I understand and that is what I would do if the band was coming to my country.
I have two solutions to make this dream come true: Either Lordi comes here or I go to them. Them coming to me, well either I keep my fingers crossed that they make enough money and the demand goes off the charts here in North America for them to come back or I do something like contact the management which for some reason I find risky. I go to them; well that’s gonna be difficult too because well, it’s REALLY expensive to fly from Canada to anywhere in Europe and I’m talking like maybe $2000 or more possibly. I’ll find a way to save up money and also while at it I am develop the skills in order to survive on my own. Stuff like responsibility y’know.
It’s also hard when it comes to envying the fans that have met the band whether it’s their first time or they’ve met them multiple times because well that’s part of my dream too. Apparently it doesn’t seem as hard as I thought it was according to the fans that have done it. I’ll think of some way to make that happen if I ever get to a Lordi gig that is. I am looking at talking to their tour manager or someone else assisting at the venue to possibly get backstage or I’m hoping that the band members come out after the show (and hopefully they still have their costumes on!) to give autographs and photos.
Well that brings me to say that that’s the only hard part about being a Lordi fan for someone like me living overseas from Europe. The rest of the parts of being a Lordi fan is great! I enjoy listening to the music, watching interviews, music videos, and live performances (let’s hope that I won’t be watching those live performances through a TV or computer screen for the rest of my life since I desire to see them live), I am proud to be a member of the band’s forum and an international fan club made by one of the Finnish Lordi fanatics, and I like interacting with the other fans. Sometimes it’s hard to remain strong from where I am and I get a little emotional about my strong desire to see them live but I always try my very best to stay strong and believe that one day I will see Lordi live.
And when I do see them live my dear little sickos. I will rock the hell out and be sure to write and post pictures all about it! HARD ROCK HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!
-Emily
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