Sami Yaffa Exclusive Interview

By Cyndi Ford

Sami Yaffa, Bass player in some of THE hottest bands in the world of rock n roll takes time out to chat with SoundCheck's Cyndi Ford whilst out on the road with his old band mate Michael Monroe. A talented musician, Sami also has his own side-project, Mad Juana [playing] as well as turning out as a DJ every once in a while. All round nice guy and one of the most sought after bass players, Sami tells it like it is...

 

You were born in Finland, how do you think this effects you musically, and how was the music scene there?


There really wasn't much to do growing up,...play sports, drink, get into trouble...
TV entertainment was ski-jumping, hockey and politics, maybe Coronation Street and Peyton Place,....2 TV channels, radio Luxembourg was the only channel to hear new music, there was a weekly radio program with R'n'R etc...it was pretty dismal...there was no scene musically speaking, until the end of 70's when Punk came along.
That's when kids got together and started doin' shit , taking over spaces, dilapidated houses etc and started staging punk shows, that's where and how I grew up musically, playing in shitty places, drinking beer and playing loud and fast music. On the other hand there was tango, some gypsy music and my brother and sister who had great record collections, Hendrix, Stones, Zappa, John Lee Hooker, Django Reinhardt etc...before I got my own faves, Alice Cooper, Slade, Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Bowie, T-Rex etc....that was early 70's

What prompted you to play bass, and do you play any other instruments?


My brother played sax which made me interested in playing something myself, I always heard the low end in songs first, started building my own noise making gadgets when I was a kid. Saved some money, sold my record collection and bought a bass....I strum a guitar and bang percussion, that's about it.

How is it that you came to play with Hanoi Rocks?



I was in a band prior to Hanoi Rocks with Andy McCoy called Pelle Miljoona Oy, a Finnish punk rock band. One day he took me aside after a rehearsal and told me about his grand scheme, move to Stockholm ,start a band with Michael & Nasty, who already had an embryonic version of Hanoi Rocks and take over the world...I was 16, I had already done all the venues there was to play in Finland, twice with Pelle. The thought of running around those same venues for the rest of my life didn't really look too rosey to me...so, off to races, I moved to Stockholm, Sweden Sept.1980 and started Hanoi Rocks for real.

At one point in your career you almost quit the business, what changed your mind, and had you not, what do you think you would be doing know?


After not really playing for 2 years (after Hanoi) I got a rash.......after Razzle's death, drug addiction and my son being born I needed to take some time off, but, as I said, I got a rash.....I have no idea what else I would be doing, ..? Selling hats?

You were well loved as part of the New York Dolls, what transpired this collaboration, and why did it end?


I got an offer I couldn't refuse..."you wanna play for the Dolls..?" what? Am I gonna say no to that? It hasn't ended, never say never, I didnt quit, I wasnt fired.... Syl, David and Brian are dear friends and I loved my time with the Dolls, true gentlemen and amazing musicians and songwriters, love them all dearly.
The Dolls slowed down big time 2-3 years ago,.. a tour here, a tour there was not the way to live for me. I met Michael at a Dolls show in Finland 2009, hung out afterwards and started talking about doing something together again, the last time we played together in Demolition 23 was a blast and we thought we had some unfinished business to do. We thought about doin' something in that vein, simple, fast, loud, punk....high energy stuff, once we got the line up together the thing really took off.

You are back with Michael Monroe, and played on his album “Sensory Overdrive” that was produced by the famous Jack Douglas, how did this compare to other recordings that you have worked on?


I worked with Jack on the Dolls comeback album "One Day It Will Please us To Remember Even This" in 2005, Jack is great and I love working with him. All the recordings I've done have always been completely different experiences, even these 2 albums I've done with Jack Douglas had a different approach.

With the Dolls we did about 3 weeks of pre-production, with the Michael Monroe album it was more like 5 days....go in and crank it up. We did 3 or 4 separate writing sessions prior to going in for the pre-production, which meant we had most of the material together before we went in...We did a little bit of tweaking with the arrangements, but not much. We kept the the approach in the studio kinda raw, a couple of takes and that's it.

Once again you are in a band with Steve Conte, (which is a great thing for your fans), you both have side projects; yours the Mad Juana, and his The Crazy Truth, do you ever see you guys doing anything on the side together?



Sure, Stevie's great and has a completely open mind regarding music, I would love to do some stuff with him, a mind boggling guitarist and singer, could be a fun as fuck thing to do.....

You toured with Joan Jett, how much fun was that in compared to some of your other gigs, and was it your responsibility to sing the “oh yeah” part on “Do you wanna touch”?
 

Joan is a diamond, it was an honour to be able to play with her for 2 years, a classic lady and the hardest working mama out there. Had fun with the Blackhearts, ......, we had fun......jesus we had fun...The set list could have changed a bit but she knows what the fans want, she ain't no dummy, and yes that was me and Dougie Needles doin the 'Oooh Yeahs'....
 

You stay busy all of the time, how do you think the economy has effected the music industry, and is this the inspiration for the extra work?


I love working, there's nothing worse than NOT working..... the internet killed the $$$'s you used to make from record sales,...its incredible, people seem to have think that music should be free, that it just materializes from thin air and nobody actually works to create and record a song or an album, its probably the only profession where you work and don't get paid (making a record).
You have to tour in order to pay the bills and feed your family, and to continue to make music. I loathe the industry side of things, the only thing that gives pleasure is the actual time on stage, the creative process, going to different parts of the world and dealing with fans, the biz is just a fuckin' headache.

What is your favorite song to play, and with whom, and the same for your least favorite.


I love playing "Looking For A Kiss" by the Dolls ,"Motorvating" by Hanoi, "Trick Of The Wrist" by Michael Monroe Band "Take it Take it" by Mad Juana etc.... If I truly hate playing any one song, I let the band know it and hopefully we can drop it....."Do you wanna touch "with Joan was actually quite painful now that you mention it....

You have been doing most of your touring away from the United States, do you have any plans on touring here?


Last year yes, most of the touring was in Europe, we did a couple of weeks in US, mostly the west coast, a couple of gigs in NY and SXSW. The plan is to hit US in the fall in a big way, looking forward to it, the looooong drives, the great food....hah.... touring the States is a thing of its own, I did a LOT of it with Joan Jett and the Dolls, love playing the mid-west as well as the coasts and the south, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago is always a blast, as is SF, New Orleans and Philly...days off in Boisy, Idaho can be full of surprises...Seattle, Portland is always cool...so, yea, really looking forward to next fall.

What are your plans for the future, and where do you see yourself in 20 years?


Future is unwritten and I welcome it with open arms

What is the one thing that you want people to think when they remember you in RnR history?


"That poor bass, he wasnt too kind to it, was he"......[ Haha, Ed.]

 

Thanks very much for taking time out to chat with SoundCheck Sami, we'll catch up with you on the road very soon.

Cyndi