Interviews: Overhead

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the talented progressive rock band from Finland, Overhead! With their unique blend of melodic vocals, intricate guitar work, and dynamic rhythms, they have captivated audiences worldwide. Today, we have the pleasure of interviewing the band and delving into their creative process and upcoming projects. So, let's get started and follow the band on their facebook page!

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

The band name, Overhead, was a last-minute thing when we had to come up with some name to book a rehearsal space. It just came out of our brains...and went over our heads.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

We wanted to write songs that don't have to fit into any tight genre boundaries. And we wanted to play music where we can utilize our versatility as musicians. Progressive rock is great in that manner because within it you can do just about anything, only your imagination is the limit.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Us three founding members knew each other well and we had played in bands together before. We found our singer Alex through an ad and he had known our drummer Ville and our bass player Janne for many years, so he brought those guys in. We all know each other very well by now!

4. Each band member's favourite band?

My favourite band I'll say is Marillion. Janne loves Queen and Alex listens to so many different bands, let's say Tame Impala. Ville really digs AC/DC and I don't know if Jere has just one favourite band, he's quite versatile.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Sometimes I grab the guitar with the intention to try and write a new song and sometimes new song ideas just happen by accident. I guess the inspiration comes from emotions and feelings inside but the song ideas don't necessarily reflect the mood I'm in at the time of the writing. Like I've written very melancholic songs even when I was in a happy mood and vice versa.

6. Where was your last gig?

The last gig was at the Prog En Beauce -festival near Paris in France. Great memories of that!

7. Where would you like to act?

We'd love to play anywhere we haven't played so far, so for example Spain or overseas in Japan or the USA would be really cool.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

I'd love to play on a King Diamond album, those riffs are just so cool to play.

9. Whom not?

Never say never to anyone.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

I'm sure we're all nervous before our gigs. We just want to deliver our best every time. I wouldn't recommend the traditional cure of getting wasted in order to beat that. Rather just rehearse your thing well enough beforehand.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

I grew up listening to 70s rock and heavy bands like Deep Purple, Rainbow and Black Sabbath. As a guitarist, I learned a lot from the likes of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. A bit later on I got heavily into Pink Floyd, Kansas and Marillion. One reason why Overhead has an original sound and that it is hard to compare our current sound to any other prog bands is that we all have a very wide range of influences from many different genres

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

To wear his baseball cap and then take a picture with him. He was an extremely nice guy so it was all very well.

13. What do you think of your fans?

We just love their enthusiasm and continuing support. We wouldn't be here without them and we wouldn't have been doing this for over 20 years without our marvellous fans.

14. What do you think of our site?

It's an awesome site. Much respect for supporting these kinds of genres and not so well known artists!