{"id":13032,"date":"2014-05-16T01:00:18","date_gmt":"2014-05-16T05:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=13032"},"modified":"2014-05-16T08:05:54","modified_gmt":"2014-05-16T12:05:54","slug":"content-needed-blowin-wind-with-revampnightwish-singer-floor-jansen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=13032","title":{"rendered":"Blowin\u2019 Wind with Nightwish\/ReVamp vocalist Floor Jansen: \u201cIf you think that metal music is just noise, you\u2019ve already lost out basically. There is so much more happening.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"600full-floor-jansen\"Floor Jansen has made quite a name for herself in the metal world these days. From her early work fronting After Forever to fronting her own band ReVamp and most recently Nightwish, Floor Jansen has done more in her 33 years on this earth than most do in a lifetime. When ReVamp announced that they would be making their Atlanta debut opening for Sabaton and Iced Earth I jumped at the opportunity to talk with Floor.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Floor is a really sweet, gracious, and kind person. She is also very outspoken which I found to be a really awesome thing. For 30 minutes we basked in the warm weather and talked about how she emerged from her breakdown, her interaction with fans, and why she loves Pantera. This was a really fun chat with a really unique and talented individual. I hope you all dig this one and if so, go give Floor and ReVamp a listen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Welcome back to Atlanta Floor.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you so much Don.<\/p>\n

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Floor, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me today. Do you ever get tired of doing these things?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] No. I never really get tired of doing them. It depends on the quality of the questions honestly. I don\u2019t mind answering things about the band and what we\u2019re doing. It\u2019s great that the word gets out and that there\u2019s an interest in what we\u2019re doing and what I\u2019m doing. I\u2019m always proud and happy to talk about those things.<\/p>\n

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What is a question that you get asked way too frequently during interviews?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Um, well, no so much in just interviews but particularly here, every freaking day is, \u201cHow tall are you?\u201d [laughs] It\u2019s like, does it matter if I 6 feet? 6\u20192? 5\u20199? It\u2019s tall. You have eyes in your head and you see that I\u2019m taller than average. Why do you have to point it out 100 times a day? In general, I also don\u2019t like getting questions that ask about my opinion on things. \u201cWhat do you think about the singer of\u2026\u201d or \u201cWhat do you think of THIS band\u2026\u201d things like that.<\/p>\n

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I feel like a lot of times people use interviews to spark some sort of controversy but for me I like to have a conversation you know? Get to know a person.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly. I mean, of course there can be a personal interest that can only make a conversation nicer. Like you\u2019re telling a story that other people will read or hear so the questions should interest everyone. I\u2019m here because I\u2019m a musician and an artist. Not because I\u2019m Floor Jansen who wants to talk about my personal life. I mean, it doesn\u2019t matter what my favorite color is for the music that I right. I prefer to really focus on those kinds of conversations and unfortunately not all people get that.<\/p>\n

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You\u2019ve been here before with Mayan and with After Forever but this is ReVamp\u2019s first US tour. Is there a bit of pressure<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Photos
Photos by Michael Bradley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

on you at all right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No. Not really. The good thing about doing something for the first time is that you don\u2019t have too many expectations. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we didn\u2019t have any. Let\u2019s go here and just convince everyone that we\u2019re a cool band and that we play good music and that we\u2019re not just some band starting out. To see the reception of us as a band being so big is really amazing to us. You have no idea.<\/p>\n

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Does it ever bug you when people assume that you and Mark Jansen are siblings?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] No. We\u2019ve been having this happen for 15 years and after a while you get used to it. Matter of fact, after a while we started joking and saying, \u201cYes, we\u2019re siblings\u201d or \u201cNo, we\u2019re not siblings. We\u2019re married! Didn\u2019t you know?\u201d [laughs]<\/p>\n

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Being the singer of both Nightwish and your own band ReVamp, do you consider ReVamp your baby so to speak and where you feel like you\u2019d like to put most of your focus?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, actually, I consider both Nightwish and ReVamp equal. I mean, of course I started ReVamp but I connected with Nightwish so well both musically and personally. I don\u2019t see that as just a project. Nightwish is my band and so is ReVamp. They both get my 100% which is why I also cannot do them both at the same time. They\u2019re both my babies.<\/p>\n

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I wanted to ask you a bit about your burnout phase that was documented in the ReVamp suite \u201cThe Anatomy of a Nervous Breakdown.\u201d As a creative person I can totally identify with this and I\u2019m sure others can as well. How did you come out of that dark place to emerge as strong as you did?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you, Don. For me it felt like, \u201cI\u2019m sick. I\u2019m too sick to do anything.\u201d It wasn\u2019t just a moment of not feeling well or not having energy. It was a complete breakdown. I was literally unable to do anything. I couldn\u2019t even go grocery shopping or to a mall. Any kind of big spaces, loud noises, places like that. This wasn\u2019t something that was there for a month. This is something that happened over a year. I think everyone has this happen in their own way and the only way to come out of it is to acknowledge it. I personally ignored it way too long which is why it took so long to get so deep. It\u2019s a scary thing.<\/p>\n

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Since then, do you find yourself doing things a bit differently to avoid that from happening again?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, definitely. It\u2019s not really about the amount of work because honestly, I\u2019ve never worked as much as I do now weird enough. It\u2019s more about the way of doing things.<\/p>\n

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So it\u2019s not so much how hard you\u2019re working but how much you\u2019re mentally and emotionally putting into your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly, and to say, \u201cOk, I\u2019ve pushed enough.\u201d I\u2019ve had to learn that if 10 is the best, a 7 is ok and even a 6 is ok. I don\u2019t always have to be the best. Things don\u2019t always have to be perfect. I just need to be able to let go sometimes. If something isn\u2019t working that way you want it to be, it\u2019s ok.<\/p>\n

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Do you kind of like the idea that maybe all that you went through and how you came through it all could inspire someone else.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sure. That is that part of the reason why I wrote it. For one, it was in me and it just needed to come out. The music is there because of that. Writing about something that happened to me and hoping people could relate to it. I don\u2019t expect everyone to exactly understand everything I went through and I don\u2019t want that. For some it might make sense and for others maybe not.<\/p>\n