Leena Peisa
Encyclopedia
Leena Maria "Awa" Peisa (b. March 16, 1979 in Vantaa
, Finland
) is the current keyboard
player in the Finnish hard rock
quintet Lordi
, winners of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. Peisa's former bands include Punaiset Messiaat
and , both of which are from Porvoo
.
although she spent her teenage years in Porvoo. She has been playing the piano
since she was six years old. She took to playing the syth in her teens. Her first band was Punaiset Messiaat
which she joined in autumn 1994. While in Punaiset Messiaat she used the stage name "Lende Mielihyvä". Mielihyvä is the Finnish
word for pleasure. After Punaiset Messiaat disbanded in 1998, Peisa concentrated on her education and studied Social Studies at the University of Helsinki. In 2003, she rejoined the band that now performed under the name , and in 2005 was invited to join Lordi
by drummer Kita
to replace the keyboardist Enary
. In Lordi, she takes on the persona
of an unearthly Vampire
Countess. The name Awa comes from Be Aware. On the band's website she is said to have many other names. The British
newspaper the Daily Mail
wrongly credited a photo of a woman without make-up as being Awa. Her other band removed all photos from their website - this was perhaps a coincidence, or just to play along with the monster image. Some Greek television channels claim to have videos and photos of the band without stage make-up.
Vantaa
Vantaa is a city and municipality in Finland. Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen make up the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.Vantaa, with its population of , is the fourth most populated city of Finland. The biggest airport in Finland, the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, is located there...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
) is the current keyboard
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
player in the Finnish hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
quintet Lordi
Lordi
Lordi is a Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band, formed in 1996 by the band's lead singer, songwriter and costume-designer, Mr. Lordi. The band is known for wearing monster masks and using pyrotechnics during concerts...
, winners of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. Peisa's former bands include Punaiset Messiaat
Punaiset Messiaat
Punaiset Messiaat were a progressive rock ensemble from Porvoo, Finland. The band started as a raw punk band in 1991, but by the release of their first album, the style had changed into more progressive. From 1993 until 1997 Punaiset messiaat toured with other bands of the Levy-yhtiö record...
and , both of which are from Porvoo
Porvoo
Porvoo is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century...
.
Biography
Leena Maria Peisa was born in VantaaVantaa
Vantaa is a city and municipality in Finland. Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen make up the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.Vantaa, with its population of , is the fourth most populated city of Finland. The biggest airport in Finland, the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, is located there...
although she spent her teenage years in Porvoo. She has been playing the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
since she was six years old. She took to playing the syth in her teens. Her first band was Punaiset Messiaat
Punaiset Messiaat
Punaiset Messiaat were a progressive rock ensemble from Porvoo, Finland. The band started as a raw punk band in 1991, but by the release of their first album, the style had changed into more progressive. From 1993 until 1997 Punaiset messiaat toured with other bands of the Levy-yhtiö record...
which she joined in autumn 1994. While in Punaiset Messiaat she used the stage name "Lende Mielihyvä". Mielihyvä is the Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
word for pleasure. After Punaiset Messiaat disbanded in 1998, Peisa concentrated on her education and studied Social Studies at the University of Helsinki. In 2003, she rejoined the band that now performed under the name , and in 2005 was invited to join Lordi
Lordi
Lordi is a Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band, formed in 1996 by the band's lead singer, songwriter and costume-designer, Mr. Lordi. The band is known for wearing monster masks and using pyrotechnics during concerts...
by drummer Kita
Sampsa Astala
Sampsa Astala, is the former drummer for the Finnish metal band Lordi and the lead singer of the glam rock band Stala & So. His Lordi stage name, Kita, comes from the Finnish word meaning "jaws", "gap", or "maw". His Stala & So...
to replace the keyboardist Enary
Erna Siikavirta
Erna Inari Kaarina Siikavirta is a Finnish keyboard player. She is best known as a member of the Finnish hard rock band Lordi, which she joined in 1997 under the stage name Enary...
. In Lordi, she takes on the persona
Persona
A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning, and that from the Greek πρόσωπον...
of an unearthly Vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
Countess. The name Awa comes from Be Aware. On the band's website she is said to have many other names. The British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
newspaper the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
wrongly credited a photo of a woman without make-up as being Awa. Her other band removed all photos from their website - this was perhaps a coincidence, or just to play along with the monster image. Some Greek television channels claim to have videos and photos of the band without stage make-up.
Albums
- Back In Bu$ine$$Back In Bu$ine$$-side A:# "Messias "# "Joo mun täytyy ennättää"# "Elämä on julmaa"# "Erottamattomat"# "Stöden soolo"# "Oikeudenkäynti lelunurkassa"# "Sotakone"-side B:# "Carmen "# "Punainen, Musta & Kuollut"# "Älä palaa milloinkaan"...
(1995) - LemmentykkiLemmentykkiLemmentykki is a music album by Punaiset Messiaat. It was released in 1996.-Track listing:# "Onko tää rakkautta?"# "Suonenjoki-rock"# "Tuu mun luo"# "Rede"# "Sun huoneeseen"# "20 ja kyllästynyt"# "Murskataan fasismi"# "Dalsii etukenossa"...
('Cannon of Love') (1996) Highest position #26 in the Finnish Official Top 40. - Älä osta; varastaÄlä osta; varastaÄlä osta; varasta is a music album by Punaiset Messiaat. It was released in 1997.-Track listing:# "Taivaansilpoja"# "Rakkauslaulu2"# "Verta"# "Tee kuin on oikein"# "Yksin kahden"# "Pää kierrätykseen"...
('Don't buy; steal') (1997)
EPs
"Punainen Iktivisto" (1992)- Punk on pop ('Punk is Hip') (1996)
- Tuu mun luo ('Come To Me') (1996)
- Hornan hovin häät ('A Wedding at the Abode of Evil Spirits') (1997; includes a horror comic book.)
Singles
- Onko tää rakkautta?! ('Is This Love?!') (1996)
- Oma rotta ('My Own RatRatRats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
') (1996) A gold-selling single record in 1997.
Albums
- The ArockalypseThe ArockalypseThe Arockalypse is the third studio album by the hard rock band Lordi. It features the hit single "Hard Rock Hallelujah", which won the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 for Finland. The album has sold triple platinum in Finland and gold in Sweden and Germany...
(2006) - DeadacheDeadache- Bonus tracks :There are five different versions of the album, four of which have different bonus tracks. Each version was released by a different record company, hence the differing tracks....
(2008) - Babez For BreakfastBabez For Breakfast- Background :"As for the album title, it is an ironic answer to the question of whether monsters eat babies for breakfast or not. We twisted the final letter ‘s’ to a ‘z’, which changed the pronunciation. With this twist we wanted to state that this album is not as serious as Deadache", frontman Mr...
(2010)
Singles and EPs
- Hard Rock HallelujahHard Rock Hallelujah"Hard Rock Hallelujah" is a song by the Finnish heavy metal band Lordi, which won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with 292 points. It was also Finland's first placement in the top five. It was voted as the most popular Finnish Eurovision entry in the forty years the country has participated...
(2006) FIN #1, GER #5, UK #25, IRL #4 - Who's Your Daddy? (2006) FIN #1, GER #33
- Would You Love A Monsterman?Would You Love a Monsterman?"Would You Love a Monsterman?" is a song recorded by Finnish heavy metal band Lordi which reached number one on the charts in Finland. The song was originally released in 2002 on the album, Get Heavy and as a single, featuring the band's former bassist Magnum and original keyboardist Enary.In 2006,...
(2006) (2006) - It Snows In HellIt Snows In Hell"It Snows in Hell" is a power ballad from the Finnish heavy metal band Lordi's album The Arockalypse. The single was released in a standard jewel case, and in digipack by the Finnish Posti-company. For the single release Lordi produced a new version which contains softer vocals which would...
(2006) - They Only Come Out at Night (2007) FIN #6
- Beast Loose In Paradise (2008)
- Bite It Like A BulldogBite It Like a Bulldog"Bite It Like a Bulldog" is a single from Finnish hard rock band Lordi. It is the first single from the fourth studio album Deadache and was released digitally on September 1 and physically on September 3. The song rose to number one in the Finnish charts....
(2008) - DeadacheDeadache- Bonus tracks :There are five different versions of the album, four of which have different bonus tracks. Each version was released by a different record company, hence the differing tracks....
(2008) - This Is Heavy Metal (2010)
- Rock Police (2011)
External links
- ..::DOLCHAMAR::.. official website
- Lordi - The Official Website