Vampires can be patient creatures, lurking in the shadows for years until it is time to emerge… and the vampires of the States have held out for nearly a decade for their Helsinki brethren to come forth. The last time The 69 Eyes toured the United States was in 2009. I had the sincerest pleasure of capturing several dates of the Back From The Grave Tour dates, having been photographing for the front man for some time now.
The Los Angeles date at the illustrious Regent was notably the most memorable one, having featured two very special guests on stage. A familiar sight for those that caught Jyrki on tour with his solo project Jyrki 69, guitarist Ace Von Johnson (LA Guns, Faster Pussycat) jumped in on a couple of the last tracks to play guest guitar, while Faster Pussycat singer Taime hopped in on another track to lend his vocal chords. The stage wasn’t the only home to a slew of recognizable faces, the backstage area was host to many known musicians that came to spend some time with the Finnish lads. From members of DevilDriver, to the band’s management team, to Wednesday 13, Jimi Sero, Wedge, Kyle Cunningham, Jukka Dudeson, and plenty more.
