Mikko Lindström

Mikko Lindström
Background information
Birth name	Mikko Viljami Lindström
Born	12 August 1976 (1976-08-12) (age 35)
Origin	Helsinki, Finland
Genres	Alternative metal, hard rock, gothic rock, heavy metal, doom metal , black metal
Occupations	Guitarist
Instruments	Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Sire
Associated acts	HIM, Daniel Lioneye, Manna, WhoCares
Website	Official website
Notable instruments
Gibson SG, Gibson Flying V

Mikko Viljami Lindström (born 12 August 1976) is the lead guitarist of the Finnish rock band, HIM. Lindström is commonly called by his nickname, Linde.

Biography

Lindström was born near Helsinki, Finland and during his childhood, his father (Olli) worked as an engineer and his mother (Riita^{[citation needed]}) as a stewardess on Finnair, the national airline. Linde also has a younger brother named Jude, who was born four years after Linde. Linde was an introverted boy notable only for his bobbed blond hair and glasses. He developed a passion for music at an early age. His father has always been an avid music fan and especially loves Elvis Presley. Lindström was given his first guitar, an acoustic mini Landola, for Christmas at the age of 10. He and keyboardist Burton are the only current members of HIM who do not have a heartagram tattoo. He has a daughter named Olivia, born 6 March 2003, with his previous common law wife, Mariam "Manna" Jäntti. Linde skipped playing Top of the Pops to be there when his daughter was born; thus, Valo appeared singing and playing a Gibson Flying V.^[1][2] Linde became engaged to Toni Marie Iommi on August 12, 2010 (daughter of Black Sabbath guitarist, Tony Iommi).^[3] Linde is currently in the supergroup "Who Cares" which consists of Tony Iommi, Ian Gillan, Jason Newstead, Nicko McBrain and Jon Lord.^[4]

Daniel Lioneye

Daniel Lioneye was formed in 2001 as a side project of Lindström's. Their debut album, The King of Rock'n Roll, was released in September 2001. It featured HIM band members Migé and Ville Valo on bass guitar and drum kit, Ike on sound effects, and Hiili Hilesmaa on keyboards. The single "The King of Rock'n Roll" was featured as the opening song for the hit television series Viva La Bam. Daniel Lioneye's sophomore effort, Vol II, was released in April 2010, which got good reviews. The band toured the US with HIM members Migé and Burton. Also add to the Line up was Manu on Vocals, Seppo Tarvainen on drums. The tour lasted 30 days tour with Cradle Of Filth, Turisas and Nachtmystium. The tour was named the "Dark Abyss" which saw the band destroying venues up and down the States. After the tour, Linde has said he is now really happy with the new line-up. The band are now taking a break and hopefully are planning to make an album some point during 2011, it all depends on the HIM schedule.

Equipment

In the studio, Linde uses primarily Gibson SGs, and uses them exclusively live. For the recording of Venus Doom, Linde also used baritone guitars by ESP and Danelectro, as well as a Fender Telecaster for some solos. He has used Gibson Les Pauls, Fender Stratocasters, and a Gretsch Chet Atkins model for his clean sounds. Early in his career, he was known to play a Jackson Soloist and a Gibson Flying V with a Bigsby tremolo. Lindström uses Laney amplifiers, specifically VH100R heads with 4x12 cabinets However on the Screamworks tour has seen to be using the Laney Lionheart heads. In the studio he uses a mix of Laney and Marshall amplifiers. He is known to use a Fuzz, and a Jim Dunlop Bass Wah. He uses Dunlop strings. He owns three working SGs, "a couple of broken ones," a double neck SG, a Gibson Flying V that used to belong to Andy McCoy ("and Ville desperately tries to buy" from him), a semi acoustic Hofner, a twelve string acoustic Hagström and a Charvel 475. The SG he used in the "Funeral of Hearts" video is named Kyylä (a Finnish word that means creep) by Ville "for some strange reason."^[2]

Aliases

Lindström means "linden stream," and is derived from the Swedish words lind meaning "linden (lime) tree," and ström which means "stream". Lindström is known to fans and friends alike by many different names:

• Linde
• Bambi
• Lily Lazer
• Daniel Lioneye (which his band is named after)
• Dope Danny
• Ramses 200

References

1. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skr1EihPxMA
2. ^ ^{a b} http://www.himforfans.de/html/body_linde_q_a.html
3. ^ http://amplified.tv/2010/08/19/him-guitarist-to-wed-tony-iommis-daughter/
4. ^ http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/new_supergroup_whocares.html

• Mikko Lindström at the Internet Movie Database

External links

• HIMzone666 & HIMzone666.forum