Vanity Beach

Jonas Karsten performing with Vanity Beach at Henry's Pub, Helsinki, November 8th, 2012.

VANITY BEACH is a rock band from Helsinki, Finland combining industrial metal with 1980's style New Romantic pop.

The band was formed in 2002 and has to date released two full-length albums and an EP. Vanity Beach today consists of Jonas Karsten (vocals), Jesse Valo (bass), Juha Peltoniemi (synthesizers), Anton Morelli (guitar) and Miikka Tikka (drums).

Releases

The critically acclaimed debut CD Nights Of The New was released independently back in April 2003 and sales exceeded all expectations. The first printing?? sold out within a couple of weeks of its release and Vanity Beach enjoyed a good stretch?? of expansion, gathering tens of thousands of followers and over 1,5 million listens on MySpace, before the social platform fell out of popularity...

Production of the follow up-album was delayed several times due to myriads of setbacks, both professional and personal. The second album A Life Of Vice, produced by Johnny Lee Michaels, was finally released in Finland on May 5, 2010 through indie label Jäänsärkijä Records and distributed by Playground Music.

After additional line up changes in 2012 the band has been working on their third effort (working title "This Is Love"). The lead single "Love On Autodrive" was released online by the band in October 2012.

History

Vanity Beach was formed in 2002 after the demise of Joakim Nyberg's and Jonas Karsten's former band cUM. The band entered the studio back in 2001 to start recording what would eventually end up being released as Nights Of The New. The album is basically a collection of demos recorded between the years 2001 and 2003. The album notably featured a guest appearance by Chibi from The Birthday Massacre on the song The Knight Murders. An extended version of the album was released in Australia on October 17, 2005 through Electricult Records/MGM.

One-off shows were played in Finland, Sweden, Estonia and the Russian Federation including warm-up shows for bands such as Swedish pop sensations Shout Out Louds and Estonian heavyweights Pedigree. In the summer of 2004 the band played at the Tuska Open Air Metal Festival in Helsinki. The infamous show, notoriously ending with the band destroying their gear sealed the band's reputation as a truly dangerous live act.

Vengeance was originally slated to be released in May 2005 but was pushed back for a later release due to the inner turbulence within the band's ranks, resulting in delays in the recording process. Titus Simberg left the band a few months later. Take Me To Tokyo, the first single off the band's second album Vengeance was released in August 2005. The single, paving the way for the new album received rave reviews and earned the band features in such high-profile magazines as Metal Hammer and Kerrang!. A video for the song was shot at Europa Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. Vengeance was released as an EP on October 31, 2006.

The band filmed a video to BATCAVE, their first actual single song off the new EP. The video featured a cameo from M.A. Numminen and was directed by Jaakko Itäaho (of Picture This - Mack Dawg Productions fame).

Vanity Beach's second full-length album came to be "A Life Of Vice" with Johnny Lee Michaels (of The 69 Eyes fame) handling the production duties. Recording started in 2008 in Michaels' then famous Helsinki Underground Studios. The song "Garden Of Cruelty" was featured in the snowboard movie Storbis (2009) and the first single "Batcave" premiered on Finnish radio on March 5, 2010.

In October 2009 the band played their first arena show opening up for Marilyn Manson at Hartwall Areena in Helsinki. Later that year they opened up for HIM at their annual hometown New Years festival Helldone held at Helsinki's famed Tavastia Club.

Lineup

Current members

• Jonas Karsten - Vocals (2002–Present)
• Jesse Valo - Bass (2008–Present)
• Juha Peltoniemi - Synthesizers (2011–Present)
• Miikka Tikka - Drums (2008–2010, 2012–Present)
• Anton Morelli – Guitars (2012–Present)

Past members

• Pontus Nybergh - Guitars, Bass (2002–2011)
• Mikael Kunttu - Drums (2011–2012)
• Joakim Nyberg - Synthesizers (2002–2008)
• Martin Granvik - Guitar (2004–2008)
• Titus Simberg - Drums (2002–2006)
• Sophie Sarisalmi - Synthesizers (2008–2010)

Discography

Albums

• Nights of the New (2003)
• Vengeance EP (2006)
• A Life of Vice (2010)

Singles

• "Girls On TV" (2001) - A 2-track promotional single
• "Take Me To Tokyo" (2005)
• "Garden Of Cruelty" (2007) - 3-track single
• "BATCAVE (We Come Out At Night)/Garden Of Cruelty" 7" vinyl (2007)
• "Garden Of Cruelty" (2008) - 2-track single

Compilations

• "Metal Hammer: New Blood 2006" featured the song Take Me To Tokyo (2006)
• "Noise.fi Vol. 1" featured the song Take Me To Tokyo (2006)

Guest appearances on other artist's albums

• Dead Inside The Chrysalis - "The Invisible" (2003) - "The Invisible, The Reversal" remixed by J Karsten
• Dead Inside The Chrysalis - "The Humanoid Expansion Pack" (2004) - J Karsten guests on the song "Dreadlock"
• Pedigree - "Ghosts And Corpses" (2007) - Track 10; "Snake House Funeral" reinterpreted by Vanity Beach

Videography

• "The Synthetic" (2004)
• "Take Me To Tokyo" (2005)
• "BATCAVE" (2006)
• "Batcave" (2010)

External links

• Official website
• New release on Sound Cloud
• Vanity Beach Trig.com site