IM has just wrapped up its 31-city North American tour with two soldout nights at the Nokia Theatre in midtown Manhattan, and lead singer Ville Valo wanders into the hotel lobby the next day, apologising for being ten minutes late. But contrary to what one might assume, he hasn't been up late partying. "I stayed up watching an American presidential candidates' debate," he explains. "I couldn't sleep. We usually travel from one show to the next overnight in the bus, so I usually don't get much sleep and my sleep cycle is screwed up." Ville and his buddies Linde and Mige established HIM in 1995, developing a brand of melodic hard rock they call "love metal." The band has sold 4.5 million discs  more than any Finnish act ever  and hit the Billboard Top 20, along with notching Number One hits around Europe. In addition to playing together, the band has been travelling as a family for a dozen years now, playing as many as 220 concerts a year. So how do the band members still stand each other? "Really well," says Valo. "A tour is like a marriage. At first there's excitement in the air, then bliss, then smooth sailing, even boredom, and eventually bittersweet sorrow that the tour is ending. You wonder, `is that all there was?'" NO TIME OUT Despite the hectic schedule, there are ways for HIM band members to fill the rare days off while on the road. That's when they do laundry, get in touch with loved ones  and get sick. What happens when a band member becomes ill? Get a note from a doctor and skip a show? "No way," says Valo, with a smirk. "This tour has been like a mobile hospital ward. Just about everybody's had a cold and Linde got pneumonia. North Americans love this really powerful air-conditioning that we Finns aren't used to. So I lost my voice in Vancouver." "You get onstage even if you have to carry your head under your arm. Just before one show, a doctor had to open up Linde's nose. The crowd was cheering like crazy and Linde's face was gushing blood. He didn't go to the hospital until after the gig," Valo recalls. 42 BLUE WINGS JANUARY 2008 H The singer, who turned 31 during the tour, looks as if he's become thinner. Doesn't a successful band have its own tour chef? "We used to," admits Valo. "But it's expensive. Mostly we eat takeaway. Before a show, I can't eat at all, 'cos I've got so many butterflies in my stomach. After a gig, I eat whatever's available in town at that time of night. On the first days of the tour, we just lived off pizza. It's not a healthy lifestyle," says Valo, adding that he plans to see a nutritionist when he gets back to Helsinki. This autumn, Valo has been taking care of his health by staying off alcohol, which has radically changed his life on the road. "I used to party after almost every show," he says. "Now I go back to the hotel to watch TV, take a bath, read and sleep." His life has become less sociable, but according to Valo, he did more than his share of partying over the past decade. "Now it's more important to keep my head together," Valo says. Even though he no longer suffers from hangovers, he says, one thing remains consistent: "I've found out that melancholy is not just a product of hangovers." How does anybody keep a cool head in this kind of whirlwind? At every stop along the tour, Valo does a series of interviews. Still, he seems to be at peace. "When you're far from home, it gives you a chance to put yourself into perspective in relation to the rest of the world  to realise that you're part of a larger picture," Valo muses. He shows off the tattoos along his arm. One of them is portrays northern Finnish author Timo K. Mukka, a brilliant, troubled misfit who died young in 1973. "When I was a teenager, I found a paperback by Mukka, who really inspired me." But our probe into the working conditions of rock stardom remains incomplete. Would it be possible to see the group's rider? That's the list specifying how the backstage area must be stocked before each concert. "We're not demanding," Valo says. "Water, coffee, Red Bull, beer, a bottle of red wine, towels, a working toilet and heating. I have to keep myself warm; I don't want to lose my voice again." The rider for the band's previous tour stipulated that a player from a local chess club should be available backstage to serve as an opponent. Valo, though, contents himself to observe the goings-on and warm up his voice while strumming an acoustic "When you're far from home, it gives you a chance to put yourself into perspective."