Doomed Confessionary: Joonas Heiskanen (Weak Trees)
Weak Trees is a stoner/grunge/alternative rock trio based out Nurmijärvi/Klaukkala, Finland.
Instead of diary, weirdnesses of life have been erupted through the fuzzes to the eardrums. Usually turning out to be something gritty between stoner, grunge, blues and alternative.
Some quirkiness of the tunes comes from the moments of playing in the nature beside the bonfires and riversides. Let alone couple of garages and backyards.
Weak Trees consists of Juuso Heiskanen and Joonas Heiskanen on guitars, vocals & drums (roles change based on the track), and Antti Erola on bass.
Can you say a few words about your band?
We are Weak Trees, backwoody trio from southern Finland. We play and record our own organic production coming from our garage studio. Our musical blend consists of stoner, grunge, heavy psych, blues and alternative, among other things. We don’t smooth things out too much, but instead let the guitar roam and the rhythm live. We once tried a metronome, it felt like being trapped inside a bird cage. We released our first album »Unsuffering« on 17th of January 2025, it can be found on streaming services.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
I feel that there haven’t been any real challenges so far. Tracks are building themselves based on the feelings, memories and surroundings, we are having a great time as a band and being true to ourselves and to our taste. Most of the time we start training sessions with a campfire, that sets the challenges and tensions to a minimum.
Well, maybe getting some listeners and our music to be heard has been the biggest challenge after the album release. And of course getting the courage to eventually put it all out.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Maybe the fact that despite all the fears, we’ve been able to actualize this dream of having our own garage studio, the first album is out and our band is having an increasing amount of live gigs. And from the root level, being able to independently craft the kind of music that we like to listen to ourselves, this is a big thing for us!
We also prefer to DIY and recycle. Many instruments and studio peripherals are self built, like Masterhawk guitar, plank cabinet, snare drum, sub mic, room in a room, acoustic treatments and so on.
What was your biggest regret?
The biggest, kind of regret, in general is maybe the fact that we waited for years and years before we started to spread and play our music outside the garage. Although those “inside the bubble”-times were fantastic times! At least we now have quite a big catalog of tracks to choose from because of this “idling”.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
In July 2025 there was this small private festival in the countryside of southern Finland and it was such a pleasure to play. Sounds, lights, surroundings, other bands, audience, everything was so good and welcoming!
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Hard to say, maybe we’re not that deep yet. Maybe the kindness and warmth between other bands we have met so far has been one of the nice surprises, realizing that they are people also, people with big hearts and good taste in music.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Kyuss and other desert bands seem to stay steadily on the heavy rotation. Also Mark Lanegan and all the projects he has been involved in have been heavily consumed for years. For mind calming purposes Mazzy Star has been the one. And Dead Meadow of course!
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Hmmm. Maybe it’s not given, maybe it is realizing that you better not waste your time on things you don’t want to do and to pursue those real dreams. I remember one important quote by Eleanor Roosevelt that I heard from a podcast, it went something like this: “Do at least one scary thing every day.” Repeating this sentence in my head and just executing has helped in many hurdles.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Maybe it is the typical beer and junk food section, if those count. And (b/d)ad jokes. And climbing in the trees and observing them.
Can you say something more about current music scene in southern Finland?
Nurmijärvi / Klaukkala has been sleeping in terms of the music scene. Just last year the local association was founded to provide a hub for local emerging bands and artists. This association is known as Nurmirymy and it has been a big thing for us to get some gigs and to meet other bands. Nurmirymy also provides courses for guitar maintenance, mixing and for all kinds of good things!
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Nurmirock, a local festival, is making a comeback after a 14-year hiatus (we were just playing there on August 9th). On October 10th, we’ll be playing at Bar Loose, our first gig at the centre of Helsinki!
What are your plans for the future as a band?
More singles and the second album to be recorded and released. More gigs and more merchandise to support our big dream, »Unsuffering« vinyl record!
How can people best support your band?
Listen and stream on any platform, buy releases from Bandcamp, follow our socials, buy merch (which we don’t have too much yet), come to our gig, contact us if you like to 🙂
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thank you for giving your time to listen to our songs and hopefully that time felt meaningful. See you at the gigs!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well