Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho (born Markku Uula Aleksi Laiho) is the lead guitarist for the bands Children of Bodom (where he is also the vocalist), Sinergy and Kylähullut. He has also played with Thy Serpent and Impaled Nazarene on occasion, in addition to Warmen.
After taking part of an experimetal music band named T.O.L.K. with friends from the conservatory, Alexi founded in 1993 the black/neo-classical metal band IneartheD together with drummer Jaska Raatikainen and then-bassist Samuli Miettinen, IneartheD became Children of Bodom when Alexi supposedly quit the band and formed a "new" band in order to escape an ongoing contract and sign with Spinefarm Records.
At the age of sixteen, Alexi quit school in order to be able to dedicate himself fully to Children of Bodom. In 1997 he joined Thy Serpent, but did not remain for enough time in the band to record an album.
With the release of Children of Bodom's debut Something Wild missing the Top 40 in the Finnish chart at #44, the band played a concert with Impaled Nazarene in Russia, and Alexi was invited to join the latter band as a lead guitarist. Alexi joined Impaled Nazarene and remained with them until 2001, but never held much interest in the band.
, Alexi was invited to join Sinergy by Kimberly Goss, as the lead guitarist and support keyboard player. In 2001, Roope Latvala joined Sinergy, and a "master against disciple" situation was created, resulting in several guitar battles on the solos of Sinergy's songs.
Alexi was a guest musician on a song by To/Die/For ("In the Heat of the Night") and on a few songs by Norther, he also co-produced the debut album of the band Griffin, all between 2001 and 2002.
In September of 2002, Alexi's custom Jackson guitars (one of them bearing the famous "Wildchild" sticker) were stolen by an unidentified thief while he was asleep with Latvala after a night partying with the other members of the band after a horrible concert. Alexi needed new instruments, but Jackson had just been sold to the Fender Musical Instrument Company and wouldn't be able to build a custom guitar for Alexi for at least one year. ESP Guitars, however, told Alexi they could build a replacement in three months, and he signed with the company.
In 2004, Alexi founded a side-project called Kylähullut, which was assembled together with Tommi Lillman (ex-Sinergy) and Vesa Jokinen (from Klamydia). The band was created merely for the entertainment of the musicians, and takes a carefree approach to their music. The band's discography includes a 4-track EP and a full-length 12-song album.
Alexi's life is dedicated almost entirely to music, and whenever he is not on tour with one of his bands, he is playing video games, drinking, or practicing. His main hobby is cars; he was taught how to drive by his father at the age of 10. Alexi owns a Pontiac Firebird, a 1974 Dodge Monaco and a Buick. In February of 2002 Alexi married Kimberly Goss, front-woman of the band Sinergy, during a private ceremony in Finland. Prior to the marriage, they dated for four years. In 2004 they separated, because — as Alexi put it — "things just weren't working out."; there also are rumors saying that Goss cheated on him. They are still married for legal reasons.
More than once, Alexi has referred to his band-mates as "probably the only real friends I ever had" or saying "Those motherfuckers aren't my friends...They are my brothers.". He has the letters "COBHC" (Children of Bodom Hate Crew) tattooed on his hand as an homage to Ozzy Osbourne, who has a similar tattoo with the letters O-Z-Z-Y. A couple of fans from across the world have reproduced the tattoo on their hands; a few of the more passionate ones reached the extreme of cutting it directly into their skin with knives and razors. Alexi has been featured on the cover of Young Guitar Magazine several times, as well as being on the cover of Guitar World along with master guitarists Steve Vai and Zakk Wylde. The "Wildchild" nickname comes from a song by the band W.A.S.P.. His first guitar was a Tokai Stratocaster.
In April of 2005 Alexi generated a considerable amount of unrest in the metal guitar community when, in an interview with Guitar World magazine, he referred to popular prog metal act Dream Theater as "super lame" going on to say "It's not even music; it's sports." The magazine also referred to Dream Theater as Laiho's "favorite whipping boys." In January 2006 issue of the same magazine, reader Brad Bailey asked "Why did you make those lame comments about Dream Theater in GW? You're a fine player, but comments like those just make people lose respect for you. Did you know it caused a big stir?" to which Laiho responded "Fuck. Well, apparently it did. First of all, I think it's really funny that people trash bands and musicians every day on the internet, and nobody gives a shit. But once you say something like that - which wasn't even too bad - in a magazine, all of a sudden you're the biggest dick on the earth. But truthfully, I don't know why I said that. I was having a bad day or something. Obviously, John Petrucci is a better player than I am and it isn't my place to talk shit about him."
info : wikipedia
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