Leena Peisa | |
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Awa on stage
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Background information | |
Birth name | Leena Maria Peisa |
Also known as | Lady Awa, Lady Awa De Paysant, Lende Mielihyva |
Born | 16 March 1979 |
Origin | Vantaa, Finland |
Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal, power metal |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Instruments | Keyboard, turntable, vocals |
Years active | 1994–2012 |
Associated acts |
Lordi Dolchamar Punaiset Messiaat Sampsa Astala ja Qma |
Leena Maria "Awa" Peisa (born 16 March 1979 in Vantaa, Finland) is a retired keyboard player. Peisa's former bands include Lordi, Punaiset Messiaat and Dolchamar.
Leena Maria Peisa was born in Vantaa although she spent her teenage years in Porvoo. She has been playing the piano since she was six years old. She took to playing the synthesizer in her teens. Her first band was Punaiset Messiaat which she joined in autumn 1994. While in Punaiset Messiaat she used the stage name "Lende Mielihyvä". Mielihyvä is the Finnish word for pleasure. After Punaiset Messiaat disbanded in 1998, Peisa concentrated on her education and studied Social Studies at the University of Helsinki. In 2003, she joined the Esperanto band Dolchamar, and in 2005 was invited to join Lordi by drummer Kita to replace the keyboardist Enary. In Lordi, she takes on the persona of an unearthly Vampire Countess. The name Awa comes from Be Aware. On the band's website she is said to have many other names. The British newspaper the Daily Mail wrongly credited a photo of a woman without make-up as being Awa. Dolchamar removed all Peisa's photos from their website; it is unknown whether this is a coincidence, or whether it's to play along with her monster image. Some Greek television channels claim to have videos and photos of the band without stage make-up. On 25 July it was announced through the band's website that she is leaving the band after their concert on 11 August 2012.
"Punainen Iktivisto" (1992)