Yeah, but we can’t answer it now because he isn’t here!

Lauri: Well Pauli’s hair, I don’t actually know how long it is… But it’s like, it must be like a couple of metres…

It was just for you to guess and then he was supposed to measure it and stretch it out to see how long it really is.

Lauri: It must be a few metres, seriously.

Laughs. A few metres I don’t think!

Lauri: Yeah, actually he just has a few hairs, but they’re like… Waves his hands around his head and laughs.

Everyone laughs.

Like… Imitates wild curls with her hands in the air.

Oh yeah!

Aki: Really long!

Okay, your glasses are gone!

Aki: Yeah!

What happened?

Everyone laughs.

Aki: Yeah it was a really strange feeling for me, because one morning I woke up and I didn’t need them anymore. And I think…

Lauri: Doing them in your hair…

Aki: I don’t want them back… I don’t need them anymore, because it’s quite nice. Very strange… But it’s… But erm, I will get used to it, I hope the fans and everyone will!

Yeah!

We will! I was just watching the other day, like, the first video of In The Shadows. When you took off the cap and it was just like, okay, gotta get used to it!

Like some fans about those pictures on your MySpace, with all the distorted stuff, just like “Who is that guy?”…

Aki laughs.

Everyone else laughs too.

Aki: That’s good for me, if people don’t know and don’t recognise me.

So you could just walk in the streets…

Aki: Yeah!

Okay!

Oh yeah, we heard some rumours that you guys are starting a new album again already this fall or something?

Lauri: Well, we had a very special retreat, we started to check all the new ideas… But I think that erm, this summer anyway we will play lots of shows… Or not so much actually… Like last summer and the summer before that and that and that it’s always been on tour and, you know… And this summer I think erm, it is more relaxed. Like playing for example like tomorrow in France, not like we will do that now, but I would like to just stay there for a week then you know… Maybe later this summer.

Aki: Maybe later this summer, we will get into a studio and play and erm… That’s good, like, to check what we have now…

Are any new songs written yet? Any demos?

Aki: Many new ideas now…

That’s good… And what’s the direction compared to older albums?

Aki: Well, it varies all ways… I mean, you know, these songs are just demos, but when you go to the studio and play and make the songs then you get different ideas… But usually, everyone has ideas so erm… It feels good!

Yeah…

Yeah, okay… Erm, you just got back from Latin America, or well, not just got back… But what’s the difference between touring there and touring Europe?

Because there were stories that fans were like, pulling your hair and biting your arms and whatever…

Lauri: Growls and bites one of his hands. Yeah, well… You haven’t bitten me… Nods. And you haven’t bitten me… Nods.

Nooo!

Everyone laughs.

But is that just with you then? Nods at Lauri. Or also with the other guys? Nods at Aki.

Lauri: Erm, it’s like…

Aki: These fans, they, they felt like this is the only time we go there.

Yeah…

Aki: Which is not true because we want to come back…

Everyone laughs.

Aki: Very big crowds waiting outside the radio stations… And people just, go a bit, wild… And out of control…

How was like, South Africa, how was the audience there?

Lauri: Well it was a festival… And erm, we noticed that there was, only white people.

Aki: Yeah…

Lauri: And we were actually looking for black people from the stage… I didn’t see any! Pauli saw three… In like thirty thousand people.

Aki: Thirty thousand, just came for different things.

Lauri: Yeah yeah… But it was really like, well I felt like it was just like, shows for the rich people. And maybe, you know, the feeling in the audience was like that, I don’t know…

Aki: But it was really nice to play before Metallica!

Yeah!

Aki: Because we’re big fans… And erm, when we just started to play, Metallica was one of the biggest bands… So they kind of inspired us…

And James quite likes you apparently.

Aki: Yeees… Yeah, well, he came to us like, “I couldn’t find your latest album in the shops”… So we just told him “We have one for you!”.

Everyone laughs.

Aki: He’s a really nice guy! I didn’t think he would be this nice… They just played the headlines on the stage and then, you know… They… It was great, they were calm and easy and they were like, wanting to talk with people… They were smiling and…

Lauri: Also, Lars was like, really… Puts on a rough voice and makes rock-gestures with his hands in the air. “Scandinaviaaa!”

Everyone laughs.

Lauri: It was the greatest thing, they were really… Warm.

Aki: Warm, yeah.

Lauri: Slides a mealticket over with “Hellendoorn” on it. Is that..?

Yeah…

Lauri: That is like, the name of this place?

Yeah, it’s like this really small town, between the cows and stuff… And you have to park in a meadow today, mud everywhere.

Everyone laughs.

Lauri: Well do you want something to eat? Puts another mealticket on the table.

Awww thank you!

Well, you know, it’s just for in the VIP area… Oh well… Erm, oh yeah, meeting your own idols like Metallica, does that affect your feelings about meeting your own fans?

Lauri: Well, yeah… Actually erm, I was really surprised to see how light they were, also when they met, other fans than us.

Everyone laughs.

Lauri: You know they have like, meet and greets for like forty people or something and after maybe fifteen minutes they were… People were standing in a line… They were actually talking to the third guy!

Everyone laughs.

Lauri: You know, it could take like two hours at least… And maybe it took two hours! But they really take time, a lot of pictures and… It wasn’t like handshakes. Really a good example for lots of people… They were so far away from superstars… Maybe because they had a long break and they got more energy again.

Is there any difference between touring with Hide From The Sun and Dead Letters? Other than that you’re going to different locations…

Lauri: I think erm, now the audience is more like erm, together… People are there for the same reason. Like erm, with erm… When In The Shadows came, a lot of people showed up just to hear that one song. I… And then we had… A lot of times that people were kind of erm, a little bit disappointed after the show because, it wasn’t so…

Aki: It was very loud! The noises!

Everyone laughs.

Lauri: Many people… And they have to stand… And you know, a lot of people go to discos and they hear a song and they think “Let’s go there!”. And I think this time, the people, the audience they know what they’re getting.

That probably is good here, tonight, because a lot of the people over here just know In The Shadows and they come more for like rock music so they might like the other stuff then.

There’s been a few people out here, like two guys chatting us up and they asked why we were here so we told them we’re here for The Rasmus and they asked us what you were like because they only knew In The Shadows. So we told them that’s not really what you’re playing anymore so they got like “Oh that’s good!”.

Immortal…

Aki: That’s actually one of our favourites, also for the band, to play it live.

We noticed that especially you… Nods at Aki. You record the audience a lot, with a video camera? So do you guys actually do anything with that?

Lauri: Yeah we did erm…

Aki: I haven’t seen like, my own footage since I recorded it yet. It’s just for when I’m old… Laughs. And not doing this anymore… I can see the fans then!

Everyone laughs.

Like a video diary.

Aki: Yeah... And also, we’re thinking, we might just… We want to do a video out of it.

Oh yeah, something with Immortal?

Lauri: We’re erm…

Aki: Yeah!

That’s just like a video then, not like that you’re gonna release the song or anything?

Lauri: Just do a video… I think like… Eero’s been doing a lot of erm, sunsets in different countries. They have this thing…

Aki: With one photo…

Lauri: One photo, every three seconds or something. Imitates a setting sun with his hands in the air.

Aki: Photographing has been like Eero’s hobby.

Apparently there was a lot of material for the documentary that wasn’t used on the television. Are you planning to, do you want to use that as extra material if there’s gonna be a DVD or something?

Aki: The documentary was only like fifty minutes and erm… What did we have? We have like ninety hours of stuff! And erm…

A ninety hour DVD, like a DVD collection!

Aki: And erm, for the documentary you have to choose a line, you know, a point of view. And erm yeah, we have, we would like to make a DVD one day. But at the moment somehow all the rights are with the Finnish TV, so maybe we just make one later.

Ah yeah, so is there anything special that isn’t in the documentary now?

Aki: Erm…

Lauri: Well erm, we just got like erm, some… Shit.

Everyone laughs.

Aki: Yeah, some shitty stuff.

Shitty stuff… Well that’s nice advertising for a DVD then…

Aki laughs.

Speaking of Metallica… Nothing Else Matters, an instrumental version is floating around the internet and people say that that’s The Rasmus. So is it, or is it not?

Aki and Lauri: Laugh and shake their heads. Nooo.

And there’s like two more songs showing up on lyric sites, Break In Beach and Line Of Death…

Aki nods and shrugs.

Lauri: Shakes his head. Oooh yeahhh!

Everyone laughs.

Well that’s good to know!

Lauri: Hmn, Line Of Death…

Apparently there’s already a song like that, but the lyrics are different… No idea where this came from now.

Lauri: Line Of Death, that’s actually a good title… Have to remember that!

Everyone laughs.

So how did you celebrate Lordi winning the song contest?

Lauri: We were in Poland, playing at night. So we just thanked everyone there for voting for them.

So did you vote for them from Poland then?

Aki and Lauri: Nah…

I did! But she didn’t! Nods.

Aki: Laughs. Well I didn’t anyway!

I read this joke on the internet about the temperatures in Finland… It starts at 15 degrees, when the people in Spain are getting ready for winter with woolly hats and winter coats and the Finns are outside in their bikinis…

Aki: Laughs. Oh yeah I already read that on the internet!

Laughs. And it ends at -300, Hell freezes over, Finland wins Eurovision.

Everyone laughs.

So you did some cover-songs before, is there anything you would like to play in the future?

Aki: We play them in acoustic sets… And erm, most of the cover songs are just weird songs Eero comes up with… Nothing planned… Just while playing… And we quite enjoy it.

You played a song from Muse in Eindhoven before, is that something you would like to do more often then?

Aki: That was also nothing planned, we just played it!

Erm, what’s your greatest experience outside the band so far?

Aki: I don’t know if it’s the biggest, but I think that for me really great now is my eyes, that I can see without my glasses now. Erm… Like when I wake up in the morning and I open my eyes and I can just see everything.

Was it like that straight away then or..?

Aki: Like, within twenty four hours. When I had the operation it was like in the morning and the next day at twelve o’clock I had to come again… And then I could read the small lines!

That’s pretty good!

Aki: Yeah! Like, you know, usually people don’t see that. I also have this new thing that I can see, you know, people with no clothes on…

Everyone laughs.

Alright then, X-ray vision… Laughs. But we’ll get to that question! If you were a super hero, what would be your name and what would be your special power?

Lauri: He-Man, or actually, I would be the cat He-Man has… I don’t know if you remember that show but it’s a erm…

Aki: Tiger.

Lauri: Yeah a tiger! I would be the tiger, tigers are cool… Puts his hands in the air like tiger-claws and growls.

And what would your special power be?

Lauri: Erm… I don’t know… When I was a child I used to, play with tigers, like… Shows with his hands how he would put little toy tigers on the table and play with them.

Aki: Well… If I could be a hero, it’s erm… MacGyver. I always loved that show, I just think he’s an extremely cool guy.

Okay… If you were sending a postcard from Mars, what would you write?

Aki and Lauri say something in Finnish.

Oooh…

Sorry?

Lauri: Ufolaulu.

Aki: UFO-song in Finnish!

Lauri: UFO’s are our friends!

And if you were a dog, who would you pee on and why?

Aki: I’d pee on Lauri!

Everyone laughs.

Aki: Because he doesn’t like dogs, you know…

And Lauri, you’d just pee back then?

Everyone laughs.

Lauri: Laughs. I’d pee on myself!

Oh!

Everyone laughs again.

Aki: He doesn’t like dogs…

Lauri: Laughs. But I like pee!

Everyone laughs yet again.

Erm… If you were a teenage girl, which rockstar would you fancy? Excluding yourself…

Lauri: Laughs. Erm… Damon Albarn.

Well I think that’s about it…

What about..? Nods at Aki.

Aki: It’s okay!

Everyone laughs.

Aki: Picks up the headphones of the MP3-player. I will check this on quality…

Lauri: Delete! Whistles.

Many thanks to Playground Music, Universal Music and of course Aki and Lauri for making this interview happen!
And special thanks to Aki for the technical support at this interview!

Click here for concert pictures