Sezione italiana ›

It was weird when I heard “In The Shadows” on a mobile [Belgium]

The last few months, the Finnish rock band The Rasmus came into the European charts with “In The Shadows”. Also their album “Dead Letters” and their single “First Day Of My Life” are doing great in the charts.
Their formula to success? Melodic and melancholy rock with strong guitars in combination with the typical voice of their singer Lauri. Proximus went and spoke to Lauri for Play Inter@ctive.

The success of The Rasmus seems to be unstoppable! How does it feel to have so many fans?
Lauri: “Sometimes it’s difficult to stay with both feet on the ground especially in the beginning, when I was still a teenager. The Rasmus isn’t a new band anymore. Not that many people outside Finland know that, but we’ve been around for more then 10 years! Therefore “Dead Letters” is our fifth album. Because we already had success in Finland before the album “In The Shadows”, we got used to it that fans follow us closely. But it’s still weird when I realize that we have fans all over the world, even in Asia and the USA!”

How important are the fans for The Ramsus?
Lauri: “They’re very important to us! We love it when we touch people with our music. That’s why we love to play live! Still I know people who make music just for themselves so that they can be somewhere else for a moment. But that’s not in our case.”

When you were younger, were you a fan of a band/artist?
Lauri: “That is dead certain! When I was around 12 years, I was a big fan of Metallica and Guns ‘n Roses. My room was full of their posters and I played their songs on my guitar. That was “being a fan” for me.”

Nowadays fans can express their appreciation for a band by personalizing there mobile with logos and ringtones from a band. It seems to be a part of “being a fan”. What do you think of that?
Lauri: “Oh, in the beginning I thought it was weird when I was walking in the street and suddenly someone his mobile played “In The Shadows”, but now I’m used to that. I know that there are a lot of new products and merchandising for sale, but for me there’s nothing better than buying an album.”

Do you have downloaded song on your mobile?
Lauri: “Euh… no. My mobile is always on silent.”

Thanx Lauri

May 2004
Magazine: Play Inter@ctive
Translation by: lady of death
Article’s scans
Share this article:
What is The Rasmus Hellofasite?

The Rasmus Hellofasite is the italian portal & fan club entirely dedicated to the finnish rockband of The Rasmus.
Online since the 30th of January 2005 and accurately updated, in this website it's possible to find all the important things to know about the band: all the latest official news, exclusives, the fully discography with all the different editions of all the albums and singles, all the lyrics and much more ...read more »

The Rasmus Hellofasite is a project by:
Revontulet Design