Highway to Helsinki [UK]

Sailing boats! gay bars! mobbings! melancholy! finnish chart f*ckers The Rasmus take Kerrang through their hometown hangouts…

Growing up
Lauri(vocals): “We met in school 15 years ago and came together through a love of the same music like Metallica and Guns’n'Roses. The circle of people that play music is very small in Helsinki, so we stuck together. There were a lot of clubs and youth clubs that we used to hang out in. All the small local bands would put on shows at those places. There was one club called Orange that we would go to a lot and we would work in the café there for free, just because we spent so much time there. It was like a second home to us. There was one great place called The Bat where we would rehearse and we got drunk there for the first time when we were 14. We played many shows there on our own and we supported Rancid there. Unfortunately, though, nearly all of those places are gone now. There are parking lots and the Nokia building where those places used to be. It’s sad.”

Hanging out
Lauri: “We always hang out in a bar called Loose(Fredrikinkatu 34) when we are at home. They play good rock music on the jukebox, so we can see our friends and have a few drinks in a nice atmosphere. We also go to Tavastia Klubi (Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6, Tel +358-(0)9-774 67 420, www.tavastiaklubi.fi), which is the main rock venue in Helsinki. All the big rock bands play there. It’s been there a long time, and my father used to go there when he was a teenager. It’s a legendary place. On a typical night out, we’ll start off at Loose then go to Tavastia and then maybe to a place called Lost and Found (www.lostandfound.fi) afterwards. That’s a gay bar that has become very popular among all the rock people here. It’s open until 4am and has a great atmoshpere. Nobody hassles you for autographs or anything there, so you can just be with your friends and have a good time.”

Celebrity Finnish Style
Lauri: “We all get recognised in Helsinki quite a bit. We don’t mind as long as people just want to come up and have a chat. That can be quite good. It’s a good chance to make new friends and meet girls!”

Making it in Helsinki
Eero: “Coming from Helsinki has made things easier for us as far as being in a band goes. We made it in Finland, which prepared us for breaking internationally. Coming from a small place like this also keeps us grounded and helps us to keep the chemistry within the band solid when we meet problems. It’s good for us. In places like England there is so much competition in the music industry, so I don’t know if we would have been lucky enough to make it if we’d have come from London or somewhere like that.”
Lauri: “Helsinki has a very good music scene. A lot of rock bands come ehre to play even though it is a small city and the scene here is supportive to upcoming local bands. If we came from a country where it is very warm, where we could have been outside a lot playing football when we were growing up, we would have had different hobbies. Maybe we wouldn’t have been musicians.”

Sounding Finnish
Lauri: “We definately sound like a Finnish band. Wwe have something in our music which is typically Finnish-a melancholy air. Some of our melodies and chord changes come from traditional Finnish music too. I prefer to sing in English though. We have always listened to bands that sing in English, so it feels natural for me to do that. The smoothness and the sound of the English language fits in better with the sound of our music.”

Helsinki Railway Station
Lauri: “There are four statues of men holding giant balls at the top of the railway station (+35-30-722930). The balls give off light. When no-one is looking though, the statues kiss and touch each others balls!”

Peaceful Winters
Lauri: “I love Helsinki because it is so peaceful. I’m more of a winter person and it is winter for a long time here with very cold, dark days. It is very beautiful. You can walk the empty streets and go to the harbour and walk many miles on the ice. It is quite an experience. Very romantic. It’s also an inspiring atmoshprere to create music in.”

Open-air Helsinki
Eero: “There is so much nature around. You can take a sailing boat and go to the sea and stay on an island. It’s very beautiful and worth visiting if you like a peaceful, natural environment.”

Midsummer night
Lauri: “In the summertime we have midsummer night, which is the time when the sun never goes down for the whole night. It’s a very Scandinavian thing. It’s like an endless twilight. It’s weird because you don’t have to sleep and people go mad, staying up all night and drinking and having fun.”

The rasmus new single ‘Guilty’ is out on August 9.

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