Interview with Aki and Lauri [Finland]

I made my way through the croud of black/lipped people to the vip tent backstage, where a reprasentative from the record company will take me to the “bands onlly” area. I have to wait a while to get into the tour bus, because a certain woman colleague of mine’s interview is stretching. Finally, the bands drummer, Aki Hakala comes to the front door smiling, and gives me permission to step inside. On my way through the narrow corridor, the previous interviewer who seems to be putting her pants back on. The official explanation is that what I saw was just an innocent changing of clothes. I accept that even though I wonder if The Rasmus is more noticably rock than their good behaviour lets us understand. Aki leads me to the back of the bus, where in the lounge sofa lies another of my interviewees, the bands singer and image (that was wrong…) Lauri Ylönen.
All greetings aside we get straight to the point. Hide from the sun album appearing september 12th serves us with hooks and addicting choruses. But before I mention that hit chorus, Lauri gets to it first. (somethings missing…)
Lauri: for us the repeats have always come by them selves. On this album (HFTS) theres a mark of Bon Jovi and Skid Rows ideas.
Aki: for me, just Jovi and maybe Mötley Crue are heavy things. Those bands are the reason that I began to play, and still now I get some kicks (listening to the music) It is from the better end of rock.
“Girls, girls, girls” sings Lauri, there cant be a bigger and better hook. We have the same brave way of making our songs. The second that you get a feeling that you cant do this like that…
Aki: thats when the modulation joins the piece!
Lauri: Yeah, the question is more about how many of them you add.

“Theres time to take time off later”
The lyrics are not however anything like girls girls girls. They seem to continue from dead letters’ already familiar lyrics. Lauri explains that the words seem to be a counterweight to beautifully sung melodies.
Lauri: I don’t scream as much as before on this album. It has a more…laid back feel to it. The lyrics are still that poison and seriousness. Otherwise we tried to accent the opposites, just so there would be a more rythmic background and the melodies as their own thing on top of that.
In addition to the rythmicism, the album accents guitar riffs. Aki and Lauri say that the whole album was born during the tour. So the pieces formed like an accident to be comfortable and fun to play during gigs. Aki explains that a lot of the pieces have come from guitarist Pauli Rantasalmis ideas.
Aki: Pauli had some kind of riff and he asked me during a soundcheck to play something rock-ish then Lauri got some kind of idea for lyrics and pretty soon we had to stop the soundcheck because lauri returned backstage with his acoustic guitar to develop the idea. In the next days sound check we could have had an almost finished song. It feels like that was the only really fast way to make this album.
So surely because the rasmus has spent most of the last two years around the world. Lauri says that thats when you shouldnt slow down when you have a good speed going.
Lauri: A lot of things happened to us. We were so alive and ideas kept on popping up. We finished the album at the end of the tour with the same energy. Then a little vacation to folow. This work is kind of a thing that you cant stop. If you stop for a long time after a highly successful release, you seem to fall asleep for months.
I realise that a lot of bands do just that, so after a good tour they take vacations and then gather around after the break to sit at a table and just write songs. Aki believes that that way of going about it doesnt fit, Lauri agrees.
Lauri: I hate that way of doing it, just sitting at a table and actually writing the pieces. It doesn’t work that way, at least not in our case. Our way of going about it is more spontaneous.

Towards a good life
What also helps doing work is that the record companies are in order. After Hellofatester the rasmus was without a contract, when The cardigans manager recomended the guys to the Playground boss with the words “go check it out and take it away” The man did his job.
We quickly arranged a showcase gig, which convinced the guy and soon we were listening to our demos and picking songs – remembers Aki.
Lauri doesn’t admit that the Playground deal would have been the bands most important turnaround. In his opinion it was when Aki joined the band in ’99.
It was a really positive thing then… The record company changes didn’t get the band on the move again.
I came and said to the guys that I don’t know how to play funk, so let’s start playing more straightforward music – says Aki and continues, sometime it would be fun to play the bands early gig-hit Funky Jam. Lauris expression says that he doesn’t have the same opinion as Aki and refocuses the interview back to turnarounds. The first that comes to mind is their worldwide hit album Dead Letters. The previous album, Into was very favoured in scandinavia, but the album after that was the breakthrough around the world. That kind of recognition is a worry to the bigger more known bands. Lauri admits that the expectations are quite high for Hide From The Sun.
In somehow over sure about that album. It’s always een some kind of bad thing. Which is actually a pretty good view of life – you know, with a positive mind.
Excactly. It’s true that if you dont believe in yourself, then who will? The guys arent willing to share ther sales expectations for the new album. More important is to get to play in new places and countries.
It would be nice to get more recognition in America. Sure, weve already sold 100.000 albums, which is of course a lot, but it isn’t a lot there says Lauri.
Other places where we want to go are Australia, Latin America, America and Japan, where we already have been once.
A lot of people who leave messages in the guestbook on our site are from uruguay. When I heard about it, I had to check where that kind of ocuntry is on the map. No more than to go there when its winter here! says Lauri.
Hopefully on our coming tour there is enough time to take it easy, so that in every place we dont have to leave the next morning. We are all big culinarists and it’s fun to try out local foods and drinks during the break from playing gigs. It’s just that kind of a good life.

A cottage on the edge of a lake
Continuous trips and exhibition start to get annoying at some point. The Rasmus’ publicist says that Hide from the suns themes are escape and hiding. Is their popularity starting to be too much?
I hate it when people complain that after half a year that “oh now how horrible this is” My god, they were the ones that got them selves in that messs! Of course you have to pay for your popularity in some ways, but it isn’t that bad.
They’re not complaining about their popularity but sometimes you have to go hide to calm down. After the album was done my summer went nicely at my summer cottage in the middle of nowhere. I’ve spent my childhood summers at the same cottage, so it’s really nice to go back. You get back to those wonderful feelings really fast. It’s really important sometimes, -says Lauri.
On tour it gets kind of crazy sometimes. If your angry, annoyed or depressed then the only place to hide on the tour bus is nothing more than a cot no bigger than a coffin. In that small space you can fall into your own thoughts, laughs Aki. In that mind, this summer has been wonderful because I’ve rested and gone wherever I wanted. Sure being on tour on the bus is safe beccause theres only friends, but if you really want to be alone then youre just, yeah yeah, where should I go…
Both have the mindset that its always good to be surrounded by friends. My suggestion of a boy club just starts up laughter.
A boy club sounds like that… says Lauri and does a hand signal that points toward very homosexual behaviour.
Exactly that! laughs Aki – It’s a good situation that not only the band but also the crew are our long time friends. We also have a big group of friends that travels around again together, plays music and has fun.
And thers always that kind of good feeling that its fun to party together, but you can also cry on someones shoulder and when your in some bar, then your best friends are your security guards says Lauri.
That happens often that you need some support and motivation – little guys always need support!
On the brink of the new album and tour, we can throw some history to the end of this article. The ball has rolled comfortably straight from the start. Managers and record deals have basicaly taken care of themselves. The albums have sold gold and more awards have been raining. Lauri explains that things have gone well, even though there have been little mistakes along the way.
The first few albums went somehow feet off of the ground. Kind of stupid behaviour and things caused us long time friends. The third album wasn’t that fun anymore…
The drummer left and the record deal was open.
I can prove this by saying that when I joined the band I told my friends and they asked, “why are you going to that band, its completely dying!” but I had to tell those guys and Lauri was all like, yeah I’m gonna show them!

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