The Rasmus – Overwhelmed by the fame [Mexico]

Because you requested for it
The Rasmus
A crow standing over a nopal tree, eating a snake
We arrived to the place requested one day after their performance in the Auditorio Nacional, where someone from the label, said us to wait a couple minutes to start the interview… So with the motive from their second visit to Mexico, we had a talk with Lauri, Pauli, Aki y Eero. And I say talk because it was like that, more than an interview, where even we made the Mexican –from Mexica- salute, remembering when they received the fire in an spiritual ceremony realized in their first visit to the Teotihuacán pyramids, thing that drove me to think in this.
Finland was never outstanding in the map for their big artists. Well, and I think that was only that. Since some years ago, many started to pay attention to this Nordic country, thanks to bands like Apocalyptica, but now, there are more several groups learning to talk in Finnish -Finland’s language-, thanks to the success that been had a Helsinki’s band set by four dudes, that some ten years after rocking hard and recording some cd’s, they made it bigger, not only their country, in almost all the world with their fifth record Dead Letters and now with their new material Hide From The Sun, they are back, to prove that they fly higher.

Tells us a little bit about this album, Hide From The Sun, What makes it different from your other materials?
Lauri: There are songs more… mmm… how to explain it –he said it just as you read and without exaggerate-, more complex, thought different. I didn’t want to write like the past album. But it came for accident, the songs came alone, and that’s the best way to create a song.

But you Lauri, write all in the band or do you have a system for that?
Eero: Sometimes Lauri come with a song and we listen, and if it’s good we play it, but when it’s the sound check, we improvise and play a lot, and that’s how appears most of the songs.
Lauri: True, I had the best ideas in the sound checks.

You write thinking in making singles or with some formula?
Eero: We don’t think how it’s gonna be. Most of the times, if we have a good riff, we try to write the best chorus, and we spent much time thinking in the arrangements.

Despite of having many years together as a band, you still being too young and have a long way to walk, Are you thinking in what’s coming for the group?
Lauri: Though we have 12 years together, we believe that we are still in the beginning. There are so many places we haven’t visited and lots of things to discover that are waiting outside, we want to open us a way in the United States, edit the album and things like that. Is the second time we are in Mexico, and we would like to play in more festivals here… cause…you have festivals right?

Eh… Ehem… -between I didn’t knew if I answer him the truth and tell that most of our “festivals” are more look-a-like massives in popular sport centers, or where the ultimate pop artists participate doing playback, suddenly I remembered one- well, we have a good one called Vive Latino, and in fact also the one where you have been, from an important radio station, this year went great for them in the Estadio Azteca.
Lauri: Yes, it was a weird day for us. We had to move by helicopter from the Estadio Azteca to the Auditorio Nacional to arrive on time to the show.
Pauli: We also want to play in several summer festivals in Europe.

In which festivals you want to play?
Pauli: There are so many new in Europe.
Aki: In Rusia, Slovakia.
Lauri: In Romania, Scotland, everywhere.

So, you’ll be in tour for the rest of the year?
Pauli: We don’t know well yet, but we’ll have a positive break luckily.

Do you miss home?
Pauli: This life is getting surreal.
Eero: I’ve been more than 40 days outside home, I made some counts, and I spent over 100 hours in the airplanes.
Pauli: All this is getting too crazy, but you get used to this until you say “What a hell, it doesn’t matter”.

Your fans from here are not common fans, are fans from hell. They know everything about you, not only about the music. Are the same in other places?
Lauri: We have a fan base very mixed, like yesterday who were different kind of people, which is very interesting. This is because that our music has been played in different radio stations and that makes it available for everyone. But I think that the shows in Latin America were a huge surprise for us, they have been awesome and every concert we have seems to going great and great more everytime and crazy. Yesterday Pauli was still shaking five hours after the show. I still have lots of adrenaline in my blood, I couldn’t sleep after the show. I have to take a deep breath once and again to tranquilize a little.

You felt like it was your first concert?
Lauri: Yes, I felt like I was on flames, mighty, that I was dominating all in the place, in a good sense. All the people that was there, looked happy and was connected in a hundred per cent with us.
Pauli: -Interrupts and presumes his Spanish- The most important here is that they were “Gente con corazón muy caliente” (= People with warm heart).

That’s why I mentioned the fans from hell, not all the bands have fans like that.
Lauri: Well, we have many fan clubs like Liquid Tequila, who design their t-shirts and logos to be in contact with us, and they do lots of things for the band. They are like our ambassadors.
Eero: In England, our fans are more old in difference with the ones from Mexico. There are people here that worked hard to pay a ticket, and even there are people who had followed us everywhere in Europe, and they go to 25 shows from the tour and that’s something I respect a lot.

But you also do things for your fans. There are someones who didn’t knew about bands like HIM or Apocalyptica, and now, thanks to you, your fans have opened their minds for different proposes.
Lauri: Sure, but happens the opposite too. There are people that heard for so many years to Apocalyptica and thanks to that, they got more into the Finland’s music and they discovered us.
Aki: Now there are people learning our language and that likes our country thanks to us.
Eero: We see people that go to many of the shows and we try to get close to them to make some friends, talk with them, to give them something more than our music.

Which was the last band or song you listened in you iPod?
Pauli: Nothing !!! (laughs) No, it’s not true, I was listening last night HIM in fact.
Eero: The last thing I’ve heard was from Van Morrison, a song from an old soundtrack.
Aki: The truth is that I can’t remember the name, but they mixed different music genres.
Lauri: Just a little I was listening “Make Believe” from Weezer.

Have you ever thought to make a live album?
Pauli: We talk a lot about it, but we can’t find the time and the place.

It must be hard right? I guess that all and each one of the elements must have to be really special.
Lauri: Exactly, it must have to be a special place like Mexico, although we should had done it yesterday, because of the fans that were screaming and singing at loud, clear prove of how many noise can do 10 thousand people together.
Eero: We talked with the label about making a video from the song “Immortal” with live material, shows, the trips and things like that.

And we hope that the next year you can come to play for more people and more places…
Eero: That would be cool, it doesn’t matter if there are 20 thousand, 500 or 5 persons, we like to feel the people. Is not a point to play only in stadiums, some weeks ago we played in a little place in Japan, no more bigger than this room, and it went great, the vibe and the relief.
Pauli: (Interrupts one more time, like to smack his head and send him to the thoughts chair) But we can’t complain from yesterday, was something really impressive.

Is this a good memory to take?
All the band: Sure, for life. Something you won’t forget.

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