 When and how was your band created?
Phantom 409 was born in April 1999. Five guys just gathered together to play rockabilly. The first six months we played only covers, after that we started to write own songs.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
Well, there´s a country song by Red Sovine called “Phantom 309″. On the other hand, “409″ means a certain type of a motor for so called muscle cars. So, It means a certain type of a “Phantom car”.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
As a kid I listened a lot to bands like Sex Pistols, Ramones and Damned. Lately, I´ve listened to Johnny Cash, Lee Hazelwood and others.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
A positive thing is that music is quite good here, so you´ve got a lot of competition. A Negative thing is that it´s very hard live by music here, if you don´t happen to be a hit artist. Our bass player, Mika, is a “pro”, but he has to play in several bands to make a living.
How could you define your style of music?
Just rockabilly, I guess.
During the years how has your musical style changed?
Maybe it´s rougher and more punky nowadays.
How do explain these changes?
We´d had quite a few lineup changes and each new member has brought his own influences into the music we play. The current lineup seems to prefer the harder way.
What are topics you treat in your songs?
Just everyday life and sometimes making fun of country and rockabilly clichés.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
At the moment, it´s maybe “Billy, José and Me”. It´s so moody and a little different than the other songs.
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Definetely live!
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
The moment, when you start to feel that the song works!
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
Let´s say… “Rumble” by Link Wray.
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
It´s good. It has helped us quite a lot. We even found one of our ex-members through internet.
What are your projects?
Not much now. Taking it easy. Maybe some new songs in the near future.
What “image” do you have of French music?
That it´s a little different than music from anywhere else. Strong tradition.
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
“Initials B.B.” by Serge Gainsbourg
January 18th, 2007
 You just spent the past months in studios for the recording of your coming album. How did it go?
-recording was easier than ever. we worked with same producers as last time together we took the music to a completely higher level.
During the process of making an album, what is the moment that you prefer?
-myself i really enjoy the lunch breaks, but to be honest i think the best thing is to travel to another country for 5 weeks with my best friends, live in the same flat, stink, laugh and just play rock 12 hours a day.
The Rasmus is really famous and appreciated in Finland, does it mean that you’re not affraid any more of the reaction of the public when you release a new album?
-releasing a new album is always very exiting cause we never know how people will react to it. kill me if i’m wrong but i think every band needs an audience.
Is there a special theme in your new album?
-the sounds and lyrics are both a bit darker and moodier than ever before. all the songs go in a minor key and the the feeling is pretty sad and desperate. finnish dreamy melancoly with lots of power.
When and how was your band created?
-we started -94 as a high school band playing metallica, nirvana, etc. we rehearsed in pauli’s parent’s basement. we also had about 5 songs of our own. we worked together putting up posters on the walls to collect money to record our first cd-demo. by accident we got the song on the radio and people went crazy at the gigs.
Where the name of the band is coming from?
-the name The Rasmus doesn’t really mean anything to us. we just though it looks cool and it’s original.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
-i’ve always loved Weezer and right now the best band is Muse. i also admire Björk because she’s always gone her own way but still kept her mind open for new cool things. a good attitude and life style.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician / singer (in Finland)?
-first of all i’m very happy to be able to live and get along with just playing in this band. i never had to work in a hamburger restaurant and i’m very proud of that. the negative side is that same thoughtless fans disturb my private life by camping just outside my front door.
What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
-on this album the lyrics are more like apologies, confessions or cry-outs for help. each song is like a letter to someone. that’s why the name of the album is Dead Letters.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
-it’s really hard to say and it keeps changing all the time. at the moment it’s Funeral Song from the up coming album. it is very personal almost too personal.
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
-i enjoy both very much because they differ so much from each other. but still nothing beats live gigs, touring and travelling with our wicked live crew. the live situation is more spontaneous, that makes it more exiting.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song? Why?
- “A Goog Life” - Weezer, Pinkerton. it just IS! ( a good guestion i think)
Internet is something interesting for musicians because it gives them the opportunity to touch a larger audience but it is also a threat for them (regarding the copyrights). What is your opinion regarding this medium?
- myself i’d rather buy a real cd with a real cover and get the whole package as it was meant to be. buying albums also allows the artist to do their next album. so buy or die!
January 17th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
There was never really a moment when we decided to “start a band”. We met each other in the mid-to-late 90’s, in high school and later through our studies, and just started making music together for fun. It was something new to all of us and something we enjoyed. So there was no intention to “become professional” or get into the music business — just individual songs, one after another, that needed our attention. And eventually there were enough for a whole album.
We proceeded to produce the album — “Support de Microphones”, a nice French name which can easily be misread as a kind of slogan in English as well — ourselves, from start to finish, hoping to cover the expenses and sell maybe half of the first 500 copies to our friends. And their friends. And our families. And their friends. We even found the courage to walk into some small record stores in Helsinki to ask them if they would consider selling the album. Then, somehow, word slowly began to spread, and those same five record stores called asking for five more copies. Ten more. Twenty more.
Now, a little over two years later, the album has sold close to 10,000 copies, and we’ve played close to a hundred gigs all over Finland. So I guess now we have a band even though we never decided to start one.
Was the choice to become professional difficult to make? Why?
I think we still consider ourselves “semi-professional”, because all four of us have our studies or day jobs to tend to. But despite this, the realisation that we have a growing audience interested in what we do, and that making music and playing gigs and giving interviews requires more and more time and effort — all this took some getting used to. And what’s difficult about making music professionally is that it is easy to lose sight of the most important thing: the fun of it all. Playing music should never become routine. But so far, that hasn’t been a big problem for us. And as long as we love doing what we do, playing together and having fun doing it, I think people will enjoy our music as well.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
A great variety. We all have some similar tastes and some very different tastes in music. In terms of jazz or classical music or hip hop, most of us can probably agree on some artists — be it Miles Davis or John Coltrane, Dmitri Shostakovich or Claude Debussy, The Roots or Gangstarr. But that’s about it. We could go on with a list of a hundred artists or bands varying from country to jazz, pop to hip hop, reggae to heavy metal, blues to dub etc. etc.
But we all love Dire Straits. And ZZ Top.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician / singer (in Finland)?
It’s hard to make any comparisons with other countries, because we only know what it’s like in Finland. On the positive side, it’s a small country, and even completely unknown or marginal bands can “break through” and find an audience for their music. On the negative side, it’s a small country, and it has its limits. There are only so many clubs in a country of this size, and within a couple of years it’s easy to get the feeling you’ve seen them all. But for us it’s definitely been a good place to grow. As people and as a band.
What “image” do you have of french music?
Different images. There are the distinctly French classical composers: Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Satie… There’s the older, quite charming Edith Piaf Jaques Brel (although he was Belgian, right?) type of chanson tradition, and the new awful pop chanson crap…
But most importantly, there’s French hip hop, which many of us have listened to a lot, especially in the late 90’s. MC Solaar (particularly his first two or three albums), IAM, Sages Poétes de la Rue, Assassin, Ménélik… My personal view is that French hip hop produced some of the best music in the 1990’s.
Is there one french song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
MC Solaar: Obsolète (from the album Prose Combat)
How could you qualify your style of music?
Any one definition is either too narrow, or alternatively just as good as all the rest. We have been called “a progressive hip hop band” that plays “electronic music with real live instruments”. But you can really call it hip hop, dub, jazz, electro, house, blues… take a pick. 
Teppo Mäkynen, who is a fantastic drummer and a good friend of the band, recently called our style “special music”. So I guess record stores will just have to put us in the “special music” section.
We encourage people to listen and come up with their own definition.
Have you ever considered the possibilty to change totally your style of music? If so, what style of music would you choose?
All four of us would probably choose a different one and start our own bands. Then we could get back together again when we’re 60 years old and play country.
What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
Anything at all, I hope. All stories are worth telling, no matter how small or insignificant. Some songs have a kind of vague social message, and they can be seen very generally as defending human values over material values. Some stories are distinctly “urban tales”, or just random thoughts about what living in Helsinki feels like.
A lot of songs don’t have a story or theme, because they are all about word play, about form and not content. On the first album, most of the writing consists of scattered images and thoughts with no clear aim. For me, song writing has been more about sparking thoughts or images or emotions in the listener than it has been about storytelling. In the future, we hope to be able to tell more stories too.
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
It’s almost impossible to compare the two, but personally I do prefer playing live. There’s very little that compares to the intense feeling of pleasure after a great live show. But playing live is more about instant gratification — powerful, intense, and beautiful for about two hours, and then it’s over — whereas making music in the studio can be a very long and sometimes painful process that requires a lot of determination and patience.
During the process of making an album, what is the moment that you prefer? Why?
Maybe the phase in which a song is just beginning to find its final form and everybody is coming up with crazy new ideas. Things happen fast, and different ideas are tried one after another. When that spontaneity eventually fades out during the night, we’re usually left with the most boring and certainly the hardest part: going through the recorded tracks and trying to decide what to leave out from the final mix.
What are your actual and future projects?
We plan to play some more live shows in late September and in early October. After that, all our focus will be on our second album which will be released next spring.
Internet is something interesting for musicians because it gives them the opportunity to touch a larger audience but it is also a threat for them (regarding the copyrights). What is your opinion regarding this medium?
From our perspective, the Internet is mostly a convenient way to communicate with people. We’ve had great discussions with fans about past shows, music in general, and just about everything. The Internet also serves as a good medium for exchanging bits of music.
On a more general level, like most technology, it only offers you tools. The way those tools are being used is another issue altogether. The copyright issues that have risen due to the birth of peer-to-peer application infrastructures like Napster are of course an important topic of discussion, but the truth is that people have made illegal copies of music performances for their own use for a long time — be it cassettes, cd’s, minidiscs or mp3. You can’t really blame the technology for all the different ways it can be used.
Right now we are actually in the midst of assembling our own official website www.donjohnsonbigband.com which will open this autumn. We have been gathering material for a long time and are very excited to see how people respond to the site.
Do you use computers or home studios during the process of making an album or a song?
Very much. Our music could not exist without our own studios. But we are not heavily dependant on a huge arsenal of synthesizers or drum machines. We usually record a lot of live instruments, chop the resulting tracks into loops or hits, and then use computers to reassemble and add effects to the tracks. We try to constantly think of new ways to combine traditional songwriting and playing techniques with heavy chopping, cutting and pasting made possible by digital recording.
January 17th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
Me, Henri & Janne have been playing together since 2002. Henri and Janne had been together in different kinds of projects since they were kids. At the time I was also looking for guys to play with after my former band had fallen apart. We all met in Helsinki and when realised that we share the same interests in music decided to form a group. The original drummer was later replaced by Juho and the band has been in it’s final line up since 2004.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
Everyone brought their own ideas and Lucy was Driving sounded the best. We all enjoyed the idea of having a band name with a sentence. Also a name Lucy appealed somehow. Overall we thought it was original and had a nice little twist in it.
What musicians or artist did have a major influence in your life/work?
All band members have their own influences and it would be difficult to name just one. For example to me the music of The Beatles and Weezer have meant a lot through the years but it doesn’t mean that we’re automatically trying to copy their ideas into our music.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
It’s hard to make a living in Finland just by playing rock music. When you sing in English you’re competing with all the world superstars so it’s a bit harder for you and your music to get noticed. It’s a shame cause many Finnish rock groups don’t get as much attention as they would deserve! But then again the people who come to shows are really into it and you get a wonderful audience to play to!
How could you define your style of music?
It’s rrrock! It’s hard to define our style more accurately. Sometimes the image you have may vary depending on who you ask! Roughly can be said that our sound is based on rough guitars and beautiful melodies.
During the years how has your musical style changed?
The basic idea of our music has remained the same but lately we’ve been getting even more courageous with our songs. Our sound and performing has gone rougher and more energetic. In my opinion, it has made our live performances more enjoyable.
How do explain these changes?
Maybe it’s not that much about changing as evolving. The idea of what we are and what we want to do has simply become much clearer during the years.
What are the topics you treat in your songs?
You could say that our songs treat all the aspects of human life and emotions. Even love is not forbidden subject in our songs! We try to put something in our lyrics that people can relate to. If you can find something you connect with, then we have succeeded. Otherwise you just have to listen more carefully!
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
Right now I get the most kicks from our debut single Anything Goes.
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
The best thing for a rock musician is to play live. No questions there!
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
Hmm… The greatest moment is probably when playing a new song for the first time together with the band and getting that feeling that there’s something special going on.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
I have known so many great songs in my life it wouldn’t be fair to just name one.
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
Internet has created an equal opportunity for musicians all around the world to get their music heard. Ideally it offers the possibility to listeners truly determine what they want to hear instead of big multinational companies telling them that instead - how does this idea work in practice is a whole different question though… And moreover one has to remember that although via internet it’s much easier to get your music published than before, it’s still as hard as ever to make it sound good.
What are your projects?
During the summer Lucy was Driving is heading to studio to record our second single. It’s going to be hot. So be prepared!
What “image” do you have of French music?
You don’t get to hear that much French music in Finland. I would imagine that’s because most French artists sing in French. And that is also my excuse for the lack of knowledge in this particular subject…
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
Hmmm… Because this is the last question I should come up with something witty. But unfortunately I can’t name one.
January 18th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
In the end of 90s. A couple of lads in their twenties living in Kotka came together to play songs written by me.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
All the larger cities and towns in Finland have Kaupunginorkesteris, “City (Symphony or Chamber) Orchestras. ” As Kotkan kaupunginorkesteri formed a union with the City Orchestra of Kouvola, a neighbouring town and their new name became Kymi Sinfonietta, our pop band decided to take over the name. The drummer and I also have a classical music education, which might have influenced the choice of name.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Loads of them. The Police, David Bowie, Erik Satie, Eppu Normaali, Dingo, They Might Be Giants etc.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
The market is quite small which is bad. Everybody knows each other, or have heard of each other, which is both good and bad.
How could you qualify your style of music?
Pop rock.
What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
The lives of ordinary people.
Have you ever considered the possibilty to change totally your style of music? If so, what style of music would you choose?
Yes. Humppa.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
Murheellinen. It’s brand new.
Do you tour regularly? Do you prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
We don’t tour regulaly because we’re not that popular.
During the process of making a song or an album, what is the moment that you prefer?
The moment when you get the feeling you have made a song you yourself would like to listen to.
What kind of music / What artists do you currently listen?
Raymond och Maria: Ingen vill veta var du köpt din tröja. Jose Gonzáles.
A stupid question but… what is, among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life, the BEST song?
Maybe something by Roxette. I have no idea why.
What is your opnion, as a musician, regarding internet?
Many pros and many cons.
Is there an French artist or a French song that you particularly like?
Lots of Erik Satie. Yves Montand. Folk rock - Blankass, for instance.
What are your actual and future projects?
To write and produce as much music as I can as well as I am able.
January 18th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
It was founded at the fall of 2004 in Jyväskylä. Few friends decided to put up a project band but soon it became much more important and we quit our main bands.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
It’s an abtract name which sounds good but later we have heard that red number two also means certain color lipstick!
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
We all have our own favourites, but everyone in our band likes Tool, Oceansize, Mew and Faith No More.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
Nowadays it is positive that everybody knows that being a musician can be regarded as a “real” job and musicians are more appreciated than before.
Negative aspects is that being so far away from the other world makes it more expensive to make gigs abroad.
How could you define your style of music?
Progressive mainstream alternative rock.
During the years how has your musical style changed?
Towrds bigger and bigger sound. There’s no rules anymore.
How do explain these changes?
We realised how we want to sound and learned some tehniques for that.
What are topics you treat in your songs?
A finnish man in the cosmic eternity =)
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
Few new songs under the working titles of “Makyoh” and “Old Grinder”
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Both have good sides. It has to be a wonderful gig to have such a good vibes that you can get in the studio when you record something new and fantastic.
A good gig still beats up lazy and complicated studio work.
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
At the rehearsal, everybody gives their best shot and finally we create something out of everybodys reach.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
I don’t know the best song, but there was a time when I couldn’t listen Tori Amos’ song called “The Cooling” without crying.
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
Excellent tool doing things - good and bad.
Do you have a website?
Yes, http://www.rednumbertwo.com
What are your projects for the band?
Recording the first full-lenght album this year.
What “image” do you have of French music?
Air and Phoenix are excellent…I don’t know any other bands from there…
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
Air : Vagabond (excellent, excellent song!)
March 20th, 2007
When and how was your band created?
It was originally started 1999 in Riihimäki - which is a small town about 60 kilometres up north from Helsinki - when our singer-guitarist Okko asked Tomi, guitarist as well, to kick out some jams with him. Okko had previously played in a punk band and wanted to do something different, to create beautiful pop music instead of noisy punk rock
There were some difficulties in finding a right guy to play drums and it wasn’t until late 2002 when the band really came together once the drummer Sampo joined the group. Anyway, the final spice to the soup was added in late 2004 when a tall engineer named Matti Olavi Töyli joined the band to play clarinet, saxophone and a little synth named “Nautilus”.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
It’s a bit boring answer, but it doesn’t really have any special meaning, I suppose it just sounds fascinating. Apparently it was Okko who came up with. There were some bad suggestions before, like “Justin’s Case” and “Purple Sunday” for instance.
As one can imagine, over the years many people have said that it’s too long, but we think that the name actually describes the band’s sound quite well. And who cares about people’s opinions anyway. Look how well Creedence Clearwater Revival has done ! And if you really really like to, you can always use the shorter version of our name (our CCR version) UwSSoc.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life /work?
Apparently there are only three bands that we all like: Pink Floyd, The Flaming Lips and 22-Pistepirkko, but since there’s no easy way to do this, I’ll just name a bunch of good ones that most of us enjoy: The Beatles, Radiohead, The Doors, Sonic Youth, Björk, Deus, Air, Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley, Primal Scream, Johnny Cash, Talking Heads, Magenta Skycode, Rubik, Kastor, Nirvana, The Velvet Underground, Sigur Ros, David Bowie, The Cure.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
Positive: There are not too many bands, at least good ones, in Finland, so it might be comparatively easy to receive attention once things start happening. Another nice thing about the small circle is that you get to know a lot of new cool people easily when you tour with other bands etc.
Negative: There are only very few good places to play gigs. And this is important: people listen way too much heavy music, which means: 1) that there must be something wrong in our collective unconsciousness 2) summer festivals are filled with bands all dressed in black 3) people end up picking the wrong records from the record stores: instead of buying one of ours
How could you define your style of music?
Progressive pop. Art punk. Prog-rock. Folk pop. Ambient heavy indie! Emotional chill-out music. Underwater sleeping sounds. Whatever you like! We’re not indie puritans, we make music for everybody.
During the years how has your musical style changed?
It has changed a lot. I would say there have been at least 4-5 different phases:
1) straight American influenced pop/rock guitar music, a bit melancholy
2) acoustic phase, stripped down folk music
3) prog-rock phase, that’s when the weird c-parts started to appear!
4) indie-rock phase, everything combined
5) NOW, underwater-indie-progressive-folk-ambient-art-punk-pop
How do you explain these changes?
Listening to too much David Bowie can do that I guess.
What are topics you treat in your songs?
That should be a question for Okko to answer, but I remember that a journalist asked this same thing once, very cleverly. He asked Okko that which word would describe his lyrics the best: underwater, sleeping or society. The obvious answer was sleeping. There’s actually a song called “Dream Song” in our first ep.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
My personal favourite is perhaps “-P” at the moment, it’s a long progressive song that evolves very slowly and once it explodes it’s almost like religious experience.
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Definitely live. If you play rock music and you don’t enjoy your presence on the stage, you’re in the wrong business.
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
It’s the first time when everyone gets that kind of “THAT’S IT!” -feeling. It might come after 20 minutes or it might take 4 months. Some songs never get to that phase. But they are the bad ones, so they’re meaningless anyway.
A stupid question but. what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
Life On Mars by David Bowie. Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles. I Was Made To Love Magic by Nick Drake. Those three came to my mind first.
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
I absolutely love it. It has helped us a lot. Myspace is the best forum to get to know new, totally unknown bands from all over the world.
Do you have a website?
Sure. It’s www.uwssoc.net
Our Myspace is www.myspace.com/uwssoc
What are your projects for the band?
Do you mean goals? To make good music. Make people happy. See new places.
But first of all, make good and timeless records that sound good even when you’re 80.
What “image” do you have of French music?
It´s a shame to admit, the image I have is kind of stereotypical. It’s sort of like this. “Edith Piaf singing about her unlucky love in the 1950s”. But surely there are many great contemporary French bands as well, Air being the most obvious one to mention. I should get to know Phoenix as well.
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
It has got to be Je Ne Regrette Rien by Edith Piaf.
March 20th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
Zack and I (The Muff) founded the band about 4-5 years ago, but we did’nt get serious about it untill Mr.Tikka, who is my brother joined on drums in 2003.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
Well we wanted a name like KISS, a name that you remember and like, and everyone wants to get naked…right?
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Here it comes…..aaahhhh: KISS, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Blues Brothers, Van Halen, Black Crows, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Isaac Hayes, Rush, Bon Jovi, Goo Goo Dolls, Thin Lizzy, Billy Joel, Cheap Trick, Stevie Wonder, The Hellacopters, Alice Cooper, Backyard Babies, T.Rex, Queen, Mötley Crüe, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Hanoi Rocks, Sam & Dave, Def Leppard, Police, The Who, DLR, James Brown.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
Well…hmmm let me ponder………The crowds are nuts and everyone is crazy, but I guess that’s the case everywere. Ok I’ll try again, It’s great!!! The negative side: narow minded people!
How could you define your style of music?
We call it Broadway rock, and I’m proud to anounce that we are the only Broadwayrock band in the world!!! Big guitars, bigger drums, confetti, a little smoke, ripped t-shirts, lights, sweat, choir robes, megaphones and a positive mind, hip hip hurraaa!!!
During the years how has your musical style changed?
YES! we’ve found the Naked sound with this album(Let’s Get Naked… And Start A Revolution)
How do explain these changes?
Well at a point we stopped sounding Crap! and became something unexplainable!!! Now how’s that for an awnser.DAN WEEKS?
What are topics you treat in your songs?
Life basiclly and everything that comes with it, the good and the ugly.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
Well I like them all obviously, but I have special place in my heart for “High On Blue Love” I wrote it on my sofa when I woke up hung over from beer and viagra:) without a guitar, the melody just popped into my head.It whent to #5 in the single chart in Finland. Then I like doing Revolution live, that’s great. It whent to #4 in the charts.We shot a cool video in london for it and got arrested!
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Live, that’s what a band should do.But I don’t mind the studio!
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
The moment? writing a good song dude! I hate forsing them out of me for hours and hours, the best ones come easily.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
The list is endless and changes all the time but on of the best is bohemian rhapsody by Queen, I like dancing in the moonlight by Thin Lizzy as well:)
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
It’s great! I’m all for it!!! go go go! check out www.nakedonline.net and www.myspace.com/nakedofficial
What are your projects ?
NAKED!!! that’s all I do
What “image” do you have of French music?
Slim to none, I know that K Maro rapper dude ha haaa. But nothing else comes to mind right now!
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
Edit phiaf???? She sounded awsome
January 18th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
We had a group called Maximum Liver Explosion that already included 4/6 Moses. It kinda worked as the Big Bang to creation of the whole new world of Moses Hazy…Well that was pompous.. But anyway the band was formed in Tornio, a smalltown in Northern Finland, `bout two years ago. It just happened to be the place where the brains of this six-headed dog met.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
Well that`s a long & old story. And we actually made a promise that we’d never ever tell it to anybody. But let`s just say that “Moses” alludes to lust we`re creating on our gigs and “Hazy” is for.. I guess it`s for whatever you want it to be for.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
There are plenty of ´em. Just to mention a few of my own..mmphh.. Pink Floyd, the band that made my life, and Neil Young, the man that made my life! You want a list? You got it: Wesley Willis, Roky Erickson, Bruce Springsteen, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Hellacopters, Iggy Pop, Jimi Hendrix, King Crimson, Kingston Wall, Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, MC5, Neil Young, Rolling stones, The Clash, The Doors, The Stooges, the Who, Wigwam……..There`s no end coming for that and doesn`t everything effect on everything..? So forget about it. -The greatest thing in music, from the view of a listener, is that you never stop finding good music..That´s why it`s the best hobby,I mean lifestyle, ever. And Moses Hazy is all about music diggers, Rock&Roll&Blues&Jazz&Soul&Funk&Progressive®gae&Ska&Psychedelic…. ..So let`s just say I/we dig good music.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
I`d like to answer on this one as a musician from NORTHERN Finland.
Positive: You haven`t got many choices, there is nothing to do here but to get high with the music. And you find easily beautiful landscapes and peace & quiet `round here. Well not for long, I think, thanks for Eurocitys, IKEAS and all the others satans little helpers…
Negative: The lack of places to rock. In Northern Finland there ain`t too many bars nor other places to arrange gigs. And it`s quit long way to drive to southern cities and back, expecially for one bloody concert which you don`t even get paid, goddam.
But generally there is a lot of great music in Finland and there are many people with good responsive attitude on all that weird shit there`s made.
How could you define your style of music?
Rock. I usually leave the defining for you journalists.. But it`s a kinda Rock´n´Roll without any limits. You can hear a lot of different styles of music in it..Check out the list above!
During the years how has your musical style changed?
Well we started playing Kiss and when we wrote our first own songs for M.L.E. it was all about actionrock, but it sure has changed a lot. and here we are now.
How do explain these changes?
I usually don`t. No, One reason for sure is the instruments we have, like saxophone, trumpet & piano. The other is that we`re listening so many kinds of music. And I guess we knew from the beginning that you can´t draw any limits for this group of maniacs.
What are topics you treat in your songs?
Life. Stuff. You may find some opinions ´bout things in´em because there are opinions, `bout things. But there are also lots of meaningless stories and from each song you get on the average 15% of your daily humdrum-psychedely needed.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
It changes often depending on the last gig or if we´ve just recorded something. ´Guess right now my favourit song is..mbgh.. Play That Damn Guitar from our soon-to-be-released album The Incredible Flow Of Life Show. And the reason is that I was yesterday in studio with a couple of beauties recording female backing vocals on that one.
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Absolutely Live! I think that rock`and´roll albums should be mostly promotion to invite people to the gigs. And our studiowork haven`t started working as good as the liveperformances.
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
Of course the moment when you for the first time think that the song is done now; And you see that it`s good. It could be alone with guitar as you finish the lyrics or with the whole band when everything just clicks. And when ever the basic form of the song changes to something totally different.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
I really can`t answer seriously to this one.. So I just say Wesley Willis´ Arnold Swartcgchzenegger (how do you spell it anyway?).. Which is actually a great song. And there ain`t no stupid questions, just stupid answers. And you can bet your testicles I`m full of ´em.
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
It`s a great thing for young unknown bands like us to spread their music all around the world. Of course in some cases it takes away the support from the artist but it`s the blues of today, isn`t it? `Cause in the end Internet is not half as bad thief compered to what record companies have been and still are. And it`s gigs you should get paid for…And I really can`t feel too bad for Metallica.
What are your projects ?
Like I told we´re now finnishing our debyt album and before the summer we`re about to start recording our next album which is kind of a re-recorded collection from our EP´s. And we´ve been planning a summer holiday by the Kuivajoki (Dry River) after June filled with gigs. The holiday includes the recording sessions of our third album, a country/roots-stylish LP, in an old countryhouse. and for sure, gigs gigs gigs and more gigs. So we`re a bit busy with the “Mo´s Trilogy 2006″, as you see.
What “image” do you have of French music?
Few years ago I was spending some time in some smalltown near Brest and cruising `round western parts of France with my local friends. they had a great reggae-band Makaks Mekaniks, don`t know if I spell it right. And I also heard many great funky ska-bands there, I guess it`s quite popular in France..? Ceux Qui Marchent Debut (?) was also great band live and on record. I saw so many great gigs but remember not as many names of bands.. But of course Edith Piaf, Serge Gainsbourg, Francois Corneloup and Bela Fleck & Flecktones etc..etc.. Also we`ve had one great half frenchman playing with us, Marc “fast finger”
Gondallier De Tugny, who played banjo in one of our EP´s.
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
Makas Mekaniks: Aualpe tout la nére (?)
C´est bon, comme ça.
January 18th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
We started Dive in 2003. We did two demos shortly after that and now we are working on an ep and an album, which will hopefully be released later this year.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
Dive is about looking inside of ourselves, about the things we’re keeping under the surface.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Joy Division, Depeche Mode, The Smiths and Kate Bush are main influences for myself. The boys are into Ride, Swervedriver and other noisy indie hulabaloo.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
We are in the great position because we have found the right people to work with. They are hard working and they believe in the same things that we do. It took time but now we are mainly happy.
How could you define your style of music?
Today I would call it sophisticated new wave. Tomorrow something else.
During the years how has your musical style changed?
When we starded, our music was more or less punk music. I still love the attitude that punk bands have and it?s good to see them live. But I like to do more melodic stuff and songs that touches our audience. In the beginning it was just rage.
How do explain these changes?
It’s the way we always wanted to go, but we didn?t first know how. Now it’s all here. It feels very nice.
What are topics you treat in your songs?
They are mostly sad love songs. We are now working on new tunes that are much happier. But even in our darkest songs there is a glow of light somewhere.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
Probably some of the new ones; Apart or Shiver. They just work so well. Songs you can dance to.
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
I’ll choose gigs. We are blessed to have such a lovely audience every night. I can’t see doing this without playing gigs to our fans. I love to talk with them after the shows as well.
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
I prefer the beginning and the end. In the beginning I?m alone with the song and it takes me to another places. I’ll always try to cacht a certain mood to each song. Then we try the song with the boys and if and when it starts to work, it is incredibly touching.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
It must be Kate Bush with Hounds Of Love. I love the mood and the intensity on Kate’s vocals.
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
As we are an indieband from Finland it?s a nice way to promote our music. That’s why we have fans in the States and UK. And who knows maybe in France too!
What are your projects ?
I’ll try to make Dive as good as I can. That’s my project.
What “image” do you have of French music?
I’ll have to admit that I don?t know french music that much. I read sometime ago the biography of Edith Piaf.
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
Any of Edith Piaf’s songs. Perhaps “L’hymne à l’Amour”. We used to listen to it with my father when I was a kid.
January 18th, 2007
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