When and how was your band created?
It was originated from a band called Paine which included Veli Nuorsaari, Janne Peltomäki, Juha Ahtiainen and me. We made one release called Dioxidetunnel with a red-light and endless feeling. It was soon sold out and re-released as Zero to…666Paranormal-CD with two bonus tracks and special cover design. Now it’s available at Tulipesä Recordings-site. Juha Ahtiainen left the group and next time recording we decided to change the name.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
We found the word Stalwart to very cool english adjective. It has a nice vibe in it. Not too common and has a feeling of power.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
There has been loads of artists that clearly have been influential. Obviously the Pori Jazz festival in our hometown drew early on to acquire many varied eclectic tastes. Later on the finnish label Bad Vugum’s roster had quite an impact. First Radiopuhelimet, then hometown-heroes Deep Turtle and Circle were inspirational in making own music and getting acclaimed and recognized.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
It’s hard to make ends meet unless you’re on “superstar” on finnish level. Market is very small for bands making music outside top-40 idiom.
How could you define your style of music?
Pounding hard-driving repetitive riff-instrumentalism with some avantgardish spices. Occasional vocal antics and ventures into outer space.
During the years how has your musical style changed?
I think the upcoming material will be less in the metallic vein but more melodic and danceable. Also some unexpected stuff will be launched.
How do explain these changes?
Less overdriven sounds attract me more these days. Change is welcome. Music made with other group called Lee Miller is very hard and aggressive. Stalwart will take a step into mellower world.
What are topics you treat in your songs?
Just about anything. And the instrumental songs give room to create your own lyrics in your mind which is the best.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
I think the track called ´Layered ironies´ has overall best feel in it. It has gentle cinematic parts and contrasting strong furious soundscapes. It’s an epitome of Stalwart sound.
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
These days I definitely like more working in studio. I have played a lot live shows with other groups and Stalwart’s main objective has been to make music without stress of long tours. Though Stalwart has done few gigs succesfully .
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
I think the moment when you have finished it in the studio and realize you have hit something unexpected and new. You can get amazing kicks out of that.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
Oui, c’est une question ridicule! No comments!
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
It’s an amazing way for small bands to get their music across the globe and get contacts. Benefits are enormous. Downsides of course exist but they are mostly problems of bigger corporations.
What are your projects ?
The previously mentioned Lee Miller, a band with NYC-based musician/writer Jordan N. Mamone and amazing drummer Janne Peltomäki. We have made one album ‘The Futility of Language’ and it’s very rocking, male-ish and aggressive stuff. Hotguitars is a duo of japnoise formed by sound guru T-mu Korpipää and me. Our latest release ‘Hierarkia’ came via my own small record label called Karkia Mistika. It was a collaboration with a finnish poet Santtu Puukka. Very otherwordly electronic stuff with poetic ranting above it. Hotguitars’ next album will be out later this spring on BV2 Produktions. It has some cool guests such as Father Metro (Don Johnson Big Band), Custom Drummer (Aavikko, Circle) and famed classical violinist Pekka Kuusisto. It’s our catchiest release to date. Some new relases due out via Karkia Mistika- label soon.
What “image” do you have of French music?
I like Serge Gainbourg and France Gall very much. I think I should dig deeper into the french music. Please send me music. I once played in Paris with Circle. Unfortunately didn’t have time to catch any French bands since I was sleeping in the hotel with a flu. Romantic…
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
It would be ‘Poupee de cire, poupee de son’ performed by France Gall.It’s amazing, nostalgic and chic. Brings warm memories of childhood.
January 18th, 2007
When and how was your band created?
I had been playing with our bass player Piispa in a few bands already and when the last of those came to it’s end we immediately began to form a new one. We have always had quite similar tastes when it comes to music and that was also our starting point with this band. You might have heard this one before but our intention was and still is to make music for ourselves, not for the playlists. Playing music has to be fun but the most important thing is that you believe in what you’re doing.
Luckily some other people besides ourselves have also liked our style and their feedback has so far been only positive. We had written enought songs for an album or two already when we finally found our singer Kirves, who also happened to be quite capable with guitar. To keep things far from simple that regular guitar was soon changed to a baritone one with a huge affect on our sound. A little more than a year ago we got drummer Elo on board and that’s when the action really started.
During 2005 we did some gigs and now our first five-song ep should be in stores in 3rd of May at the very moderate price of four euros. For more info please check out our web pages at www.fokkerband.com!
Where is the name of the band coming from?
Hah. Fokker was just the least bad of all the bad names we came up with, but it has shown some potential since then. We just hope it doesn’t give anyone the wrong idea that this band would be nothing but a joke.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
I listen to almost anything that sounds original and conveys some genuine feelings and love towards making music. That includes classics like Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and finnish bands such as Hassisen Kone, as well as some newer ones like Queens of the stoneage, Faith No More, Tomahawk, System of a Down, Monster Magnet, Mars Volta and Mew. Not all these influences can be heard from the music of Fokker but they are always present somewhere in the background. What’s common with all the bands listed above is that they’ve all created their own personal style and that is something I’d like to archieve also in what I’m doing. I don’t see any sense in copying what’s already been done, that is to say that if the only difference between your own songs and those of your idols are names and lyrics, it might be a better option to form an honest cover-band.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
Positive are maybe the same ones as everywhere: playing live, getting to know new people and getting immediate feedback, while the most negative things are the policies of radio stations and bigger record companies who seem to think that people only want to hear the same s**t that is being done everywhere else, especially in the USA. Getting any attention at all is very hard if you’re not mainstream, and since this is a small country, being an underground band here means that only a handful of people know you. It’s also sad to notice how many bands want to be part of that continuum. I wonder how many more copies of HIM the world will still have to cope with…
How could you define your style of music?
Our variety of styles ranges from pop to almost metal and everything in between, sometimes during just one song. Basically what we’re trying to do is to play melodic rock with intensity and lots of mood changes.
During the years how has your musical style changed?
Fokker is still such a fresh band that our style hasn’t had much time to change, but in the future when everyone will have more to say in composing and arranging some changes are bound to happen. With a few exceptions our current songs are composed by me while Piispa has written their lyrics.
How do explain these changes?
There’s four of us in the band and with time everyone’s personality will undoubtedly be heard more in our music.
What are topics you treat in your songs?
Whatever raises questions or provokes thoughts. Most are at least somehow personal and deal with discontent to certain things, deeds or people. But not always that seriously; irony plays an important role here.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
It’s hard to say because they tend to change almost daily. Newer ones have always certain appeal because you haven’t had time to get used to them, but if I had to pick one it would be the one called Ride. It’s one of our first songs and it mixes both sensitive and not so sensitive moods with the kind of dynamics I’d like to hear more in today’s music.
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Absolutely live.
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
Finding a certain mood when you just pick up a guitar and start to play trying to forget everything you’ve learned. In the best case the results are something truly original that really represents what you are. And sometimes it can be quite frightening stuff…
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
It’s quite impossible to say, but “Let There Be Rock” by AC/DC is a quite perfect rock song. It succeeds in conveying the energy of the young men with the will to be something even bigger. And Bon Scott doesn’t leave room for doubts about who is the king of the hill in rock’n'roll.
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
It’s an unbelievable channel for promotion and makes it possible for anyone to share and advertise their music. It is of course unfortunate that records are being downloaded from the internet months before they are published and especially for
new bands the situation can be quite difficult if their album is not selling enough and because of that there may not be a second chance. I still believe though that if a record is good enought it will be bought. But, if you download an album, listen it and find out that it hasn’t got more than that one good song you ain’t going to buy it no matter how good looking the package might be.
What are your projects ?
I myself and our bass player are working only with Fokker, but our drummer plays also in a band called “Pohjoinen Kuri” and our singer has a band called “Ratas”, which is just about to release it’s second album. He also runs his own record company, Pajula Records Oy, and makes music videos and web sites.
What “image” do you have of French music?
I have to admit that I don’t know much about French music, but according to Myspace.com Apocalyptica is a French band!  Of course I’ve heard from my friends that Air & Phoenix are great.
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
It’s probably on some Emmanuelle-soundtrack… (I really need a lesson in French music)
January 18th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
Our band was created in the late 90’s by Masa, Rino and Toni. We played cover songs at school and our first gig was in the year 2000. When we put our band together nobody really knew how to play but I think we have learned quite good. But in late summer ‘01 Antti and Simo joined the band and that is actually the point when you can say that Oikosulku started to work as a band.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
Couple years ago we were going to Rino’s place and the elevator stopped. Then someone of us said “This elevator got Short circuit!” (Oikosulku means in English Short circuit). Then we thought that it would be nice name to our band because we have been trying to find out some name to our band and we haven’t got any.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
I think that the major influences come from the late 60’s and 70’s. Bands like Led Zeppelin, Rolling stones, Ac/dc etc. Off course we have some “new” influences like The Hellacopters. Our influences are mainly rock’n'roll bands but it’s nice to listen sometimes also different kind of music.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
How I see the situation, there are more positive than negative things. I think that when your band have been playing 20 years in Finland, I bet that you have seen every stage and every pub in Finland. But Oikosulku have been doing gigs only since the late year 2000, so we have still a lot to see. But the small size of this country is propably one of the problems in here. And records doesn’t sell that much either.
How could you qualify your style of music?
Our music is energic, breathtaking and you have to see us on stage!
During the years how has your musical style evolved?
We have been on the road a quite a lot in this autumn and we haven’t trained that much as usually. But some parts of our new music are gonna be more melodic and some parts more rocking!
How do explain these changes?
Those changes are not bad. It’s just that we are developing as musician all the time. And that’s the natural thing to happen.
What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
Our singer Rino writes all the lyrics, so he would be better guy to answer. But as far as I know about our lyrics, our songs are basicly about having fun, girls and rock’n'roll itself.
Have you ever considered the possibilty to change totally your style of
music? If so, what style of music would you choose?
No.. Maybe a bit but if we would change our style of music, it would still be rock’n'roll. But maybe a bit different kind of rock’n'roll.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire?
My favourite song is propably “Valmis milloin vaan” because it’s very rocking song and it works really good at gigs.
Do you tour regularly? Do you actually prefer performing your music live or
in a studio?
We are definitely a live band and we tour as much as we can. In this November and December we have had a small break from gigs but in the next year we are going to tour a lot. From late January to April we have now almost 15 gigs and there is still more to come!
During the process of making an album, what is the moment that you prefer?
I prefer the moment when I play myself, offcourse. And that is because I like playing. But when we are in studio and I don’t play myself I like to just watch television and play playstation and do things like that.
What kind of music / What artists do you currently listen?
The two last albums that I have listened are the new Backyard babies album and the first Danko Jones- album.
A stupid question but… what is, among all the songs you’ve been listening
in your life, the BEST song? Why?
It’s impossible for me to answer that question. I listen some much music nowdays that is very hard to say what is the best band.
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?
Internet have been a good thing to our band and I think that it will help many smaller bands. There is easy to promote our band and easy to get our band on top. I don’t think that internet is a threat for music. If I download some good music, I’m sure that I’m also going to buy that album!
What are your actual and future projects?
We are now training our new songs a lot. When the right song find’s out, we are gonna make an new single. And as I previously said, we have tour on next year, too.
January 17th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
In Oslo, autumn 97. I had just quit my old band to concentrate on my own material. My friend Freddy Holm helped me record a four song demo. I moved to Finland 98 and put together a band. Been at it ever since.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
Nazca is a desert area in Peru, near Lima. It’s famous for it’s geoglyphs. It also looks great typographically and has a nice mysterious ring to it.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Syd Barrett, Joy Division, Big Black, Godspeed You Black Emperor, A Silver Mt.Zion, Pixies, Dead Kennedys, Kraftwerk, Laika & the Cosmonauts
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
Positive: Great original bands pop up all the time, meet a bunch of nice people.
Negative: To little diversity. The music scene has been shanghaied by a heavy metal mafia, making it almost impossible for bands working in other genres to get distro, promo and gigs.
How could you define your style of music?
Rock. Intelligent. Dark. Melodic. Psychedelic. Political.
During the years how has your musical style changed?
More diversity, better melodies, lyrics and arrangements.
How do explain these changes?
Growing older and smarter. Seems like we’ve learned a thing or two along the way.
What are topics you treat in your songs?
Media, politics, emotions, memories true and false.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
A new microsong called ‘negative’. It feels fresh and fun to play.
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Both sides have their advantages and drawbacks. Personally I prefer concerts, but others in the band prefer studio work.
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
When it all clicks together and you can’t stop playing it.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
Impossible to answer, sorry.
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
A great tool. Let’s hope it lasts.
What are your projects?
Future plans are at least doing a new album, we got all the material ready.
What “image” do you have of French music?
Serge Gainsbourg, Air. I know far too little about french music to have any general opinion, sorry.
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
Bonnie & Clyde
January 18th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
We started in december 2000. A few of us had playd together several years before, so we decided to create something we really like.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
I could tell different kinds of stories of how we’ve been in the middle of the woods all of our childhood and how terrible life is, but honestly… Our name comes from nowhere. I think!
We have a dear friend who is also our manager. He got the idea. Don’t ask me what’s in his mind. Probably our name decribes it well. =)
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Almost everything between the music I like and don’t like. I’ve always loved Ozzy, Whitesnake, Tina Turner, Kiss, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, Dio, Madonna, Wham and a few Finnish artists… and Mozart, Vivaldi, I could go on forever!
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
Positive is that Finland is a small country. If we’re going to a gig the trip is not that long. Everything here is quite near, in comparison to USA for example.
Positive is that you can walk in the streets without a bodyguard even if you’re a big star. Hope we can keep it that way.
This smallness is also a negative thing. Towns are small, so there are few gigplaces for our kind of music. Not enough people!
The thruth is that about 5 people decide what you can hear on the radio. That’s not fair. Listeners can always make a request. That’s good, but it’s a different thing if anyone will listen to it. Unfortunately there are a lot of negative things, but it doesn’t matter. We just don’t care!
How could you define your style of music?
Lots of chords, words, voices, keys, drums, guitar, bass, pvc-trousers, make-up, emotion, bright lights, rocking - hard - and laughing at ourselves.
During the years how has your musical style changed?
We were very dark and melancholic when we started.
Maybe we’ve been in the cold weather for too long ’cause we don’t get cold so easily anymore. I mean, good mood is better than eternal melancholy and sad things can be said from a positive point of view.
What are topics you treat in your songs?
Me, myself and my panties.. which I don’t wear =)
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
The Look is definitely the best, because our version of the song pleases me much.
Our own songs -Maybe all in a different order. Depends on the mood I’m in.
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Live is always live. You can’t compare them.
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
The moment is when I fall into my own personal world. I can’t hear or see anything else. Everything is so real, but at the same time so unreal. It’s kind of a trance, but without any drugs.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
Hmmm…I can’t name the one, but there are few songs which are so good I could die and be reborn while listening.
Those are: Still of the night/Whitesnake, Mama I’m coming home/Ozzy Ozbourne, Show must go on/Queen, Don’t talk to strangers/Dio and New Year’s day/U2.
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
Internet is both good an’ bad. Good is that everything is available right now. In two seconds you can find amazing things. Webradios, messenger, interviews, bandsites, instruments manuals, instruments on sale and so on.
The bad thing is that anybody can do what ever they want. Too often it costs too much, like children who’ve lost their childhood somehow. That’s sad! I’m saying this because as a musician I’m worried about these kind of things too.
And then there’s piratism. Internet makes it very easy. Few people seem to respect the music enough to buy it. In their opinions CDs cost too much. If I’ve made a song how can anybody think that it’s always free? I have to eat too and pay my rent too. Maybe we should ask those who do it if they pay their plumber? It’s the same thing, paying for the work that’s done.
What are your projects?
We’re waiting for our album “Read My Lips” to be release 17.5. Before that we’ll release our second radiosingle “Calling My Name”, the first one was “A Bit Too Restless”. Promotion has been centred on Finland. The album will be released exclusively here as well, for now.
We just shot our video for the title song on our album and next weekend, on Sunday 2.4, we’ll have a gig in Oulu with the band Kilpi.
5.4. we’re in Turku/Down Town. Check our website for more information: www.sistermanik.net
What more… waiting for summer during all of this.
What “image” do you have of French music?
First of all I must confess that I haven’t any general view of french music. That’s because I don’t speak french. … That’s not a good reason, shame on me!
There must be french music I’ve heard, but I haven’t realized it’s french. (thinking with knitted brows..)
Now you got to remember that I speak only for my part. The others band members might have much more knowledge than I.
(… after 10 minutes…)
Now I remember something. Patricia Kaas and Mireille Mathieu. the last one is my mom’s favourite.
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
I like one of Patricia Kaas songs, but unfortunately I can’t remember the name of the song. Tried to find it on the internet, but no luck. I can hum it!!!
I also like “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”, but Lauri from The Rasmus said it already.
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
Documents précédents
|
École
