 When and how was your band created?
We rehearsed and played in one party with Ville in september 2002. With us there were drummer Slim Salminen and bassplayer Vesa Siivola. It was meant to be only a one gig, but Ville and I continued to rehearse. Soon Juha and Mikko joined us and we started to rehearse more seriously. Juha bring tens of lyrics to our rehearsals and we started to jam based on Juha´s lyrics and mostly Ville´s riffs. I had some of my old songs, and after a couple of rehearsals we had something like twenty new own songs.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
Takarivi means “Back row”. Back row is the place where all the coolest guys usually hang during their school years. We just decided to use that name when we figured out that despite we all had a different backround there was this one thing that united us. The name is actually quite stupid, but people seem to remember and argue about it which is good.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
I have lots of influences from all decades. Very typical ones like the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, CCR, many Finnish bands… Nothing very special here. I also listen a lot of 50´s rock´n´roll and rockabilly. And some classical too. And some new Finnish metal bands.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
Positive: creative and open-minded athmosphere
Negative: unlikely to make a living out of your own music. For me it is not a big deal.
How could you define your style of music?
Finnish melodical rock. Our music varies from song to song so much that it is hard to categorize our band. We have blues, rock, heavy, pop…
During the years how has your musical style changed?
It has become more melodic and perhaps a little more progressive. Less heavy metal influences.
How do explain these changes?
Maybe I am getting old. I like to listen to metal but not to play it any more. We are not good enough players to play metal the way it should be played.
What are topics you treat in your songs?
Love, hate, wicked stories… Juha and Ville have recently made more lyrics than I.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
Susi, Karhu ja Ahma (A wolf, a bear and a wolverine). Despite being very simple bluesy kind of a song, there has never been two similar versions played live. The song gives very much room for improvisation and it has great athmosphere.
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Live. We don´t gig often, so every gig is major happening for us and for our fans too.
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
I prefer the moment when the idea and athmosphere are in my head and I start to play and improvize it for the first time.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
Deep Purple: Lazy
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
OK for a not too well known musician. It makes it easier to have more listeners. However, piracy is not a good thing.
What are your projects?
Takarivi is my main project. Sometimes I gig as a troubadour.
What “image” do you have of French music?
The rock genre in France is very artistic with ethnic influences. Lots of ska music. It is just my image. Of course I know Edith Piaf and some others. And Loco Mosquito, I bought their cut-price record many years ago because I thought it was psychobilly. Well, I didn´t like it.
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
Well, this is not a song, but: Symphony no. 4 op. 49 im “Sturm und Drang” by Nicolas Bacri. I just heard it played by our local symphony orchestra last week and it sounded great. Maybe I was in the right mood at the time…
January 18th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
Battlelore was founded in 1999 when I, Jyri Vahvanen, decided to quit his other band projects where he was involved and started to create his own kind of metal music which is based to Mr. J.R.R.Tolkien’s writings about fantasy world called Middle-earth. It was and still is a true passion to metal music and Tolkien’s poetry. We just put those two things together.
Were is the name of the band coming from?
When you look at Middle-earth’s history, you will find it very violent and full of battle’s, fighting and tragedy. That combined “Folklore” results a very descriptive name for us, Battlelore.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
I can’t speak behalf of all of us, but personally my (Jyri) major influences are the bands like Rammstein, Runemagick, Rhapsody, Kotiteollisuus etc. I could continue the list forever but the one man who inspire me most is Mr.Tolkien.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician / singer (in Finland)?
Positive aspects are that this is a really small country, so if you make the so called break-through as a musician, then everybody knows you and then of course it’s easier to get gigs, publicity etc. but the negative thing is that you really can’t do this for living. You have to have some other job ’cause the circles are so small in Finland that you can’t do your living by just being a musician.
How could you qualify your style of music?
Our style comes from the genre of metal music. People call our music “Gothic/doom/deathmetal” etc. but we prefer the Fantasy Metal. I don’t actually care that what people calls us ’cause it’s a very thin line between the different genres. Anyway our music is very bombastic, epic and melodic metal.
Have you ever considered the possibilty to change totally your style of music? If so, what style of music would you choose?
I play and listen a lot of different kind of music and I love to play songs from here and there. But as long as Battlelore exists, we play metal.
What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
All of our songs are highly influenced by Tolkien’s writings and medieval fantasy. So all of them
are based on our view of Tolkien’s world and writings.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
There are many songs which I love and we just released our second album so it’s much more nicer to play songs from that new album ’cause you have played the old ones so much already. I believe that my favourite song at the moment is “Sons of Riddermark” but it changes almost every day. It’s all about the mood I have.
Do you tour regularly? Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
We don’t tour very regularly. We do occasional gigs time after time and sometimes we do a bigger tours but it’s not very regular. Those both have their own good and bad sides.
When you are in the studio, the stress is much bigger and you have to be very focused all the time, but when you get something finished, the feeling is just amazing!
Touring and live playing is always great fun and definetily what we want to do, but the waiting when the show starts is really pressing.
During the process of making an album, what is the moment that you prefer?
The greatest moment in studio is when you here the final result and you are satisfied to it. Then you know that you have created something what really affect in your mind and hopefully it affect in somebody else too.
What kind of music / What artists do you currently listen?
I listen a lot of different kind of music as I already mention. A lot of old school black/death metal, industrial, meditation music, stoner rock, progressive rock, power metal etc.
My music taste is very versatile.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
This question is impossible to answer but just to mention one song from my endless list I prefer a song “Valtakunta” from the Finnish metal band called “Kotiteollisuus” because the feeling when you hear it is incredible!
You heart starts bouncing and you just want to bang your head. It’s very simple song but it really has its feeling.
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 is a great invention but because it is so ‘open’ and popular, you can’t avoid the negative things what comes with every good thing. Internet is a great place to make people know your art, but I just hate mp3 rip-offs!
Do you use computers or home studios during the process of making an album or a song?
Yes, a lot. Without computer technology our music would be very different. It’s much more easier if you have home studio equipments ’cause making the demo tapes from you new material is always very important for the final result.
What are your actual and future projects?
Regarding Battlelore, our second album “Sword’s Song” comes out in May 2003 so we just wait a feedback from the record and try to do touring as much as possible. Also a DVD compilation is released at the very same time, which was shooted throughout last year.
January 17th, 2007
 When and how did you decide to become a musician?
I have been making music with a computer since early 90’s. It burst into flames when at the same time when finnish hiphop made its second coming such as Fintelligence in late 90’s.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Broad scale of musicians have had influence on my music like Cypress Hill, Run D.MC.
Also all the 80’s heavy metal bands for example Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Wasp.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician / singer (in
Finland)?
Finland was pretty distant place before Internet for independent musician to publish music. So www enabled artist to reach wider audience and also be influenced by other artist.
How could you qualify your style of music?
I consider my music as a coctail between rap and heroic metal music. I liked the combination of hiphops urban down to earth approuch and heavy´s high flying, mystical aspect.
Have you ever considered the possibilty to change totally your style of music? If so, what style of music would you choose?
As I told before I´m a big fan of old school metal music, so I´d probably make some sort of move towards fantasy metal with vxxxn edge.
What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
My main idea with my lyrics is that everything was more interesting in the old times. Todays world is too predictable and plain to write interesting stories. There is plenty of learning in history of legends. Finnish mythology is full of material.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
I think it is “Salaliitto”. I like the mystical background and its perfect rythm and rhyme. Big up for my man Maanvaiva and Antistara! “Salaliito” is all the things Hamara represents.
Do you tour regularly? Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
At the time, I am a “studioartist” and I prefer having a total control of my music hence I perform rarely live.
During the process of making an album or a song, what is the moment that you
prefer?
When the idea of the song evolves to its perfect form.
What kind of music / What artists do you currently listen?
Currently I´m consuming music with metal influence. Todays rap-music is not my cup of tea with its static backgrounds. Cypress Hill can still rock on.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
“Kiss the ground” by Ben Dover
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?
Hamara would not be without the Internet!
What are your actual and future projects?
Currently I´m searching for inspiration. I don´t want to invent the wheel for the second time. In the near future there will be new Hamara material.
January 17th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
Band was created at spring 1995. We used to play in different band earlier, just for fun. Then two guys from the former band decided to set up a new band that would do things more seriously. They asked two other guys to join the band, and after few changes in the line-up, the EXTAASI band was created. During the years the line-up has changed totally, and nowadays only the singer has been in the band since the beginning.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
Band name was chosen just because it just sounded good, and it sounds familiar for everyone, even if the person hasn’t heard the band earlier. The name comes from the state of mind, ‘ecstasy’. Some people think that the name means the drug, but it isn’t. Actually the drug was unknown those days in Finland, and the band member’s hasn’t even heard about it then.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Personally for me, it’s mostly the punk bands in the 80’s that have been influencing mostly in my life and my way to make music, even though we aren’t playing punk anymore. I think that mostly bands like The Exploited, Sex Pistols, and several finnish punk bands like Appendix, Lama, etc. have been affecting mostly at the beginning. But nowadays there are finnish bands like Kotiteollisuus that has a major influence in the current sound.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
There aren’t so many places in Finland where you could arrange gigs for alternative bands. You don’t have chance to play gigs as much as you would like to. And also the record labels don’t make deals with new bands so easily. Positive aspect is that it’s quite easy and cheap to do it yourself. You could always release your own records for your own label with quite small amount of money.
How could you qualify your style of music?
Today the music is some kind of metallic, hard rock, I think.
During the years how has your musical style evolved?
When we started, the music was quite punkrock, but during the year’s, when the line-up has changed and also the music taste of the members, we started to get more and more metal sound into our music. We always had the metal sound in our music, but during the last two year’s, the punk sound has been deposed, and the basic sound is darker than earlier.
How do explain these changes?
I think I already said this in the last question, the music taste and line-up has changed during the years. The last change in the line-up, when the new guitarist came in the band, we decided to do more changes, and we abandoned most of the old songs and decided to do new ones to replace them.
What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
Our lyrics are quite gloomy, and they are mostly related to death or depression. But we do handle all kinds of small misfortunes and dark side of human life.
Have you ever considered the possibilty to change totally your style of music?
Actually we just did. Well, not totally, but it was quite big change anyway.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
It’s the title song of our latest ep, called ‘Kiveen kirjoitettu’. It just has the right kind of aggressive and crushing drive in that song.
Do you tour regularly? Do you prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Yes, we are trying to, but we do usually accept almost all gigs that there is available. Usually we have two or three small tours during the year, and some occasional gigs besides. We prefer playing the music live, because when we make new songs, we usually play it live before the songs are recorded. Our music works the best in live situation, and in studio we are trying to catch the live energy and emotion.
During the process of making an album, what is the moment that you prefer?
Usually when all tracks have been recorded and the songs are starting to get the final form and starts to sound like it should be. And of course when everything is ready and you can have the real record into your hands.
What kind of music / What artists do you currently listen?
Currently I’m listening mostly Kotiteollisuus, Evanescence, Nightwish, etc. Not so much punkrock anymore, but old punkrock classics are still spinning occasionally.
A stupid question but… what is, among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life, the BEST song?
What a question! There is so many great songs in the world that it’s impossible to name one.
What is your opnion, as a musician, regarding internet?
Internet has helped many underground artists a lot. It’s much easier to get contacts and promote your music and events in the internet.
What are your actual and future projects?
We are going to have few gigs in Estonia during the summer and fall, and a small tour in Finland in the fall. Maybe a bigger tour next spring. And probably next year we should start the recordings of our first album. We are going to set up our own company, and if there won’t be any record label that would like to release the album, we are going to do it our selves.
January 18th, 2007
 When and how was your band created?
Well, Kevin started foolin’ around together some time in the late 1990’s in our former hometown of Tampere. For quite some time we only had a great idea about what we could eventually do coz we all had priorities in other bands..but then it all changed. After our first gig we dumped ALL songs that we had and started writing new ones. Talk about healthy self-criticism… We basically forced our bassist Finn to join the band. Bands can be formed that way, too.
Where is the name of the band coming from?
It’s nobody in particular. But somehow at the start the name really looked and sounded like the music we were playing. Now it’s just a name. It’s funny though that in a lot of tv shows, if there’s a character called Kevin he’s bound to be somehow seedy… not so nice.
What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Oh boy…at the start we were inspired by The Velvet Underground, Beach Boys, Spacemen 3, Stereolab, Sebadoh, Ride, The Stone Roses…those names will never disappear but we have since evolved such a great deal that a book could be written about our current influences.
What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
Positive: a pretty good vibe within the music circles, I should say. No crippling rivalry between anybody. Somehow over here people develop original ways of doing stuff coz there’s no pressure from record industry’s side to become another Kent or Franz Ferdinand. People have the courage to do crazy stuff. Like ZZ Top meets Kraftwerk-like boogie electro! Also, the government are slowly getting a grasp of rock music as something to export.
Negative: Basically all the aforementioned have a downside to them as well. It’s really hard to get record execs from abroad to come and see your gig. It basically never happens. And big record companies here are very conservative. They’re rarely bold enough to sign anybody really special. Of course there are exceptions to the rule. And radio’s crap like anywhere else. They’re so afraid of doing anything that might cause a bump in the listener rates.
How could you define your style of music?
Kevin play passionate 60-70’s style rock with a strong psychedelic edge. Actually now that we’re just finishing the making of our second album I’ve realized there’s one band I feel certain kinship with: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives. I’m not ashamed to admit that.
During the years how has your musical style changed?
It’s become a lot more robust in a way. Bigger, bolder, in a way more arrogant. Today there isn’t much that we could not do, whereas before, say, guitar solos were pretty much off limits. Not only because we didn’t have the skills but because we were a little bit strained by a certain style. We’re much more free to express ourselves.
How do explain these changes?
Well, I partly answered this one in the last question. But of course the music you listen to affects you as well. If you’re willing to accept it.
What are topics you treat in your songs?
Failure. Trying to be a better human being. Passion. Among other things.
What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
Now that we’re in the studio it seems to change each day. The new ones are faves, naturally. There’s a song called The World Outside The Window that has a dark and merciless vibe. It’s also some of the heaviest stuff we’ve ever done. And most psychedelic…
Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
We enjoy both very much. Gigs are good coz we get to - pardon my French - kick some serious ass. And seeing people enjoy the music in flesh is most rewarding. Studio work has a lot of advantages as well: We enjoy arranging and playing with sounds, taking each particular sound as far as possible. And I just love singing in the studio. But the overall performance feels better live coz you can just let go and rock. In the studio you’re always under a certain amount of pressure.
During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
Well, I tend to write songs with a pretty clear idea of the sound and feeling I want to achieve. And getting it just right together with the band is nice. Also, when we play a song live for the first time and it goes right and people dig it, that’s one of the key moments.
A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song?
Come on, you can’t ask that! But I can mention some songs that I recall listening to over and over and over again during the past year: Couldn’t I Just Tell You by Todd Rundgren, Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell, Care Of Cell 44 by The Zombies, September Gurls by Big Star, Edith And The Kingpin by Joni Mitchell…also Waiting For The Man by The Velvet Underground coz we did a couple of gigs playing V.U.
What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
We’ve definitely profitted from the net. For bands based in such far-flung places as Finland it works really well if you wanna make friends with other bands. Regarding the newer, negative side of the internet, I have to say I’m still in the place of my career that I haven’t suffered from folks taking advantage of my music and not paying. Not yet. And as a consumer, to be honest, I’m such a music addict that I need my daily dose of new stuff. If you know what I mean…
What are your projects ?
When I get some time off Kevin I’ll make a solo album. I already have a few songs recorded and quite a few waiting in the drawer.
What “image” do you have of French music?
Great image! I’m lucky that my mom lived in France for a while before I was born. She took home records by Brel, Piaf, Aznavour and Brassens. And she taught me the language which I’m most grateful of. I adore Gainsbourg, he’s the one and only pop star whose pictures I have on the walls at home. He was such a genius. I used to have a band called Serge & Destroy that played Gainsbourg, Francoise Hardy etc. Apart from Gainsbourg, there’s something funny about the French kinda romanticism. Last night I was watching this film on tv5. In between dialogue these girls would burst into these really cheesy romantic modern ballads, singing together in what looked like a music video but wasn’t. Bertrand Burgalat is a Parisian who carries the Gainsbourg torch nicely. About the cliché that the French can’t rock…they rock in their own way. Also, Erik Satie made beautiful music.
Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
It’s got to be Bonnie & Clyde by Gainsbourg, the duet between Serge and B.B.
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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