On a cold
winter day nine years ago
The Rasmus, (now one of
Finland’s most respected
bands), stepped on stage
for the first time at their
high school in the Finnish
capital Helsinki. Never
did these guys expect that
nearly ten years later they
would be receiving several
gold and platinum records
as well as several Finnish
Grammy awards and a following
of tens of thousands of
enthusiastic fans.
IN THE
BEGINNING
At the
sprouting age of sixteen,
they reached their goals
quickly and their dreams
of rock stardom become a
reality. The four friends
made a conscious conclusion
that the music scene in
Finland sucked and needed
a change or at least a fresh
approach.
In 1996,
The Rasmus released their
debut album Peep. It did
not take long
for the album sell gold.
The timing was right for
this new generation of
rock bands and The Rasmus
took the listening public
and critics by storm.
"We were just kids
who were let loose on a
playground", singer
Lauri
remembers.
The band
passed the grueling limit
of performing over one hundred
gigs in a year’s time.
Shortly after this, the
band crawled back into the
studio to record their second
album Playboys. Yes, it
also sold gold very quickly.
By then, The Rasmus had
established themselves as
a household name in Finland.
Soon after, The Rasmus received
their first Finnish Grammy,
(called Emma in Finnish),
in the category of Best
New Act. The tempo of success
built momentum and The Rasmus
supported shows with Rancid,
Red Hot Chili Peppers and
Garbage during at these
artist’s shows in
Finland.
In 1999,
The Rasmus, as energetic
and productive as they are
released their third album
Hellofatester. The Single,
Liquid, was voted, by both
critics and fans as The
Year’s Best Single.
MAJOR
BREAKTHROUGH ON NEW RECORD
LABEL
In 2001, The Rasmus were
ready for a major breakthrough.
After signing to
Playground Music Scandinavia
in Stockholm, Sweden the
band came back with a
smash hit single F-f-f-falling.
"We
were so nervous about that
song. It was obviously either
a hit or a
flop", The Rasmus’
members remember.
A flop
it was not! The single shot
like a bullet straight to
number one, selling Platinum
and being the biggest hit
of the year in Finland.
The album Into followed
a couple of months later
and charged the charts like
a rocket. Into has sold
over 67 000 to date, which
is well over double platinum!
After the success of Into
and F-f-f-falling, The Rasmus
performed at every major
music festival in Finland.
Up to
this point, any international
releases had been minimal.
With the great story building
in Finland, The Rasmus went
abroad supporting acts such
as: HIM, Roxette and the
Spanish rock band Dover
in Germany, Scandinavia
and
Latvia. The Rasmus traveled
in Europe, did promotion
and performances on TV
shows and were interviewed
by European music press
and they sure charmed
everyone they met.
Following the tour with
the Spanish rock band Dover
the band flew to Italy
to record a live acoustic
performance with Viva TV
and do several
interviews. The Rasmus then
flew quickly to Finland
for the Finnish Grammy
Awards Show where they performed
a song and swept all the
major categories
by collecting new Grammies
for:
Best band, Best single (F-f-f-falling),
Best rock/pop band and Album
Of The Year.
THE BAND
Energetic,
rambunctious and powerful
are three words that describe
The
Rasmus best. Lauri, a singer
whose voice is full of fire
and soaring beauty,
is also one of the most
appreciated composers in
Finland today.
"My
lyrics are always personal
and every word has a meaning
that reminds me
of something that has happened",
the singer says. Pauli is
an excellent guitarist,
but he has also been recognized
as a producer (Producer
of the year at the Finnish
Grammy 2001). He has helped
Finnish bands like Killer
and Kwan to create number
1# hits!
"The
best advice I've been given
is that if you have knowledge,
share it", Pauli answers,
when asked why he wanted
to become a producer. Aki
joined the band in 1999.
Before that, he was selling
The Rasmus merchandise at
their shows.
"Pauli
asked me to join after we
had jammed together. Which
is great, because I pretty
much suck in everything
else but playing the drums",
Aki laughs sarcastically.
Eero,
who is definitely the calmest
man in the band, plays the
bass. He finds his strength
in meditation and music.
"Sahaja yoga gives
me a peace of mind",
the soulful bass player
explains.
THE NEW
ALBUM 'DEAD LETTERS'
The first
single from the album is
entitled: In The Shadows,
released January 10th 2003
in Finland and a few weeks
later in Sweden, Norway,
Denmark and the Baltic countries.
“Each
song is a letter to somebody.
It could be an apology,
confession or cry out for
help", singer Lauri
explains his lyrics on the
album, entitled: Dead Letters.
The Rasmus
returned to Sweden to record,
because they wanted to work
again with Mikael Nord Anderson
and Martin Hansen at Nord
Studios, who were also responsible
for producing the massively
successful album Into.
"Martin
and Micke made me smoke
cigarettes, if my voice
didn't sound rough enough",
Lauri says with a wink.
In addition, the band endlessly
watching horror movies colored
the making of the album.
"We
watched so many horror movies
that each of us had nightmares",
the band members laughed.
The Rasmus
play rock, but in every
song there is a strong melody
flavored with a catchy chorus.
Dead Letters touches with
its raw and naked sounds.
"The album is darker,
moodier and dreamier than
anything we have done before",
Eero (bass) concludes.