The Rasmus interview in City magazine (Finland)

hi you all,

there is an interview with the rasmus in the city magazine of Vaasa and Seinäjoki
Finland!!!



it's a finnishe article but i have the translation of it for you all...

Conquistadors of the world

The exports wonder, The Rasmus has sold almost 1 million records worldwide. Next they are going to take over Japan and USA. The army of Rasmus is lead by General Lauri Ylönen, a control freak, workaholic and a favourite of Marilyn Manson.


Let's not sit by the window. They are hot places. People gaze at you, says black dressed Lauri Ylönen, 24 yrs. There is not much left of the 16-years old teen band idol, which celebrated his first gold album 8 years ago. His brand, the blond hair has changed into black and their funk-pop into darker pop rock. His face has rounded a bit and he's unshaven. He makes sure his two black feathers are on their right places in his pointy hair and sits down back facing the wall in the furthest corner of SF-bar. "I never face the window, someone might attack me!

Last year Dead letters made double platinum. The Finns have bought over 200 000 copies of (The) Rasmus records, with and without the "The". Domestic sale these days is only a small slice of the cake. Past months the band has been touring and giving interviews systematically around the Europe. Fx. during the end of January they had 9 gigs in seven different countries in 15 days, all from Island to Italy. They have practically conquered Germany with 400 000 sold albums. Last year they played in the smallest stage at Rock Am Ring –festivals. This year The Rasmus will play at the largest festival for 80 000 people. MTV Europe chose The Rasmus as best band of the year in Scandinavia. Italian female fans have send nude pictures with their phonenumbers to Lauri.

Highschool Drop out

Lauri Markus Paavo Ylönen grew up in small block building, in Northern-Helsinki suburb, Suutarila. He has middleclass parents and 2 siblings. He played unwillingly piano from the age of 5 until he at the age of 12 got his hands on guitar. "We played Metallica riffs with my mates (in sock-juice fumes!) The first song was Master of puppets. Through out his school years he attended the music classes. He used to paper his walls with Skid Row's and Guns n’Roses posters. “Lauri has a powerful urge to play. He was only interested in music”, says his teacher Antti S. Paavilainen. Dressed in stuffed teddy’s head hat he and Eero Heinonen and Pauli Rantasalmi spend all their time playing. The very first Rasmus demo was played in the school radio when Lauri and his mates broke in to the radio room and put it on. “ We broke in there once more and made an announcement: Dear students, due to teacher meeting all afternoon classes are cancelled!" Students took off and boys got punished. After the grammar school Lauri went to Sibelius highschool, but quitted. He moved out at the age of 16. " I was already independent as a child", he says. Even so, quitting the school was radical. Parents were disappointed, but every morning instead of going to work or school I went to play. When Rasmus played their first official gig July 1995 in orange-club, they had 20 fans. A word of this energy liveband spread and their next gig had 200 people. They paid for their first release themselves by posting ads on the streets. They had police after them several times.

Public property

“If Lauri has a girl, I don’t want to live anymore.”
The Rasmus international fan forum has thousands of greetings. Every tenth is in Finnish. It has been a long way from the orange-club to The Rasmus 2004. Lauri has a professional touch to it all and he has a cocky free attitude, says their manager Seppo Vesterinen. I try to be polite, but I'm not social at all. I have no need to make friends with anybody. Because I'm a public figure, some people think I’m also public property. That's insane, says Lauri.
Example: The Rasmus had a month ago whole day of interviews in France and returned to Finland the following morning (at 6 o'clock am)."Just when I had fallen asleep, some woman came and started yanking my sleeves asking for an autograph. I started yelling at her from the top of my lungs, no way! She should learn some manners. I'm a gent up to a point. I don’t have to please everybody. I'm not an icon of a pop- idolism, as having to be nice to every single one. People can be so unthoughtfull sometimes. He had to, btw, move out of his flat due to outside-of-the-door-camping teens. It was too much. I came home from the bar at 5am and there was some teens lurking in the darkness. I said piss of. Nothing else came in to my mind.

Workaholic

Lauri lights new Marlboro Light. He considers every word he says. They were to give interviews in Spain for 2 days, each interview lasting 15 minutes at time. Lauri thought it to be too much and cancelled some. Ofcourse I consider the value of each interview. I believe in determinate working. Some might consider me too calculative. It can be just as genuine even though you plan ahead. Our next target is to get to play in Conan O’Brienin show, this year! One could think the success has gone into their heads. "Its pretty mad ride at the moment, but we have worked hard for it and earned each victory" I don't roll in each success too long time, I go on. There's still plenty to do and working morality is high. After each gig they have a brief meeting, analysing the songs, performance, mistakes, one after another. Eero Heinonen writes them down.

Last autumn The Rasmus toured 6 weeks in Europe. They decided not to drink at all during that time. "Maybe it's bit un-rock'n rollish, but I take my work seriously. If we tour, we train every day. Ex-manager Teija Kotilainen says they had their training sessions by the clock every single morning at 10. Prior to training Lauri also has his gym training. Our basic rule is never to be drunk when performing. Drinking is underestimating the fans. Once, during The Ankka-rock festival, I had to get off the stage to vomit during our gig. I didn't appreciate the opportunity of playing in the main stage. That was 5 years ago.

Lauri says, he's at work 24 hrs. a day. He is constantly thinking about the band, songs and he has a small recorder with him at all times. This is handy for humming when the inspiration strikes. The Rasmus is Lauri's life, says drummer Ari Hakala. It was said Lauri had a burn out last January. "Don't read the magazines. I'm in good health. Naturally I can be snappy and tired at times. I have normal feelings and I show them. Sometimes I can be pretty depressed. This Is due to so many things happening at the same time and life being so irregular. Lauri is a perfectionist. "I'm horribly critical about myself and my performance. If we, on my opinion, have a bad gig, I take it personally" I can't meet people afterwards and just vanish into the bus. A gig is a band thing, but I get almost paranoid thinking it's all my fault. Each gig has to be better than the one before.

Madonna of Finland

The Rasmus is Lauri and 3 musicians who also make the songs. The guitarist Pauli Rantasalmi has also produced Killer and Kwan. He war rewarded ad the producer of the year in Finland. However there can only be one leader in the band. “I consider myself to be the leader” I have always been the contact person of the band. I do most of the lyrics and the interviews. The singer is the icon.

He is the Madonna of Finland, a control freak who needs to be in charge. He fx phones to the photographer to let him know what kind of photo he wants to be taken. He also has requested e-mail briefing about events and stories related ro The Rasmus around the world. I trust our manager but I need to know what’s going on. I want to have more control. This is our time and I don’t want us to loose it. The more we can do ourselves, the better. Teja Kotilainen & Seppo Vesterinen say Lauri is co-operative but determinate person. “ If I can’t think of something better myself, this will do”.
Year 2004 will make Lauri a millionaire. “In The Shadows has been the most played record in most of the European countries. If I happen to have money now, it will be cool to see my friends in a month and throw a good party. They don’t think I’m just showing off. He bought his flat couple of months ago. I don’t want to have a lot of property, just my own home. I don’t even have a driver’s license, so I can forget about expensive cars. I spend more money on guitar strings than on fancy stuff.

The story almost sounds too good to be true. “ I don’t so much as regret anything, but when I was younger, I went too easily head on to things” We fx made a deal with Pepsi. When I saw myself in 1,5 meter tall picture in 900 bus stops, I knew I had gone too far. But we paid our first gigs abroad with that money. Second lesson of publicity he got when he allowed German Bravo magazine take pictures of his home. Finnish magazine seiska (“7”) bought the pictures and wrote a story “ Lauri showing off his flat”. My head was about to explode. The Rasmus has made some new material for their next album. It’s to be done within a year. Next The Rasmus will head towards Japan and USA, where they will have 6 weeks promotion tour. And they have at least one fan in USA. Marilyn Manson has been heard humming in the shadows in their tour bus.

During the 1½ hour interview Lauri got a pint on the house he was asked to be in the jury of Karaoke competition and Arabic gentleman came to talk to him:” Excuse me, you are Markus from the Rasmus? People listen to you. You rock”

name: Lauri Ylönen
Length: 169 cm
Weight: 60 kg
Revenue: 200 000e (2003)
Drink: Pellegrino
Smell: coffee and tobacco, fragrance gig with the coach,
Shoes: Any maiharit
Phone: Nokia 5140
Number of music: 9



The Rasmus CHAPTER ORDER

Monday 16.2.
9.30
Arriving in Stockholm.
At 11.30-13.
Three interviews and two description, mm. Okej-leaf.
, At 14-04.
Musiikkivideaon description and Music Televionin interview.

Tiitai 17.2.
At 6.50-11
The flight from Stockholm to Madrid.
At 13-20.50
12 TV, radio and newspaper interviews, mm. TVE2 and Canal 7
At 22
HIMin to watch the gig.

Wednesday 18.2.
At 10.30-15.
Seven Journal interview, mm. Kerrang and 40 Magazine.
At 16-20.30
Seven TV and newspaper interviews and sound check, mm. Canal 33
At 21.30-23.30
The presence of 1, 000-person club, and a brief meeting with the audience in competitions with the winners.

Thursday 19.2.
At 9-11.20.
The flight from Madrid to Milan.
At 14.30-19.
TV-occurrence of exercises, three interviews and description of sessions, mm. Italian radio.
At 22
TV-ensiintyminen. Playing in the shadows lip-synching.

Friday 20.2.
9.30-12.20 pm.
Two of the interview and description of sessions.
At 13.45-16.15.
Three of the interview, mm. RTL.
At 19-23
The flight from Milan to Helsinki.

Saturday 21.2.
At 9.45-12.
Emma-gaalen drills.
At 18.15-20.5-/
Emma-gaalen pressitilaisuus and the presence of kosertissa.

I definitely don’t think Lauri hate’s his fans. Quite the opposite really and I can understand if he get angery sometimes, It must be pretty hard for them all...

touring around and being public prey all the time. all the girl that wanne tough and asking about there personal live and ect.... people camping ootside there door, and ect... and wow the poor boy's even have to move out because of that
o would get freaking mad !!! but It's a price to pay.

but i think we all need to remember this are just persons like you and me, with a family, a love or a good friend....and we need to give them there free space
and respect !!!



wepke