Revista Alemana Hitkrant

Lauri doesn t get your choice.. Gothic? We? That s strange!

That was convenient: recently The Rasmus-singer Lauri came to Amsterdam to tell about their new cd that will be released in September. And because his band stood very high in your list of Gothic-bands, we decided to catch him for a little chat...

The new single from The Rasmus No fear will be released at the end of August.

Lauri wished to stay a little longer in Amsterdam than that one day for interviews and promotion for their new cd Hide From The Sun. I thought I had planned it very well, he smiles. "Yesterday morning I had some interviews in London and I arranged it to leave early there, so we could spend the whole evening in Amsterdam. But then our flight got cancelled... There was some hard storm, I heard. Eventually we took a flight later, but by the time we arrived here, it was very late so I jumped right into my bed..."

HK: Didn t you see anything of the city?
Lauri: "Well, I have made a short walk here... We have been here before, and I have been to some nice spots here by the Kanal next to the hotel. But I really wanted to go out last night and eh... maybe smoke, or something? Haha!"

HK: We are making a gothic-special for Hitkrant, and in the reactions of our appeal your name has been mentioned many times...
Lauri: "Really? How strange, haha! I really wouldn t call our band gothic..."

HK: But hasn t your band been called "gothic" for many more times then?
Lauri: "Yes, to be honest, our band has been called that way very often. And probably we have sóme elements – our music has a dark side. But I see our band as melodic rock."

HK: Why do you think many people see your band as a gothic-band?
Lauri: "That probably has something to do with what kind of clothes I wear and how I look. Ans our music is at some point a little melancholic, of course. But for the rest... no I can t really find the connection."

HK: Which bands do you see as gothic-bands?
Lauri: I think The Sisters Of Mercy; Gothic-music is very often electronical music, it are not necessarely rock bands. The Cure, for example, is also a pioneer, although they do have some happier songs. But I m afraid there s a darker side in those songs too...

HK: Do you know Within Temptation? Do you think they re gothic?
Lauri: I know them, yes – I just saw them on a festival. I can imagine people call them gothic, because if you look at their show, they have a decor with a castle and everything. That s something I like about them, because most bands usually don t do that anymore. Earlier you had Iron Maiden, they had amázing decors and a creapy scary beast on stage. Now that s a trend too: if you wear an Iron Maiden-shirt you’re “hip”. Now you can buy a Mötorhead-shirt anywhere. I wonder if everyone who buys a shirt like that, has ever heard their music. But anyway, if people get a good feeling by wearing a shirt like that, it s fine with me!

HK: Years ago you were a very different band, and you were blonde, and the succes came when you changed your looks into black ones, right?
Lauri: "When we started our band I was only 15 or 16 years old, and I think I ve tried every haircolor at least once. Every week another style, haha. Our music didn t really have an identity: we were experimenting with everything. Our first album sounded like there were 5 bands playing on it; it was like a collection-cd! We could choose every kind of music then, and it was innocent and pure. I miss that sometimes; now we are very serious and we have to think up theme s for the album and stuff. I like that tóó, because you can be very artistic, but we can never go back like how it used to be..."

HK: Was it an intentional choice to make your hair black and wear only black clothes?
Lauri: "Yes. During the third album everything fell apart. The drummer left – he wanted too many vacations and we were getting a little pissed of that. There had to happen somethin, because it really went wrong with the band. My position is very important, so I thought: I can t afford it to let the band go under, because it will take me with it. Then we got a new drummer and a new record company... Our old record company had already decided for us that in the future we d only sing in Finnish, haha. No way! Our new drummer Aki joined the band in 1999, and at that point a lot changed. We took a break of two years and the music changed damatically. We dropped all the funk- and hiphop-elements."

Entrevista publicada en www.thrasmus.org

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