Nice to see you here in St. Petersburg and you were not comming for a long time and your solo gig was cancelled last year. So do you like comming to St. Petersburg? Did you ever had time to see anything here?

Lauri: Yes of course. I don't remember how many times we've been here.
Aki: Maybe 8. 9. 10?
Lauri: But the first time we came here was 1997 and we played in this very underground club. i can't remember the name, but it was somewhere in the basement. It was wierd and strange. And it was with this Orange club, where we used to work in Helsinki, and they were exchanging the bands. So the Finnish bands were comming over to Russia, and the russian bands were playing there and we were a part of this exchange. Since then we're comming here every second year.


So do you come here only as the artists or have you ever come here as tourists? It is pretty much close to Finland.

Lauri: In fact i have never been here as a tourist. But in fact we always had a bit of time to see all those sights. And when we first came here in 1997 we were here more than a week. We actually had 2 gigs but the main thing actually was to come here to party.
Aki: I remember the last time we played here, it was 2009 and we played with Alice Cooper and the Scorpions! We had a long tour, like two weeks tour in Russia. it was really nice time with all those rock-monsters!


Maybe you are going to take part in any metal fests next year?

Lauri: So far no gigs are confirmed.
Aki: Last year we played at this Maxidrom in Moscow. Really good! With Linkin Park and some other bands.

So now it is December and the famous date the 21st is approaching. the Mayan End of the world one. So what are you going to do at that day?

Aki: Well, don't worry, because my friend called me and told that nothing's gonna happen.
Lauri: Pope.
Aki: Yeah, Pope called me like 'No worries, guys! And also Santa Claus, anoher friend of mine, called me. Everything's fine, i'll see you 24th.

So it will be just a simple day for you?
Aki: Maybe feeling a little bit strange when you wake up in the morning, but it's gonna be good.
Lauri: I won't probably even remember the date. And is it gonna happen in the morning? Or 12 o'clock at night?
Aki: But it's not gonna happen at all.


And why did you decide to come back to the feathers in your hair?
LAuri: It was AKI!
Aki: Yeah, I forced him!
Lauri: He said 'If you don't do that - i quit playing drums!'

So it works!
Both: Yes.

You have filmed a really huge lot of videos during your the Rasmus career. And all of them are really beautiful, but could you single out something that is most favourite for you personally?

Lauri: There are always nice stroies about the video shoots. They are really nice clips of memory! Diary kind of, you know. I remember that one of the best trips was to Cuba for 'In my life' video and we spent there some days. Anyway it was a lot more than just a video shoot. I've been to Cuba for the first time and drink really good rum. Crazy!
Aki: But we survived!
Lauri: Video shoots are always really difficult to me and the guys get the easy job. they just play a couple of times. And as i sing i need to do something.
Aki: And you were swimming with crocodiles!
Lauri: Yeah, in that river looked so much like full of crocodiles. ANd i had to go and dive in it. And then they put that wire in my leg and there were like 10 guys pullling me over the jungle floor.
Aki: Ah yeah, poor you!
Lauri: Like 100 meters and i tried to sing the song. And all my back was in blood and in scratches.
And then there was another video shoot for Funeral song.
Aki: Oh that was nice!
Lauri: they also got the easy part because they're even not in the video!
Aki: I dont know. But it was really funny moment because we were at Stockholm and they closed the street and noone could go there, because we were shooting. And there was an Indian restaurant and the guy was really drunk and like 'hey! Come to my restaurant!' And he offered us some wine. And he (Lauri) was all wet outside! we were watching that from the window drinking good wine and eating Indian food. And he was suffering.
Lauri: Firemen were putting the water with the fire-cars. Like a lot of hours.
Aki: And it was -8. Gonna tell you - and also he had this swimming hat under his hat.
Lauri: Yeah. I had to put on that rubber hat because otherwise i would have died i think. It was minus something and i was all wet for hours.

But in both cases the result is really amazing.
Lauri: Oh yeah! And Justify-video was also interesting. I was all in black water all day.
Aki: And those little pipes they put on your face like almost in the eye.
Lauri: And i could not move my eyes. If i was looking at the side that little pipe would scratch my eyeball. And then Eero was pushing liquid into my eyes.

So you're not choosing the easy ways.

Lauri: Yeah. But i like giving all the effort into the videos. You do it only once.
Ani: And it becomes history. Your life. I mean it's really important.
Lauri: And Justify video was really nice!
Aki: And again he was sweating like hell and we were at some party in Singapore.
Lauri: We were filming several nights. Filming all night till the morning, till the sun came.

Thank you so much for the interview!


Authors: Varja Murasheva, Julia Andreeva

P.S Many thanks to Mikko Enakoski and Taina Franzén for assistance in arranging interviews.