~ Of Squirrels, Frogs, and Music from the Womb ~
We meet Luke, Paul, Jay and Marko after their rocking gig at Tammerfest. The weather is sunny but cold, the festival atmosphere is awesome.
Luke picks us up outside the gig area and leads us backstage, where we are greeted warmly by the rest of the band and settle down at the table with them.
After refreshing ourselves with the offered coffee and tea, we begin with our questions.
Tina: So first of all, why did you change your Finnish names into English ones?
Luke: Well, it started off as a joke between me and Wilson. Then we thought it was a good idea, because it's easier for people abroad, English names are easier to pronounce and understand.
Krista: I heard some rumors that you are going to the studio in July. Is that true?
Luke: No. It would be too soon. We just got back from the UK and it was a nice dream to go to the studio in July, but it just is too soon. We are so drained after the tour in the UK so we need some time to relax a little. The tour was a lot of fun, but really tough. Earliest we can go to the studio is in the end of the year.
Krista: Luke, how long does it take for you to put your hair up like that? What products do you use?
Luke: Now it takes about 5 minutes. First I put some hair gel, then I backcomb it and after that I put hairspray.
Tina: Marko, what was it like for you to replace Wilson in the band? How did you feel about it?
Marko: Well actually it was natural to fit in. Everything came naturally. It was easy to fit in for me.
Tina: How about the others? (looks at Paul, Jay & Luke)
Luke: We get along great and Marko is a really good bass player. However, there's a strong bond between me and Wilson and some songs are about him.
Krista: Do you like squirrels?
Marko: Yes, raw not toasted. (laughs) Veggie squirrels. I love wombats. And frogs are nice too. I was playing at a wedding some time ago and there we saw a frog that jumped like 16 times and then had a break. After the break it jumped the same amount again and had a break. It was cool.
Paul (pondering): As a soul mate of a bunny, squirrels rock. Beavers are great.
Marko: And pussycats!
Jay: Yes, I love squirrels.
Krista: What is the most interesting or weird question you have been asked?
Jay: "Is that real?"
Krista (laughs): Okay… Best way to relieve stress?
Marko: The power ball that Jay bought. Not 100% sure about that, though. Jay's the only one who can work it so…
(Everyone laughs)
Krista: Best way to travel? By bus, plane, train, motorcycle?
Luke: Teleport. I have been asking my friends at Nokia that when is one coming out… From the 'normal' ways the Red Devil [a/n: i.e. tour bus] is the best. It is unreliable, but it takes you wherever you need to go in time, almost always.
(Everyone laughs)
Krista: What is the worst airport in the world?
(The whole band starts to roar with laughter)
Luke (looks at Marko): I think I told them already… (Hints at a story he told us before the interview
started, that happened at Amsterdam airport when they were waiting for a connection flight and ended up missing it by 15 minutes because of what one band member had said.)
Marko: "We're not in a hurry."
Tina: When is the Bridges-album going to be released in the UK and Germany and the USA?
Luke: Marko brought new things to the band. So we are different altogether from what we were before. It is more important that we write new songs like Sunburn and Love Song. When Paul joined Flylow, half of the songs were old to him and even more songs were made before Marko joined so it is important that we concentrate more on the future than the past. So I don't think the album is going to be released abroad. Of course if someone wants to buy it they can buy it from an online store from Finland and have it shipped. That we are not going to prohibit.
Tina: Ok, so it will be like a new start for you then, like, start from scratch with a new album, new songs and newly formed band?
Luke: Yes.
Krista: What were you afraid when you were a child?
Marko: I was afraid of the Dark. And later, I was afraid of light. And Santa Claus!
Tina: Really? I was afraid of Santa Claus, too! He is freaky! I am still afraid of him.
Marko: Me too!
Paul (laughs): And you lived in the North before…
Krista: What is the worst thing that could happen on stage? We know that Luke's guitar and little finger broke that one time, but is there something worse?
*long silence*
Jay: When playing I fear that something might happen to the bass drum.
Luke:Think of what happened in England…
Jay: Yeah, passing out is also something that should be avoided on stage. *silence* That I would get abducted by U.F.O's would be the worst.
(Everyone laughs)
Krista: If Flylow would take part in the reality-TV show Big Brother, who would leave first?
Marko: I would, I hate Big Brother.
(Everyone laughs)
Krista: As a visitor, what is your best memory from rock festivals?
Marko: There was a festival once in Finland where Therapy played and some other bands too. The bass player of Living Colour (www.livingcolournet.com) was amazing. Anyways, I pretended to be a reporter and so I got a backstage pass and went to talk to the bass player like I was doing an interview with him. It's a good memory.
Tina: When did you start making music? What influenced you first?
Paul: Before I was born!
(Everyone laughs)
Paul: My parents went to an opera, and I was kicking, hearing the music inside my mother's womb.
*dramatical pause*
Luke: What kind of opera?
Paul: I can't remember.
(Everyone laughs)
Luke: Well with me, my Grandpa took me to a kind of music kindergarten. And I wanted to try out everything they had there, whereas my brother wasn't interested at all. But music's always given me goosebumps! I remember a time when I played a song for ages, it was Uriah Heep's Look at yourself, I played that one song for about two weeks.
Krista: We read from this other interview done by Lynn that the one thing the UK lacks according to Paul are mixer taps. So then we started thinking that what is the best thing about the UK?
Luke: Sorry, that was a long question so can you repeat it?
Krista: Okay. From another interview we found out that the UK should have mixer taps (at least according to Paul), so what is the best thing about the UK?
*long silence*
Paul: The quantity of gig venues.
Luke: The UK is more of a music country. There's more deep interest to music. People actually listen to the music and give comments like "I liked that chord progression there" instead of just drunken compliments. There's super good people. Of course not all, but most of the people we met seriously are very nice people
Tina: Who is you favorite band?
Luke: Muse is one of my favorites. I haven't bought their latest album yet, though. I heard their song on the radio and I was always waiting for the radio DJ to say whose song that was. Then one time they said the name of the band and it was like 'Muzz'. I was like "What?" So I googled different names that sounded like that and then eventually I got the name right.
Krista: Why didn't you play Unlucky Star, even though my friend and I sort of asked you to during your gig?
Luke: Why didn't we play that song, Paul?
Paul: It's an old song. We feel like one now…
Luke: Yeah, we didn't want to get upset. And the song needs some serious rearranging. (To Krista:) You need to play the song to Tina and Denise.
Krista: I would, but I don't have it.
Luke: Oh. Hey, Jay! Do you have Unlucky Star somewhere? Cause I don't think I do.
(Luke begins to sing it, Jay joins in)
Jay: I think I do have it.
Luke: Where?
Jay (pointing to his heart): In here!
(Everyone laughs)
Tina: Do you take requests during gigs?
Luke: We're not a jukebox. If someone yells "Play Paranoid!" we just might play the first few lines but that's it.
Krista: Would you take part in the Eurovision Song Contest?
Luke: Why not if we'd get to play our own music. I liked Norway's song this year. It was very very good. Lordi isn't really my thing. I mean I do appreciate them and their work, but I'm not a big fan of their music It is wicked how it worked. I always expected KISS to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest when I was younger, until I figured out why they didn't take part in it. I was so sure they would win the whole thing if they did. Well, I kind of proved myself years later because Lordi won.
Krista: What was your favorite team in the World Cup 2006?
Luke: England when we were in England. Sweden played nicely. I was for Italy in the end. The beginning of the World Cup was fun to watch. It got a bit boring in the end.
Tina: If you hadn't gone for a musical career, what else would you have done for a living?
*long silence*
Jay: I don't know.
Luke: I'd probably have ended up doing something at a C.O. company.
Krista & Tina: Okay guys, thanks a lot for this interview!
Luke: Thank you! That was probably the most random interview ever, sorry, I think that's because of us.
***
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