finnbands: You call your music Broadway Rock...
Muff: Hmmm.
finnbands: ... and we know, Broadway is in New York....
Muff: Yes!
finnbands: ... and now we are in Helsinki. So if you had to decide between New York, Helsinki and Hamburg (were I live near to and you told me before that you've been there) which city would you choose?
Tikka: Oh that really depends what you are going to do in the city.
Muff: I actually going to New York in March.
Tikka: Well, we'll stick to Helsinki coz this is home.
Muff: This is home.
Tikka: Our friends and families are here. I like it here. I don't like other cities.
everybody laughing
finnbands: When you compare Superstate to your two previous albums, what would you say has changed in your music?
Muff: Pretty much everything!
Tikka: It's more focused now and the arrangements are better. But I mean that comes when you practise and play a lot. You start thinking in different ways about the music.
Muff: But of course we recorded Superstate last February. So it's almost a year ago. And we are really excited about the new material now.
Tikka: One huge difference is that superstate is recorded live.
Muff: Yeah, we were all four in the same room playing at the same time.
Tikka: You know basically what a band should be able to do. Not like other bands that cut and paste everything and they don't play live. They suck and don't kick ass.
finnbands: Before you started with the recording sessions you got a new bass player.
Muff: Yeah!
finnbands: How did you find him?
Muff: Well, we had... I don't know how many bass players. *laughs* Actually we tried Ilari to join when we made the second album but he didn't have the time. So now we really needed a filling bass player. He played one gig and then he kind of stuck. You know... We tricked him into joining the band. But he is great! And he actually can play.
Tikka: I mean... This ain't a walk in the park... So he needs to be focused. I mean the music is the most important. All the other rock'n'roll excesses are bonus on the side.
Muff: Yeah, you know the activities beyond everybody does have.
Tikka: If you are playing well and you are not a shmock then that's a good thing.
finnbands: And how did the fans react when you were on stage with him for the first time?
Tikka: You know, he is a pro so he takes the audience by storms.
Muff: Yeah, I mean of course as you know some always cry a week "why did you fire the other bass player, he was my favourite". But pretty quickly they forget about it. I mean, the most important thing is that the band is great and that we continue it.
Tikka: And one has to remember that a band is a bit like a relationship and if the chemistry isn't there I think there is no idea in continuing playing.
Muff: Yeah, but now everything is good.
Tikka: The people will notice that at some point. And if you are faking that's just stupid.
It's bit like faking an orgasm. It's ok once or twice but if you make a pattern out of that...
everybody laughing and everybody talking at the same time
finnbands: "No one's Perfect" was released in summer and the second single "Scream" was released almost with the album I think...
Muff: Yeah, I think so. I think there is no real date because we have a weird record label.
finnbands: Do you know about the release of another single?
Muff: Properly when the album comes out in other countries during the spring, yes.
Muff and Tikka: In Finland: no!
finnbands: Coz there is no market for singles here....
Muff: No, not the market. I mean, this year the singles... You know, the people who buy singles... the percent gets down like 60%. And I mean, the whole music business, the record labels are giving up, they don't know what to do. I think in 50 years there won't be any music business anymore. It's a pity but that's reality.
Tikka: All the people download and buy their singles in the net.
Muff: So it's pretty much for radio nowadays. I mean, a lot of record stores in Finland don't even sell singles.
finnbands: And I heard "Superstate" should be released in Japan?
Muff: Yeah, but no. They are negotiating but nothing to confirm yet. It will be only Russia in February or March. That's what we know.
Tikka: It's a tricky business overall. You get a lot of promises. But promises and reality are two totally different things. And the only thing we can do is focus on the band and play. And then it's up to other people.
finnbands: And you don't know about more other countries as Russia?
Tikka: Yeah, they are negotiating. But I mean, one thing that I learned is that you can't believe in anything before it's already over. Because...
Muff: Yeah, but good things will come! We signed a huge publishing deal already with Air Chrysalis. So that's gonna be great and they are backing us. It's alright. We are still on the way to world domination.
finnbands: Why did you call your band "Naked"? I think it's impossible to google and google rules the world nowadays.
Muff: I think that is not the main point *laughs* We are not the only band that you can't google. But that's great obviously coz people have found us! They put in some effort!
We wanted a simple name that you can pronounce in basically any language and that everybody knows what it means and what ...
Shall I be naked?
And KISS, you know... So that's what I am really into. You know blah blah blah.
finnbands: In your song "Feast like a king" you have the line "A cuba libre on a sunny beach".
Muff: Yeah! *smiles*
finnbands: Which drink would you prefer in pre-christmas Helsinki today?
Muff: With that line.... I changed departments and in my old flat I had this wallpaper, this huge wallpaper with a sunny beach and palm trees and this stuff. And I had a bar there. It was called The Vice Club. And I was actually drinking that drink when I wrote that line. So that's were it's from.
Tikka: It's kind of a metaphor of sitting here and having a beer...
Muff: You know, in January I'd like to be on a sunny beach with real sand between your toes. Of course I could have put the sand on the floor but that would have been stupid. But yeah, the drink, I don't know. I'll stick to beer so I can get drunk on that! *laughs*
finnbands: You've been to Russia last week...
Muff: Yeah, I still feel it in my bones...
finnbands: How has it been?
Muff: Very good! Do you remember anything? *asking Tikka*
everybody laughing
Tikka: Well, good gig, good audience...
Muff: Friendly people...
Tikka: Friendly people and good new contacts. So we are scheduled for going there in spring and this time to Moscow as well.
Muff: Yeah. We stayed there for three days and we also went to New York Dolls gig and we had a great time. We checked the sights. Well some of us did.
And yeah, a great gig and ... And a great party after that. It was marvelous. And then we continued the party to Helsinki.
Tikka: On the train.
Muff: For the huge amusement of the other passengers.
everybody laughing
Muff: Yeah, it was great. A fantastic place.
finnbands: When you were a child, did you already know that you want to found a band later?
Muff: Yeah! There was a thing... Tikka gave me some KISS record when I was four years old and I listened to KISS for twelve years only. When I was 16 I decided to check out other bands as well. But yeah. I always knew. I am not a nine to five guy. And Tikka can adopt to that as well.
The music choose us, we didn't choose the music.
finnbands: The next is a little girly question about your hair style. What do you do with your hair?
Muff: I put my fingers in the socket!
everybody laughing
Muff: Well I think I am single handed....
Tikka: He is responsible for the huge ozon hole!
Muff: All the birds where I live die. I voluminize my hair with a lot of hairspray.
finnbands: How long do you need?
Muff: It depends. I can do it in 15 minutes or I can do it in two hours. You know, I take my time. Sometimes you have bad hair days and then it takes longer.
Some day I will cut off all my hair.
finnbands: Really?
Muff: Yeah!
finnbands: That would become cold! *smiles and knows how cold it becomes since she cut a lot of hair not too long ago*
Muff: Yeah, but then I can wear a hat!
everybody laughing
Muff: I can sleep everywhere, I can put my hat down... It's a drag, but it's part of the show. It's great fun.
finnbands: Do you do it every day?
Muff: I used to do it every day. Then I run low on cash *laughs*. Yeah, pretty often! 50/50. Depends if I am going somewhere. If I am at home of course I won't dress up and play musician. *laughs*
That wasn't too girly! *smiles* That was alright! Kinky but alright!
finnbands: Imagine you could be invisible for one day whom would you stalk?
Muff: A bank!
Tikka: We will thief money bags and carry them out of the front door!
Muff: Maybe I would spent the day doing jokes on people. Or go to a crowdy bar and start some fights. Visiting the local mall and ....
finnbands: How will you spent christmas?
Tikka: At my place! Have some food and some beverages, play Santa Clause. I don't know!
Muff: It will be great!
Tikka: I mean, Christmas is one of those holidays I really want to relax. And it's the first time like two or three years we don't have a gig in like one or two days after Christmas.
Muff: It's great.
Tikka: We will have booze and drinks, taking it easy and being in this holiday spirit. Playing some carols.
finnbands: And will you have a christmas tree?
Muff: Of course!
Tikka: Definitely! Every year! And I usually have the huge ones that fill up my whole living room. No Finnish trees though, I think they are from Belgium.
finnbands: Since we are almost at the end I'd like to play a little word game with you.
Muff: Alright!
finnbands: I'll say a word and you say what comes into your mind!
The first word is sex.
Tikka: Fun!
Muff: Ride on.... *laughs*
finnbands: Drugs...
Muff: No!
Tikka: Drugs are bad!
Muff: Mr Mackey!
Tikka: Mr Mackey is the teacher in Southpark. "Drugs are bad!"
finnbands: Rock'n'Roll?
Muff: Thumbs up!
Tikka: Yeah!
Muff: Yeah? *laughs*
finnbands: When you have to decide between these, which would you choose?
Muff: Rock.
Tikka: It's hard to choose between sex and rock but I think I'd choose rock because then you get sex. *laughs*
Muff: *laughs* Yeah, on the side! Definitely music!
Tikka: Rock'n'Roll is the main cause and sex is properly the deserve.
Muff: You know, if I'd had sex all day it would be boring. But that doesn't happen when you play music!
Muff: That's been all of your question?
Niina: Yes! :(
Muff: Come on, ask a couple of more!
Lilianna: The invisible question: I would walk around naked all day. Would you do the same?
Muff: Yeah!
Lilianna: Because no one could see you!
Muff: I mean if it is like minus 20 or as cold as it is right now
editor's note: it was about minus 2 or something
Tikka: But in summer time in this country people use to go to the country side and strip there.
Muff: That's what I do!
Zack and I are having this legendary fishing trips what we are having like for about eight years. We are going to the country side with a huge amount of beverages. And basicly stripping down at the half of the day during fishing .... and gay sauna and stuff.
Tikka: But I think that people in Finland have a quite healthy attitude when it comes to nudity because of the whole sauna culture.
this continues for a longer time now and there might been some more interesting stuff on the video we took in the end of the interview after the voice recorder was full... but this video had an bad accident and I am sorry but I really don't remember anything more of what we talked....
Just to come to an end, here is little joke The Muff told:
Muff: How do you find the blind guy at the nudist colony?
It's not hard.
So many thanks to Tikka and Muff! We had some fun and some interesting talks. Thank you for taking time, thanks to us for being spontaneous for doing this interview without a gig and not doing the interview with the band instead that we saw that evening later in concert...
and kick some promoters to moon or so :)
See you hopefully soon again!
www.nakedonline.net
Helsinki ~ 13. December 2007
Interview by Niina und Lilianna © finnbands.com