When and how was your band created?
The year was 1994. We started to play on our litle home village Noormarkku, near Pori. Everybody knew each other from the school and there wasn`t too many musicians so we ended up playing together and form a band. From the first tune the idea was to play our own songs instead of cover versions. We started to play gigs and got our source of inspiration from bands like Guns n`roses, old black sabbath, U2 and Nirvana. There were no intention to become anythig or to get anywhere, The idea was just to have fun.

Were is the name of the band coming from?
The name comes from idea of a couple, male and female, both in a world that is a zoo for them!

World is just a big zoo for humans..got it?!..we felt like we need a name that dosen`t close us to any genre-prison, under this name we can be musically whatever!

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
First real influence to me was Guns n`roses. “You could be mine” was THE SONG and that is why I started to play the guitar and compose my own songs. I realised pretty soon that I`m not going to be Slash no matter how hard I`d try Soon after this I found U2. There we`re something seriously cool about Edges delayed guitars and melodies. Still is! Next big thing after these bands was Nirvana. One thing that I learned from this band was that you don`t have to say fuck in order to sound hard! That was a very important lesson to me.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician / singer (in Finland)?
Negative…taxes! I have no experience of other countries so I can`t compare..Second negative thing is that this country is quite small, so there really isn`t too many gig places. After some time you will find yourself playing in the same place again! Positive side of being a musician in Finland is that there`s a lot summertime festivals, a lot of opportunities to do gigs.

How could you qualify your style of music?
Our music is Pop/Rock based music spiced with finnish longing. Allthought, we`re not despered or sad all the time it tends to come up in our music. I think we sound like if U2 and Paradise Lost were put together and they would perform a song..!

Have you ever considered the possibilty to change totally your style of music? If so, what style of music would you choose?
I haven`t considered, but if ..I would choose to do music for other artists like Madonna or Laura Pausini. I actually think that some of my songs would fit them. The music would be somethig between Prodigy and Italian ballads!

What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
My topics are usually love and relationships with longing or without it. I`m sure there would be plenty of topics to write about, I just get the best kicks about these. I don`t want to write songs about something that I absolutely know nothing! Stories about old castles, dragons and knights are not for me!

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
My favorite…at the moment I`m really satisfied to our set list. I don`t think that some songs are somehow less favorite than others, If that was the case I would not perform them!

Do you tour regularly? Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
We do gigs but we can`t really say we`ve toured yet. We`re absolutely a live band! Live gigs are the reason to our exsistance. We don`t hate to be in studio, it`s cool to see how songs take their final form and become what they are, but on gigs there is allways ready songs, all you have to do is just play them and kick ass!

During the process of making an album, what is the moment that you prefer?
I prefer the first time when I hear the song when it`s ready. It`s all there, the work that you`ve done. It`s a relief, it`s somehow more “official” when it`s recorded. You can`t change anything after it, so you can move on and start to shape the next song.

What kind of music / What artists do you currently listen?
Lately I`ve been listening to Q.O.T.S.A, Weeping Willows, Hellacopters, Cardicans, Coldplay and U2. I tend to listen a lot of music, it dosen`t matter what genre they represent. All good songs are good songs for me!

A stupid question but… what is among all the songs you’ve been listening in your life the BEST song? Why?
It has to be Guns n`roses “You could be mine” couse that`s the reason why I started to play, but I have to mention that right now I think a live version of “Please” from U2 is the greatest song on earth. Edges killer guitars, Bonos lyrics, Adams bass and Larrys drums…the whole package just works! Plus the big ideology behind it. These two are both best songs for me!

Internet is something interesting for musicians because it gives them the opportunity to touch a larger audience but it is also a threat for them (regarding the copyrights). What is your opinion regarding this medium?
I think litle bands like us don`t mind at all about this threat. But I do underestand that It`s different when things get heavy and recordcompany is on your back if the record doesn`t sell inaf! Then there is no money to do the next album and the band gets all the shit. So, I buy my records, partly becouse I want the whole package with it`s cover art, but what everybody else does is their business.

What are your actual and future projects?
Right now we`re planning a video for our next single whitch is called “Forever”. It`s going to be released on April. We do some gigs in Finland. Hopefully some day we`ll be able to come to check out France too! We`re also trying to get our websites updated to English version. Check out! www.zoo42.net