Creamstar

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Music
Interview : Kalle from "Creamstar"

When and how was your band created?
The pre-historical version of the band was created by the late-adolescent Teemu, Tuukka and Eero back in the good old nineties. The music at that time was a perverse mixture of progressive funk, rock and psychedelic lyrics.
Since Hannah joined, the music has growned a bit simpler and calmer and maybe a bit more melodic. I joined the band about 3 years ago and the band's average IQ has fallen dramatically ever since..

Were is the name of the band coming from?
It actually originates in the french language. The phrase: Creme de la creme (probably misspelled) with a touch of pure Hollywood starshine!! No, seriously, we just wanted to come as close as possible to the fantastic finnish band called The Crash on all sort of band-lists.

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life/work?
It would be completely wrong and shameful to play in a pop-band and not mention The Beatles...though it's quite obvious..Our taste in music within the band varies quite a lot; Tuukka (the drummer) likes jazz and black music in general, Eero (bass) is a simple music lover with a special taste for Zappa, Teemu (guitar) listens to anything that's trendy, Hannah loves singer/songwriter-stuff and I myself listen to the radio.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician / singer (in Finland)?
One of the good sides (call me naive) is that to me it seems like there is a kind of sincerety about the musicmaking here. Maybe it's because there really is'nt that much money to make in the finnish music scene.
Which also is the negative aspect...at least one of them.

How could you qualify your style of music?
I'm not sure I understand the question right, but if it means how i'd characterize our style, I would have to quote a nice newspaperman, who said we sound a bit like "Ajetaan me Tandemilla" with a touch of slavic melancholy.

Have you ever considered the possibilty to change totally your style of music? If so, what style of music would you choose?
I think we're too lazy for that.

What are stories/topics you tell/treat in your songs?
Since we live up north, where the evils of the world seem so distant, we mainly sing about the only problems we have; Love, loneliness and getting throwed through glass-doors.

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
Mine, for the moment, is "Out of here". The guitar-riff in the beginning makes my hair stand on end..

Do you tour regularly? Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
There are two sides to every story..At the moment, I would love nothing more than to tour with the band, preferably the world and maybe beyond..But of course, the comforts of a studio like Petrax (silence, sauna and sound) are enough to make one think about retiring from the concert circles.

During the process of making an album, what is the moment that you prefer?
Since we'we only made one album so far, I would have to say: When I got the finished album in my hand, finally!!!!

Why?
I guess I'm an egomaniac.

What kind of music / What artists do you currently listen?
I listen quite a lot to finnish bands at the moment. Bands like Cosmo Jones Beat Machine, Sweatmaster and such.

A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song? Why?
It's not a stupid question but an incredibly hard one...impossible even. But I'll boldly answer, with the risk of being ridiculed: Jethro Tull: "The cold wind to Walhalla." It's got everything. No, seriously, it just brings me such memories and feelings, non of which actually have so much to do with the music in itself, that I can't listen to it objectively. Therefore it must be the best song I've ever heard.

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?
The internet, like the globalisation in general, has its down- and upsides. What would be greater than all of us getting united in a feast of free music and love and so on...but still, I want to get some compensation for all the work I've done, call me a materialist...I think it should be up to the band or artist in question to deside whether or not he/she/it wants to let the material be spread at no cost...Maybe Microsoft could organize this copyright problem, since it's widely responsible for unleashing the mighty monster of internet.

Do you use computers or home studios during the process of making an album or a song?
When making songs I use a small tape-recorder and my voice and a guitar. But the recordings are mainly made with digital equipment.

What are your actual and future projects?
We are currently waiting for the gold-records that should come our way any minute now, any minute.

Interview 2003 - by Vincent Lefrançois