Jermaine

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Interview : Pete from Jermaine

When and how was your band created?
Jermaine was founded approximately two years ago. The Petes and Tuomasstarted jamming together back in 2003, but when Antti joined the band in the beginning of 2004, Jermaine became a real band.

Where is the name of the band coming from?
There's nothing special in the name. We wanted a short name, which would both look and sound good. By the way, Michael Jackson has a younger brother called Jermaine :)

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
I think the reason for forming Jermaine in the first place was us to have a band, which we could steer into any direction we wanted. I remember that back in 2003 we listened a lot of stuff like At The Drive-In and Glassjaw which were and still are big influences, but I don't think that either of them can be spotted out directly from Jermaine's music today.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
The positive aspect is that it's quite easy to have your music heard around the country, thanks to free mp3's and various webzines. I think that because of the success of bands such as Disco Ensemble and Lapko, the Finnish mainstream audience has become interested in alternative and indie music. The downside is that due to the small population, the scene is really small. You can tour your ass off, but at some point you won't gain any new listeners. That's why Finnish bands, especially punk rock groups, head to Europe relatively soon. I remember that in the end of last millenium, if you ever dreamed of success in the States or UK, everyone would've thought you were out of your mind. Now we have HIM, Nightwish and The Rasmus, which finally are putting Finland in the map of music industry.

How could you define your style of music?
"Emotional rock". I know that the word "emo" has a bad echo nowadays, but it's still the best adjective to describe Jermaine. Our songs aren't about break-ups or stabbing your heart with rusty knife, though. There are other emotions besides crying in your room while writing poems about how everything is black, you know. We're a bunch nice guys who are happy with our lives. That's what we try to express in our music; Gratitude and optimism.

During the years how has your musical style changed?
Comparing to our first demo, our new material is more compact and dynamic. We try to write as different songs as possible, because our sound is so recognizable. If we wrote only catchy pop-punk tunes, we would bore even ourselves.

How do explain these changes?
We have become more and more aware of our strengths and weaknesses. We are very self-critical, and that drives us crazy every now and then, but that is the only way for us to operate. When we write new songs, there has to be something special in each song. If not, then you'll find it in the trash can of our rehearsal space.

What are topics you treat in your songs?
I, as the writer, can honestly say that I don't have a clear vision or dogma, by which I write the lyrics. I try to use lot of symbols, and be as non-direct as possible, but there's no solid theme the lyrics are based on. Usually the titles point out the "message" or "key" in each song.

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
Well, I dare to speak on behalf of the whole band when I say that our upcoming new single, "The Snipers" is a song we're all very proud of. It combines solid bass line with aerial guitars and it has a catchy chorus, too :)

Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
Live, definetly. By the time we enter the studio, the songs are already in their final form, so there's no creative point of view or anything like that. When playing these songs live, there's more room to mess with them. I'm looking forward
to work with our producer, Antto Tuomainen, in the studio. I know he has strong opinions and visions and hope he'll get the best of us.

During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
The moment we all smile at the same time and realize we've done a good job. After that, we usually head to local fast-food restaurant to congratulate ourselves.

What is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song?
I can't really say. There is one though, which makes me shiver everytime I hear it. It's "When One Eight Becomes Two Zeros" by Glassjaw. Absolutely amazing.

What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
I really don't see the downside. People say that because of the mp3's and p2p -filesharing, people stop buying records, but it's the other way round. Last year, in Europe and the US music industry made bigger profits than anyone could have imagined. The thing I don't like, or should I say, don't understand, is iTunes or any other webservice, which people use to BUY mp3's, though. To me, mp3's are teasers or lookalikes of the real record, I would never pay for lousy mp3's. For a small independent band, portals such as PureVolume and MySpace are irreplaceable, and for example, if we didn't have the internet, we wouldn't be doing this interview.

What are your projects?
You mean besides Jermaine? I work on my solo stuff, which is a singer-songwriter kinda thing. I have lots of good songs, but I don't know if I'll ever do anything with them. Antti plays guitar in a metalcore band called Blood in our Hands, but as far as I'm concerned, Pete V. and Tuomas don't have any side projects.

What "image" do you have of French music?
I don't know any rock bands from France, but mainly because of artists like Air, Jarre and Daft Punk, I think that innovation and experimental stuff are typical for French music.

Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
"Moon Safari" by Air is one of the greatest electronic records I've heard. I can't point out one song from it, though, sorry about that.

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2006