[  WWW.FINPOP.NET  ]

     THE  FINNISH POP  CULTURE PORTAL

| Home | | Music | | Interviews | | Culture | | Society | | Media | | Going out | | Tourism |

Music Interview : The Sugarrush   When and how was your band created? Our band was created the moment the three of us were born, unfortunately we didn't find each other until a bit later, but from there on, it was clear we had been brought to this world to ROCK... Where is the name of the band coming from? There IS a story behind it, but let's just say that we are called The Sugarrush 'cause we are sweet and hyper... What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work? Ooh, the dreaded question about the influences... When questioned that, we like to refer to our Holy Trinity: The Posies, Weezer and Teenage Fanclub. Of course there are a LOT of other bands/artists we like and who have influenced us... What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland? Well, the question is kind of misleading, 'cause I think none of us think of ourselves as MUSICIANS, we're rockers, and there's a big difference... But on to the actual question, positive aspects, hmm... Well I guess the "scene" if you could call it that it pretty small and tight-knit, it's easy to know everybody involved. The most negative aspect is that we are so darn few and widely spread in this country of ours, there aren't that many places to play and if you happen exist outside the current mainstream, the audience you'll reach isn't too big. How could you define your style of music? By taking the easy way out and saying: Power-Pop. Loud guitars, sweet melodies, lots of sweat and rocking on stage... During the years how has your musical style changed? ...changed? I don't think our style has changed a bit! OK, nowadays we may write the occasional song that is almost four minutes long, as opposed to the usual two-to-thre minute ones, I guess that counts as a slight change in style. How do explain these changes? ...or the lack thereof? Plain stupidity, I think, combined with the fact that this is the only way we CAN play. We're rockers, not musicians, mind you! What are topics you treat in your songs? Umm... Girls? What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why? That's a tough one, it kind of depends on the situation... At the moment I think my personal favorite is a not-yet-recorded newish ditty called "Yeah" in lack of a better title. (And no, it's not an Usher cover) Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio? They're totally differen't kinds of beasts, gigs and studiosessions, and I don't actually prefer one over the other. Studio is great fun, getting to play around with different instruments and overdubs and occasionally singing in tune... But live gigs, rocking out with sweat and saliva flying and having an audience respond to what you do is equally great. During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer? That magical first time when the three of us play a new song and it just CLICKS. Getting the arrangement right, singing the right harmony lines, everythings just falls into place during those magical moments. A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song? Not a stupid question, but impossible to answer! Today I'd like to say "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes, but as it's only MY favorite, and the other two would probably kill me if tey saw that printed, I'll go with "Please Return It" by The Posies What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet? Here we go again, you calling me a musician... Internet can be great for smaller bands like ourselves to network and gain new fans in places we've never been, via MySpace etc., and I think we haven't seen nearly all the potential the Internet can have in that kind of activities. On the other hand, the reason the Internet has a bad name in the music industry, P2P- networks and piracy, I dislike. They contribute to smaller bands not getting record deals, not getting airplay because they haven't got record deals etc. etc. Stealing somebody's work is stealing somebody's work, whether they work as musicians, plumbers or car salesmen... What are your projects ? Our projects? We're preparing our third full-length album, it's supposed to be recorded during spring/summer and then there's our first ever trip to England, where we'll play the International Pop Overthrow- festival in Liverpool. That's as far as we've got it planned... What "image" do you have of French music? Close to none, I'm afraid... I remember hearing MC Solaar tunes before the recent wave of finnish rappers became popular, and thinking that rapping in your native tongue seemed like a good idea. Ther were also a couple of "Les Negresses Vertes" albums I liked mid-nineties, I wonder what those would sound like today? I have to look through my old cassettes... Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it? "Joe Le Taxi", by Vanessa Paradis, cause it's catchy as hell, and she's hot! Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2006

Copyright © Finpop.net. All rights reserved. Edited and Published by Vincent Lefrançois.