DISKELMÄ interview

shortly before their Euro-tour on which they will visit Croatia,among others, here is interview with Finnish d-beat warriors (Manowar of d-beat, as they call them)..check them out if you already didn't and support them on the gigs at their upcoming tour..besides Croatia they will play also in Italy, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia..
big thanks goes to the guys who answered the questions in just few days as I've send it to them .. that's the spirit!..
okay,enjoy the reading..cheers! 


c.f.: hi! for the beginning introduce yourself to the readers..
Taste: Hi! there. I'm Maku a.k.a Taste and I'm 26years old and I sing. I have a dog but not a job.
TimTim: Hello! I'm Timo, 27 and I play bass.
Murmi: I'm 26 and I play Kerry King solos. Kenkä is our other guitarist. Jaani plays the drums and works at the post office.  
Jaani: yes and I have also dog and cat.  

c.f.: tell us something, in short about beginnings of Diskelma..  

Jaani: we started around 2005, I think, as a 4 of us (Timtim, Maku, Häsper and me) moved to living in Hellsinki about same time. we started to play kings of d-beat and some months later Murmi came as a second guitarist (first demo is made with out Murmi) but we noticed that 2 guitars sounds awesome in this kinda shit so there was no turning back!  
Timtim: Yeah, we started spring 2005 and idea was to play Motörhead influenced d-beat. Well, now it’s 2010 and we are still going on strong and play this crap.

c.f.: what about your releases, what had you released so far?  
Jaani: demo split tape w/ Ristisaatto, first 7", split 7" w/ Distress (from Russia) , Fun is Over lp, Burning Dreams 7" and there is also tape where is our first 7" + bonus songs from that session. and coming up split 7" with POLTTOITSEMURHA from Lapland, Finland, awesome people and awesome band female/male vocals, it will be a killer!

c.f.: Finnish underground scene have many worshipers all around the world..there are/were so many legendary bands..how is today situation, is there many new bands, places for gigs, etc..?  
Taste: haa, i know that you love Finnish hardcore! yap, there's old-bands like Rattus and Terveet Kädet and (ofcourse) Riistetyt still going on, but we have gigs with those guys and I think its quite good, `cause they are "legends",and they are still punx!.and our guitarist (Häsper) is playing also in Kohu-63, who made their first record before I was born. and there's SOOOOO many good bands in Finland nowadays, and really brutal bands like Kylmäsota, SOTATILA, Ydinperhe, Kieltolaki, Tzek dis out! and of course ARMLESS CHILDREN, they play brutalNOISEjapcore like they play in japan!

maybe Timtim tell you more ´about gig places.... there’s Vastavirta (Tampere -owned by punx! really good) and usually gigs in Helsinki are in Lepakkomies (batman in english) quite good bar or squat Satama or "quite squat" Oranssi or some really bad bar, but there's not anymore place like Vuoritalo(squat, really good gig place, FUCK the Hellsinki!)
Timtim: Yeah, Maku already told something about gigplaces. Vastavirta-klubi in Tampere is best place nowadays in Finland. Here in Helsinki was before Vuoritalo, great gig place and there was also rehearsal places for bands and other happenings. It has been evicted some years ago and now there is one squat(Satama), where is sometimes punk gigs. There is also some bars in Helsinki where we can organize gigs...but young people(under 18) can’t come there, you have to buy expensive beer etc. There’s also good gig places in some smaller towns(Jyväskylä, Turku, Pori, Lahti, Oulu, Rovaniemi etc.).

c.f.: how is situation with squatting, are there any squats in helsinki or anywhere in Finland?
Taste: yap, there's squats in Finland, but only in Helsinki and Tampere. I used to live in squat Lauttasaari (or white house in Hellsinki) butbut...things are going bad nowadays...actually I read today (21.4) that 2 squats in Tampere are evicted.

c.f.: what is more important to you, as a band, lyrics or music? And what are your lyrics about?
Jaaani: for me its first music, I don't fucking listen shitty rap music only because good lyrics! but in hardcore punk its almost always good lyrics, straight to your face and naiive but that works!
Murmi: Music for sure, but lyrics can be very important too. I like to read them if I get the impression that they have something meaningful to say.
Taste: yeah, let the guitars say, hah.

c.f.: on some of your releases artwork is done by Doomsday Graphics.. how it comes to colobration with Nesha and you and are you satisfied with his artwork (heheh..what a dumb question – who wouldn't be satisfied with it?!??)
Taste: yeah, stupid question, hah! I know Nesha from Ristisaatto tour (06or07) we were hanging around with Andrea and Nesha...totally fuckn best time in my life, we drink,talk and listen hardcore...hah.and then Sotatila was playing there and Jukkeli (Kämäset Levyt) is also friend of Nesha (he do the artwork also w/Riistetyt/Sotatila and blaablaablaa).. but yap, its doomsday graphics (in Sweden årre tattooed Neshas diskelmä d-beat warrior in his leg) NO FUCKN BULLSHIT!
Jaani: I love the graphics!

c.f.: for a few days you are moving to an euro tour.. what are your expectations from it? Among others you will play in Croatia, as well.. do you know anything about Croatia, do you ever meet any people from here..?
Taste: yap, I have been there with Ristisaatto, its quite brutal country, hah! travel more know more.
Jaani: I know very little about Croatia, it has been part of Yugoslavia. and in war only 2 decades ago, crazy shit! no, I don't know any punk bands from Croatia, but hopely after the tour!
Timtim: I don’t know much about Croatia. I have never been there or any other Balkan countries, so I’m quite excited to see what’s going on there and of course drink some beer with you and other Croatian people .

c.f.: did you had any tours in the past and how are your experiences with them? Is it possible to cover all your expences?
Jaani: we have had 4 tours before this tour, 3 in central europe and one in england. lots of drinking and having fun, awesome gigs and venues, people and food, and of course lots of troubles with car..
Murmi: I don't think we ever cover all expences, something always happens, like cars breaking down or some other unexpected shit. But its not that big deal because you tend to spend less money on living while on tour - free drinks and meals, and almost every country is cheaper than Finland. And if you get to travel around, play gigs and not spend much more than you would at home by doing it, that's enough for me.
Taste: yeah, its better to be poor in tour than poor in home. hah!

c.f.: what does the members of a band do beside Diskelma? Do they play in some other bands? And what do you do for the living, I think, do you have any jobs, etc?
Taste: yap, I was telling you before that i also "play or sing" in Ristisaatto, its somekind of noisecore? and I sing also in Autuus? I don't have anymore job, soo I'm quite poor , but money isn't my thing, if I have something to eat and drink I'm fine.
Jaani: I play also with Taste in Autuus, its 82 style scandinavian hardcore! and me and two fiends started a label called worst-case scenario, we have released only one record yet KANSALAISTOTTELEMATTOMUUS - SOTA POLIISIA VASTAAN 7" but we have lots of plans, when the time and money is not that big problem! check out the distro also we have some killer records there for example diskelmä! www.worstcasescenario.fi
Murmi: Guitar in FORESEEN, which plays late 80's metallic NY hardcore style. We have a 7" coming in late summer. Besides bands I study and try to keep myself in shape at least a bit.
Timtim: I don’t have job either, but I’m doing fine. Government pays my rent and and they give me some money for food and booze. Anyway, I’m trying to get study next autumn…which would be nice.

c.f.: your opinion about free downloading music from the net? Do you have anything against people which are posting your releases on their mp3 blogs for downloading?
Taste: hmm...I like vinyls and caset but who cares? I'm glad that if somebody want to listen our stuff they can download it. I don't know, i don't do dis for money. you're free to download our lp here, if you want or if you want buy it buy
http://www.myspace.com/mptrecords
we´re aint no fuckn metallica, our music is free to download or buy. I´m really bad with computers, so don't ask me.
Murmi: I don't mind people downloading. That way more people can hear your music, and who really expects to make money with this kind of music anyway? On the other hand I try not to download much stuff that I really like myself. Not because of moral reasons, but because I like vinyls and I like to have the artwork and lyrics too, if they're good. Also that way I think you pay more attention to the music than if you were just listening to it from your computer.

c.f.: besides already mentioned euro tour, do you have any future plans?
Taste: no hope, no future. system kills.
Jaani: same.
Murmi: Do another album early next year, then another tour. And so on until it gets boring.

c.f.: something for the end, maybe I didn't ask something and you would like to add..?
Taste: THANK YOU!
Jaani: thanks mate and see you in crouaitia!
Murmi: Thanks, lets just hope Iceland stops spewing ash into our airspace so we can get there.
Timtim: Thanks man!

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