20 Questions: Kevin
Kevin are back and this time with a vengence... sweet pop rock vengence that is! I've been a fan of this fine Finnish pop rock combo since I had heard their song "Motorways" on mp3.com quite a while back. They has just released their first EP "You can call me Kev" at the time and I instantly loved it. Not long after that they released a catchy follow-up mini-album called "The sounds your eyes can follow" in 2002. All the members of Kevin have been in and around the Finnish music scene for quite a while with various bands and have clearly made a path for themselves in Finland with their action-packed, high energy live shows. They have worked hard at their craft for quite a while and, with their impressive debut full-length "We come in peace" released at the end of 2004, they're going places. The album is a carefully crafted piece of catchy pop-rock filled with songs that will surely entertain quite a few musical enthusiasts. It has everything a good album needs: catchy, well crafted tunes and tons of energy and fun. Kevin's debut music video "Theme From Forever" (directed by Finn Andersson) has also garnered them lots of interest on MTV Nordic and MTV3. I asked them "20 questions" and here are the answers... read, look, listen and enjoy... here is Kevin and they come in musical peace:
01. Where does Kevin come from? name? concept? meaning if any?
Ville: Kevin is a little boy that lives inside us. He likes pranks and soccer.
Jussi: We all have the same dad, but a different mother. Our dad's name is Kevin.
Antti: I woke up one morning and just wanted to play in a band called Kevin.
Finn: I was forced to play in the band.
02. Do you prefer to be described as indie pop or rock?
Ville: Jussi is a bit unconfortable with the word indie. He doesn't want to have anything to do with it. I understand him but then again, that's what we are to a lot of people. Old school rockers still see us as a pop band and to most indiepop kids we're rock. So please tell us what we are! Maybe we're garage pop? It depends who you're asking.
Jussi: Call us anything else than indie.
Antti: I don't prefer.
Finn: Both are good. Everyone can make their own judgements.
03. What finnish bands have most influenced you?
Ville: To be honest, there are no Finnish bands to have done so, at least not consciously. We're into a lot of Finnish stuff though.
Jussi: Not many. Possibly the Flaming Sideburns as a live playing influence. Rättö and Lehtisalo as a psychedelic influence.
Antti: None.
Finn: None.
04. What band (outside of Finland) would you all agree is a big influence on the band?
Antti: I don't know if there's a band we all agree.
Jussi: The Beach Boys. The Velvet Underground.
Ville and Finn: The Who.
05. Besides music what influenced the band to start making music? movies? books? media? sex???
Ville: None of these, I'm afraid. In Kevin's case it was the best pastime that we could think of at the time. Plus we had other bands and we needed a breath of fresh air outside of those. Or maybe foul air...?
Jussi: I remember watching the "Duran Duran Arena Live" video with my little sister back in 1984 and thinking how cool it would be to be in a rock band. I watched Andy and John Taylor doing their moves onstage over and over again and imitated them in front of a mirror with a tennis racquet as a guitar. That must've been one of the first major influences.
Antti: The joy of playing and making music.
Finn: We've all been into music for so long that I guess we can't live without playing in a band anymore.
06. What movie would best describe Kevin if you had to pick one?
Ville: That's a real tough one. But I have to say Head, the funny and psychedelic film starring The Monkees. It destroyed their career.
Jussi: Big Lebowski.
Antti: Dr. Strangelove.
Finn: Dig! (hilarious documentary starring the Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols).
07. Why did you choose to sing in English? Is it popular in Finland to sing in your native tongue nowadays? Why not sing in Finnish? Did you make a conscious decision to sing in English or was it the natural decision?
Ville: All members of Kevin have grown into an English-speaking pop culture. It was a most natural thing for us to do this in English. But these days more and more young Finnish songwriters that are into English or American alternative pop and rock have found a courage to write in Finnish, even though the lyrics wouldn't be so memorable. And that's a good thing.
Jussi: It's pretty simple. There are 6 billion people in the world, and 5 million of those understand Finnish. Just do the math.
Antti: It sounds better.
Finn: We've been listening to English rock/pop music our whole lives, so it's natural.
08. How has technology influenced the band?
Jussi: The Internet is a big thing. Having our own website and being able to be in contact with people around the world in almost real-time is definite plus.
Antti: Not much.
Ville: Not to a great extent. We're pretty old school.
Finn: We love it though we're not using it.
09. Do you prefer analog or digital? for recording, gear and aesthetics?
Jussi: For gear and aesthetics, definitely analog. The sound, the looks, the feeling. There's a certain vibe in actual particles moving, compared to just ones and zeros. Recording-wise, we're not anti-digital, but given the choice, we'll go analog.
Ville: Analog is the real deal. There was somebody who wrote about Kevin in an otherwise flattering album review that "this could've been done with a modern sound but Kevin chose to be one of these funny retro bands". That's bollocks. The music would not sound the same that way.
Antti: Analog.
Finn: Combined.
01. How does Kevin fit into the Finnish music scene? Do you fit in? Are you considered underground or outsiders?
Ville: Well, we have quite a few fans. And the record got good reviews, in some cases really enthusiastic ones. But I guess we'll always be outsiders in a way. The annual polls in the Finnish rock mags have just come out and they indicate that style-wise we could not be further away from what the bulk of the readers thinks is good.
Jussi: We're definitely underground, which of course makes us feel outsiders sometimes. We fit in, though; I think we have a unique thing going on.
Antti: We fit in well, considering we're underground.
Finn: The girls love us.
11. What are the other cool bands in Finland these days? Bands that you play with or that you love that are making music these days?
Jussi: Liekki are the greatest. They're really onto something special. Such gifted musicians. Then there are bands like Rättö and Lehtisalo, Sister Flo, And the Lefthanded... there's room for more good bands, though.
Ville: Liekki are the best. Unfortunately they sing in Finnish. 22-Pistepirkko, The Hypnomen, Flaming Sideburns... all good.
Antti: Yep.
Finn: ...and Flannelmouth.
12. Describe an average Kevin fan:
Ville: I'd like to imagine that it's someone who likes bands that have fun playing. People that are into melancholic, long-faced music will not like us. Many of those who say we're the best band in Finland are heavily into 60's stuff. Obviously. A lot of girls come to see our gigs. Me likee.
Jussi: I'm hoping: a good-looking girl with brains and good taste in music.
Antti: ...and boys.
Finn: Those who have seen us live.
14. How does art affect your daily lives, if at all?
Antti: It doesn't.
Ville: Well, it affects mine since I've got a day job working for art museums. And I go to see quite a lot of exhibitions. Otherwise... we like good movies. But pop culture affects a helluva lot more.
Jussi: It does a lot. I read and write fiction and poetry. Visual arts and aesthetics are important. Architecture and interior design affect me every day.
Finn: 24/7.
15. If you would describe the band in only 3 words (no more no less) what three words would would they be?
Antti: In doubt, roll!
Ville: Rock And Roll.
Jussi: Music comes first.
Finn: Roll with it.
16. In your opinion who would be the most famous Finnish person? (alive or dead) musical or non musical.
Jussi: Jari Litmanen.
Ville: I'm very proud of our female president, Tarja Halonen. This comes from someone who's not patriotic at all.
Antti: Urho Kaleva Kekkonen.
Finn: Mikael Agricola (1510-1557)
17. What is the coolest places in Finland that most Finnish people don't know about?
Ville: I've been to a natural preserve that was the most beautiful, quietest place I've ever been to. Most people still don't know about Moskova-baari, Moscow Bar. A really cool bar in Helsinki owned by the greatest Finnish film director, Aki Kaurismaki.
Jussi: The bars in Kallio, Helsinki, which open at 9 am.
Antti: Frisbee-golf courses.
Finn: The Archipelago.
18. What does the future hold for Kevin? videos? another record?
Ville: This spring it looks like we're gonna put out a seven-inch including a song from the album, "The Roster Strikes Back". On the flip there'll be "O.W.B." that's a left-over from the album sessions. A really good one, too. We've agreed to put the second album out in spring '06. No idea who with.
Antti: More debt.
Jussi: Drugs, groupies and smashed-up hotel rooms.
Finn: More of everything.
19. What do you think of when you think of Canada?
Ville: I think of Conan O'Brien making fun of Canada!
Jussi: A lot. New Brunswick. I lived in N.B. for a year in the 80's. My dad was working for a pulp and paper mill in Newcastle. Fun times. Really had a profound effect in my life.
Antti: Red uniforms and Monty Python.
Finn: Grizzly bears.
20. Since I'm French I have one last little question: what would be your favorite French word or phrase?
Ville: Jolie poitrine! Har har.
Jussi: Menage a trois.
Antti: Merde!
Finn: Je t‘aime
Official website: http://www.kevin.tc/
.:About the author:
Marc Xavier Leblanc... aka Bones is a photographer, freelance reporter, promoter, self-professed Scandinavian fanatic, DJ and host of his own radio show called (((la photo sonore)))... at CKUM Radio J 93.5fm... in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. he's also co-hosted and hosted shows on Radio Canada and CBC Radio 3 over the Canadian radio airwaves. This is the first installment of his new "20 questions" feature on IAT.
Contact:
laphoto@hotmail.com
http://www.lomohomes.com/laphoto