There must be something that makes Lord of the Dark Lauri Rasmus crack a smile, so we decided to find out what it was...
TOTP: What's your idea of the best time that you could ever have ever?
Lauri: [Thinks] It's hard to say, but I've had a really, really nice time this summer with my friends. I have a summer place, and I've taken some of my friends with me. We drive from Helsinki for a couple of hours to this place by a lake. It's beautiful. It has a little private beach, and we have a grill on the beach and we can swim and go fishing and row in a boat. It's very typical Finnish. That's been really nice. It's very relaxing. I grew up in these kind of surroundings, and for me I could easily go back to those innocent days when I was a child. It just relaxes me the most.
TOTP: When was the last time that you cried laughing at something?
Lauri: I think it was yesterday. We had a huge hangover yesterday, we had an album release party and everyone had a huge hangover at our studio. We were talking bulls*** and everyone was kind of emotional and half-asleep. So we were all laughing like hell yesterday.
TOTP: Does anyone in the band play practical jokes on anyone else?
Lauri: I think we do that all the time! I think Eero, the bass player, he's the worst. Also, he's the master of bad jokes. Actually, we are collecting his bad jokes. We have a Top 5, but I can't describe them. They are very hard to translate into English.
TOTP: What kind of practical jokes would he do?
Lauri: Well, he could s*** somewhere.
TOTP: [Appalled] Really? That's nasty...
Lauri: That IS nasty! He's eating a yoghurt, for example, and then when the box is empty, he will...y'know...refill it...
TOTP: EW!
Lauri: You asked me!
TOTP: Yes, it's true. It's my own fault. Let's move on. What's the funniest film you've ever seen?
Lauri: Actually, I've just bought some Monty Python films. And I think that this humour is in some ways the same kind of humour that we have, like when I'm talking about bad jokes. Y'know, if it's just insane, it makes no sense, the better it gets. They surprise me every time with their jokes. I love them.
TOTP: If one of the band is down in the dumps, what would you do to cheer them up?
Lauri: We have this great chemistry in the band and we know each other quite well. You can basically see from each other's eyes that, y'know, this guy wants to be alone. Or that now he needs some company...
TOTP: So what would you do? Give him a hug? Buy him a balloon? What?
Lauri: Well I think I would just buy him a drink and, y'know, talk. It's just simple.
TOTP: Is there an expression that people use in Finland to cheer people up? We might say "look on the bright side", or "worse things happen at sea"
Lauri: [After a long think] Well we have this thing which means "it's not gonna be alright", but actually it means it IS gonna be alright.
TOTP: Supposing you were doodling right now. What would you draw?
Lauri: Kind of a labyrinth, I think.
TOTP: Would there be a monster in this labyrinth?
Lauri: Well there would be no way out.
TOTP: Ah! Like a proper goth labyrinth?
Lauri: [Laughs] I think it's just the Finnish mentality. You have this kind of shield around you.
TOTP: You've got one song called 'In The Shadows' and another called 'Night After Night (Out Of The Shadows)'. Which is best? Dark or light?
Lauri: I think that light, and the sun, reveals all the kind of monsters and s*** in the world, and night has more secrets and imagination. But I prefer the twilight!
TOTP: You're having a party, what nibbles do you have?
Lauri: Something spicy. Everybody I know likes spicy food, so every time I cook something at home, there is no limit to the spices. Whatever I cook I always use chili.
TOTP: And what would be on the stereo?
Lauri: Right now it would be the last Weezer album.
TOTP: Is that something you would dance about to? In fact, do you dance?
Lauri: No.
TOTP: Are you one of those people who stands about, posing?
Lauri: Yes.
TOTP: Where would you spend most of your time, in the kitchen or on the stairs?
Lauri: On the balcony, smoking. Everybody is on the balcony, always.
TOTP: What would be on your dream karaoke machine?
Lauri: Well we have one song which is always the highlight of a party. It's by System Of A Down and it's called 'Arial'
TOTP: What lighting would you have? Candles? Glitterball? Strobe light?
Lauri: Definitely candles. I bought this really, really expensive carpet, and I had candles on the table. And they were, like, spilling, and the whole carpet is destroyed now.
TOTP: What time would it start? Midnight?
Lauri: I would think a perfect time is two o'clock in the afternoon. If everybody is having a day off, then we can't wait until the evening. It would end the next day, at the same time.
TOTP: Would you do the conga at the end?
Lauri: What's that?
TOTP: It's the big dance you do at parties where everyone forms a line and weaves through the house, kicking their legs out. Would you do that?
Lauri: No.
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