Interview: e-mail interview with Clarkkent's bass player Kusti, October 2007



Clarkkent is another very talented Finnish rock band that I’m sure won’t go by unnoticed with people who try to keep up to date with good rock music. They were first formed in 2000 and have done loads of live shows – mostly with fellow Finnish bands in Finland. After a while they decided it was time to take a step further and as a result they are currently finishing recording their debut album, but still also doing some gigs in the mean time. If you happen to find your self in Finland at some point, make sure you don’t miss them. And if you want to get to know this band a little bit better right now – read the following interview with the bassist Kusti.

Romana: Ok, so let’s start with the obvious question – band name. Why ‘Clarkkent’?
Kusti: Well, we used to run this band under a different name in the beginning. That name sucked. I mean like really sucked. So we thought we should change the name. We came up with lots of ideas for a name, but most of them were crappy as well and in every single occasion someone was against some cool new name that somebody came up with. It started to get a bit frustrating, and then Jupe, our drummer said something like “guys, the name really doesn’t matter that much, it could be almost anything, like fucking Clarkkent”. Everyone agreed, plus the name is cool.

Romana: The latest news on your website (dated July 30th, 2007 – note: the interview took place in October 2007) says your debut album is drawing nearer and that you are negotiating with several record labels. How does it look now, when can we expect the album to hit the stores?
Kusti: Well, the album is almost finished when talking about the recordings. Then there’s the mixing, mastering and printing to be done before it’s actually a ready package. I’d say it will be out some time in the beginning of next year.

Romana: Tell us something about your music, about the album, how do you make your music, who writes the lyrics, how is/was it like in the studio?
Kusti: The album is packed with catchy rock tunes, some faster, some slower. There are a total of 11 songs in it. Our singer/guitarist Jaakko writes most of the lyrics, about 99 per cent of ‘em. And because Jaakko is responsible for most of the lyrics, the lyrics reflect his feelings and so on. Some times someone else can come up with an idea for lyrics in the songs, if the words are good, they’ll stay. The way we make our music depends on many things. Sometimes someone comes with a complete song and we’ll practice that, some times it’s only an idea for a song, maybe a riff or lick and we’ll jam that for a while and see if it will form into something beautiful. When playing new songs for the first time, everyone attributes their own little things into it and the result is that it’ll sound like Clarkkent.

Romana: You are preparing your debut album but you are no beginners when it comes to live shows. You have been touring pretty much ever since you started the band in 2000. Do you ever play cover songs and if so what is your favorite song to cover?
Kusti: We are pretty lousy with cover songs, to be honest. I can only remember one cover in our history that we have played, and it’s Twister Sisters’ We’re Not Gonna Take It. We have been talking about covers, that we should add one in our set, but we’ve never made it any further. We’re slackers.

Romana: You have supported various different (Finnish) bands and probably played in pretty much every possible venue in Finland over the past few years. Do you have a favorite venue by now where you would like to play your own solo gig the most?
Kusti: In my opinion my favourite venue for our own solo gig would definitely be Finnish rock sanctuary Tavastia in Helsinki. That place just rocks.

Romana: Who was your favorite band to share the stage with so far and who would you like to play with the most in the future?
Kusti: Almost every band we’ve played with are just cool people, so it’s impossible to name a favourite band. It’s more about the people and how to get along with them. There are some bands though that I wouldn’t like to play with anymore, ‘cause some guys in them are complete assholes, like serious pain-in-the-ass kind of types. It would be super cool to play with some internationally mega big bands, like Foo Fighters or My Chemical Romance etc. but not any particular one, just some huge band.

Romana: Do you still remember your first show (where and when) and how it felt to be on stage for the first time ever?
Kusti: Yep, first gig was in Oranssi, a club that no longer exists because the building was then torn down. It was in the year 2000. But this wasn’t the first gig for any of us, because all of us had had bands before our mutual band. And actually we had done gigs when we were a bit younger that had Jupe’s band, Jaakko’s and Pikkis’s band and my band playing together in some venue, so we all knew each other before. But the first gig with the band that would be later known as Clarkkent was of course exciting, as any first gig with any band is. It went pretty well if I can remember correctly, only thing that was weird was that I was situated in the middle of the stage…

Romana: Who/what influenced your music the most, where do you take your inspiration from?
Kusti: If I’m making music, my inspiration comes from various odd or not-so-odd things that have happened to me or some times just hearing good music makes me want to grab a guitar and start playing. I don’t know how the other boys compose stuff, but this is my way to do it.

Romana: Why don’t you write/sing in Finnish like some other bands do? Some singers say they feel too exposed if they sing in their own language. Is that the reason or the more logical one – so more people can understand the lyrics and you can reach more people this way?
Kusti: I think none of the above or more the latter. Rock musics language just is English, period. We have had record labels saying, that if we’d change lyrics into Finnish they’d sign us instantly. Personally I’ve always had difficulties with lyrics, ‘cause I don’t think they are the most important part of a song, the music is. Of course you can’t sing what ever jargon comes in mind, there should be an idea in the lyrics. So point being, the music is the thing that should reach people, then if you dig it, look closer into lyrics.

Romana: What is your connection with the fans like? How important it is to you to stay connected with them and how do you manage that?
Kusti: Fans are very important. If you have a band that only likes to play for them selves, then you don’t need any fans, but the very moment you start gigging, fans become necessary. The ones that really dig are the ones pushing your band forward. Fans are the thing that keeps your band alive, as long as you got ‘em, it’s all good. Nowadays we have mostly been keeping touch with fans through our myspace site, answering messages and commenting back on good feedback and such things. Some times that’s hard too if you don’t have the time, so a couple of messages might have been forgotten to answer, sorry ‘bout that…

Romana: Thank you very much for doing this interview with The Bullet Reviews. If you have any final message for our readers – here is your chance!
Kusti: Keep reading The Bullet Reviews, ‘cause they dig good music, like Clarkkent! Stay tuned for our debut and if you ever have a chance, come witness our live show, ‘cause that’ll blow your mind!

For more info about the band check their official site http://www.clarkkent.fi/ck/ and their MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/clarkkentband.

Romana