THe Rasmus

At the sprouting age of sixteen, they reached their goals quickly and their dreams of rock stardom become a reality. The four friends made a conscious conclusion that the music scene in Finland sucked and needed a change or at least a fresh approach.

In 1996, The Rasmus released their debut album Peep. It did not take long
for the album sell gold. The timing was right for this new generation of
rock bands and The Rasmus took the listening public and critics by storm.
"We were just kids who were let loose on a playground", singer Lauri
remembers.

The band passed the grueling limit of performing over one hundred gigs in a year’s time. Shortly after this, the band crawled back into the studio to record their second album Playboys. Yes, it also sold gold very quickly. By then, The Rasmus had established themselves as a household name in Finland. Soon after, The Rasmus received their first Finnish Grammy, (called Emma in Finnish), in the category of Best New Act. The tempo of success built momentum and The Rasmus supported shows with Rancid, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Garbage during at these artist’s shows in Finland.

In 1999, The Rasmus, as energetic and productive as they are released their third album Hellofatester. The Single, Liquid, was voted, by both critics and fans as The Year’s Best Single.

MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH ON NEW RECORD LABEL
In 2001, The Rasmus were ready for a major breakthrough. After signing to
Playground Music Scandinavia in Stockholm, Sweden the band came back with a
smash hit single F-f-f-falling.

"We were so nervous about that song. It was obviously either a hit or a
flop", The Rasmus’ members remember.

A flop it was not! The single shot like a bullet straight to number one, selling Platinum and being the biggest hit of the year in Finland. The album Into followed a couple of months later and charged the charts like a rocket. Into has sold over 67 000 to date, which is well over double platinum! After the success of Into and F-f-f-falling, The Rasmus performed at every major music festival in Finland.

Up to this point, any international releases had been minimal. With the great story building in Finland, The Rasmus went abroad supporting acts such as: HIM, Roxette and the Spanish rock band Dover in Germany, Scandinavia and
Latvia. The Rasmus traveled in Europe, did promotion and performances on TV
shows and were interviewed by European music press and they sure charmed
everyone they met.
Following the tour with the Spanish rock band Dover the band flew to Italy
to record a live acoustic performance with Viva TV and do several
interviews. The Rasmus then flew quickly to Finland for the Finnish Grammy
Awards Show where they performed a song and swept all the major categories
by collecting new Grammies for:
Best band, Best single (F-f-f-falling), Best rock/pop band and Album Of The
Year.
Energetic, rambunctious and powerful are three words that describe The
Rasmus best. Lauri, a singer whose voice is full of fire and soaring beauty,
is also one of the most appreciated composers in Finland today.

"My lyrics are always personal and every word has a meaning that reminds me
of something that has happened", the singer says. Pauli is an excellent guitarist, but he has also been recognized as a producer (Producer of the year at the Finnish Grammy 2001). He has helped Finnish bands like Killer and Kwan to create number 1# hits!

"The best advice I've been given is that if you have knowledge, share it", Pauli answers, when asked why he wanted to become a producer. Aki joined the band in 1999. Before that, he was selling The Rasmus merchandise at their shows.

"Pauli asked me to join after we had jammed together. Which is great, because I pretty much suck in everything else but playing the drums", Aki laughs sarcastically.

Eero, who is definitely the calmest man in the band, plays the bass. He finds his strength in meditation and music. "Sahaja yoga gives me a peace of mind", the soulful bass player explains.

high light

December 1994 - Rasmus form at school and play their first show.
December 1995 - Release first single “1st.” on independent label, Teja G. Records.
February 1996 - Sign to Warner Finland.
May 1996 - Release first album “Peep”, which goes Gold.
1996 - Play over 100 shows, including festivals in Finland, Russia and Estonia.
May 1997 - Release single “Blue”, which goes Gold.
August 1997 - Release second album “Playboys”, which goes also Gold.
August 1997 – Appearance on multi band event at Helsinki Olympic Stadium to 40,000 people and a nationwide TV audience.
1997 - Play over 100 shows including festivals and club dates supporting Rancid and Dog Eat Dog.
1997 – Win Finnish Grammy Award as Best New Act of 1996.
September 1998 - Release “Liquid” single – the video goes on MTV Nordic Top 40.
December 1998 – “Liquid” voted best song of 1998 by critics and fans.
February 1999 - Support Garbage at Helsinki Ice Hall to 4,000 people.
April 1999 - Tour of 6 shows of Ice Halls headlining a multiple bill.
1999 - Play over 80 shows and festivals in Finland.
August 1999 – “Liquid” wins award at Finnish Music Video Festival.
October 1999 - Rasmus support Red Hot Chili Peppers for 2 shows at Helsinki Ice Hockey Stadium - capacity 12,000 per night.
April 2000 - Rasmus becomes The Rasmus and signs to Playground Music Scandinavia.
May 2000 – The new album is recorded in Stockholm.
December 2000 – January 2001 mixing in Stockholm.
February 2001 – The Rasmus release the single “F-F-F-Falling” in Finland. It stays Number 1 in the Finnish sales charts for three months, and sells Gold in May.
March 2001 – The Rasmus release the album “Into” in Finland. It goes Number One and sells Gold in May.
April 2001 – The Rasmus tour Sweden, Denmark, Norway
and do TV and promotion.
May 2001 – The album Into is released in Denmark.
May, June, July, August 2001 – The Rasmus tour Finland and do EVERY festival there.
June 2001 – The single “Chill” is released all over Scandinavia. It goes straight to Number 2 in the Finnish Sales Charts.
August 2001 – The album “Into” is released in Sweden and Denmark.
September 2001 – The album “Into” is released in Germany.
October 2001 - The Rasmus support HIM in tour Scandinavia, playing for circa 40,000 people.
November 2001 - the Rasmus support Roxette in tour Scandinavia, playing for circa 40,00 people.

the albums:

peep-(1996)
01. Ghostbusters
02. Postman
03. Fool
04. Shame
05. P.S
06. Julen Är Här Igen
07. Peep
08. Frog
09. Funky Jam
10. Outflow
11. Myself
12. Life 705
13. Small

playboys-(1997)
01. Playboys
02. Blue
03. Ice
04. Sophia
05. Wicked Moments
06. Wellwell
07. Sold
08. Carousel
09. Jailer
10. Kola
11. Raggatip
12. Violence
13. Panda

hell of the tester-(1998)
01. Every Day
02. Dirty Moose
03. Swimming With The Kids
04. Man In The Street
05. Tonight, Tonight
06. City Of Dead
07. Liquid
08. Pa-Pa
09. Vibe
10. Help Me Sing
11. Tempo

hell of the collection-(best songs)(2001)
01. F-F-F-Falling
02. Chill
03. Liquid
04. Every Day
05. City of the dead
06. Help me sing
07. Playboys
08. Blue
09. Ice
10. Sophia
11. Wicked moments
12. Ghostbusters
13. Funky jam
14. Myself
15. PS.
16. Rakkauslaulu
17. Life 705
18. Liquid demo

into-2001
01. Madness
02. Bullet
03. Chill
04. F-F-F-Falling
05. Hearbreaker
06. Smash
07. Someone else
08. Small Town
09. One & Only
10. Last Walz

dead letters-2003/2004
01. First day of my life
02. In the shadows
03. Still standing
04. In my life
05. Time to burn
06. Guilty
07. Not like the other girls
08. The one i love
09. Back in the picture
10. Funeral song.