Since instrumental-music is pretty international, how does your audience divide by countries?
ET - The majority of our fans are in America, both northern and southern side.
ABN - We seem to get a lot of mail from all over the world. From America, mostly USA, we tend to get lots of contacts. God bless America, and good job Elvis!
JE - I think the listeners are all over the world.
DH - That`s right. The most exotic ones go all the way to Brazil and Mexico. Europe is naturally the biggest area and we get lots of mail from America. So far we`ve successfully published songs in seven different countries (Japan, Sweden, Greek, Germany, USA, Denmark & Norway) and I think it will get bigger from what it is now. Homepages and compilation-records are fairly easy ways to get popularity without much of a hassle. And in addition we`ve noticed that rockers are the same all over the world. They all wear uni-colored denimjackets full of patches and alcohol tastes good without exceptions.

What country (apart from Finland) does The Mutants belong to musically?
ET - Mutants belongs and sounds definitely like Cuba`s and Brazil`s united nation.
JE - In Brazil`s Cobacabana it would be perfect!
ABN - To Tongo and Kongo. The rhythm is most important..
DH - Does it have to belong to anywhere? I think the exotics of this band are mostly based on Haermaec guys playing fake-afro-garage with ice-spikes in their noses, hats slightly twisted, while they dream about life among the hula-girls under palm trees. Olavi Virta is the finest musical example about how longing and exotics can be mixed and matched although you`ve never been anywhere. Just listen to Ola`s "Skuugiaan" if you don`t believe. But, of course, if I had to make a decision I`d go to Havanna or Brazil as a session-musician anytime. Just have to learn to play before that.

Do you have any gigs abroad under planning?
JE - Yes!
ABN - Always gotta have plans, one should not stay layed down on the fire.
ET - The near-future looks strongly colored with center- and southern-Europe.
DH - We have an intention to go play a gig in Estonia at the end of September. We have other plans as well, but it`s too early to talk about them just yet. Let`s just say that things are happening when we get some other things concerning our band in order. Firstly, we should get a new drummer so that we wouldn`t have to jam with a drum-machine. Then we`ll blast so that we all get hornias. The most confusing message to arrive in Muta-mail in a long time was couple of weeks ago, when someone asked promotional materials to Brazil! I mean for real. They asked records and videos so that they could possibly gather some sponsor-money to drag us over there. I don`t know whether the success of the idea is possible, or that how serious they were, but it would be fucking great. I don`t think I would come back.

You all have more or less roots in rural countrysides, how does it show?
ABN - In music it doesn`t show much. Whether you`re from countryside or city, rock is rolling. The truth is in attitude, and whether you`re heart is following what you`re doing. You gotta have feelings, and people get them from many different things.
DH - I actually come from a city. Hamina is a city. There`s almost the same distance to St. Petersburg and Helsinki and, still, there are over 5 million people there. So I`m really from between the eastern metropolis`. Maybe I moved in the wrong direction when I was young.
ET - I think the roots show mostly on things that country-romantic isn`t fascinating anymore, and that the natural amazement of city-life is still there.
JE - I think we`re all the same bunch. I suppose it originates from the countryside.

What kind of place is Kallio to live in?
DH - Well, since I was left apartmentless a while back I have at least people around me who have the same feelings and attitudes. And in general it`s more loose than in downtown. When you`re wandering back home on a monday morning, looking like shit, you can be sure that the guy coming from the opposite direction looks much worse. Of course, if you come from a poodle-nest it can look really rough. Personally I get by excellently and I wouldn`t even consider finding an apartment elsewhere.
ET - Kallio is simply the best thing a single-guy can get. Whores, bums, druggies and rockers all in the same ghetto. And, moreover, lots of college-girls.. Yammy!
ABN - It looks like the guys are doing great. Full of people with the same spirit.
JE - The guys are hyping about it. I don`t, luckily, have any experience of it.

Tell me something about the activities of Sorlem Baboon.
DH - The activities of what? Game`s to be sold, not to be told, as they say. And sending any applications in hopes of joining is pretty useless.

What are your favourite bars/clubs in Helsinki?
DH - I sit a lot in place on Vaasankatu 23, but for tourists I`d recommend paying a visit to Kultapalmu (Vaasankatu) and Tenka (Hesari). I recommend the karaoke in Populus (Aleksis Kiven Katu) for all those who enjoy extreme-traveling. And they have the best looking waitresses in Kuula (Vaasankatu) and they serve hard-liquor. During summermornings it`s good to enjoy a cup of coffee in Hesari`s kiosk. It`s a good place to wait till the bars open up, and watch how goofballs stagger around. Once I even saw a pussy coming from behind a traffic-sign.
ET - There`s never too much bars, but Helmi in Vaasankatu is always good. Semi, Tavastia and Loose are places that are a must, and afterparty should be in someone`s place, rather than in gayland.
ABN - My favourites are the ones that stay open the longest and service is guaranteed. Live-music and friends also add up to the comfortableness.
JE - I usually like cheap beer and good company. Nothing else doesn`t matter much.

Do you ever feel that you are a bunch of old farts?
ABN - The journey has been long, but we aren`t too tired yet. Coming back from travels lasts too long presently, I get shivers all along the following week. But never have I been pissed to go on and do something regarding the band, although sometimes common sense has been far away from things. Fartness comes from between everyone`s ears and from the attitude towards this thing.
DH - No. I`m 29 and, besides, mambo is music for men, no teenage-brats could play goddamn it! Although every rock-journey ages me about 10 years, but that is totally something else than natural aging.
JE - I felt myself young when I joined the band. Now I don`t even know what being young or old is!
ET - My age couldn`t be better... right about now I`m at the point that basic things (studies blah blah) are cleared and girls like MEN.
DH - I remember when about 10 years ago in my ex-band I was always jealous when all the hot mamas went to speak with EBPSATRFM`s Katz. I was majorly pissed off, but Arvo, a drummer for Martti Servo & Napander nowadays, kept saying that it`s all about the age, wait a couple of years. And fuck, the waiting was a true torture, but Arvo was right! It`s just the way it goes.

Who handles the visual side of your records? How important part does the cover-art represent in your records?
JE - Don Motherfucker.
ET - Cover-art is of course an important part of our brand and we have lots of professionals hired.
DH - Yeah, like me + graphic designers/internet-gurus Miss Liba Sluiba & Mr. Olmi who work on beer-salary. Basically it goes that I have a vision and then Liba or Olmi types it on the screen in a printable form. The same thing goes for The Mutants-website. Of course it`s important that the covers look good. We`ve always tried to avoid cliches and kept our covers the way how they look like the band. We might prefer more drawing cruely over than putting Pin-up girls or Hotrods on the cover. In our webpage we have persuaded that the the pages actually work and that all the relevant information is found easily. I`m personally very pissed about all the art-shites that you have to load for half an hour in order to find a simple thing called contact-address etc.
ABN - Japa has handled the cover-art pretty neatly, in appearance and every other way. But music is important, after that comes the cover. Of course, picture-vinyl works also. I`ve wondered why any big organisations haven`t asked Japa to do covers for them, HELLO Universal etc. rich record-moguls!!!?!
DH - Fuck I ain`t doing anything for them! Then you have to make some shit to Anna Hanski right into Anttila`s sale-bin and wonder why any stylish ideas don`t make it. Go and try selling them some Rebel-flags and BLOW ME-texts. Liba Sluiba did it for a while and back then we said that it`s a poorman`s work. And if the music is shit the covers won`t make it any better.

Can you drink lots of beer before a gig and still play well?
ABN - We`ve been playing gigs in every amount of promil between 0 and 7. We don`t always get it rockin`, but everyone does their part whether you`re sober or shitting in your pants.
ET - We don`t have any limits to it, actually we favor it, even if you have to struggle. You can drink as much as you think you can handle. The amount usually depends on how early you have to wake up in the morning.
JE - And we don`t play well anyway. Likewise in a small or big drunk the playing gets better. There`s only a one direction and that`s towards the drunk!
DH - Depends on how you define lots of beer. Generally my personal tolerance is better than a regular consumer has, but however I can`t trust on that fact too much. Even an experienced driver can easily drive a car into a ditch if your concentration slips too much.

How did you feel about losing to The Micragirls in a booze-drinking contest?
JE - Ask El Toro.
DH - Who lost and when? I heard that El Toro passed out somewhere, but it happened after the rest of the band had already left the city, so it doesn`t count. We drank booze as a contest with Micra Krisu way back in `94, so an actual survival is a victory for both of us! But still we`d lose against Micragirls anytime and anywhere. Micragirls fuckin` rules!
ABN - We left Toro to deal with it by himself, sorry! The next time it`ll be different! Beer-war has been declared!
ET - Drinking booze with Micragirls can`t be anything else that fucking great and the defeat in the second semi-final is the fault of the only one who stayed in the two-day battle, ME (El Dick)!!! I had to take a nap for a while... experience has taught me that when you`re doing so good that you are certain that any activites with the opposite sex in any form is entirely impossible, that`s when it`s time to pass out, because you`ve lost the opportunity a long time ago. Shit happens. I don`t regret or feel ashamed about anything.

I heard you`re putting out some new releases?
DH - Timba Am Gaya / Lai-Thong 7" (Dull City Records, Norway) and The Mutants: Hojo Hojo (feat. Ski Williamson & Boris Raw) / Nieminen & Litmanen: Rintamaen Lentokentta split 7" (Sorlem Baboons, Kallio). In addition to these you can find a new song called "Kung Fu" from Bad Afro`s Pushing Scandinavian Rock To The Man Vol 3 and we have these compilation-records that are coming our Jesus-knows-when and we`re not sure if we ever get to see the actual records.
ABN - We`re putting out new stuff whenever we see it`s a good thing to do. We have new songs and we`re making new all the time - the publishment follow up naturally later on time.