The Great Oshkosh Experience

(© 2002 Maddie/La Bruta Rockzine)

Your band started with punkrock, but shortly after that you changed the style and started to play more like basic, The Hellacopters / Guns'n'Roses, type of rock. What was the reason for that?
Sammy Fox : Well, we started out as a cover band playing punk rock. However, we've never been anything but a rock 'n' roll band. When we wrote our first song together, we already knew that this would be pure high octane rock... We also love punk rock, and I really don't think there's such a big gap between punk rock and the kind of rock we play.

What do you think about term "action rock", does it represent your music in a good way?
SF : I think the term is a bit worn out. I accept the fact that there's rock, and then there's action. So I guess you could call it action rock, but I'd like to think there's more to us than that. That's why I don't use it myself.

If I'm right you come from Turku (Finland), and it seems to be that there's plenty of good bands coming from there nowdays, for example Sweatmaster and Boomhauer. What do you think about today's scene, and what's the reason for this growth.
SF : Yes, we're from the outskirts of Turku. It seems like there's a lot going on right now in Turku. There are a lot of great clubs to play, and that may be the reason why there are so many excellent bands. A few years ago there was nothing.

Are you willing to do more gigs in Sweden, 'cause you've done couple gigs there already?
El Martin: Another visit to Sweden is planned, but no dates are confirmed.

Do you plan anyway what you do on stage, or is it all spontaneous?
SF: I have to admit that we've sometimes tried to plan some moves ahead, but when we go on stage nobody remembers what the hell they were supposed to do anyway. So I guess you could say that we don't plan ahead. Actually, we're a really spontaneous band on stage. You don't have to plan anything to make it look good. We know the songs so well that everything we do comes quite naturally.

Last fall you realized an EP called "The King of Beats", what kind of feedback has it got? And are you satisfied with it?
SF : As a matter of fact, The King of Beats is not even an EP. It's really a demo or a promo. We are still happy with it, although it's quite a long time since we recorded it. I like the slight retro sound of it, and of course the the piano- and organ-parts! played by our eminent sixth member Nagu Jack of Hearts.

Do you have any upcoming realises, and is there any possible record companies for you?
SF : I think we're going to record something in the near future. We've been planning a seven-inch for the fall, but nothing for sure yet. We have a few new songs that we're really happy with, and I hope we'll go to the studio real soon!

I found out, that you also like some grunge bands, is that right?
SF : When I was a kid, there was Kiss and WASP. Then came Metallica and all these metal bands. When i started listening to punk rock, the grunge thing kinda came with it. Most of the band spent their early teenage listening to bands like Screaming Trees, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and of course Nirvana.

You got really funny stagenames, like Granpa Moses and Stefan König. What was the reason for use them?
SF : Our stagenames are a joke, really. Although, I think they're kinda part of the show.

How important is your image to you?
SF : Of course the image is important, to claim otherwise would be a lie. As long as you remember that the music comes before the image. People listen with their eyes first.

Would you like to boost some upcoming events etc.?
Granpa Moses : Check out www.oshkoshclub.com to find out what's going on.

Where you gonna be after five years?
SF : In five years we'll be trashing hotel rooms and selling millions of records. Nah, I don't know really, we'll see. I hate to try to predict the future, everything can change anytime.

Oshkosh homepages: www.oshkoshclub.com


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