EMQ's

EMQ’s With FLUSH

EMQ’s With FLUSH

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Finnish Rock band, Flush. Huge thanks to their Vocalist/ Guitarist/ Songwriter, Lasse, for taking part. 

What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

Hey, I am Lasse, singer, guitar player, and main songwriter in Flush. Flush is a Helsinki-based Rock band with roots in Punk, Alternative Rock and Metal. The origins of the band date all the way back to the late 90s when we were teenagers experiencing an amazing decade of music. The current Flush lineup is about 7 years old and is by far the most productive and creative version of the band.

How did you come up with your band name?

It’s so long ago that we don’t really recall the process anymore. We liked it because it was short and easy to remember, and it can mean several things. It also fit the style of music we started with, melodic and fast Punk Rock.

What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?

We are from Helsinki, Finland, and most people know Finland for being the land of Metal bands. It truly is a Metal country, through and through, and you don’t need to look far to find someone who plays in a Metal band. The Rock scene is quieter at the moment. Punk is still very much alive in the underground, but our type of organic Alternative Rock is harder to come across. The mainstream is dominated by commercial Pop music and R´n´B, mostly in local language, so genre wise we find ourselves quite in the outskirts of the local music scene. Also, despite metal being very popular among musicians, small and medium sized live venues struggle with viability because people don’t go to see local bands play live. This worries me quite a lot, despite there being so much metal around.

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

We just released our second full-length album “Noises” at the end of November 2024 and it’s out now on all digital platforms. It’s a collection of 13 songs, ranging from fast punk rock to heavier alternative rock and metal riffs. We write about what we see and experience around us, and aim to write stories that listeners can relate to, whether it’s heartbreak or the feeling of wanting to have that one last drink before the bartender closes the bar for the night.

Who have been your greatest influences?

We started very much as a Bad Religion inspired Punk band. Another band that was important in the early days was Pavement, although most would probably not hear that in our sound. The list of influences would in totality be really long, but let’s at least also mention Nirvana, Soundgarden, Deftones, The Hold Steady, Biffy Clyro, Against Me!, The Replacements, and Helmet.

What first got you into music?

I remember as a kid my dad used to play mix tapes in the car, and my sister and I would learn the songs and sing along. The first bands I got into by my own choice were WASP and Kiss. Then came late 80s Hard Rock and luckily soon after, Punk, Alternative Rock and Grunge. I learnt to play guitar in the early 90s and that was definitely a great time to learn to play guitar!

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

I would want Craig Finn from The Hold Steady to be my lyrics producer/editor. I was always curious to know how Steve Albini would have made our music sound, but since he is no longer with us, let’s go for Butch Vig as our next producer. He is a musician too, so he qualifies for this question!

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

Coming from the Nordics, Roskilde in Denmark would be one obvious choice. The other one, just for the fun of the experience, the Vans Warped tour!

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

It’s not a gift exactly, but we got this message from a family in Florida, US, where they had discovered our music by accident, and since our merch isn’t available anywhere close to Florida, we got a photo of the dad in the family wearing a self-made Flush tour t-shirt. This is one of the coolest things about doing music – you never know who might hear you and a new connection is established.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

Go see local bands playing at local small and mid-sized venues! This is the only way to keep Rock and Metal vibrant, interesting and, essentially, alive.

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

You know what… let the dead rest in peace and/or power. There are so many talented and hard-working musicians out there today honing their skills, so let’s let them have the stage. In general, I would hope people spend less time (and money) on nostalgia and looking back and instead look at new music happening today. You can see 5-10 local bands doing new, interesting stuff for the same price as one reunion arena show where no new music is happening.

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

The connections are the best. It happens at gigs, through recorded music reaching listeners, or e.g. through interviews like these. Music is a community thing, something intended to be shared between humans. As a musician, there are many things wrong in the scene today. The two worst ones are the unfair distribution of money in the industry and the fact that we have to spend so much time and energy on social media platforms that do nothing good for humankind.

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

Fix the distribution of revenues. The music industry has insane amounts of money flowing inside it (I know, I used to work in the industry), but it is concentrated to very few parties and does not flow down to the grassroots or the creators of new music.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

My all-time top-10 album list is about 50 albums long! Today, my pick for #1 is Rage Against the Machine’s self-titled debut album.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?

For me, at the moment, none of those. I use streaming only, just simply for practical purposes. I want to say vinyl or cassette, but those are impractical forms of music, not to mention they have sustainability issues, and for music to reach people and build those connections, we have to consider practicality too. I don’t want to say downloads either, because having files laying around on computer drives isn’t practical either. I still have hundreds of CDs so out of those four options, if I must, I choose CD.

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

I want to say our last one, the record release show we played when releasing our album. It was a sold-out gig at our favourite local Rock club, Bar Loose, and we had the crowd singing along to our new songs, especially the closing song ‘We’re Not Yet Alright’ and its catchy outro that goes “We’re all fucked so let’s be fucked together”!

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

Probably playing football (soccer) or some other sport where you run around chasing a ball.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

My son, my girlfriend, and the rest of the band (there are three plus me) i.e. my favourite five persons in the world. 

What’s next for the band?

We are going to start getting ready for live shows in Spring and Summer, and probably also start slowly working on new material.

What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people? 

https://www.facebook.com/flushmusic

https://www.instagram.com/flush_music

Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll, or a Tea Cake?

I’ve personally spent quite a lot of time in the UK, mostly around London, but also on the south coast, in Cornwall, and in the midlands… but I don’t know if this is a trick question or an opinion question. I want to say it’s a roll. Bap and bun also sound familiar, but are maybe more American…

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Support your local bands and venues. It’s the only way to keep music alive!

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.