ROX-TV gets an exclusive interview with Finland’s own Steve ‘n’ Seagulls. Find out what millions of people already know around the world. We talk past, present, and a new drop coming this Friday. Get hip to the sounds.

Tonight, we have a real special treat for the readers at the ROX-TV website. All the way from Finland, Steve ‘n’ Seagulls is here to chop it up with us! I must say that this band is amazing, and they deserve a good looking over. You will not be disappointed. Before we get too far into the weeds though, I’d like to ask the band a few warm ups to help our readers get a feel for these guys. What part of Finland are you guys from? Can you tell us a little about your hometown?

We’re from different areas. Originally from smaller towns. I’m from Iisalmi, which is a small town about in the middle of Finland. Surrounded by lakes it is very beautiful and traditionally there is plenty of farms around the town. Art scene is small but quite ok and some sports there too. Mainly hockey and soccer. My hometown is also the home of awesome Genelec speakers and also has the biggest independent brewery in Finland.

You guys have some dynamite songs out and a couple of albums. We will get to those in a moment, but before we do, I like to talk to artists about their relationship with music. For the band as a whole, or individually, if you could tell the readers at what point did each of you find your connection with music? Not just being aware of the sounds, but that moment that the music grabbed you and the world stood still. Perhaps it was at a certain age, maybe a certain artist or song, or even a situation?

My first memory is an LP with Finnish Christmas songs. I listened to it repeatedly and was taken by the stories on that album. Then along came Jimi Hendrix and his album Axis bold as love. I listened to that CD on and on and especially the song Ain’t no tellin’. I’d sit in our living room listening to that song. Afterwards along came Neil Young and The Police. It all started when I was about maybe six or seven. I remember listening to The Police song Spirits in a material world and fell in love with Stewart Copeland’s drumming. Later on along came Metallica, Megadeth, Offspring, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and that kind of stuff. Music, albums, music magazines, interviews, videos  and such are still my passion and one of the biggest hobbies. 

What was or is the music scene like in your hometown and Finland in general? Is it big or small? What kinds of things are Finnish music fans responding to, either now or when you guys were younger?

The scene in my hometown is small but lively. Old school rock and punk meets rap and folk. And also classical. In the 90s the scene was more lively. There were tons of good young bands and that mixed with local bands that had been around longer. There was a man that really made an impact – his name was Pete and he worked with us, your bands, organized gigs and taught us tons of stuff, starting from how to put up gear. He passed away couple of years ago and I still miss him. He will always have a special place in my heart.

I think in general Finland has and will have a place for rock and metal music. Also something we call Finn-rock has long roots. We tend to respond to stories and lyrics especially when it comes to music in Finnish.  It has been changing in the past few years in a way that it’s changing in a lot of western countries – towards more pop and maybe things that are hip for a shorter period. But I feel the old stuff always has its place too. The Finnish scene in general could use more artistic approach and more diversity. Now it’s a bit boring and harder and harder for new bands that are outside the radio friendly scene.

How exactly did you guys first meet and decide to form the band? What were some of the common bonds that you all shared as far as your musical tastes?

Everyone on the original line up moved to a town called Jyväskylä to study. Some of us to university and some of us to study music. It’s not a huge town so most of the people that are involved in music will eventually run in to each other. Me and Hiltunen had common friends and ended up at same parties at the university. At some point some of the guys formed Steve ‘n’ Seagulls as a side project. From there it has evolved to the point it is at now.  We’re mostly kids from the 90s so that is a common thing for us. Heavy metal, rock and grunge from the time when MTV really came to Finland has really shaped our musical taste and is a common thing for us. Headbangers ball and that kinda stuff. 

Once the band came together, what were those early days like for you guys and what were some of your goals? Did you know that the music would resonate with millions of people around the world?

As said earlier – this was a side project at first. Just for couple of club shows. Nothing more. But it started to resonate and it went on. We never would have thought it would go like this. We were totally shocked when our videos started going viral. Caught with our pants down – so to say. Touring around Europe, North America, Australia… Never would’ve believed that.

You guys dropped “Farm Machine” in 2015 and I’m so glad you did. The tracks are simply amazing and so unique. People from America will instantly recognize some of the tracks by name including “Paradise City”, “Black Dog”, “Thunderstruck”, “Nothing Else Matters”, and a few others. This was my first introduction to your band and like the other 139 Million other people who viewed this on YouTube…I was blown away. I’m an old school AC/DC fan myself and when the song takes off, it gives me goosebumps and a white out in the center of my head. I’ve never heard anything like that. It’s true to the original but also has this Finnish magic about it that is so powerful and different. What was your reaction as a band, when the YouTube numbers started to sky rocket? Can you talk about recording this album and how it went during this time for the band?

We were totally surprised. We didn’t expect anything like this. After the first maybe two videos we realized that something in our stuff interests people. During the recordings of Farm machine we toured  a lot in Finland. Recorded some of the stuff on the road or at hotels after shows. 🙂 It was interesting, new, busy and exciting. We produced the album ourselves with the help from the guy that recoded the album – Simo Orpana. We didn’t have a lot of view or idea at first about our sound or stuff like that. But we’re super excited to record. We had our first record deal and everything. Awesome times for a band that was supposed to be a side project. 

Your style has been describe by people as “folk, bluegrass, country” among other things. What does the band think about those comparisons? What does the band consider “themselves” as far a genre? Or is it even possible to narrow it down?

We feel we play newgrass or progressive bluegrass. We don’t mind to be categorized or named to a genre. But it’s hard for us to decide our own genre. 🙂 We’re happy if our stuff interests people and makes our fans and listeners think about our music or genre and feel good. One of the best things in our band is that we’re constantly eager to learn new stuff and explore musically.

“Brothers in Farms” was released in 2016 and again, has some amazing songs on there, done in your unique and interesting style. Some of the tracks that stand out and will be recognized by fans in America and around the world are “In Bloom”, “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll”, “You could be mine”, “November Rain”, “Self Esteem”, and many more. I know I’m repeating myself but I really feel these recordings and think they are great. How did the Finnish fans react to your releases and music?

Finnish fans have taken our music and our band really well. Second album really interested Finns also because it’s the first Finnish album to make it #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart. Of course in Finland we also have to prove ourselves in a way. That’s common sometimes for bands in Finland. But the reaction and feedback was and still is very good! And we are happy about that. We were happy to work together on this album with a Finnish legend – musician/producer Janne Haavisto. He played in a legendary band named Laika and the Cosmonauts for example. An awesome guy and a fantastic musician.

There are some great songs, with some bands that keep popping up perhaps more than others. Like I said before, I’m an AC/DC kind of fan and there seem to be lots of homage paid to them by the song selections. Would you consider AC/DC to be an influence or inspiration for the band? Or any other bands perhaps like Guns n Roses or Metallica?

I’d say of course. We grew up to these bands  and the songs we re-arrange are important to us. As bands they also represent the kind of musicianship we really respect. And the energy of course! I remember getting a brand new cassette of Metallica’s Black album from my godfather. That nearly wore down in my player. 

I’ve learned that there is a “Seagulls Nest” hidden somewhere deep in the mysterious forests of Finland. What can you tell the readers about this special place and what goes on there?

When COVID-19 hit and cleared our calendar we – to be honest – had some beers and came up with this idea. Seagull’s nest is our treehouse in a secret location. We have invited fellow musicians to visit, have a chat and play music. Outcome so far has been a six episode series on our YouTube channel. We were happy to get some of the top Finnish musicians to visit us and play music with us. Check it out on our YouTube. Occasionally we also rehearse there. 

Finland has been described as the “land of eternal darkness”. I really dig that a lot. How does the eternal darkness affect the citizens of Finland and does it have an impact on your music? 

It does have an impact on our music. Let’s say that it makes minor chords much easier than the major ones. 🙂 Finland has a lot of metal bands considering the size of the population. That’s one outcome of the darkness. Maybe Finns are a somewhat shy or tend to enjoy being a bit more on the quiet side. That changes with a few beers. Maybe people like that fact that our band maybe represents both side of being a Finn – darkness and also the ability to have good times! 

Finland is known for tough winters. But with those long cold periods, there is a silver lining. Ice sports and activities in particular. From Hockey to Ice Swimming…what are some of your favorite things to do when your not playing music?

Personally my favorite things during winter are ice hockey – both playing and watching, Cross country skiing and warming up my home (this gets boring during the winter…). During summer I like to hike, spend time outside, hang out at the town for few cold ones etc. All of us enjoy our time at the countryside on a way or another. And also at the porch with some Cold drinks…

In 2018 you guys released “Grainsville” on Spinefarm Records. Can you talk a little about the release and where the band was at musically at that point? I know you guys covered music in the beginning but also started to incorporate your own music in as well. 

Since the second album already we have had original songs on the albums also. Grainsville was recorded during a super busy period tour wise. We squeezed enough time to our schedule to pre-produce and record the album. On this album we worked together with our friend and an awesome musician Jarkko Viinamäki. He produced this album. On the 3rd album we also wanted to try something new like horns etc. We were and are happy with the album. It was an important step towards the band we are today. Super happy and proud of this – as well as all of our albums.

It’s really cool that you guys are from Finland, my wife and her family also have a large portion of Finnish ancestory, with her people coming over around the turn of the century. In your own words, can you tell the readers at the ROX-TV website, what is means to be “Finnish”? How would you describe your culture to the people of Detroit and America? 

Being a Finn is about being a part of small population that is kind of on its own between Scandinavia and Russia. So we have flavors of those cultures. We are quite independent and can spend a lot of time on our own. But I’d say we are trustworthy and respect other people. It is a proud thing for us to live in a land of 100000 lakes and we love our nature. Life in Finland is simple most of the time. We tend to keep to ourselves a lot but occasionally we enjoy a good party and since the sun does not set in midsummer – that’s when we don’t sleep. 

In 2020 you guys dropped the “Another Miracle” album. Can you talk about that release and the response you’ve been getting from fans? It has some great songs on there and was released on the Playground Music label.

On all four of our albums so far – we’ve had a different producer. On Another Miracle we teamed up with Timo Kämäräinen. A Finnish producer/guitar wizard/awesome musician. We feel that he was able to find sides from our band we hadn’t found before. Also our line up changed on this album. Skubu (drums, perc, voc) and Jamppa (bass, voc, violin) came along. The whole process including pre-production was very good and musically maybe best one so far. We have 50/50 originals and re-arranged classics on this album. We’ve gotten very good response and also now that we are able to play these songs live – since the pandemic has toned down a little bit. We took ourselves to musical atmospheres and places we hadn’t been before. Who knows what happens next.

You currently have over fifty dates booked for gigs. To say that you guys “stay busy” would be a severe understatement. Do you guys enjoy playing “live” and how do you manage to work so much stuff in with the time you have?

We love playing live. That’s our bread and butter – so to say. Of course we love making albums also but live shows, travelling, meeting people etc is something that we have always hoped we can do. We are fortunate that we can tour in different countries, meet different people and see other cultures. That’s something unique. We actually have now close to 100 dates booked until the end of 2022. So yes, it’ll be busy. 🙂 But we try to do other stuff on the road too, like videos. Plus when it’s something you love – you want to find time. It takes a lot of planning too and everyone has to do their part outside touring too. We run our social media ourselves, also the webstore and so on. So there is plenty of work. But we love it. Plus – an important thing – we have super good management, booking agent(s) and other people helping us. We would not be able to do everything without them. So to all of you – we salute you!

I’ve been told some very exciting news. I hear that you have a brand-new single dropping this Friday!! Is that something you can talk about, or will it have to remain a surprise until the Friday drop? I’ve gotten a sneak peek myself and I can say this: YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS NEW SINGLE DROP ON FRIDAY. I encourage the ROX-TV readers to check it out!!

Yep! New stuff coming out. Single, video and a lot of tour date announcements! Well keep the new single a bit of a secret but let’s say that Still loving you meets accordion meets Wild West. So that’s what’s coming. 🙂 The single was recorded at the same sessions with our latest album Another Miracle. For the video we were happy to work with Finnish film maker Jukka Vidgren. He’s known for example of his metal comedy Heavy trip.

You guys are getting lots of love from around the world and you truly deserve it. Your music speaks to me, and I hold it up high. I truly believe that music is the universal language of the world, and your music proves it! All I can say is keep doing what you’re doing because people are paying attention and digging your unique and amazing sounds. Before we part, is there any other news you’d like to drop? Where can the ROX-TV readers purchase/hear your music?

First of all, thank you for this interview and your kind words. Music is the universal language. And we need it in the world as well as other arts too. Check out our social media, YouTube and website. We try to update everything there. We have a lot of tour dates coming up in Europe and North America. So stay tuned!! Find our music at streaming services or if you like a LP or CD – check out our webstore. We’ll send you music!

Last but not least. I’m came of age in the 1990’s and one of my favorite things bands used to do was give some “shout outs”. Who are you guys shouting out tonight?

You mean cool stuff, music or such? Check out the new Ghost album! Check out Finnish delicacy mämmi! And big shout out to our fellows in US – the bands called Great peacock and Clusterpluck! We’ve toured with them in US – awesome guys and music!

So there you have it, Finland is definitely in the house tonight and they are grinding the shit out of the music. It’s be an honor to have them on the ROX-TV website tonight and we thank them for stopping in for a spell. The big drop is coming this Friday so stay on the ready for that. We will be following Steve ‘n’ Seagulls and watching what they get up to in the coming months. Well, I guess that’s about all the time we have tonight. As always, “MUSIC IS THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF THE WORLD”. It brings us together, regardless of boundries and imaginary lines drawn around the earth. We are all in this together. Treat friends, family, and strangers well…and I will catch you on the flipside. Until next time….peace and tolerance for all.

Signing off,

Mike Shepard

ROX-TV Editor

shepard2909@hotmail.com