BULLDOZER : "This Band Is Another Mistake In My Life !" (Finland - Punk/Oï! - Interview with Jaska, Ilkka, Marko).

Hello ! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how it all began for you - your encounter with this musical universe, what appealed to you, what fascinated you and what made you want to get into music? 
Jaska: I always wanted to be rock star since I was a kid. Never learned to play any instrument so ended up in vocals. Never learned to sing either but here we go. Never knew it was this difficult, you have focus and try to keep up with the other players.... I was brought up listening 60-70's rock music and learned to like basic rock n' roll, found punk & Oi! later in my life and just fell in love. Guess the music suited for my fucked up brains.
Ilkka: It all started with the Big Bang, i heard Rancid's Timebomb when I was 12 and that led me to seek out more punk music. I never wanted to play an instrument myself, but I was forced into it, when I was 13, a friend asked if I wanted to join a band, I said yes and told him I was ready to play drums or bass, well, those spots were taken and i didn't want to play guitar, but my friend was a dickhead and wouldn't take NO for an answer. So, here we are, and playing guitar still pisses me off to this day.
Marko: I’m old, but i was too young when punk was born (less than 10 years old). I followed along and started a "play band" with my friends. No musical instruments, of course, pins were made, of course. The band was Räkä. When I was 14 years old it was the time of the first band (called Potenssi). I was a "singer”. After that band broke up, I picked up the bass and we're still going with it. You wouldn't believe from my playing skills that I've been playing the bass for over 40 years.

Tell me about the band... How you met - the current line-up - past experiences - and above all - WHY the need to form THIS band?
Jaska: I used to be a singer in a band called Bollocks which broke up before kicking off properly because the drummer got sober and the guitar player didn't want to play live... So there was some unfinished business from my side. I was drinking beer at my local pub and I saw a guy who looked like guitar player from a band called Korkkivika. Gave him a shout and it was him, Ilkka. Later in the evening we agreed to form an Oi! band. It was supposed to be called Guilty as Charged, taken from the Cock Sparrer album name.
So we needed to find a bass player and a drummer. My friend Sami plays bass but didn't want to get involved but instead recommended his brother Marko. So we asked Marko and he asked their friend Jukka to play the drums. Me and Ilkka had never seen them before but I think it kicked off from the first rehearsals.
Ilkka: Jaska and I met at a pub, and my memories end there, suddenly Jaska was telling me we'd started a band, and once again I was pissed off. The lineup is the same as from the Big Bang: Jaska on vocals, Marko on bass, Jukka banging the drums, and me on guitar. There's absolutely no justification for starting this band, I reckon this is yet another mistake in my life.
Marko: My brother knew Jaska and told me that Jaska needed a bassist for the Oi punk band. Auditions were arranged, the drummer who was supposed to be there canceled his arrival. I called Jukka. I have played with Jukka for the first time as a teenager. Already in the first trainings, The Bulldozer noticed that the chemistry of all of us fit damn well together. It's very important in a band's work.

Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
Jaska: I don't know how to describe it to be honest. It's a mix of influences and tastes of all of the members. Some Rancid, Oxymoron, The Clash, UK 82, punk, reggae,ska, Oi!
No one should listen to us at all cost but I would still recommend to do it, you won't be disappointed. I strongly believe that we're a bit outside of the box, if get an idea that's not stereotypical we don't give a fuck, we just use it.
Ilkka: The band's sound is born from the collaboration between amplifiers and instrument cables. Specifically, when you connect an instrument cable to an amplifier, sound comes out. Why on earth would anyone need to hear us at any cost?
Marko: If you like punk and especially punk from the 70s and 80s, maybe you should listen to us. Ilkka mainly does the songs, then me and the drummer Jukka also do some. There will be songs of suitable different styles.

Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ?
Jaska: In the beginning I wanted us to be like Cock Sparrer but that dream was thrown out of the window after first two weeks as I realized there's not enough story telling talent from my side.  =So we ended up just writing up something that is pretty close to our own life, sometimes we just start with the chorus and create the lyrics from there. I don't think there's any messages in our lyrics. The train for developing has well and truly passed…
Ilkka: Lyrics mean nothing to me, I couldn't care less whether a song is about white supremacy or loving all of humanity, I don't give a flying fuck. What I listen for in music is melody, rhythms and syllabication. lyrics are irrelevant.
Marko: I'm a bass player and I can't make words. I came up with some kind of sentence and Jaska and Ilkka then work out the words. I like the lyrics of the boys. There could be fewer lyrics related to alcohol. On the other hand, I invented the cries of the C.O.O.P. song. Coop is a cheap beer brand in Finland. The Clash and Hanoi Rocks have to be mentioned as examples of musical extras. Punk spins on a platter, but I'm pretty much all food. I like play soul and motown alone with the bass.

About your latest release ? 
Jaska: We finished recording songs couple months ago and we will release 4 song EP at the end of the month and probably something more later this year. Before this we released the EP "Battle Scars" about a year ago. 

Future plans ? 
Try to get some gigs and release new music !

Your most insane dream with the band would be ?
Jaska: Get a label to release our album and play abroad.

Your BEST & WORST concert - as a band - and why ? 
Jaska: I don't think we've had bad gigs to be honest. Missing audience is the biggest problem.
Marko: The last concert at Hats&Caps Wille's birthday. It was a good gig, but a long one. We played 18 songs, two of which were cover songs.

Next live-appearance(s) ?
Jaska: In the summer, to be announced...  

Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name ? 
Jaska: I think we're outside the scene but we've made good friends with the lads from the Finnish Oi! band Hats & Caps, check them out.
Marko: We have done a few gigs with the Hats&Caps band. In Finland, Oi and old-time Punk are not a big genre. Unfortunately...