I'd still love to read. and if you do take the time to translate them I would appreciate it very much!
First one. End of the interview is missing I couldn't find it anywhere
. I will translate more interviews later.
Soundi 4/1988
Stone – not just stone!
Stone has risen to the top at once wedging merciless speed into the rock mass. Successfully because people abroad want also taste rumble of Stone.
- Our timing was good; we don’t even fulfill tightest requirements of thrash and speed because speed is not main thing for us. But we still dig Slayer and Megadeth, that kind of faster stuff.
- But we are not rock start. It would be great to get more fan mail. Girls, send us pictures! The lesser clothes the better.
Roope and Jiri are smoking in the Kerava local train and looking to the corridor every now and then.
- It’s not worth of buying a ticket. Okay, last year we got three fines for travelling without ticket but it’s cheaper to pay fines than tickets. And who is paying the fines anyway.
Stone rehearsal place is five minutes walk away from Kerava railway station. First through the tunnel that has circus painting on the walls. Someone has sprayed big male organs on top of them. Then cross the road. In front of us is big pink youth house. It’s romantic style from beginning of the century.
Local band is training inside. Stone is sneering to the guys’ amplifiers that are not Marshalls. Also guitars cause some headshaking. Those are not Jacksons. Jiri and Roope are opening their guitar cases where Jacksons worth of 12000 Finnish mark per guitar are laying.
Is Stone paying that well already?
- No. We are working and talking loan. One gets help from the rich grandma.
- I can’t work. Roope defends himself. My skin goes to pot if I go to concrete factory.
- He is Tempest of our band. He got his name from Europe. Eu-rope, others are laughing.
Properly threw stones.
Stone debut album published in the March was instant killer album. Stone has been playing on the radio and album has been selling good. Also foreign countries woke up to Stone’s heavy music. One American and one European record company were pushing record deals and competing with each others. They want five album deal and worldwide rights from the Stone.
- It would be nice, guys say. But you can be happy only after papers have been signed. It’s interesting that we haven’t done much work for the band. We have done only one demo.
Popularity has come quite quickly, now it’s exactly a year from the delivering demo tape to some record companies. Poko said no, Megamania said yes.
Stone itself is not a new band, Janne (vocals and bass), Jiri and Roope (guitars) and Pekka (drums) have been playing together three years.
- We have always been playing heavy, but there has been other kind of progress during past three years. When we band was formed we didn’t know how to play at all. Our first tapes are rather tragicomic.
- We got your first gig right after band was formed. After that we have been playing everywhere tells Janne, front man of the band. We have organized gig by our self to youth houses and such. Even they might have been only 20 people present all gigs have been useful – besides one gig is as valuable as couple of rehearsal. Small gigs keep you down to the earth but helps word to spread. People started to talk about us in Kerava couple of years ago and now…now they are talking about us in Helsinki. Probably no one knows us in the middle or northern parts of Finland.
Stone entered the studio first time last winter when they record their first single. Produces were Danny and Marko from Backsliders.
– They were big help even producing was limited to Danny stamping his foot and shouting “that doesn’t work”. We wouldn’t be able to record anything without them, we were helpless.
When stone entered the studio for recording their album routines were already set. Band had reserved studio for one week and they intended to record couple of new songs. They ended up recording whole LP in just three days. Mixing took four days.
- Then we released that album is ready. You shouldn’t put album under the spotlight. But there was no point finalizing it more. Album represents what we are able to play.
After LP came out things started to roll. Stone didn’t have their own booker at the time. But word had spread among the bookers that Stone is worth of booking. And guys also kept signing session in the record store.
- We thought that maybe three or five people show up. But there was long line all the way tot the street. It was only three years ago when we were at that same store lining up for W.A.S.P. signing.
Good time
Stone hails from Kerava and Espoo and calls itself as a band “almost from Helsinki”. Roope and Jiri are still at the school. In music high school their band hassle is understood but Stone is disturbing studying so much that we are failing courses. Janne will graduate from high school this spring. Pekka is working in the plumbing company.
<And the rest is missing….>
