Getting to know: Flush

Finland , Finland , Finland
The country where I want to be
Pony trekking or camping or just watching T.V.

…Not with me? Never mind, perhaps today’s Helsinkians (sp.) will know what I’m on about, with:

Flush

Introduce your members, what do each of you bring to the band?

Börje (drums): As a drummer my duty is to be kind of a backbone in the band and keep the groove going. As a blabbermouth and being quite connected, I often know someone or know someone who knows someone, whether it is a matter of graphics, merch, festivals or what not. We all contribute in some ways.

Janne (guitars & backing vocals): I aim to be part of the rhythm section and the Flush wall of sound, while also spicing things up with guitar solos and other guitar lead things. And not to forget the high vocal harmonies.

Eero (bass): As the bass player I bring the groove that gets the people moving, working closely with Börje to keep the rhythm section interesting. I also like to think that I’m the driving force in getting us to do gigs and other stuff abroad, and usually take responsibility in arranging that part.

Lasse (vocals and guitars): I sing, play guitars, and write the songs. I’d like to think that makes me at least the creative force in the band. It also makes me do a lot of the hustling, PR and all that “sales stuff”.

When did you last speak to your families?

Börje: All the time

Janne: Five minutes ago

Eero: Last week

Lasse: The question is when did I not speak to them. Seems like forever ago…

What are your instrument makes/models of choice and why? Which effects could you not live without?

Börje: Pearl Export Series (80s) and Paiste Cymbals & Tama Iron Cobra pedals. (22BD, 10, 12, 13 toms and 16 FT. Even if the kit is old and old fashioned, I still love the sound, as I tune them to perfection. No specific reason, but I am going to upgrade them at some point.

Janne: My guitar is an ESP E-II Horizon (FR Black Natural Burst) and I play a Hughes & Kettner Duotone Head. I usually combine these with an overdrive and light echo/delay – trying to keep the sound simple.

Eero: I mainly play a Musicman Sterling through a Sunn 300T head. After searching for a sound that is both groovy but still aggressive enough for the music we make, these fit the best. The only effect I use is some overdrive and that is an essential part of my sound.

Lasse: Most of the time I play a Fano JM6 Standard through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, with a handful of gains and other effects in between. Thorpy’s Warthog distortion is my main distortion, but I have recently also used a lot of my Revv G3. I love offset guitars and this Fano model comes with Humbuckers, so I get the best of all worlds (shape and gain). I experiment with effect pedals, especially gains, quite a lot, but almost always go back to the Warthog. I picked the Fender HRD combo because it is a neutral, clean tube amp with lots of headroom, and it is easily available. This way I’m not dependent on any specific amp for my sound.

What are the defining characteristics of Flush?

We operate on the darker side of the spectrum and like to think we represent Nordic melancholy quite accurately. Combine that with dry humour, sarcasm, and an occasional tongue in cheek, and you’ve nailed our being. Sonically you could place us in an alternative rock bucket, punk rock bucket, hard rock bucket, or just a plain old rock bucket.

If you could have a DC or Marvel superhero as a member of your band, who would it be and what role would they have? Which band member would they have to fight to get the position and who would win?

Great question, which sparked many thoughts here! One suggestion was Judge Dredd acting as the Tempo Police (steady tempo isn’t always one of our strengths). Another idea was The Human Torch, who could provide an easy pyrotechnic solution to our stage visuals. So maybe we’ll place The Human Torch banging additional percussions, Slipknot-style, and we become a five-piece.

What are you working on at the moment?

We have just recorded a 4-song EP and it is released later this Fall. It’s called ‘Conspiracies, Threats and Chaos’, and the first single, ‘Entertainment’, just came out. This means that right now we are focusing on promoting the new material and on creating videos. Local venues are not yet booking gigs, but they should soon, and then we’ll be all over the clubs.

Who are your favourite bands/artists/songwriters/musicians?

How much space do we have for this? I (Lasse) once started this thing of publishing one album a day for each of my favourite artists. After a few weeks I just gave up because I kept coming up with more artists to add to the list and the list was actually growing every day, not shrinking. But let’s name some: I always say that Flush would not exist without Bad Religion and I still stand by that statement. But we all have different preferences so depending on who you ask, you’ll get artists like Amorphis, Korn, Pavement, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Hüsker Dü, Biffy Clyro, Idles and obviously Dethklok. Oh, and Tom Waits obviously.

Who is your favourite author, which is their best book and why?

We named our debut album after a famous Bukowski quote (‘It Began as a Mistake’) so obviously we like him, but I’ll mention the most recent book I finished. It’s a children’s book and a classic one, at least here in the Nordics. The story of Nangiala and the Brothers Lionheart (author: Astrid Lindgren) has haunted me – in a good way – since my childhood and now I finally got to read it to my son. It’s a story about death and tyranny but also about love and courage. I still cried when reading it to my son. It’s beautiful, melancholic, and captivating.

When is your next single/album likely to be released? What is it called and where can we get it in our ears? Why should we buy it?

As mentioned, the EP comes out later this Fall, but the next release is single #2, ‘Weak and Wrong’, coming out Friday 17^th September. It’ll be on all the usual digital platforms and also on Bandcamp. If all goes well, it should come with a cool video too. It’s one of our more aggressive punk songs and we hope lots of people, especially men, are provoked by it.