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The Finnish rock-music has come to an age of adulthood. It's becoming evident, as the descendants of old Finnish rockers are now becoming rising stars, and starting to get a taste of success on their own.
Sir Christus, rock-musician in the second generation - and the guitarist of Negative - enjoys about the changing landscapes in the tour bus.
Unlike his guitarist-father from the legendary Finnish band Popeda, he has found success also elsewhere than just in Finland. The band has already been seen performing on Japanese and European stages. Judging by the feedback, Negative's music, make ups, and stage performance are a well-working package. And they hardly can avoid feeling pleasure about the fact, that this Finnish band has often been compared to the American mega-band, Guns 'n Roses.
But seldom has Negative been on the cover stories of Finnish tabloids only by their musical merits. Tabloids have been eager to tell about their wild parties as well, and sometimes about their little quarrels.
Christus smiles at it: "Young men, sometimes maybe a bit too drunken, so all kinds of things can happen. But on the other hand, other young guys do similar things as well, it's just that some guys get to the headlines for it, some others don't", he quips.
Christus gives a high praise to Jonne's brother, Tommi Liimatainen, who's the manager of Negative. Numerous have been those times when Tommi has had to find a way out of hard times with the band.
"I'm grateful to Tommi. He has had to push himself through so many walls. And things certainly aren't as wild in our profession and lives as tabloids make it look out to be. We are very reasonable about our job, always sober on the gigs, and I repeat: always. We have a basic morality with our job, and it's very deep inside of us. None of us have work-ethical problems. In a certain sense, we are plain workers. But we are also supporters of freedom", he tells.
So, what is the freedom for a rock-musician? Christus is about to say, that the finest thing about the life as a rock-musician is freedom, but not quite as simple freedom as one might think.
"A perfect freedom leads to a situation where you're lying down on the couch, numb as a vegetable. But the thing what makes the job of a rock-musician so fine, is the freedom to follow your own pleasures. As a factory worker you would be forced to do things on a certain specific way. But freedom is a broad expression. Is it freedom if you don't have any responsibilities? We all have to have priorities. Priorities about what you care, and about what you must take responsibility of."
Christus got rid of any wrong illusions about rock-stardom already when he was a little child. He was almost born in a tour bus. Musician-father died tragically due to a seizure of illness right before a gig.
So much for the stardom and eternal life. For Christus, his father is the brightest star in the sky.
"I've seen what a rock-musician's life is ever since when I was 5-years old, so I was kind of born to this job. But anyway, watching the ever-changing scenery through the windows of the tour bus is a form of freedom for me. But if nothing is happening, that's like a swearing word to me, that's when I get mad."
Negative's album Sweet & Deceitful, which was released last Fall, has been relatively successful. During this summer, one more single was released again, this time it was the cover version of Neil Young's "My my, hey hey". A long ago Neil Young became familiar to Christus as well, thanks to his father.
"My father used to listen to him, and the same happened with Johnny Winter, Nazareth, and Thin Lizzy. By the way, I got to play Thin Lizzy's guitar in Stockholm", he says.
Negative makes their music primarily by themselves. According to Christus, their record company doesn't affect much on their decisions about musical directions.
"We get to make music the way we like. Finally we have found a record company that accepts us the way we are."
The most visible member of the band is Jonne Aaron, but inside the band Jonne is only one of the six members. Decision making process with all band-relating stuff is done democratically.
The band is travelling soon to Germany and Switzerland, and although having success is their goal, they're not reaching for it at any price whatsoever.
Says Larry: "We don't have a commercial vision, we're not travelling around the world like a salesperson and making chart topping hits. That's not the way how we work."
Nevertheless, they are certainly ambitious. The story of this band (founded in 1997) is only at the beginning. However, the existence of the band doesn't go for granted.
"We haven't yet reached the goals we are aiming at. But still, there's always this fear about when this will come to an end, and we must start finding something else to do", says Christus.
"We are doing our best, all the time, and that's all what anybody can humanly ask for. We'll keep going, let's see what will happen."
Adds Larry: "And we have to keep going, because the studies got quite badly interrupted."
"Yeah, that too", says Christus.
Every succesful rocker must have their dreams, and so has Christus. But after all, he's not a rockstar around the clock. After the gigs and tours, he goes back home as everybody:
"I clean up places, but then I realize there's no use to it, so I just put a CD on, lie down on the couch, and relax with a beer or two."
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