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Tina från Punk Lurex have been so nice and answered a lot of questions from me. Punk Lurex is a really good finnish punk band and have you missed them you must give them a listening. May -2026.
Please tell me why and when you started to play?
-Our guitarist Piise started playing guitar and bass already sometime in
1980 or maybe even earlier in his early teens. Since then, Piise has also
taken over the drums and horns. Around the same time I learned to play basic
guitar stuff by strumming my father's guitar. I changed to bass guitar when
I was 15, when I joined my first band. But I only started playing actively
when I was studying at university in my early twenties in the late 1980s.
Then I founded my first real band Porttikielto with my study friend Riitta.
Our second guitarist Kukka is a bit younger than me and Piise, and drummer
Markus is the youngest of us - about twenty years younger than me and Piise.
They also started playing in their teens. For all of us, the hobby of
playing music started out of love for music, and especially punk. For me it
has always been clear that I want to make political punk music with catchy
melodies and high energy.
Have it been the same members all the time?
-No, the membership has changed over the years. In fact, I am the only
completely original member, but guitarist Kukka has also been involved since
1995 (I founded the band in 1993). The current line-up (Tiina Wesslin: bass
and vocals; Piise Viippo: guitar; Jari "Kukka" Kukkaisniemi: guitar; Markus
Saastamoinen: drums) has been together since 2020.
You started to play again or why was it twelve years between the your latest
records?
- We had difficulties with finding a permanent guitarist to replace the
original guitarist Riitta who quitted in 2000. The other guitarist, Kukka,
has been playing in the band since 1995 but after the Riitta left it has
been difficult to find a substitute for her. That is why we were not very
active during those years. But now it seems that the line-up is finally
permanent and complete.
You have played together with TV Smith on some record too, how did it became
that way?
-TV Smith and Punk Lurex have some shared fans. A couple of them were at
TV:s gig in Germany and they went to tell him that there is a great band in
Finland he should play with. After that incident Jukka Junttila, the boss of
our record label Hiljaiset levyt, started to arrange things and got TV Smith
(Tim to friends) to come to Finland in 1999. We made a short tour together
and recorded "The future used to be better" -ep together. Both Tim and us
really liked to play together and we became good friends. We have been
collaborating since then.
Have you taken away OK in your name and are you called only Punk Lurex now?
-Yes, that is right. OK was dropped after our first six year break in 2009
when we started again with a new line-up without original guitarist Riitta
Suojanen.
What other name was you thinking about when you started to play?
-Not many really. Naming the band was more like joking. Our name is based on
graffiti on the wall of the employment office in our hometown Tampere at
early eighties. Someone had accidently written "Punk Lures" instead of Punk
Rules on the wall.
Was it important to get the word punk into your name?
-Not really, that was not intentional.
Please tell me a little about every member, name, what you play, age, work,
and if you have any band on the side of Punk Lurex and bands before Punk
Lurex?
- Tiina Wesslin (bass, vocals) - that's me. I am responsible for a large
part of the band's songs. I work as a journalist and I just turned 60 years
earlier this month. Before Punk Lurex I played bass in a band called
Porttikielto and during the first break of Punk Lurex I played bass and sang
in a band called Tina.
Jari "Kukka" Kukkaisniemi (guitar) also participates in making the songs. He
has played guitar and bass in many other bands such as Cretins, BastaBasta
and still existing ska-band Donna and the dynamiters. Kukka is 53. Kukka
works in management positions in social and health services.
Markku "Piise" Viippo (guitar) has made quite a few songs for Punk Lurex's
newest album "Uusi suunta". Piise is a legendary hardcore guitarist and bass
player, who has played in largely known hc-bands - for example Cadgers and
Riistetyt already in the very beginning of 1980's. Piise is 59 years old and
he is a bus driver.
Markus "Saastis" Saastamoinen (drums) is a well known drummer who has played
and is still playing in multiple line-ups like Yhteiskunnan ystävät?, Ward,
Generals, Konkurssi, Eristetyt… Nowadays he is playing for example in
backing band of famous Finnish punk artist Pelle Miljoona. Markus is 44
years old and he is a warehouse worker.
You have never thought of singing in English (I Hope you don´t have thoughts
about that?
-No! But in fact we are covering Ebba Grön's (or Blå tåget's) Staten och
kapitalet on our LP "Puolesta ja vastaan" in Swedish
Is it more difficult to write lyrics in Finnish that’s in English?
-I don't know - I have never tried to write lyrics in English...
I have Prolex, Anika Vapa, Uusi Suunta and the record with TV Smith. What
have you done more and how can I get them?
-Yes, we have released 5 long plays, 1 single, two ep:s (one of them with TV
Smith) and 1 compilation. Here is the list of them all:
https://www.discogs.com/artist/882702-Punk-Lurex-OK?srsltid=AfmBOooqwAzHbDE0eSPF46-odXJDPLZPJi2IVs8hW3E9hDJtjtG6zm__
You can listen to our records for example in Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/artist/4CYfkA2HfmVfd2cnGWnJRU)
and youtube. You can try to buy them in Discogs - unfortunately we don't
have any of them ourselves, so we can not post them to you
How is it to live in Finland right now, so near Russia, and how is it with
racist, prize on food och gas and so on?
-The atmosphere is insecure mostly because of Russia and also Trump's
politics. Because of the Finnish right-wing government (with openly racist
True Finns party involved) poverty is a reality for many, and unreasonable
cuts to public healthcare are hitting hardest on low-income earners, child
welfare and elderly, disabled and sick people. The government has also
blunted environmental legislation and animal welfare laws. So many
problems... Fortunately they will be a parliamentary election next year.
Your lyrics, what is inspiringly to write them?
-We want to influence social issues with our lyrics and create faith that
together we can make a world a better place to people, animals and
environment. In our lyrics we criticize societal injustice and support such
things as environmental and animal protection, tolerance, equality and an
active civic participation.
Who does the lyrics?
-Usually mostly me but on our newest album "Uusi suunta" (New direction)
Piise has written many song texts too.
Music and politic is it always go together?
-For Punk Lurex yes. The world is full of love songs and empty song lyrics,
but that is not our style. (Nothing wrong in love though!!) I am active also
in politics as a regional councillor for the Green Party.
Any really good Finnish bands to recommend?
-Oh, I have been so busy lately that I have not listened any bands for a
long time... Magnus the drummer says There´s a lot of young kids playing
excellent punk these days. Check out bands like Putkipommi and Armoton.
Any Swedish favorites ?
-Same answer here - I!! I have liked many Swedish bands I
have heard from my husband's huge record collection but I don't remember
their names... As a young punk rocker I liked Ebba Grön a lot. And a couple
of years I saw a live show from Baboon Show and it was great.
Please write down your ten favorite records all time?
- I can only name a few favourite bands but
can't remember the names of the certain records: From Spanish bands I really
like Electroduendes, Accidente, Suicidas and Simulacro. My Finnish absolute
favourite bands are (were) Kollaa kestää and Sensuuri. From British bands I
loved Angelic Upstarts and Buzzcocks. From Sweden I would say Ebba Grön and
from Denmark Assassinators. As you can see, I love melodic punk.
Is it important to get out your releases as physical stuff?
-Yes. I don't know what happens to physical records in the future but at
least for now it is important for us.
How much do.a record with Punk Lurex sell?
-Hard to say. No very much any more because of streaming services. Maybe
500? Many old LP:s or CD:s of ours are hard to find though.
You have almost done all your records on Hiljaiset Levyt, is it a good
label?
-Yes, it would be a strange thought to publish our music through any other
label. Jukka Junttila, who is the owner of Hiljaiset levyt, publishes
records out of love for music, not to get rich. He has said that in addition
to good music, or perhaps even more important than good music, is to be able
to release albums from bands with good guys.
Any good bands on the label?
-Yes - for example Boasters! I saw them for the first time at Hiljaiset
levyt 40 years -party recently and they were great! The style is kind of
British Oi or street punk with antiracist ideology.
Is it good to be a little bit older and play punk?
-”Little bit" - that is a polite expression!!
What is the biggest difference to play nowadays if you compare when you
started to play?
-There are so many bands and venues these days! When we started playing live
music was much more rare and it was so easy to get good gigs. Nowadays for
example our home town Tampere can have even 5 competing gigs in the same
evening.
Is to play live the best you know? What’s the best with that?
-It is wonderful to see happy faces in the audience and see how they enjoy
the music you have made yourself! And it is always such a joy to notice that
they know the songs and sing along!
Futureplans for the nearest future?
Well, we are not good in selling our band - and we don't have time for that.
It would be nice to find an active and efficient booking agency who would
make the deals for us and we could concentrate in paying and making music.
For yourself?
-These days I actually enjoy just to take care of my home and garden. Yeah,
kinda dull, isn't that? Well, I also enjoy travelling and of course
sometimes going to gigs or playing them myself. I haven't got any huge plans
- except that I am really looking forward to being a granny! I hope that
happens in a few years... (I try to get answers from the boys to this one
too!!)
Wisdomword?
-My head is quite empty after this marathon - no wisdom left for today!!
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