JOHNOSSI

How did you approach your Rock The Rabbit T-Shirt Design? OSSI: We actually made a pink Playboy logo based on our Johnossi logo and then made them transform into each other. It's pretty basic and I guess that reflects our way of making music as well. If you have a good melody you shouldn't mess too much with its surroundings.

Do you have a favorite article of clothing? JOHN: Yes, leather skin sleeping mask. Me and Ossi travel and sleep a lot, therefore it's a must have clothing (or perhaps it's an accessory) for us!

Where did you pick up ideas about style and design? Is it related at all to your music? JOHN: Not really, we don't really see a connection between our wardrobe and our music. We're not expressing ourselves through our clothes in that way. We rather let the music speak for itself.

What does Playboy mean to you? When do you recall discovering Playboy? JOHN: In Sweden we've always had a lot of dirty adult magazines, porn is not a big deal here (people are still fucking in the streets over here you know). Therefore by the time I for the first time found a Playboy magazine (in my uncle's car) I had already seen a lot of porn and saw it as a pretty classy magazine with beautiful women in it. I wasn't shocked by the nudity, but I would lie if I said that dirty thoughts didn't go through my head when I looked at the pictures.

Beatles or Stones? JOHN: Definitely Stones

Were there bands you heard at a certain point in your lives that made a huge difference in how you thought about music? JOHN: Michael Jackson was the first artist that captured my heart, when I was like 6 years old. His talent is beyond anything on this earth! After only listening to Michael for a couple of years I discovered rock music through Nirvana when I was 9 years old. They blew my mind and fucked up my head (in a good way). They are still one of my absolute favorites!

Who put on the best live show you ever saw, and why was it so good? JOHN: When I was younger, I went to a lot of concerts. One concert that I remember as just amazing was Rage Against The Machine in 1996 at the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden. I had been waiting for like four hours in the front row to make sure I had the best spot in the audience. Thirty minutes before they went on stage a lot of people started to panic and faint (because of the great pressure from the 30,000 people attending the show). I was actually really scared a couple of times. But I didn't bail out and when they finally hit the stage it was like an explosion of energy, fucking amazing! After three songs I started to feel really weak and suddenly everything went black; I fainted, but woke up when the security people carried me over the security fence. It was a great night!

Do you guys have a pre-game ritual or a superstition before or during shows? JOHN: Yes, we spit, scream, punch each other in the face, and piss and shit (in the toilet) a lot. We basically do everything possible to gain as much focus as possible. We put a lot of energy into every show we do.

What was the best show you ever played? Why? What makes a good show from your perspective? OSSI: The thing is, whenever we do an outstanding show I cant really remember a thing afterwards. Its like when you go off-stage you wake up from a fantastic dream but you can't really remember what the dream was about.

At what point do you know a song is good? Do you ever have an idea you just know is going to kill on the dance floor or live or whatever? OSSI: There are two kinds of good songs as I see it. The ones that stick in your head like glue the first time you hear it that makes you want to sing along even though you have no fucking idea what the words are. And then we have the songs that slowly drill into your brain until you finally understand and appreciate them--those kinds of songs often have a longer life time. We are not that kind of band that goes in to the studio with 30-40 songs and then pick out the top ten for the album. We only make ten songs that we are 100% happy with. All of which are included in one of the two categories mentioned above.

What's the most exciting thing you've done in the past year as a result of your music career? OSSI: I guess that would be that time I had to design a t-shirt for Playboy...

Best song you've been listening to lately? JOHN:"The Devil was in My Yard" by The Sleepy Jackson

Favorite new band? JOHN: The Bronx

Favorite driving album? OSSI: I had a The Smiths tape in my old car, and that was the only music allowed whenever I drove. When I finally had to drive it to the junkyard, I deliberately left the tape in the stereo and had it destroyed with the car. Dramatic? You bet!

Favorite bedroom album? OSSI: I never listen to music in the bedroom. I need it to be dead quiet and as dark as the devils soul.

Do you think the album format is dead? JOHN: No, not yet, but it has definitely checked in at the hospital, long term.

How have the technology boom and the internet affected the way you approach promoting your music? OSSI: We don't have too much experience of how everything in the music business worked before the Internet revolution. All I can say is that if you are in a band and you want to get discovered and you don't have a homepage or a MySpace page, you're pretty much fucked.