The Rasmus

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The Rasmus is a Finnish band. Before the release of the album Into in 2001, the band was known as Rasmus (without the definite article).

1 Career history
2 Band members
3 Discography
4 External links

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Career history

The Rasmus formed at the end of 1994 when the band members were still in high school and were initially known as Rasmus. They recorded their first single, "1st", released independently through Teja G. Records in late 1995 before signing with Warner Music Finland to release their first album, Peep, when the band members were only aged 16. It went gold as the band played over 100 shows in Finland and Estonia.

Rasmus released its second album, Playboys, in 1997 which also went gold in Finland with the gold single "Blue". Its gruelling live schedule included supporting Rancid and Dog Eat Dog and appearing at a festival at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. The band would also win a Finnish Grammy Award for "Best New Artist" in 1996.

The band's third album Hell of a Tester was released in 1998 with the video for the single "Liquid" making a regular appearance on Nordic MTV. This song would be voted song of the year by Finnish music critics. The band achieved further recognition supporting Garbage and Red Hot Chili Peppers in Finland.

Rasmus became The Rasmus in 2000. It released Into in 2001 which went double platinum in Finland debuting at #1. The first single "F-F-F-Falling" which was #1 in Finland for three months in early 2001. The second single "Chill" was released through Scandinavia and reached #2 in Finland. The Rasmus toured throughout Scandinavia and Europe supporting the album supporting HIM and Roxette.

The band recorded Dead Letters in 2003 at Nord Studios in Sweden reuniting with Mikael Nord Andersson and Martin Hansen who had produced Into. It was released in Europe in early 2003 reaching the top of the album charts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as Finland. Its European success led to the release of the album in other parts of the world. Dead Letters and its first single "In the Shadows" both reached top 10 and top 3 in the UK charts respectively, and both going top 50 of the Australian ARIA charts in 2004 whilst topping the New Zealand singles chart. The single has also reached the top 20 of the Billboard Heatseeker charts. "Guilty", was the band's second single for the American market. Recently, iTunes Music Store offered second track on Dead Letters, "In the Shadows," as one of its free singles, and positive public response prompted many listeners to buy the rest of the album.

The Rasmus tend to provoke strong opinions in people. They made a notable appearance at the Reading Festival in 2004, where they were pelted with plastic bottles and mud until they eventually walked offstage due to immediate medical attention being required for Eero's eye.

Their newests album is Hide From The Sun, with the singles, No Fear, Sail Away, and the up coming, Shot.

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Band members

Image:Lauri rasmus 4.jpg

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Lauri Ylönen

The lead singer. He was born in Helsinki on the 23rd April 1979. He first wanted to be a drummer, but his older sister Hanna convinced him to be vocalist. Lauri is the main writer of lyrics for all the band's songs, although the rest of the band does help. He has two tattoos, one of Björk, holding her arms up in a swan shape, and another one of a gothic text written Dynasty (A small brotherhood of people from different bands in Finland). His favorite bands are Björk, Weezer, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse. Recently he has done collaborations with Finnish cello rock band Apocalyptica on their newest, self titled album.

Full Name: Lauri Johannes Markus Paavo Ylönen
Nickname(s): Lintu (Bird) Pauri (mixture between Lauri and Pauli also means Babyface) Karitsa (Lambkin)
DOB: 23rd April 1979
POB: Helsinki, Finland
Hair color: Naturally brown, has been dyed pink, blonde, reddy-orange and black
Eye Color: Green, but wears black contacts in some videos
Trivia: Kerrang! magazine said in an interview he resembles Gollum from Lord of the Rings.
Odd Fact: He claimed to Sugar magazine that he collects body parts in jars.- Actually he collects stuffed black crows! His friends nickname has inspired him to wear feathers in his hair.

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Pauli Rantasalmi

The guitarist. He was born on May 1 1979 in Rantasalmi. He has been a member since the band first formed. He not only plays guitar but other instruments as well. He produces and manages other bands such as Killer and Kwan.

Full Name: Pauli Antero Esko Rantasalmi
Nickname: Tonni 1000 (1000 Tones)
DOB: 1st May 1979
POB: Helsinki, Finland
Hair Color: Naturally brown, has been dyed blonde
Eye Color: Green
Fact: His guitar riff in a sound check eventually spawned the hit thatwas "In the Shadows"!

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Aki Hakala

The drummer. He was born in Espoo, Finland on 28 October 1979. He joined the band after the former drummer, Janne, left in 1999. Aki originally sold band merchandise at their shows. Aki joined the band after 'jamming' with Pauli.

Full Name: Aki Markus Juhani Hakala
Nickname(s): Hattu (Hat)
DOB: 28th October, 1979
POB: Espoo, Finland
Hair Color: Naturally blonde, has been dyed black and red
Eye Color: Blue

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Eero Heinonen

The bassist. He was born in Helsinki, Finland on 27 November 1979. He is one of the original members of the band. He practices Sahaja Yoga twice a day. He is the most sensible in the group and often looks after the others, despite being the youngest.

Full Name: Eero Aleksi Heinonen
Nickname(s): Suuntavaisto (Sense of Direction)
DOB: 27th November, 1979
POB: Helsinki, Finland
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Fact: Is married and has a child

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