Resident 43 started out as a quartet in 97. Influenses in the music were typical of those bands that sprung from the ashes of the grunge-era.
Pearl Jam was one major factor in the bands sound, but you could also hear that we had been listening a lot of Kingston Wall, Screaming Trees, Alice in Chains, The Cult etc., not even mentioning the various punk bands that were a big deal to us back then, and still are to this day.
Original members were Janu on the vocals, me Jura on guitar, Juha on bass and Jakke on drums.
There had been an early incarnation of the band, wich was cleverly named Rectum (sure there are hundreds of bands playing in garages even today with the same name).
It was brought to life by Lasse Sjöroos who then was the singer-guitarist of the band. He started it out with his classmate Juha Kiskonen and friend Peter Henriksson.
With Juha on bass and Peter on drums they felt the need for a lead guitarist, in came me...! Well Rectum or Slappies, we couldn..t decide between the two, didn..t actually take off too well and the band called it quits, with Lasse hitting his guitar against the wall and leaving.Some time after that me and Janu first met at school and found out that we had similar tastes in music. I started thinking about making songs with him and finding new band members, to launch a new kind of band.Then without a name, Resident 43 seeds were planted.I asked Juha if he..d like to come and try playing with us and he did, so the first rehersal was held in my room, still living with my parents. I think the year was 1996.
Soon after we were looking for a drummer because Peter wouldn..t do anymore, he was too busy, and his style too limited for the style we were going for. Luckily my friend..s girlfriend..s litllebrother (still following...?) Jakke known for his drumming skills, after all he..s studied marimba and percussions in Turku Conservatory, was interested enough to try out with the rest of us, and it went well. Only problem being, that while me, Juha and Janu were already in our twenties, Jakke was only sixteen, so he couldn..t keep up with the beer drinking with his older bandmates...well he wasn..t too interested in those kind of passtime activities anyhow.Soon we started playing gigs around town, the first gig was at Club Down Town, opening for a glam-rock band Crystal Exstacy in the September of 97.
Soon after the first two gigs I had been talking to Lasse about the need for a second guitarist, and he agreed to come and check out if he could deliver the goods!
The first practice to my recollection didn..t go too well, for Lasse was too stoned, and the second rehearsal we had, he couldn..t remember any of the stuff we had practiced the first time...! Slowly but surely Lasse..s playing got better and we played the first gigs with him around the club circuit of Turku.Now after five EP..s and 70 or so gigs in Turku and some surrounding smaller towns, we can say that we have a steady following, sometimes be it 5 people and their dog, otherwise tens or hundreds of people listening to our special blend of music wich nowadays puts together styles inspired by such bands and artists as Captain Beyond, Camel, Roky Erikson, Allman Brothers,Kiss etc. You can even find sounds similar to Interpol and and other new new wave-acts in the the mix. But the most important thing to us is to play music we enjoy that sounds like Resident 43!!!-Jura Salmi 12.01.2006
Wigwam ja Kingston Wall. Nämä tulevat itselle ensimmäisenä mieleen kuunnellessani vuonna 1997 perustetun Resident 43 –yhtyeen järjestyksessään neljättä EP:tä, Etruskian Nights.Resident 43 ei ole tosiaan mikään uusi yhtye. Tästä johtuen bändin soundi on neljännellä julkaisullaan äärimmäisen hioutunut eikä puutteita oikeastaan löydy mistään. Yhtyeen rauhallinen äänimaailma toimii kaikilla tasoilla. Elementit ovat löytäneet oikeat uomansa eikä ihmeempää naputtamista voi kaivaa oikeastaan mistään. Jopa EP:n tuotanto on soundillisesti bändin äänimaailmaa mukaileva. Hammondit ja kitarat soivat juuri sopivan pehmeinä, Janu Kiviniemen täydentäessä kattauksen pehmeällä laulutavallaan.EP:n raidoissa ei ole yhtäkään hutia. Resident 43 Theme –instrumentaali avaa pelin 70-luvun hengessä. Set My Life To A Flight sisältää Wigwamin ja Kingston Wallin peruista vauhdikasta progerockia. Nimibiisi taas rullaa siinä Pearl Jam –hengessä, jota yhtye itsekin mainostaa musiikistaan löytyvän. EP:n lopettava Stations Out on mielestäni kaikessa maalailussaan ja kasvatuksessaan täysin valmis hitti mihin tahansa käyttöön.Fiilistelyrockin genressä Resident 43 on epäilemättä parasta pitkään aikaan. Yhtyeen soisi saavan enemmän julkisuutta, sillä nyt hyvin valmiinoloista pakettia piilotellaan jossain kaukana parrasvaloista.
http://www.resident43.com
Niko Kaartinen, 04.08.2006
