Interview with Radioactive Pineapple

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

• I’ve always had a need to do something creative, I guess it’s the same story with all the members in the band. When it comes to me I probably would do some sort of animations or cartoons since that’s what I was interested in when I was a child. It could also be something completely different, but with an aspect of creativity. I got inspired to start making music by Green Day, I watched some of their live shows from YouTube and it somehow hit me and gave me this urge to start my own band. - Ozzie (vocalist/guitarist)

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

• Thoubi (drummer) is into cars so he spends his spare time with Mazdas. Ozzie basically doesn’t do anything other than band related things, when he gets burnt out he drinks himself to death. Jake (vocalist/bassist) drinks craft beer and plays games, he also pretends to exercise. Johnsson (guitarist) plays football and goes to university parties. Nothing too interesting, Ozzie’s mental anguish is probably the most influencing force and it correlates into cool lyrical content.

How long has your band been around?

• We’ve been around since 2014.

  Straight outta Nuuksio.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

• We’re a band from Helsinki, Finland and we’re heavily influenced by the Californian punk scene by bands such as: NOFX, Green Day, Blink 182, Alkaline trio. The Finnish punk scene is a bit underwhelming so we don’t think that has influenced us too much, but it is possible that by being a band based out of Finland it might have altered our style a bit because of our culture, music and such.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

• Ozzie tried to come up with the most ridiculous names possible, he had a page full of names, but Radioactive Pineapple was the weirdest so we stuck to that.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

• There was this show at Bar Loose in 2017 which was packed to max and we’ve probably never heard so much screaming. It was madness, they screamed like we were in a boyband or something. A super fun show nonetheless. We’ve also had a show where our former bassist right before a show fell through a glass door at a sauna, Ozzie had to pick up the bass for that gig. There was also a gig where Ozzie had to attend a funeral right before a show, some memorable moments indeed.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

• There’s not too many great venues here in Helsinki, but probably the best ones at the moment are Bar Loose and Lepakkomies, when taking into account our band’s size. It would be great to explore a bit and see what’s it like outside of Finland, we would love to play at a festival somewhere new. Germany could be cool!

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

• Every band that is gonna be included in When We Were Young -festival in Vegas this October. And yeah, I literally mean every band since it would be so cool that the show should go on forever. And obviously we would be headlining the whole thing. - Jake

• NOFX and FIDLAR would be pretty cool. - Ozzie

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

• Please for the love of god don’t do music if you don’t love it from the bottom of your heart! It won’t give you anything back, it drains your wallet, it drains your mental health, you will want to kill yourself and that’s a fact! DO NOT TRY TO SEEK RICHES WITH MUSIC! When you snap out of the delusion that you’re going to be the next superstar, then that’s when you should consider music. - Ozzie

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

• The advice I would give to my past self would be to let go of what others think, you cannot cater to everyone, someone will hate you no matter what you create. Be you, because it’s all you have. -Ozzie

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

• I guess Tears To Rivers is the most lyrically impactful song to me. It’s about me and my dad searching for each other, and it’s about finding out the truth. A sad story that is now in the past, now me and my dad are doing great. - Ozzie

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

• I personally like playing the songs on our new EP, probably because they feel fresh and everything but I can’t reveal too much since we haven’t released them yet. And of course Burden is fun to play because there’s a brief moment in the bridge where I can stop playing and drink beer. However I don’t think Ozzie loves playing that song too much.

  I have no idea which songs people actually like, but I asked my girlfriend and she said she likes Nameless. She also has a friend who likes it so it’s probably a good song. We also covered Blink-182’s Josie last year and some people have been asking us to play it since, probably because it is well known in the skate punk -scene. - Jake

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

• The current way we operate is that usually Ozzie crafts songs and ideas with an acoustic guitar in his boxers at home, then forwards them to the rest of the band. Lately Jake has started to come up with songs as well and his creative process usually involves fully demoing the song. We then iron out the songs together and give them our unique “pineapple” twist. Ozzie gets inspired by his own mental issues, life in general and the world’s events. Basically anything that he finds interesting. Jake on the other hand is more of a story kind of guy, he usually makes up a situation and then starts writing about it.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

• Even though our lyrics can be a bit grim, I still hope that listeners can find some relief in knowing that someone has gone through similar things. I try to instil a sense of honesty and authenticity in the songs with comedic exaggeration. I hope that makes someone feel better about their situation. - Ozzie

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

• We get past our egos and attitudes by talking everything through. Communication is key and it’s good to keep in mind that everybody has their own agenda. At the end of the day, we understand that everybody wants what’s best for the band, so there’s no reason to get super mad.  

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

• We are recording an EP at the moment and the progress can be followed on our social media. We are also trying to make a mini tour happen from Finland to Sweden starting in October. Some super cool stuff is cooking up!