Pauli Rantasalmi

Date of Birth: 01 May 1979

Pauli Rantasalmi is an only child and was born in Helsinki on the 1st of May 1979. He is the guitarist of The Rasmus and has been since the band first started in 1994 stemmed from his and Janne's idea to form their own band. He is also a renound Producer and Songwriter in Finland for which he won 'Producer of the Year' at the Finnish Emmy's in 2003. He was behind the idea of the band 'Kwan' with fellow friend/producer Antti Eräkangas which he formed and wrote their songs for their first 3 albums and has been involved in the overall Producing on all of their 4 albums. He was also involved in producing 'Killer' with Lauri until they split a few years ago. Pauli is a member of the Dynasty group and has a tattoo up his left arm showing this fact. He used to producer in his parent's basement and his own basement which was nicknamed 'The Grotto' hence on the Kwan albums 'Grotto Productions'. Eventually in 2005 Dynasty Recordings was opened with Lauri, Antti Eräkangas and Antti Eriksson. The studios have been going strong ever since and have since signed 'Von Hertzen Brothers' and 'Happiness'.

He is mainly behind the infamous riffs of The Rasmus songs and came up with the catchy title 'No Fear' from 'Hide From The Sun'. He can play numerous instruments including guitar, drums, bass, the kantele a traditional Finnish instrument as well as many more. He has also starred in two films: 'Pitkä kuuma kesä' translated as 'Long Hot Summer' following a band in which he played the drummer, wore eyeliner and said the word 'fuck' (obviously in Finnish) alot. He also starred in the lesser known 'Hiekkamorsian' translated as 'Sand Bride' as an extra, or to be exact the 'boy in the boat'.

He is renound for his Afro or 'Fro' which obviously attracts all the lady attention and he has even stated himself that its staying because its sexy... amen to that! He also tends to wear the same outfit for 3 years running so expect to see more of those camouflage shirts and ever since 'Playboys' back in 1997 he has sported a beard which these days gets bigger and bigger by the day. He can also speak fluent Spanish and Italian and loves visiting warmer climates such as Asia and South America. He also has a thing for Dairy Milk chocolate, beer and Tetley Tea.

Overall he may have quit school in order for The Rasmus but it has paid off as he is a highly thought of person in Finland for his work infront of and behind the camera in the music scene. He knows what hes talking about and he is beyond talented and passionate in his area of work.

( credit to Charmed from Black Roses Forum )