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De Staat

De Staat are one of The Netherlands emerging bands. With a sold-out tour in their home country and branching out to other European countries, we at RMP took the opportunity to witness De Staat live during the leg of their Belgian shows at the infamous Ghent-based cafe, Charlatan.

Vocalist and guitar player Florre Torim took some time off to chat with us regarding their latest release “O” and the ongoing tour through Europe.

 

  1. Hello Torre, first things first, congratulations with the new release “O”. It's been out for some weeks now and the first part of the tour in The Netherlands is over. How has it been this far?

 

Very good, real nice. That tour was completely sold out. It's great to be back on the stages again. At least now in The Netherlands, for the bigger shows, we brought along visuals for the first time. It's something different for us too. We're putting on a different show than before. It's a step forward on all fronts. Lots of cool stuff happening

 

  1. Yesterday you started with the conquest of Belgium, all shows are sold out already. Is Belgium falling for De Staat?

 

I hope so. It's smaller venues of course but it hasn't happened before that venues in Belgium are also packed. I'm very happy. They say that Studio Brussel (Belgian radio station) is very important and for the first time in my career as a musician they are playing one of our songs at night. I'm already very happy with the way things are going in Belgium. We've waited for a long time to witness it going good over here. Slowly but surely the people are getting to know us and come out. But I love playing this sort of venues.

 

  1. It sure seems to be busy times for you guys, still a part of Europe to tour in the nearby future and at the end of March you're booked as the support band for Muse in Germany. What cab we expect from this show?

 

Well, I don't know what to expect myself really. I know we are playing on a round stage. That’s actually nice for us since our whole album is based around a circle. We are going to perform in a circle. But we don't know yet how this will be done. We don't know either what they're expecting from us from Muse’s side. It's going to be awesome anyway, it's basically an arena. We don't know if it's on invite of Muse themselves, it was just one of those moments you get a phone call.

Of course it's a result of building the band over years. Where you happen to be a name on a list. I'm very happy with this. I suspect that the band proposed it, I'll know for sure when we play the show.

 

  1. The new album was recorded in your own De Staat studio in your hometown Nijmegen (Netherlands), the old venue Doornroosje has been transformed into your very own workplace. How it the new location?

 

You're up to date! It's really great. We've been over there for over a year, a year and a half actually. It took some trial and error at first. I used to own a small home studio and our rehearsal space was somewhere else. But now it was the first time we brought those two together. It was a learning process for me to find out how to handle it. It's basically just a black box where paint chips of the wall. Just a rock 'n’ roll hole. It's very sweet, we're having a lot of fun over there where we can work in peace and quit. I wouldn't want it any other way than like this. It's a really nice method of working.

 

 

  1. A while back, you also invited 25 fans through a contest to witness live recordings of two new tracks in the studio. How was the response?

 

It was very exciting. They hadn't heard anything yet, for the first time they were going to listen to the new tracks. The response was very good. There were a few journalists present who said it was the best material they heard from us so far. It's a very uncertain time. When an album is about to release, you start thinking that it's crap on one side while on the other side you think it's real great what you've done. And then you think it's quite boring what you've done. You've been at it so long that you can't judge it anymore and then you are dependent on other people their opinions. Then you realise ‘Yeah, this is actually quite good’. It was a very interesting period but it was fun doing so.

 

 

  1. The video clip for “Witch Doctor” from your previous album has really become a hit. YouTube views alone are over a million and a half. It's a visually very attractive video with the CGI circle pit and apparently it's also becoming a hit during live shows where people perform the dance around you in the middle of the crowd?

 

It's going in the direction of two million as we speak. It' s not really a circle pit, it's more of a dance than a pit. Sometimes blogs write about the circle pit during De Staat show and then some methalhead start responding that's not a real circle pit. And they are right, I agree with them. If it happens these days, also live, then everyone is neatly into formation and dancing around me. Not much happens during the dance.

 

  1. But you also have a new video in the make. Something with a circle-shaped stage.

 

Yes, that's right. It' going to take a while before it is released, but it will be something special. I can't talk about it yet; it's set for release in two months.

 

  1. The new album gravitates around cyclic movements, from artwork “O” up until the track “Round”. What attracts you to these mysterious circles?

 

That is something that grows organically. When we recorded over half of the tracks, I realised that I needed to go all the way. I'm a fan of clear concepts. ‘Theme’ on its own is a wrong definition but I always try when releasing a new album to make sure it's a certain thing. One story, it can go all directions into my mind. By accident all tracks in the beginning of the recording seemed to have a mutual theme regarding repetition, about cycles, about infinity or about quitting something, the void what translates to 0. Not all tracks fitted this scheme. When we reached the end of the recording there were almost no other titles than this one. But I'm very pleased with it.

 

  1. The artwork to the album is quite basic and contains all instruments inside marked with a tracking number. Inside the CD-booklet each track holds these numbers to define what instruments where used on a certain track. I noticed a lot of analogue instruments and effects, certainly in this day and age of digital recording. A conscious decision?

 

Yes, that's also because basically the recordings were all digital with a computer and mixed from there, I've mixed it all digitally in the box. We just work with those materials because they are so great to work with. It's more practical to play live the same way. Everyone has their own little station with their effect pedals and with those we make the sounds and record them. If we want to use more digital effects, then it would become more complex. It's just fun to work with a pedalboard and two synths that have their limitations, with that you instantly have your sound because of the limits of the machines. When you try to do everything digitally, then suddenly a whole array of possibilities appears and then it can get hard to pick the proper ones. That is one of the reasons. I won't say that we will record digital in the future. It's not that we find it very important to record analogue. I'm no Jack White concerning that topic, who wants and needs everything analogu. I don't find it that important. We've been using more synths throughout the years. Compared to “I_CON” is the same amount of synth used. Only this time they get a more central part and the guitar sounds sound more like synths, but that has all to do with the sort of pedals we used.

 

  1. Any plans concerning De Staat in the nearby future you want to share with us?

 

I can't really tell all too much, we do have plans. We're going to play festivals this summer, also a few Belgian shows are coming up. What we will be doing by the end of the year, I can't tell yet. I hope to be going abroad again, chances are big.

 

– David Marote

Homer

Punkrock and Belgium, it appears that in every corner and crevice of Belgium a band is formed. From city, town to the smallest village possible, everywhere people are getting together, making music and building their own scene while they are at it. One of those particular vibrant scenes is the Hageland scene and Homer has been fronting the banner for the Hageland for over 17 years already. With their latest release “Loved Loss” being released end of last year and plans for a new full album buzzing around, we thought it was time to hear what the members of Homer liked to share regarding their future endeavours.

 

  1. Last year you released “Loved Loss”, a six-track EP. How has the crowd responded so far?

Johan: So far the reactions are really good; a whole lot of people that follow us for already for a long time were surprised because it sounds different.  Still Homer, but different; or like some of our friends expressed it: ‘Homer – the next level’. The reviews so far have been great too and now we’re booking the shows for his year, it’s looking better and better!

 

  1. The new EP seems to be one the most diverse records Homer ever released. From different voicings to the musical styles applied, almost a magnus opum for Homer. How do you feel about the new songs?

Mattias: It seems like the older we get, the more diverse the songs become. It’s not interesting for us to keep doing the same thing over and over. We are influenced by so many different styles and they all find their way into the music. We are also trying to approach the way we write songs from different angles and keep growing. These songs have been more refined in preproduction together with Edje (Arizona, NØFX,…) and in the studio with Ace.

 

  1. One of the songs that has taken a twist is “Death Is A Threat”, with the blastbeats and guitars I'm guessing some black metal influences. Is metal and extreme music an inspiration to the band?

Mattias: Metal has always been an influence for all of us. In “Death is a Threat” they might be more visible with the blastbeats and chaotic parts, but you can probably find traces of metal in most of our songs.

I don’t really pay attention to it.

 

  1. During the release the band also incorporated visuals into the show. How did this enhance your performance?

Mattias: Hard to say because we were on stage looking in the other direction. We had the opportunity to work with Sam for visuals. I hope it made the show a bit more special for our audience. They made an effort to go out and paid money to have a good time and to support us, so it’s cool if we can give them something extra.

 

  1. The artwork for “Loved Loss” is very tight and a visual treat. A graphic representation of some sort of gem stone on a blue background. What was the main idea about this design?

Mattias: Hanna has made the artwork for pretty much all of our records. She came up with this design. It’s very atypical for a heavy record, but who wants to be typical? We didn’t even make a typical Homer records, so it’s perfect. 

Johan: To be more concrete about the design: it kind of reflects the title because you can recognize a diamond in the design which stands for something precious, something of a certain kind of value (literally or symbolical). It stands for something nice, something you love. The diamond is shaped as a tear, which stands for loss, grief and regret. If you look at the design, you have a visual interpretation of the title “Loved Loss” and it has the Homer logo in it too, so that makes it complete.

 

  1. Your producer on the EP was Ace Zec, known as drummer for Customs and his Oceanside recording studios in Ostend. Ace also has quite a punk and hardcore background. Did that help out when working with a producer?

Mattias : It probably helped that he has the punk background, just because he understands where we come from and where we are trying to go. But he knows music in general, which helped us to do things we haven’t done before. It makes no sense to work with people if they don’t have anything to add to our ideas and knowledge. Our last record was self-produced, this is the first time we worked with a producer and it takes it to the next level. I think finding the right person for your band to produce your record is essential.

Johan: For me it turned out great. Ace is a very creative person and someone who isn’t afraid of pushing the people he works with. He’s that kind of guy that gets things out you didn’t even realise you had in you. He can give constructive comments and makes you look at things from another side or perspective. That worked great and made me discover some new musical ranges.

 

  1. “Loved Loss” is actually more of a teaser for the upcoming album that is ahead. Could you let us in on how and when we can expect the bomb to drop?

Mattias : That’s not really how it is. “Loved Loss” is an example of what you can expect from us in the future. We are currently not working on a new album. The plan is to play shows with the new songs this year and we’ll start writing new stuff soon.

 

  1. In the new track “Indifference” there's a line about 'These times I see'. Given the political and economic climate. Could you give us an insight on what Homer sees as the sign of the times?

Johan: Wow, first off: we’re not that kind of band that likes to shove our opinion down someone’s throat. In the lyrics, be it personal or more related to socio-economic topics, we like to touch issues we are confronted with. “Indifference” deals with the fact that people these days are treated like puppets that are a part of the economic system. It seems that leaders and politicians look at all problems from an economic side of view.   The economy has to become bigger, better, have more results and if that turns out great, people will get better too. That’s kind of the way things are treated these days. While a lot of the global problems like war, refugees and environment issues are things that should be looked at from an empathic, social and caring kind of way.  People should be put in the first place, not economy or whatever. Luckily enough, if you look for it, you see that there are people standing up who offer alternatives for a society that’s based on economy. But those people, collectives are often shouting in the dark. It all has to do with the sort of collective of ‘individuals’ our society has become instead of a collective consisting out of united individuals. It’s sometimes hard to be positive these days, still I think it’s very important to stay positive. Becoming a fatalist about everything is standing still and that’s never a good thing.

 

  1. On title track “Loved Loss” you get some backing vocals by fellow punk rockers: Hans from F.O.D. and Teun from Generation84, both great vocalists from Belgian bands and an excellent choice for this track. Where they the first who came to mind when you searched for backings?

Mattias: They are two of the best voices we have around us. It’s really a no-brainer. We invited them to the rehearsal room, we made some bad jokes, they nailed everything in the first takes and we were done.

 

  1. Homer always releases on the label of vocalist Johan, Funtime Records. What are the plans for Funtime in 2016, new releases we need to know about?

Johan: Well, since about two years, the label is a collective again of eight people who work with their heart and soul for everything Funtime-related, so you can consider Funtime Records and concerts anno 2016 as a collective, just the way it started about 20 years ago with the magazine and the concerts. It has always been a family of likeminded people and it still is today. We have been releasing records on Funtime since the very beginning and it always worked great for us; although we also worked with other labels in the past like Indiebox in Italy, Bad Mood in Switzerland, Meter Records in Canada and Thanks But No Thanks for the live CD/DVD we put out a couple of years ago. But as said before, it’s great and easy working together, so why change it? About other releases on the label: Funtime is putting out the new Belvedere record in May, F.O.D. is planning a new album and there are some more things coming up, but I can’t tell you much about that at this very moment.

 

  1. Thank you for the interview, any last words?

Johan: Well, it has been said a thousand times before but seems more relevant than ever these days: become an active participant of the scene, put up shows, write, participate, go support local and underground bands. That’s very important if you want to support music that operates outside the mainstream.  And in general: don’t let negativism get you down!

 

–  David Marote

Ignite

Ignite, the burning match that comprises their older logo sums it all up: volatile hardcore punk delivered at a scorching pace. With their previous release some years ago, the Orange County outfit set out to release their latest album “A War Against You” in the beginning of 2016. And the responsibility of releasing a new album means touring the hell out of it for these guys. Luckily Europe was graced with The Persistence Tour passing by some time ago and Ignite was headlining it. Time to find out some more about the revived Ignite and their new album with bass player Brett Rasmussen.

 

  1. Congratulations with the new album called “A War Against You”. It was released last week and you just started the Persistence Tour in Europe. How are the first reactions from the fans?

So far it has been really good! A lot of the reviews in magazines and online have been really positive and the emails and messages that we have received from our fans have been really good as well. It is nice to get such positive feedback from fans and critics early on.

 

  1. “A War Against You” is the follow up to “Our Darkest Days” and almost took a decade (9 years). Zoli played in Pennywise in between the two records and the other band members also ventured off into other projects. How did you experience this slowed down process of writing and recording?

Well, to be honest the writing and recording experience was very similar to the previous album. But yes, there were a few extra years of us playing in other bands or projects that prolonged the time in between albums, but when we actually started working on the songs it was very similar. The team that we had (producer Cameron and Sergio), the same recording studio here in Orange County, the basic same line-up of the band gave the whole recording process a very comfortable feel.

 

  1. The new album is 'classic' Ignite material if I may say so, but with a touch of evolution. An even more melodic and mature sound. How did you experience this album?

I think that you really have to somewhat re-create yourself each album. I think bands sometimes make the mistake of trying to emulate a previous album exactly, instead of taking the basic DNA of who your band is and expanding on it. I think you need to surprise your listeners in a good way, instead of re-hashing something that you recorded years ago. I always love when I put a new cd on from a band that I know and hear unexpected great things in the style or flavour of what made the band great! It’s a delicate balance, but when done right it makes for great albums!

 

  1. The new album was released on Century Media, how did you end up with them?

We put out our last two releases on Century Media (“Our Darkest Days” in 2006 and “Our Darkest Days Live DVD” in 2012), so we were very familiar with the CM team and we trust them and how they work.

 

  1. One of the songs that is quite emotional is “Nothing Can Stop Me”, regarding a friend lost from cancer. Writing such personal and emotional song must be hard to perform live sometimes?

Actually the girl the song is written about is recovering. She has shown a lot of strength and determination to beat cancer and we wish her all of the best of luck in her continued fight! You can check out some details here.

http://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/blele_01634932

 

  1. Ignite has been tied up with The Sea Shepherds since long time, since the mid-90's or so. Now the movement of Paul Watson has become quite popular with touring bands and in the hardcore scene. How do you feel about this evolution?

It’s great. Zoli was the one who brought this environmental aspect to the band back in 1994. Zoli was involved with all of these environmental organizations like Sea Shepherds, Earth First and Pacific Wildlife Project long before Ignite started. When we started working together, Zoli asked all of us in the band if it was cool that he addressed these issues on stage and with lyrics. He didn’t want to push a cause that the entire band didn’t believe in. Zoli educated us on a lot of these issues. This is something he would be involved in and supporting today even if Ignite never became a band. Pelican Rescue Team, Zoli’s non-profit organization, is the only organization in Southern California dedicated solely to the rescue of pelicans and other seabirds in distress. Zoli serves as board president, executive director, and primary rescuer.

 

  1. Machine Head covered “Our Darkest Days/Bleeding” some time ago. Must have been weird to hear them play one of your songs?

We were pleasantly surprised when we heard that Machine Head was going to cover two of our songs. I read the blog that the singer wrote about what our album meant to him and it was a really cool thing to hear them play those songs on a record and to hear them play the songs live too. I think one of the biggest compliments somebody can give you is to cover one of your songs. Then we heard the 10” from them and we were blown away. Very cool!

 

  1. Dee Snider of Twisted Sister is supportive to the new album. He gave it much praise on YouTube. Was Twisted Sister and Dee an influence to you?

Dee Snider has been a big supporter of Ignite for years now and we are humbled that he likes our music so much, it’s very cool. We grew up in the 80’s so we watched Twisted Sister on MTV like most other kids did at that time. But the coolest thing that Dee has done, in our eyes, is when he went in front of a Senate hearing in 1985 to stand up for the first amendment and our right to free speech in America. That was awesome!

 

  1. The vinyl release of “A War Against You” holds like ten colours or so. Are you aiming on the collectors or just loved to have so many options?

We had a bunch of the distributors asking for exclusive vinyl colours, that’s the main reason why there are so many colours. We picked one colour (green) that we sell on the road and the rest of them are done at the request of different distribution places. Good luck!

 

  1. Any last words?

Thanks for all the support, hopefully we will be getting out and touring a lot of different and new places on the album!

Max Raptor

Max Raptor, fierce punkrock brought to you by four Midland, UK lads who are gaining popularity each minute. BBC's Radio One has already picked up on them and we at RMP Magazine couldn't stay behind with Auntie Beeb. Time to find out what Max Raptor has been up to lately, with a new album on their résumé and tons of stories to share about Swiss cheese and Premier League football for one.

  1. You’ve got a busy summer ahead: Hevy Fest, 2000 Trees, mainland shows and so on. Which show are you looking forward to the most?

2000 trees has always been amazing for us and there’s such a cool vibe at that festival. I suppose it's a real mix there so you get an awesome range of music lovers from all over the country. Hevy of course is a huge festival and we loved playing it a few years back and the line-up is insane: Shikari, The Bronx, Refused!

 

  1. We’ve travelled these past years from mainland Europe to Hevy Fest and are a bit disappointed about their location change. How do you (and the UK scene in general) feel about the relocation of the festival? 

Well Hevy is now up in Derbyshire and it's a cool little spot; right in the hills, pretty beautiful place. It's great for us as it's just up the road from where we're all from. It's also just down the road from YNOT festival which is another cool festival and well-worth going to. As for the UK scene, we've definitely experienced loads of tours with great bands and there are pockets around the UK where you get an amazing music scene with some really passionate people behind them. I think it's pretty strong. We're on tour at the moment with All Us On Drugs and Press To Meco that are sick UK bands so at the moment with bands like Enter Shikari, Architects, Bad Sign, Bring Me The Horizon and Lonely The Brave it feels real good. 


 

  1. In the past, you played some big shows: Download Festival, Reading & Leeds, Billy Talent, The Stranglers,… What’s the show that impressed you the most?

The Stranglers are definitely up there: they kept their original sound throughout their 30 years+ reign and still selling out and touring huge shows. That’s really inspirational. Billy talent were great and influenced us massively when we first started out as a band. Reading & Leeds and Download were all chaotic, great pits and some nuts fans going crazy to our first album. Hoping to play them again either this year or next! 


 

  1. You recently toured mainland Europe for the first time, how did that go? 

We played in Switzerland, just two dates but they were both so good. It really surprised us, we were expecting smallish crowds as it was our first time there but loads of people showed up and went crazy. Can't wait to get back 

 

  1. The band will release their new album on April, 22 via Hassle Records. What can we expect?

We had a real concentration on getting the tracks sounding as live as possible so the crossover to live is almost the same. They're 12 tracks with some raucous punk rock ‘n’ roll, anthems and we're real proud of it. There are also some tracks where we have definitely progressed in our sound. One being “Old Romantics” which Radio One have been playing and the response has been great.

 

  1. How did the recording process go? Has the process changed or evolved as you guys get older?


We've always concentrated on tones and live recording and getting some brutal vocals down as you'd hear at our shows. I guess as we've gotten older it hasn't really changed. I think the writing process has changed. Pete (drummer) wrote a bunch of tracks for the album as well as Ben and Matt so it's really dynamic and takes a load of all of our influences. 

 

  1. How was working with Jag Jago (ex-Ghost Of A Thousand) as producer?

He is just great, GOAT were also one of our influences when we were starting out. He's got some great ideas and has had some massive successes on albums he has worked on recently (Maccabees) so we're hoping for the same response for our new record. He's a good laugh too and we've got a really great bond as mates and as musicians which is really important. 


 

  1. In what way is Hassle records different now than it was when you signed? Has your collaboration changed over the years? 

They've been hugely supportive and everything's moved really quickly since we signed which is awesome. We want to get as much great music out there and Hassle has loads of cool ideas and enthusiasm. They're fiercely independent and well-respected in the industry and have released some top records over recent years (Lonely The Brave, Cancer Bats, Brand New, Alkaline Trio, Frank Iero, Alexisonfire). 

 

  1. The band even made a soundtrack a couple of years back. Is there anything you haven’t done? 

We’d love to tour the states and Japan…and sell thousands of records!


 

  1. We spotted a few food photos on your Instagram feed. Any foodies in the band? If so: what’s the best meal you received after a show? 

[Laughs] The six slabs of Gruyere cheese we had as part of our rider in Bulle, Switzerland. Any local delicacies are always welcome on our rider. We don't want to just eat crisps. You get a real feel of a place when you're eating local dishes. It makes it more interesting than rocking up, playing, eating shit food and leaving. We like our food. 


 

  1. Who has been a bigger influence for the band: David Bowie or Lemmy Kilmister? 

You know they both had and still have so much to offer and that will be the case for decades to come. Bowie's amazing ability to adapt and change his style is incredible and no one will ever come close to that. Lemmy on the other hand, a man who stuck to his guns throughout his career and never wavered away from his rock ‘n’ roll sensibilities. They both didn't give a damn about what people thought about their image and that's how it should be. 

 

  1. It’s the band’s 10-year anniversary this year. Any specific plans to celebrate this, except the tours and the new album?

Oh fuck, 10 years?? Is it? I think we really started taking it seriously as of 2009 and our first release wasn't until 2011 so we'll hold off until 2021 for our 10-year party. 

 

  1. Looking back on those years, would you’ve changed something? 

I think no; no regrets. 


 

  1. Do you still think about those days? Are you still in touch with Barney Hall?

[Laughs] Yeah, from time to time we see him about. He's really tall now and we're always reminded of that day where we played in his bedroom off the back of a Facebook campaign. 4000 people tuned in online. So much fun. He's big into music now and sings for a band called Pale Cheeks.

 

  1. The Premier League has been insane: ManU and Chelsea are disappointing, Tottenham and Leicester are the revelations of the season. If I’m not mistaken, you’re from the Leicester area. Are you cheering for them to win the league?

We are from the area but I'm an Arsenal fan and we really need a trophy that isn't he FA Cup. But saying that, I'd be so happy if Leicester wins the League. It would be insane. On a par with Forest winning the European Cup or Blackburn winning the Premier League! It would be a great shakeup for the League.

 

  1. Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers?

Just come down to a show when we're in Europe. It's our first time so you bring your punk spirit and we'll bring ours!

We Came As Romans

We Came As Romans is on a global attack conquesting their empire. Recently they toured extensively leading them into eastern territories such as Russia, Latvia and Lithuania. RMP took some time to get to know some more of the Troy based gladiators during their UK stop. With a new self titled release under the arm and a new direction soundwise we thought it would be nice to dig in and find out what We Came As Romans see  for the future of their music in 2016.

  1. So, how’s the tour going?

Tonight’s technically only the second night but we’ve been out for two weeks previously in Russia, Latvia & Lithuania, it’s been an extensive trip already.

 

  1. Awesome! So which has been your favourite show?

Russia was pretty wild, they’re just always so crazy over there! Not many bands get to go through there so when a band does make it through people just lose their minds. Plus, they’re so drunk on vodka and emotions [laughs]. Obviously the crowds on this tour have been bigger so far but it’s hard to top that type of energy.

 

  1. You guys released your self-titled album “We Came As Romans” earlier this year, and it’s a bit of a different sound – it’s awesome by the way – how do you think it’s been received?

We knew we were going to lose some fans because it’s a step in a different direction, but I think for every couple we’ve lost we’ve picked up a few new ones and that was kind of the goal. You can’t just keep writing the same shit, you have to change and unfortunately with change you’re going to lose some fans but you just have to hope that the new music is good enough to pick up some new fans.

 

  1. Do you have any big touring plans for 2016?

We’re coming back here for a lot of the festivals so that’ll be cool! I think especially with the new sound the festivals will be really good for us.

 

  1. In the past couple of years, we’ve seen a lot of venues close down due to a lack of funding and a lot of bands break up because they can no longer afford to tour or commit to the band full time, what do you think we can do to keep live music from becoming irrelevant? 

It’s a really big problem with millennials, they don’t want to pay for music and they don’t want to pay for your show, they just want to watch it on YouTube. I’m not saying that everybody does this, but for venues and bands that are just trying to sell records to live, it’s really starting to hurt. My only advice for people that like music is, go fucking see them. As soon as bands stop getting support, as soon as venues stop getting support that’s when bands stop coming around and venues start shutting down. It all comes down to the listener. We get a lot of fan mail where people say ‘Oh please come to Florida’ or wherever and it’s down to them, if you like a venue and you like a band: go. If you’re going to listen to music on Spotify instead of buying an album, use that money to buy a ticket to see that band play live. 

 

  1. Do you think there’s a way to encourage people to come down to shows more?

Unfortunately, bands don’t make money selling music anymore so bands have to tour which means there are so many bands and tour packages competing for audiences. Bands have to think about what’s going to make people come see their show instead of the one down the street and I think on the band’s part that just involves making sure you keep the tour packages interesting, so right now we’re on tour with One Ok Rock and I don’t think any of their fans have heard of us and I don’t think many of our fans will have heard of them so it’s a good way to get too.

 

  1. Finally, what does music mean to you?

Beyond being my entire livelihood it changes my mood, helps me pass the time, I hate saying something generic like ‘music means everything to me’ but when I’m travelling I’m listening to music, in my down time I’m writing music, when I’m working I’m making music. It just consumes my life. 

 

– Jake Bower

Herod

Switzerland, hidden between mountains, renounced for its chocolate, cheese and of course their world famous privacy concerning financial banking. And also home to Herod, the sludge noise mongers who’re blazing trails for a few years now. We at RMP Magazine had a nice chat with Pierre, guitar player and founder of Herod, regarding their project and the recent European tour during a turbulent period for live music in Europe.  Cheers !

 

  1. For the readers that don't know the phenomena ‘Herod’ yet. Please introduce yourself and the band.

Hi! Pierre here, guitar player and founder of the band. I started riffing the first chords when I was living in Sweden in 2006. Eight years later, we released the debut album “They were none” on the Danish Label Mighty Music influenced by the great north like Breach, Meshuggah and Cult of Luna!

 

  1. Herod hails from Switzerland, a country that many don't know too well except for Swiss athletes and the magnificent chocolate and cheese. But asides the obvious clichés, how would you describe Switzerland and your position within the Swiss music scene?

Maybe people will know the biggest Metal Swiss bands which are Coroner, Celtic Frost or Samael? Actually Switzerland is a great place to live and the music scene is quite rich. In our music genre (sludge/postcore/chaotic prog-shit) there are many great Swiss bands we use to share the stage with such as Cortez, Kruger, Coilguns, Abraham, Zatokrev, and many others, we all actually were fan of before Herod.

 

  1. Herod's music is highly influenced by another, not Swiss, music scene, namely Swedish death metal. One of the members even lived in Malmo. How does Sweden connect to Switzerland and Herod?

I lived in Malmö for six months in 2006 and that was the first time I started writing music. I bought a baritone strat and I tuned it as low as possible and I started riffing in my room, that was a really creative trip. It’s weird because I try to find again that creative mood to write the second album, but today I live in a chalet in the middle of the vineyards in Switzerland!

 

  1. The band recently embarked on a European tour with bands as Carcass and Obituary. The Deathcrusher tour led you to many European countries. How has it been?

Amazing and exhausting as we were also part of the Carcass crew. We played amazing venues in front of massive audiences and every band was really nice to us. We made friends for life and gained a lot of fans.

 

  1. There was also a sort of tour journal online 'Le Journal du Hard'. Although in French I understood that it's sort of a blog describing how tour life can be. How has the response been on the journal?

Really funny you heard about that [laughing]. Yeah, the local newspaper asked me to make like a diary of the tour, so I did an article every week.

 

  1. Next to the exciting parts of being ignored by headliners and the constant dreadful waiting game that touring is, you also wrote about the Paris 'Le Bataclan’ terrorist incident. Herod was touring Europe at the same time the attack occurred and still had to play Paris later during the tour. What were your thoughts on this terrible news?

Sure, that was weird. We were in Leipzig when that happened. We had to play in Paris 10 days later and mostly everyone wanted to play the gig, the show must go on. Regarding the tragedy, I think we all have a different opinion, mine is quite rude because I think France cannot be naive and think they can have that kind of international policy and no ‘feedback’. We enter a new era and those people have the advantage to die for their ideas, in Europe no one is ready to die for a cause or values.

 

  1. “They Were None”, your latest album has been released some time now. Any plans on recording new material soon or has the touring bug got to you and will touring be a priority first?

Sure, so for 2016 we’ll get back to rehearsal, I already have a few riffs in the pocket.

 

  1. If we need to define Herod, then the most-called genre would be ‘Progressive Sludge’ according to the internet. Citing influences such as Meshuggah, Cult Of Luna, Converge, and Breach, it makes it hard to categorize your sound. How would you describe your band and style if needed?

As we play 8-strings it was important to us to take an opposite direction ampwise, so we only use vintage amps on the record. Our producer Julien Fehlmann worked previously with awesome Swiss bands such as Unfold, Forceed or Coilguns and I was really pleased when he decided to produce our album.

 

  1. The album also features some noise/drone sounds and uses intros frequently. Like the Russian female voice at the beginning of “No Forgiveness For Vultures”. For us non-Russian speaking folks, could you explain what the intro deals about?

That is words from Master and Margarita from Mikhail Bulgakov (1967), the story talks about a visit by the devil in the atheistic Soviet Union.

 

  1. Any last words, advice or other news you'd like to share with us?

I wish everyone will eat as much as they can during Chrismas time because this is what we are gonna do. But check our sound first www.herodnoise.com

 

– David Marote

Suicide Silence

Suicide Silence is one of the leading metal bands in the industry right now bringing on massive crowds and putting on incredible shows. With their newest tour supporting Korn, the band is opening a new chapter bringing fans and music enthusiasts a chance to see Suicide Silence in a new light. While the tour itself has been massive with tons of sold out crowds, the band is moving forward reaching a new realm of musical achievement within this industry. We got the chance to sit down and talk to vocalist Eddie Hermida to learn a little bit about what it is to be a musician and how Suicide Silence thrives in the music industry.

From the start of a band, every musician moulds and forms himself into an artist. While each artist builds upon themselves to create something unique and beneficial, the idea of why an artist creates music is interesting. Vocalist Eddie Hermida believes it is an urge that separates the real artists and those who do it for cheap reasons. It’s this natural flow of impulse that builds an artist and creates them. One of the things that can greatly influence the mind to becoming an artist and pursuing the lifestyle of a musician, is your childhood.

 

“Artists create music because it’s in them. It’s something that comes naturally.”

From a personal standpoint Eddie explained to us how growing up influenced himself to becoming an artist. “I’ve been drawn to music my whole life. I can recall my mom telling me that as an infant I would sing along to anything that was on TV. I was always driven to be on stage as either theatre or music. I played trombone in elementary, middle, and high school all the way into college.” From this to starting bands at such a young age, Eddie realized that being an artist was in his blood. “Existentially, I’d say it’s something I’ve been driven to my whole life.” It’s this factor that drives a musician to pursue their career.

Being an artist is an important thing and can contribute to a bigger community.

When talking about the role of music in society, Eddie says that it’s one of the most important and essential parts of life. “It’s one of the many languages that everyone speaks. You don’t have to be trained in music to understand it,” Eddie says when talking speaking about music’s influence. “It’s probably the most important next to air and water.”

The thing that fuels this band is passion they have for their music. The passion this band has for their music and their fan base is unbelievable, reaching to new heights unknown to other bands. While the band Suicide Silence holds back from feeling the responsibility to preach a message or prove a point, they just try to do what they love and play music. Eddie explains, “We just want people to be there and present and have a good time.”

 

“We want people to feel like they have the power to do whatever the hell they want.”

While this is what Suicide Silence wants their fans to do in a more simplistic term, it goes much deeper than that. Eddie explained, “Your life is yours and if you aren’t being there and present in it every day, you are doing a disservice to yourself. There’s multiple facets behind that and if you look into the lyrics individually you’ll realize there is more behind it.” The importance of being present and actively engaged at a show is what matters to Suicide Silence, and reality they just want people to share the experience of their live shows with them. This translation between the band and fans is done through the live show.

 

“The biggest thing is bringing in positivity and letting out negativity.”

A Suicide Silence show is nothing without a loud, in-your-face experience. The legacy of a long-time band is translated into what is one of the most powerful live shows out there bringing out the best they can. Eddie brings out the best in the crowd with people going absolutely crazy for their sets. This inviting and enthusiastic performance calls fans to participate and really enjoy the show, even with a genre that isn’t the best in taste.

What really motivates the band to put on top notch performances, is the importance of being yourself. The live performance is what makes a band great, and that they love what they are doing.

When talking to Eddie about it, he explains that it easy to tell when a band does it because they love it versus a band that does it for other obligations. “There’s a big difference there,” he says. “One of those guys is going to have a great time for the rest of their life, while the other person is probably going to struggle.” Eddie also explains how this is something that can relate to anything, and that it is something universal that anyone can apply to their life.

 

“If you have to go to your job, hate it, and lie to yourself, you’re never going to be working to your fullest potential.”

When being yourself there is more to just the live show. Within the actual writing process there’s a level and truth and honesty. When we asked Eddie if artists hold the responsibility to speak the truth in society, he said that it simply doesn’t matter and that it is completely possible for an artist to talk about something false. Eddie, explains, “If you are going to be speaking about topical things such as the government or your personal experiences, it’s better to be honest because you are going to get a real reaction.” To Suicide Silence, the importance of being honest is what makes the development of the music and person.

 

“If you aren’t honest to your music, then you aren’t honest to yourself. That’s going to sink through and you are never going to be who you need to be.”

All in all, Suicide Silence just wants people to be true to themselves and wants people to be creating music and art for the sake of honesty and positivity. Up next for the band: writing a new record, and they are very excited to get back into the studio. Eddie told us, “We are really excited to start doing that and start writing mainly just to write it even if we don’t put it out. It’s one of those things that we want to write a record. It’s almost as if we can satisfy ourselves and throw the damn thing away. The biggest thing is we want to write a record that is pure and is us.”

Be sure to stay on the lookout for some new music from Suicide Silence as they finish up 2015 with a killer tour.

– Jake Lahah

Reel Big Fish

In the gruesome evening some lunatics invaded the Eagles Of Death Metal show at Bataclan, Paris, we at RMP attended a concert too. Unknowingly of the tragedy, we had a chat with John Christianson, better known as Johnny Christmas, from the band Reel Big Fish. We talked with him about Belgian beer, the touring life and when to expect some new material.

 

  1. Hi, welcome! First of all, how are you doing here in Belgium?

I’m tired. We’re at the end of the tour and this is a great place to end it. We’ve been through the UK, Holland, Germany and Switzerland this time and we’ve been out for I think four weeks. Wow, I can’t believe it that’s gone by so quickly. All the shows were great, it’s really wonderful to be in a nice venue and be in Belgium where the world’s best beer is! We were sampling some of that after sound check. We were at a place called “Het Kapitool” and were enjoying the crazy Belgian beer selection because that’s what we do.

  1. So you already know that you are in the capital of Stella Artois but do you have any favourite Belgian beers?

Yes, of course. My favourite Belgian beer is the St.Bernardus 12. I also like the Westmalle Tripel. Belgian beer is my favourite because they’re really carbonated and it’s a little sweet. I also like the ‘gueuzes’, we had a great gueuze today at the bar. It just makes your face turn inside-out because it’s so sour. I really love that. It’s good to have real beer because that has been a while.

  1. We too are very big beer fans and the gueuze is also one of our favourite beers to drink and to share with people.

Yeah, you know that’s one of our favourite things about beer, that you can experience it together. We’d like to get either big bottles and pour them out a little bit for everybody and it’s a really nice way to share an experience with everybody. That’s one of my favourite things to do.

  1. Let’s go back to touring. You’ve been touring all over Europe and these last months you toured with Suburban Legends as a support. The last time we saw you, you also performed with Suburban Legends. Is this a coincidence or is it just that you take them with you a lot along the ride?

It happens every couple of years that we take those guys out because they’re a great band and a great bunch of guys and we’ve been friends for the longest time. So it just happens that the last time you saw us that they were on the bill and this time again. There were just enough years that went by that it worked out that way but I think this is going to be one of their last tours that will happen for a while but we’ll see what the future brings. It’s hard to keep a band together and try to make a living. It’s really difficult, even for us, it’s the hardest thing just to pay everybody and you can only go through for so long out of love and not make any money to support yourself or your family. So I think that’s the point that they’re at now.

  1. Today is the last day of your European tour. What do you expect from this show?

It’s going to be fucking crazy! The first show that I played in Belgium in Brussels in 2004: as we played the last song the whole crowd rushed the stage and the whole crowd was on stage with us while we were playing “Take On Me”, it was just one of the most memorable and scary experiences of my life. Because, you know, I play trumpet so if anybody bunks me or bunks my horns and cuts my lip, it just makes my life a living hell. So I was all freaked out like ‘Oh my God, look at all these people!’ and then I finally decided ‘Okay, I’m not playing, I’m running away!’. I was fearing for my life at that point.

  1. Reel Big Fish is known for their energetic, full-on shows with lots of humour and lots of jokes. Do you prepare some jokes or does it just come natural for you?

They all happen organically. They’re never planned out and it’s great that Aaron (Barrett, vocals and guitar) has a great sense of humour and I think that everybody in the band has. So sometimes things will get thrown in that we don’t expect or jokes will happen that we never thought would have happened. Last night, the song “10,000 miles” came out for some reason and that was awesome because as soon as the ‘tadadada’ came, the whole crowd did the same and it was totally unexpected and so much fun. We were all smiling like little schoolgirls.

  1. The music you play is very danceable. What is your favourite song to dance to?

To dance to? Oh my God! Well, it just so happens that I’m always in the band so that the opportunity to dance comes to me rarely. And when I dance with my wife, on special occasions when I’m home, when I’m not working, I never get to pick the music. I just go ‘we’re dancing girlfriend, wife, lady’ and we both go with it. So whatever song that allows me to be close to my wife and give her hugs and look her in the eyes. That’s all good with me.

  1. Last year, you treated us very well with “Happy Skalidays” and our Christmas became a thousand times better! Was it something you wanted to do for a long time, making a Christmas album?

[Laughs] Yes, we’ve been throwing that around for many years and it just so happened while we were on tour through Canada we started figuring out Christmas tunes during the sound checks. It happened kind of organically that we were all like ‘Well, let’s try “Little Drummer Boy”.’ and we tried to do it a Jamaican ska kind of way and put some Jamaican ska-quotes in there from some famous songs. It was initially going to be a full-length record and it turned out to be an EP so I don’t know if we would go back and record some more songs and make it a full-length record or what’s going to happen. Our engineer, David Irish, who was out with us, he lost his studio; the studio that we would do recordings at for about ten years so now he’s looking for another building so it’s going to take us a little while to start recording stuff again. So just be patient.

  1. Are their maybe any plans to have some sort of split record Easter/Christmas? Or is it maybe that you don’t like Easter as much as Christmas?

There is not necessarily any Easter music in the States. At Easter play the hallelujah chorus… I guess we could play a hallelujah chorus/ska-thing. Can you skank to the hallelujah chorus? [hums the hallelujah chorus]. Yes, we could make it work!

  1. Here in Belgium, ska is sort of an underground genre. You don’t see many ska bands performing in really big venues like Sportpaleis. How do you feel about that, that ska still is sort of the underdog?

It always kind of has been. When the music started out in Jamaica, those guys were playing for people at casinos, for white people at casinos, mixing soul and jazz and R&B and then mixing it with the traditional rhythms from Jamaica. So it was kind of always an underground thing. It just happens that it sometimes gets really popular like with Madness and The Specials in the UK and then it came to California primarily with bands like Fishbone and No Doubt and us. You know, it’s always around. It just takes another band that scores another hit on the radio because that changes things. When they hear you on the radio all the time, there will be another wave of ska bands. But it’s all over the place: it’s in the commercials that you watch, it’s in the movies that you watch. If you just keep your ears open, you’re like ‘Where did that ska-sound come from?’ in this TV-commercial for a Toyota Prius?

  1. Your lyrics and songs are mostly very funny to hear. Who writes these lyrics to for example “Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer”, “The FU Song”, “She Has A Girlfriend Now”?

“Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer” was a previous song so it’s a cover of… I don’t remember the artist but that’s been around for about thirty years. “Another FU Song” and the rest, that’s all Aaron and his whit, his view on life. It’s easier to look at your life and laugh when stuff kicks you in the head than to get upset about it. And I think that’s one the great things that Reel Big Fish has done for people. We allowed them to laugh with themselves and laugh with the world and not just yourselves too seriously. It’s not that you try to get through live trying to do the best you can, because you are, but if you laugh at yourself and go ‘Okay, this is just bullshit and I’m going to laugh at it.’ you’ll be fine. You know when somebody cuts you of as you are driving to work who’s trying to drive everybody else of the road that’s just… There are too many people in this world who take themselves way too seriously. That’s definitely a problem. That’s why we have people chopping people’s heads off because they’re taking themselves way too seriously. Because they can’t laugh at themselves, because they can’t allow people to do other stuff. I mean, when you want control over the rest of the world and other people, you will run into problems. Even if you’re in a relationship and you want control over your significant other. Things don’t work out well that way. You can’t tell people that that is what they have to do. No, it’s give and take and the more that you can laugh, you can say ‘Well, this didn’t work out very well but I’m going to laugh about it and move on and do the next thing and do my best and of someone kicks me in the head again, I’m going to laugh and then keep going!’. It’s a good way to a good life.

  1. How many versions are there from the song S.R. (Suburban Rhythm)?

There are a ton of versions! And another ton of versions that you have never heard, like there’s a beat-jazz version, there’s a White Stripes version and so on. That song started out just as the reggae-ska version of that and it was a really short song and Aaron was like ‘Why don’t we try it doing this way, or that way?’. And then we all adapt and laugh and think ‘Oh, this is great!’. It got to where that part of the show was becoming so long, like over 15 minutes long because of all the different styles we would do. It just got to be too big and take too much time so we kind of condensed it down so there are about five versions that we do now. It’s another way that we’re laughing at ourselves, but also to go ‘Oh yeah, we can do all those other things too.’. I mean, we’re good musicians. All of us are really good musicians. Of course it’s always a hit, like when we’re going to a festival and play like after Mastodon or something and we play S.R., everybody just eats out of our hands, everybody just loves it so much! We can kind of be that comic relief, I guess, on some shows or festivals and it really is like a breath of fresh air for everybody, I think.

  1. We also saw you at Groezrock some time ago and of course at that festival you have a lot of hardcore bands and then you guys played among them and it was nice to have something completely different.

The first time that I remember that happening we played after Mastodon, but right before My Chemical Romance and I was going like ‘How is this going to work?’. Because all these people were roaring their lungs out and then we take the stage and they just go crazy! I think after that Groezrock show we went to play in Dubai and we played this festival as a replacement of a band called Saxon, the old eighties hair metal band, and the bill was us, Testament, 3 Doors Down and Megadeth. “Souls Of Black” by Testament is the very first cd that I ever bought and “Peace Sells” of Megadeth was one of the tapes I had and I loved both of those bands. So just standing on the side of the stage watching those bands, I was like a little schoolgirl ‘Oh, this is so amazing!’. But to go after a really hard metal band like Testament and take the stage and everybody just goes crazy, you know you’re doing something right. Something somewhere we’re doing right!

  1. You just mentioned Testament and Megadeth. What are your favourite bands aside from the ska genre? Maybe some sort of guilty pleasures?

Oh no, I have no guilty pleasures! I love all the traditional Jamaican ska, I love bands like Desmond Dekker and The Wailers. We’ve been fortunate to play quite some shows with The Wailers and it has always been awesome. It’s just we’ve been really lucky to play with some of the biggest names in Jamaican ska. So aside from that, I love traditional bands like Madness, The Specials, I love it all. It’s really hard to pin me down because I listen to a lot of different stuff.

  1. With this we’re at our last question. Thank you very much for the interview. Do you have any last words for our readers?

We’ll be on tour so come and see us, come say ‘hi’! We’re really approachable guys that are really sweet, shall we say. We’ll be in a town near you soon! [laughs]

– Jolien Krijnen & Frederik Geuvens

Comma Commander

Coma Commander, repeat it fast for ten times and you'll probably blur out something resembling an 80's hit by Culture Club. But enough with the crap of male cow, time to introduce Belgium's newest punk heroes, Coma Commander. Hailing from Diest, these fellows have recently released their second EP since their conception in 2012 on the brand new Belgian record label Bearded Punk Records. Coma Commander had the pleasure to have the first release on the new label and RMP is here to bring you the grit and dirt about their hit EP “Council Of The Jackalopes”.

 

 

  1. Hello, first things first, congratulations with the new release “Council Of The Jackalopes”. It's been on the streets for some weeks now, how has the response been so far?

Thanks man! The response has been pretty amazing so far. Some people really seem to dig the new songs, which is really cool. We’re also quite happy with the way the EP turned out ourselves. It was a real treat working together with Thomas Valkiers at his Hightime Studio. We had the best time recording these songs, and I somehow like to believe you can hear that on the record.

 

  1. Coma Commander was formed late 2012, this release is already your second (excluding the demo), could you introduce Coma Commander and its current path to the readers?

Sure. We did our first show in Diest at the end of 2012. Then we went on playing shows for an entire year without releasing anything. At the end of 2013 we released a first EP which contained six songs. The next year or so we kept on playing these songs over and over again whilst slacking off completely writing-wise. Then when we started writing again and it turned out we’ve gotten a little better at it so we got super excited for doing the “Council Of The Jackalope” EP, which we released at the end of November. Right now we’re keeping ourselves busy trying to get the new songs out there and we’re also writing new stuff already in the hopes we get a little better at it this time.

 

  1. “Council Of The Jackalopes” is the first release on the spanking brand new Belgian label Bearded Punk Records. Coma Commander is the first band releasing on it, how does it feel?

It feels amazing, man! It’s been pretty rad having Gregory and his crew helping us getting the EP out for the masses to hear. I’m pretty sure they’re destined for great things and bands! They’re also just really cool and fun people doing this thing they love in their spare time, just like all the bands they sign. That’s something to admire. DIY ethics and such.

 

  1. You recently performed the release show in your hometown of Diest. Was it an all-nighter that has left Diest with some deep wounds or even worse?

I think it’s safe to say it was even worse. We had the best time that night! More or less 200 people were crammed into our local youth club ‘Jeugdhuis Tijl’. The sets from Old Souls, Off The Charts and the almighty Cornflames were super sweet and we might have played our best set yet ourselves. To top it all off, Piekpries spun some sweet records at the after party. We couldn’t have wished for a better turnout.

 

  1. Early December Coma Commander embarked on an international mission. A prolonged weekend-tour starting in France and ending up conquering the UK territory. Any dirty deeds from that tour you wish to share?

I’m going to have to let you down here man, no dirty deeds for these fellers. Turns out we’re a pretty boring band. We basically did some sightseeing and somehow always ended up playing pool and drinking expensive beers at some bar in the afternoon. Our pool skills got way better though!

 

 

  1. The artwork of “Council Of The Jackalopes” is an eye catcher. It features a rabbit with antlers aka the mythical creature ‘the jackalope’. But what is ‘the council of jackalopes’ then? Horny/horned rabbits on sexual a quest?

Well, basically it's a metaphor for the way politicians run and promote their agendas. Most of them claim to serve the greater good, but in the end that greater good often turns out to be non-existent, like a jackalope. It's easy to sell people on the idea that they exist because admit it, what would be cooler than rabbits with antlers? Sadly though they're just a myth.

 

  1. The first music video is also out on the world wide web, “Christopher Robin And The Giant Blisters” received the honour of being immortalised by an animated video. How has the response been?

Pretty okay. At least three people told me they really like the song.

 

  1. It's actually a lyrics video that sports Popeye the sailor man. What led to the choice of that spinach industry supporting cartoon figure and how should we perceive the connection to the band?

Yeah, there's not really a story behind the Popeye. He's just a cult figure from our youth and we love hinting towards old pop culture in our music. For a large part they sort of shaped our creative minds, just like Christopher Robin from the title did, or Scooby Doo from the song “If It Wasn't For Those Meddling Kids”.

 

  1. The band has been compared to some varying bands yet, from Lagwagon and NUFAN to the more gruff-orientated bands. But what defines Coma Commander to yourselves? Bands, scenes, movies anything goes.

I’m going to go ahead and give the cliché answer most bands give. It’s the sum of all our different influences that makes Coma Commander what it is. We all listen to so much different styles of music, so it’s hard to really name bands that influence us as a band. We mostly write the basic songs as a three-piece because Bram’s a famous graphic artist and has no time for our shitty punkrock band and Jef’s a psychologist in Gent, so he actually has stuff to do. Jeroen, Ward and me work out the basic parts, riffs and structures for the songs, then Jef puts on a bassline and Bram adds the main vocal part. We come up with all the harmonies and dubbing stuff in the studio. I don’t really know how other bands work on their songs, but this could define us, I guess.

 

  1. Any news, gossip or future plans that you wish to inform of us?

We’re busy writing new stuff right now. We hope to hit the studio again around February and to release two songs in the form of a split 7” with a cool band by next summer. In February we’re also going on a three-day French weekender with our new buddies in The Burnt Tapes (UK). We’re playing Crossbonefest, our favourite Belgian fest, so that’s really cool. Maybe a full-length by 2017? Who knows, we’ll see how writing goes.

 

– David Marote

Night Birds – Mutiny At Muscle Beach

Surfpunk! Night Birds are one of the bands I have been following on my radar for a while because they just kick ass! They are straightforward, ‘no holds barred’ punk rocking madness. Giving the fact that these fellows recently released their latest album “Mutiny At Muscle Beach” on Fat Wreck Chords they had to be doing something right. Their previous album “Born To Die In Suburbia” has already been spun to smithereens on my record player and “Mutiny At Muscle Beach” is sure to receive the same destination. Mixing old school ‘Hey ho let's go’ punk rock with more surf-orientated sounds leads to the blood pumping tunes of Night Birds. The fellows of Night Birds are chock-full of adrenaline and energy when playing live, bouncing back and forward off the stage as if their live depends on it, delivering a raunchy, edgy performance. Just the thing that punk rock should be all about.  “Mutiny At Muscle Beach” is a must-have for those who love energetic music that oozes out of the speakers.

– David Marote