April 2003 read more about the members

History?

-We’ve been around for a couple of years now, but please do skip our first period.  We were young, virgin and bad musicians.  We released to acceptable demo’s.  The first one as a split with coastal punkrockers Biro in 1998, the second one as a CDr in 2000.  Early 2002 we hit a more decent studio to record the “Making the Hood Look Good” EP, which was released in September that year by EyeSpy Records. 


Please tell me a little about every member, age, family, interests, work
and something bad about every one?


-Wim sings and plays guitar and he’s been around for a quarter century.  Last year he got married with a nice girl called Tine.  On a professional level, he works part-time in a record store and part-time as a tennis coach.  He likes drinking beer, playing soccer, watching crappy movies and hanging out with the lads.

Thomas is graduading now to become a engineer.  He’s 23, too intelligent for us and is playing to share house with his girlfriend.  He likes soccer as well an plays far better than Wim and he’s really into food from remote countries.

Timothy is the kind of person you don’t want to have in your band.  He’s a great guitarman but seems to have troubles listening to us at rehearsals.  He’s a talented surfboy and works for a fucking cigarette company.  He likes almost all possible punkrockbands as well as some metal shit. 

I (Stefaan) am currently unemployed, but graduaded in political sciences.  I’m  24 as well and have a girlfriend that rides snowboard better than myself.  I’m into all sorts of music, soccer , travelling and I like watching old movies.

 

How is it to play this sort of music in Belgium?

 

-Belgium is pretty much ok.  There are possibilties to play, but they’re somehow a bit limited.  I mean, you really have to work to get your band on stage.  You’ve got to know certain people, hang around.  Of course that’s cool, ‘cause that’s what shades punk/HC apart from mainstream music.  But for newer bands is pretty hard to play shows on a regular base.

 
Punk/HC is really big in Belgium, isn´t it, why do you think? Is it so big
that it is on radio all days or so?


-That’s right, some punkbands get airplay on the national radiostation.  However, there is a difference between bands that get played on a specific radio show and other bands whose songs are played whole day long.  The latter are bands like Sum 41 or Belgian Janez Detd.  They’re pretty ok, but I prefer bands that operate a little more in the underground.  Of course, there are exceptions, like Blink 182 for instance, which is a great band and really gets a lot of attention on national radio.  And as for HC: Belgium has a really big history in this style, so hardcore still is very big, although more on the underground level. 


Is there any good bands there right now?

 

-Sure, there’s lots of stuff to be checked out.  5 Days Off is becoming pretty huge.  They’ll release a split cd with Flatcat, which is also pretty amazing.  Skool’s Out also rocks, and then there’s quite some smaller bands that might break out the forthcoming months, like Six Toys or Gino’s Eyeball.  On the hardcore level there are numerous bands playing numerous styles.  Let me just share my favourites: Dead Stop, Severance, Circle, The Deal, Amen Ra, Cornflames, Reply and PN.

 
Have you done anything more than Make the hood look good, if you have what
and how can I get it?

 

-SFP has a pretty long-running history so, sure, we have some stuff.  We have two split demotapes with Rayzor (metalcore) and Biro (punkrock) and a demo CDr called “Time Travelling”.  The tapes are sold out, but we’re currently repressing the CDr’s due to heavy demand.  So if you want a copy, just drop a line or check us out live.


I say that you sound like a little like a swedish band called Venerea ,
have you heard them or any good swedish bands worth to mention?


-Without any doubt Venerea is one of our favourite bands.  One of the only leading European punkrock bands that have survived the nineties.  Last time I saw them in support of Ten Foot Pole and they were really amazing.  Their new cd kicks ass big time.  Other Swedish bands we like are Randy, Purusam, older Millencolin, Satanic Surfers, One Chord Wonders, Serene, Astream, Adhesive, No Fun At All, Refused, Raised Fist, Leiah, Last Days of April, Abhinanda and many more.  However, few of them are still around. 


What do you know about Sweden?

 

-I know what’s the capital and I know a couple of cities but that’s pretty much it.  I think Sweden’s nature is really really beautiful and I’d like to visit it one day.  I’ve been to Norway a couple of days ago and I really liked it. 

 

What do you think about the whole thing down in Iraq?

 

-Being rational specimens we of course object this war heavily.  As I’m writing this, the “Allies” are taking over Bagdad so the throwdown of Saddam will be over in a few days, which is a good thing ‘cause Hussein is as evil as Bush.  On the other hand I’m a bit worried about what is to come of Iraq and the countries surrounding it.  Cowboy Bush and his criminal co-fighters are preparing a next phase in their war for oil and domination so I’m a tiny bit scared of what the future will bring.  I sincerely wish that the American people realize that Bush is a crook and that they bring the democrats (a bit less evil) to power in 2004.   

 

What do the Belgian government say about it?


-To my surprise, the Belgian government opposed to the war.  I’m not sure if they did it out of ideological conviction or to increase their popularity cause we’re facing national elections next month.  We’ll see.  Anyway, I’m glad that France, Germany and Belgium raised their voice, and did not follow Bush and Blair like a peeper following its mother.

 

How is it to live in Belgium politically?

 

-Belgium is, on a political level, probably the most complex country in the world, because it’s divided into three parts with their own governments, while their still is a national government.  Like most countries we have a Liberal, a Socialist and a Centered-Democratic party, next to a ecological fraction and a racist right-wing fascist assemby, which is quite big over here.  On a world standard Belgium is a pretty nice country to live in.   

 

When you play gigs, which type of people comes to your concerts?

 

-We seem to attract many different people, like young 14-year old kids with skateboards under their arms, and 16-year old girls which is also pretty cool, and then a lot of punkrock kids who have been in this for some years.

 

Do you have good contact with your fans? In which way?

 

-It’s really nice to have a chat with fans after a show.  We try to hang out with them and have a good time.  It’s really funny sometimes when we walk on the street and people recognize us.  Rockstar stuff  you now … ;-)

 

How much do you sell approxiamately?

To be quite honest: we really don’t know because the copies are widely spread.  We have some, the EyeSpy distro have some, there are many stores selling our stuff and a couple of other distros helping us out.  We are glad every time we sell some at our shows, even if it’s only one or two.  It’s nice to be appreciated.  Over here kids also tend to copy cd’s regularly.  It’s a problem many bands encounter. We try to point it out to them that it doesn’t help us really.  I mean, 7.5 Euro is not really pricy, so … 

 

Is Eyespyrecords a good label? In which way is it better to be on a
smaller label?

 

-Yeah, we’re pretty fond of what’s ES doing: they work pretty hard, they’ve got some good bands and they have style.  They’re doing lots of promotion stuff, organising kick-ass shows, printing cool shirts.  I don’t know if they’re so much better than a big label, but we certainly don’t have any complaints.  And they’ve become good friends of ours so that’s nice.  

 

When you do music, what is most important , is it the lyrics, the music
or is it to have a refrain which all people remember?

 

-Although we do have a couple of interesting  opinions, we’re not a political band.  That means that the music comes in the first place and it’s also the aspect of SFP we spend most time on.  I guess there aren’t many punkrock bands that don’t emphasize on their music. 

 

Who does the best lyrics in the world? I guess that depends on the purpose of the lyrics? 

 

-You’re right on that one.  I personally really enjoyed the lyrics of the “Tigra Songs” album from Leiah.  Like, really love inspired lyrics, a bit like poetry.  I still enjoy reading lyrics by bands like Rage Against The Machine.  They’re sometimes a bit harsh but the essence is the truth.  A couple of years ago there was this band from the UK called The God Machine and they also had pretty awesome words.  A bit depressed but really beautiful.   

 

Does music and politics goes hand in hand? Can music change anyone ´s
life?

 

-Of course it can.  Take Ray of Today and the straight-edge movement for example.  They’ve affected the life of thousands.  But I don’t think music is always associated with a political view.  I mean, on a mainstream level, hardly any bands are political.  I like it when bands have an outspoken political view ‘cause it’s definitely a way to educate people.  The people in SFP also have their views, but we’ve chosen not to use the band to express them.  Music is our main focuss, although we do have some songs which emphasize a bit more on society’s short comings.  

 

Please rank your five best records, five best concerts and five most
important things in life?


-Records: Cave In – Jupiter; Sonic Youth – Goo, Underworld – dubnobasswithmyheadman, Metallica - … and justice for all, Good Riddance – a comprehensive guide to modern rebellion (hundred more could easily be added)
Concerts: NoFX at Pukkelpop ’95, JR Ewing at Vortn’ Vis 2002, Ten Foot Pole at Lintfabriek 2003, Purusam at Frontline ’98 (?) and Refused at VK, Brussels, ’97.

Important things: getting my first drumset (trashed it after two days, it was a toy), death of my grandmother a couple years ago, graduading from university, every single snowboarding trip and being in this band for almost eight years now. 

 

First, last and most expensive record ever bought?

 

-First: Europe – The Final Countdown LP.  Last: Caven In – Antenna CD.  Most expensive: I once paid 15 euro for just a Good Clean Fun 7”.  Sure it was on coloured vinyl, but it was still quite outrageous.  Just to get this straight: I don’t collect records. 

 

Which other bands are you being compared with in reviews?

 

V-enerea of course and a couple of other Swedish bands.  Some compare us with SNFU but I think that was rather because Wim is wearing their shirt on the picture in the booklet.  Some say we sound a bit like The Ataris, which of course is quite a compliment.  I do notice we’re heading towards our own style lately, which makes it harder to compare us with other bands.  That’s just cool.

 

Do you care about reviews`What is the most peculiar review you ever have
got?

 

-Of course, like every band, we’re vulnerable for criticism.  Of course, it’s gotta make sense, you know.  Last time I read this review from our cd and all that guy did was complaining about the lay-out and the meaningless lyrics, without mentioning anything of the music, so that was kind of a let-down.  But generally speaking we get good remarks.    

 

What drives you to play music?

 

-I don’t know.  I’ve been playing music for like 10 or 12 years now and I’ve been listening to it almost whole my life.  I mean, it’s kinda running through my veins.  At present, my drumset is in our rehearsal room, which implies I cannot play it every day.  That pretty much sucks, cos when it was up in my room I used to play it like an hour a day or so.  But I try to play some piano and guitar every now and then.

 

Please describe your music in three words?

 

-Melodic, Rocking, Fun

 

Which are the futureplans for the band?

 

-This summer we’ll try to do some festivals here and there.  In september we’re going on a short tour in the South of France.  We’re really looking forward to it, ‘cause it’s always nice to be playing in front of new audiences.  This fall we’ll probably be focussing on new songs, which will be recorded early 2004, I think.

 

For yourself?

 

-I’m gonna find myself a job that both allows me to earn some money but also to continue the life I’m living right now.  I’m mean, music, travelling and snowboarding are really important things in my life and I truly hope I can keep doing them while being at work.  Life’s gotta be fun, you know. 

 

What do you think about the "new" way to communicate with email and
internet and all that? Do you have any favourite site?

 

-Of course it’s just great, mostly because the disadvantages are rather small and it’s rather cheap (at least, in Belgium it is).  I’ve got friends in Germany, Uganda and Hawai so it’s really ace I can communicate with them.  I don’t really have a favourite site but I do check out soccerage.com from time to time, it’s a great source for all football lover.  And to keep up with the world I surf towards irin.org or intl-crisis-group.org.  And of course I check out our own website at sfpunkrock.be.

 

Wisdomword?

 

-Mens sana in corpore sano.

 

Something more to add?
-Thanx a lot for the interview.  It’s awesome to get positive feedback so far from home.  If people from Sweden want to check us out, please visit www.sfpunkrock.be or drop me a line (vitofoane@hotmail.com).  Take good care and remember that skiing sucks and snowboarding kicks ass!  Ha!