Bent Out of Shape from Netherlands have done one
of the best records this year I think. Please
read this interview which was done in
december-2022. I think it is Bart who answers
the most of the questions.
Please tell me a little about every member and
the history of the band? Age, work, bands
before?
The band started in october 2019. Our former
bass player Jeroen said we should start an Oi
band and we approached Norbert and Henk and that
was it. We took off running, writing songs real
fast and came out with a 7 song demo early 2020.
We got picked up by Demons Run Amok from Germany
and had a bunch of shows lined up and then
Corona happened. So no shows, but we kept
writing and recording. Jeroen had to step down
from the band, because he was too busy with
other things, but we’re still close friends. Rik
stepped in on bass; he’s been my bandmate in our
other band; de Hûnekop, for 13 years and we were
already in a Misfits cover band together before
that. He also goes way back with the other guys,
so it was a no-brainer. Henk, Norbert and I have
been making music together (on and off) for over
25 years now. Our first band together was a HC
band Spirit 84, that ran from 1997 til 2002.
After that we were in Dead Horse Running. They
were also in the Dead Scenestars together and
are currently in HC band Icepick. Everyone’s
also been in a bunch of other bands, but that’s
too many to mention. Henk is a graphic designer,
Norbert has his own Sports broadcasting company
(SBC) and does construction on the side. Rik is
a safety inspector for mainly playgrounds and
I’m also in safety and ergonomics. Age? I know
I’m 46 and the oldest. The other guys are
'early' forty-ish haha.
Your music is a style which came foreward many
years ago, I think you have traces of both old
punk and of course oi?
I consider that a compliment. The original
intent with this band was ‘let’s do an Oi band’,
but in the end it’s all punkrock. We don’t have
a rule book on how we have to sound. Henk is the
main songwriter (music) in the band and he
listens to all kinds of stuff and you can hear
that I think. Of course we’re influenced by a
lot of classic (Oi) punk bands, but we also take
cues from newer bands like the Reapers, Bishops
Green, No Heart etc.
The name Bent out of Shape where did it came
from? What do you mean with it…You weren´t
afraid that someone else have named a band like
this?
My first idea was to call us Band Out Of Shape.
As a word joke obviously, for a bunch of older
guys doing a band again. Then I wrote it out
with Capitols and noticed the abbreviation was
B.O.O.S. Boos is a Dutch word for ‘angry’ and
bent out of shape means pretty much the same.
That settled it for us; it was gonna be Bent out
of Shape. Of course I Googled, to see if there
was already a band with that name. I only found
an Indie band called Bent outta shape, but they
already split up, so we’re good.
Is it important to release physical things? Or
can you feel that you have done a record if you
only release it digitally?
Physical is very important. I’ll never forget my
first demo tape, first CD, first vinyl.. The
music is what matters most of course, but
lyrics, artwork and actually holding something
in your hand matters a lot too. This last album
has a lot of blood sweat and beers in it. To
just release it digitally would have sucked big
time.
You have never been to Sweden and played or been
here as tourists? If you not have when do you
come?
Henk and I were in Götheborg Sweden in 2006,
when his old band REMAIN played there on tour, I
roadied. That was my only time there, can't say
I remember a lot of it frankly. Henk went back
later for vacation in Stockholm. Norbert was
also in Stockholm to play (ice) hockey and Rik
has been to Sweden several times for vacation. A
few months ago we played an Oi fest in Hoofddorp
and there was also this awesome Oi band called
Oldfashioned Ideas from Malmö, and we hung out
there and they invited us to play in their town
some day. So maybe if you could set up a show as
well, we could do a little tour through the
north of Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Vilka
länder
har
haft
nöjet
att
höra
bandet
live?
Hittills
har
det
bara
varit
Nederländerna
och
Belgien.
Vi
spelar
i
Tyskland
nästa
år
och
är
redo
för
weekendresor
var
som
helst!
När du
gör låtar, hur gör du,
jammar
du ihop
eller kommer
någon
med en
text
och
lite
med
musiken
eller
hur
gör
du
dina
låtar?
Vi
gör
mycket
preppinglåtar
hemifrån.
Henk
spelar
in
riff
på
sin
telefon
och
skickar
dem
till
oss.
Jag
har
ett
elektroniskt
trumset
och lägger
till
trummor
och klipper
och
klistrar
sedan.
Sedan
tittar
Henk
eller
jag
på
vilken
text
som
kan
fungera
till
låten.
Så
ofta
har
vi en
rå
demo
med
en
låt
75
%
klar.
Sedan
i
replokalen
spelar
vi det
och kommer
med
broar
etc,
och
avslutar
det.
Norbert
skrev
också
en
del
grejer
och
jobbar
på
samma
sätt,
förutom
att han
själv
lägger
till
elektroniska
trummor.
Which countries have had the pleasure to be
hearing the band live?
So far it’s just been the Netherlands and
Belgium. We’re playing in Germany next year and
are ready for weekend trips anywhere!
When you do songs, how do you do, are you
jamming together or do someone comes with a
lyric and some with the music or how do you do
your songs?
We do a lot of prepping songs from home. Henk
records riffs on his phone and sends them to us.
I have an electronic drumkit and add drums and
then cut and paste. Then Henk or me looks what
lyric might work for the song. So often we have
a crude demo with a song 75 % done. Then in the
rehearsal room we play it and come up with
bridges etc, and finish it. Norbert also wrote
some stuff and works the same way, except he
adds electronic drums himself.
I think your record is one of 2022s best
records? What about that?
What can I say? You’re obviously a man of fine
taste haha. No seriously; it’s a great
compliment and means a lot. Like I mentioned
before, a lot of work went into this album. With
full time jobs, families, other bands etc., it
takes some dedication to keep a thing like this
going. So I’m proud of what we’ve put out so
far, and especially the new record.
Please tell me a little about the following
lyrics….and who wrote it and why?
My part of town
I wrote this one. But it’s mostly inspired by
stories from Norbert and Jeroen, about an area
they used to live (Vlietzone). Some crazy shit
went down there (and still) and I thought it
could be the subject of a lyric. Like I often
do; I kind of tried to write it in a way, that
it could be relatable to other people too. So it
became a song about neighbourhoods going to
shit; which happens all over the world
Good old memories
This is a special one. This song was actually a
gift from our friend Ronny Hamersma (the
Reapers, Day Drinker, Crown Court, Hard Wax
etc.). Ronny is a good friend of ours and an
absolute master songwriter. We were hanging out
(drinking) at his house and he showed us his set
up and how he records his home demo’s. He played
us the original version of this song and we
immediately loved it. Ronny said the Reapers
hadn’t used it, because the lyrics were so
personal to Ronny, that it didn’t feel right for
Gwenn to sing them. So the lyrics would have to
be re-written, and from how I remember it, Ronny
wasn’t really motivated to do that, so the song
got shelved. We said, mate, this song is too
good not to record; to which Ronny said; why
don’t you guys take it? So we did. Henk had the
same ‘problem’ with the lyrics though, so I
asked Ronny if he was okay with me changing
them. He was and I did, to make it relatable to
us. So we changed the lyrics a bit and cut out a
few parts in the music, but it’s still basically
Ronny’s song. Best gift ever. Oh as far as the
lyrics go; I hope they kind of speak for
themselves.
Contagious
I wrote this lyric (slightly different) some 15
years ago, when a friend got very ill, not for
the first time. You're completely powerless when
that happens to a loved one, and wish you could
do more, but all you can do is just be there.
That's what it's about basically. I never used
it and thought it might be too 'emo' for this
band, but it actually worked out pretty well I
think.
How is it to live in Netherlands nowadays,
racists, politics,covid, etc?
I love living in the Netherlands, and especially
our neck of the woods; Fryslân. Covid was fucked
up and revealed a lot of ugliness, but I hope
that's in the past. Dutch politics aren't great,
but also not that terrible I think. There's many
parties and the government is always a
coalition, so there's some compromise and
nothing too extreme. Racists suck.
Are you calling yourself a punkband, oiband or
what do you call your style?? What is your
thoughts about punk when you started and if you
compare with punk today?
I think we mostly use the term Streetpunk these
days. I've been listening to metal punk and
hardcore for over 30 years and I can't say the
scene(s) changed that much in that time. It all
got bigger, but there's still a healthy
underground. I don't have strong ideological
thoughts about punk, I'm a metalhead/hardcore
‘kid’/Oi boy.
Do you have any favorite football team(I support
Arsenal(England) and a Swedish team called GAIS
myself)? And how will it go for The Netherlands
in World Championship?
I support Cambuur Leeuwarden and others supports
SC Heerenveen, both Frisian teams in the Dutch
premier league. The Netherlands beat the USA
today and we'll play the quarter final against
Argentina. I hope we win the cup, but wouldn't
put money on it.
Beer is expensive in Sweden. I have a very big
interest in beer and brew myself? Your favourite
beerstyle ? You don´t have an own Bent out of
shape-beer? Or maybe you are straightedge?
We all like beer. My favorite beer is free beer.
Just regular beer, like Heineken, Budweiser,
Becks, etc. No fancy stuff. Henk is our resident
connoisseur and likes special/craft beers. We
don't have our own beer, we're not Maiden or
Motörhead haha.
Is there any good bands from The Netherlands
worth to mention? And how is the
oi/punk/hardcore scene living on in The
Netherlands right now?
The scene is small but dedicated. There's a lot
of good bands. The Reapers, the Young ones,
Complaint, On the Rampage, Diamond Dogs, One
Voice, Savage Beat, etc. 2023 is gonna see
releases by Malad and City Riot, so looking
forward to that. Bullbar is a relatively new
band, who's debut album impressed me a lot. And
I can't talk about the Dutch scene and not
mention the kings of kings; Evil Conduct.
What is your strength when you play live?
Having fun. We get up there to have a party.
Henk is a good frontman, that connects with a
crowd. And when Norbert takes his shirt off, you
know something's about to go down.
Which type of people comes to your concerts?
Which type of people do you miss?
Depends on the type of show. When we played Oi
this is Tegelen, or Oi in Hoofddorp, obviously
there were a lot of skins and punks mostly. Like
I said before, the scene is small but loyal.
There's many people who'll travel for shows.
When we're on a more diverse festival bill it
can be that, combined with rockers, HC kids,
metalheads etc. I don't really miss a type of
people actually.
Do you buy much records, or is it only Spotify
and those type of things to listen to music? Any
good record store?
I still buy records occasionally (mostly cd's
actually), but not as many as I used to. Spotify
just made it too easy not to and I've spent a
small fortune on music in my life, so I don't
feel too bad about it. In my hometown Leeuwarden
there’s actually a few real cool recordstores
that sell mainly vinyl, like King Kong Record,
Big Bad Wolf Records and T-Rex.
Are you selling any merch on your gigs, do
people buy it? What sells best?
We sell shirts, vinyl and cd's at shows and
recently we've added football scarfs, which are
pretty cool. So far I think shirts sell best.
Which is your own favoritesong among your own
songs? And which song is the people choice?
My favorite might be Never went away. It was on
our demo and we decided to re-record it for the
new album It goes down pretty well live also. I
don't know about the people's choice, though
from the new record, many say their favorite is
Places to go.
What´s the biggest difference when you plays
live nowadays if you compare when you first
started to play in a band? Or is this your first
band maybe?
I've played in bands for over 25 years and I
can't really come up with a difference. I get
less nervous and less drunk before a show these
days I guess.
Do you care about reviews? Which is the most
peculiar you ever had, with this band or any
other band you have been to?
Yes, I care about reviews. It's always nice if
someone takes the time to really listen to your
music and share their views about it. Peculiar..
I haven't really read any weird reviews so far.
In 2020 we made the yearlist on American Oi
twice, with both our demo and our EP, that was
pretty special.
If you could choose five bands from the past and
the history and nowadays and both dead and
living bands to have a concert together with
your band. Which five have you been chosen?
Top of my head: Cock Sparrer, Rancid, Stiff
Little Fingers, the Last Resort, the Exploited.
So no zombies on stage.
Is music a good way to get out frustration and
become a nicer person outside the music?
Probably, yeah. Although music's mostly fun to
me, and doesn't feel like getting out
frustration so much, it just helps avoiding it.
Playing in bands is also a great way to stay
connected to some close friends.
You sing in English, why not in dutch? Which is
your most political song or do you not want to
put politics into your music?
I write pretty much all the lyrics and it feels
safer to do that in English. Dutch would be very
literal and I'd weigh all my words more. Also;
we don't have big global aspirations, but it's
nice to have people from other countries
understand what we sing. We don't want to put
politics in our music really, but it sometimes
seeps in. Divide and conquer of the demo is our
most political song.
Any good Swedish bands you like?
Sure, lots of them (insert ABBA joke here).
Outlast, Perkele, Lavett, Oldfashioned Ideas, a
lot of great stuff. The Clichés are probably my
favorite. I also like a lot of Swedish Death
Metal.
Is it boring with interviews? Is it much
interviews? What do you prefer
Telephoneinterviews, face to face or as this one
via e-mail?
It's not boring at all, though some standard
questions get kind of old after having answered
them a few times. It's not that many, so it's
cool and we really appreciate it. So far we've
only done these type of interviews and I like
it, because you can take the time to think
about, and formulate your answer. I was
interviewed for a podcast recently (not
particularly about this band) and that was cool,
but later you think of things you should have
said, or wished you said.
Futureplans for the band?
We don't really have specific plans or goals. We
can't really tour or anything, because of jobs,
families etc. So the plan is just to play a
bunch more cool shows, hopefully record more
music.
Futureplans for yourself?
Stay healthy and continue on my current path.
Wisdomword?
It's not about having what you want; it's about
wanting what you have. Count your blessings and
learn to be content.
Something more to add?
Just thank you for reaching out and the kind
words!
How can I get a hold of your other records.
Please tell me about every record you have done?
So far we've done:
- Demo 2020 cd
- Who laughs last 7"
- Split 7" with the Boldness
- Split 7" with Skroetbalg
- Old rats on a new ship full length LP & CD
You can get a hold of them here: