Close Second is a group which sent me their record and it come all the way from Belgium. Their bassplayer knewed my zine and therefor they send it to me. Ivo from the group answered my questions in the beginning of january 2004.

History?

   I know these guys forever, we’ve all been making music forever, there’s no real history really. We’re just hanging out.

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

    Pieter: 22, Drums. He only likes HipHop and Merauder and he’s going to court soon for
                stealing.

    Koen: 26, Vocals and guitar. He has a really nice mom and plays in a bowling team.
               Koen is comparable to god; everyone loves him.
    Harm: 23, Bass. His dad likes forrests and he likes jet-fighters. Drugs are bad!
    Ivo: 26, Guitar and vocals. I come from a broken home and don’t like a lot of things except music. Don’t drink and drive!!!

Previous bands, beside of Close Second?

    Pieter and Harm were Reaching Forward. Koen and me were in Facing Down.

    Current bands are Born From Pain, Razor Crusade and Of No Avail.

How is it to play music like this in the Netherlands right now?

    Pretty much big fun. We have these big things at shows on the side of the stage that makes our  music go really loud. We call it a P.A., I don’t know if you have those things?

How would you describe your music yourself, in three words?

    Is ROCK enough?

I describe it as emoriented punk, what other descriptions do you get?

    That varies from rock to emocore and so on......

Which bands are you being compared to?

    Bands like Foo Fighters, Hundred Reasons, Face Tomorrow, Sense Field, Saves the Day.

What does punk mean to you, is it only a word or is it a lifestyle?

    To us it’s a lifestyle, but I don’t know if we live it though

Close Second, is it any meaning with the name?

    No, not really. From a list of 5 names this was the one everyone liked the most.

What do you know about Sweden? What is typical swedish?

      Not that much, but I’ve made a roadtrip through Sweden once and it’s a beautiful country.

      Alcohol is fucking expensive in Sweden that’s for sure!

Have you heard any swedish bands?

     Yeah a lot. Like: Refused, Starmarket, Venerea, Fireside, KVLR, the Hives, Millencolin, Last
     days of april...etc. etc.

You don´t have any thought to sing in your own language and not in english?

      No not all.

Why are people from Netherlands so good at speakning english, do you have any answer to that?

      Because we pay attention in school.

Does music and politic goes hand in hand?

     Music can be a good way of carrying out your political views.

Any good politic band you like?

     Radiohead.

You don´t have any label or, you released your CD by yourself?

      Yeah we did. These four songs are the first four we have ever written. And we thought they
      were good enough to record.

How did you came in contact with my zine?

      Through our bassplayer who does promotion for Reflections Records.

Where do you stand when we´re talking about mp3 and those things, is it good or bad?

     I’m down with ‘m.

Do you download something for yourself?

     All the time buddy

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

     What an awful question and you know it! I’ll make it three for each.
     records: -  Christie front drive-s/t  cd                                                                                
                   -   Jimmy Eat World/Jejune split 7”                                                                                    - Braid-Lucky to be alive  cd                                                                                      
    

 concerts:    -   Tom McRae live at the Melkweg, Amsterdam                                                                                        
                   -   the Fire Theft live at Paradiso, Amsterdam                                                                                   
                   -    Pedro the lion live at Ekko, Utrecht                                                                                         
     and Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll!!!

First, last and most expensive record ever bought?

     Here is another one!
     I actually can’t remember my first record...yeah I know shame on me!
     The last one I bought was The Fire Theft – s/t. What a great record!
     The most expensive one would be my 5 LP box from Bruce Springsteen and the Estreet
      band Live 1975/’85

What drives you to play music, is it the money , the girls or what?
     I would say the music itself, but I think the other members will say money and girls haha!!

Is music something where people can get out their aggressiveness or?

    Yeah definetly. Mosh or die.

How is a good concert with you?

    Just watching a great band perform.

How does the average audience look like, I mean which styles of people do you have on
     your  concerts?

     Usually it’s just girls.

Do you have good contact with your fans?

    Hell yeah

Are you supporting any football team or is football and sport only shit?

     If you do , which team?
     Doing sports is a good thing I guess..........

Futureplans for the band?

     Play and tour as much as possible and record a full lenght.

For yourself?

     My future plans include being a proffessional kisser

Wisdom word?

    Ask God. He knows it all

Something to add?

    Rock hard.