Tigerknife sent me their new 5-track CD which comes out in march. One single is out on Spotify now and give it a listen …and the you buy some records with this good dutch hardcoreband. February- 2023

Please tell me a little about every member and the history of the band? Age, work, bands before?

- We got Frank, (37) on vocals. Retail Consultant in contruction. Actually first band as a vocalist. Use to play bass in District Of Misery.

 On guitar we have Marcel (33) use to play in D.O.M. aswell. Marcel works as a image editor for the Dutch Ministery of Health And Sport. Behind the drums is Enya (24). She just got her masters degree in Nano Biology at TU Delft. And finally on bass and backing vocals we have Thomas (33). He works as a Graphic Designer at a streetwear retailer. Before Tigerknife he was vocalist in As Prayers Fail.

Your music is a style which came foreward many years ago, I think you have traces of both punk and of course hardcore?

-Alot of inspiration comes forth out of the New York Hardcore which, we know, come out of Punk.

The name Tigerknife where did it came from? What do you mean with it…You wren´t afraid that someone else have named a band like this?

-We wanted something catchy and something that describes the sound as best is possible. Hardhitting aggression, sharpness and something that sparks the imagination.

Is it important to release physical things? Or can you feel that you have done a record if you only release it digitally? Is this your first record Prying eyes?

-We think it's important to keep releasing physical media. It's something real you can hold and it gives life to your music. For us, as a small band there's always the issue of financial abilities but we're glad we were able to release 'Prying Eyes' physically. 

You have never been to Sweden and played or been here as tourists? If you not have when do you come?

-None of us has ever been to Sweden. That makes it even cooler to see you show interest in us! We would LOVE to do a tour in Sweden / Scandinavia!

Which countries have had the pleasure to be hearing the band live?

- Until now, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France.

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?

-Each of us bring there thing to the table. We start with a couple of riffs, then put them together. Tweek it. Refine it. It's like cooking with out a recipe. It's fun and creative.

I think your record is one is hard to compare to any other bands, how come do you think??

-Probably because we all listen to different genres of music. Even with common music, we all love the same stuff for different reasons.

Please tell me a little about the following lyrics….and who wrote it and why? 

Walls of indifference

Suburban tales

Dead mans swith

-All songs have there different way of adressing different themes. On our EP 'Prying Eyes', we address several modern societal challenges. As society is finally acknowledging important issues like racism, sexism, and homophobia, the general public and public figures alike prefer to point the finger to scapegoats rather than aknowledge the systemic nature of these matters and their own role in them. At the same time, now that monitoring these concerns, and public safety in general, is increasingly enabled by technological innovation, the question arises of how privacy and agency weigh up against them. While the government plays an important role in safeguarding the community, and marginalised groups in particular, there is a limit to the extent to which surveillance is desirable. 

How is it to live in Netherlands nowadays, racists, politics,covid, etc? 

- As adressed in the answer to the previous question. Holland has it's social challanges and problems as any country. Concerning the Covid19-situation.. things are staying up. Club, bars and cultural centers are open without restrictions and shows are going again! 

Are you calling yourself a punk, hardcore, metalcore band or what do you call your style?? What is your thoughts about punk when you started and if you compare with punk today?

-We would call it (Modern) Hardcore. Hardcore has such a variety of sounds. Yet still keeps the accessibility. It's awesome to see punk and hardcore grow. Smaller bands have access to sick studio-quality recording. New bands doing the modern or classic stuff with awesome production.

Do you have any favorite football team(I support Arsenal(England) and a Swedish team called GAIS myself)? 

-Our singer Frank follows up with our local club Feyenoord. He live a stone throw away from their home stadium.

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 Tigerknife-beer? Or maybe you are straightedge?

- We're not big beer enthusiasts. Craft beer is nice tho. Some of us almost don't drink alcohol but are not like Straight Edge. Others are more the wiskey type. 

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?

- Go check out Menacer and Born Infected. A lot of our show we have shared with them. They became friends really! Dutch underground scene is very diverse. We have cool festivals with a lot of different type of music. With small events genres tend to stick together. Still, within smaller shows you still see a lot of variety. We played with Old School Hardcore bands and with modern technical sounding metalcore bands. It's all good!

What is your strength when you play live?

- A lot of energy, a lot of different tempo's, a lot of different ways to go nuts! 

Which type of people comes to your concerts? Which type of people do you miss?

- We see different types of people at our shows. Metalheads, Hardcore-kids, whatever. Having a female bandmember it'll be cool to see more and more diversity in our scene. Different backgrounds. Hardcore transends bounderies.

Do you buy much records, or is it only Spotify and those type of things to listen to music? Any good record store?

-We use Spotify a lot. It's so practical to have everyting on your smartphone. However we love CD's, vinyl and even cassettes. If your even in Holland, go visit Sounds in Delft. Sick record store!

Are you selling any merch on your gigs, do people buy it? What sells best?

- We sell our merch at shows. CD and T-shirts are usually the best sellers.

Which is your own favoritesong among your own songs? And which song is the people choice? 

-Each of us will give you a different answer haha. 

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?

- We've gotten alot better since our first show. Even just being a band for three years, we became great friends pretty much from the start.

Do you care about reviews? Which is the most peculiar you ever had, with this band or any other band you have been to?

- Nothing which shocked us or anything.

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?

- Hard question. We really can't choose only five bands. There are so many sick bands. We love to play with bands we can hang out with bands from different countries and bands with different sounds. We get inspired by that.

Is music a good way to get out frustration and become a nicer person outside the music?

- Yeah, we like believe people can let out their frustration at our shows and feel a sort of comment understanding or even find support in our music or us as a person. 

You sing in English, why not in dutch?

- Holland is a small countries and therefore has a small hardcore scene. The chance of crossing the border is there. English is for almost every dutch person a second language. Easy choice.

Any good Swedish bands you like?

- We're pretty much in the dark when it comes to underground Swedish (hardcore) bands. Shame! Send us some good Swedish bands! 

Is it boring with interviews? Is it much interviews? What do you prefer Telephoneinterviews, face to face or as this one via e-mail?

- Face to face interviews are best. 

Futureplans for the band?

- Alot of stuff coming up! We are doing a weekendrun, 17 - 19th Februari. Our new EP 'Prying Eyes' drops 3rd of March! 10th of March release show! For the future we want to do as much shows as possible.

Futureplans for yourself? 

- Stay healthy, stay alive, stay angry!

Wisdomword?

- Respect eachother, respect nature. Keep doing what you love, stay true to yourself. Don't let the weight of the world crush your soul. There is no shame in seeking help, it's brave.

Something more to add?

- Warm greetings from Rotterdam, Holland, to all heavy music listeners in Sweden!