Interview with De Staat

myFanbase had the opportunity to do an interview with De Staat from the netherlands. De Staat is an alternative rock band, consisting of the members Torre Florim (vocals, guitar), Tim van Delft (drums), Van Summeren (bass, vocals), Rocco Bell (cowbell, tambourine, vocals) and Vedran Mircetic (guitar, FX). Their first album "Wait for Evolution" was released on April 23rd 2010 in Germany.

Foto: Copyright: Sander Jurkiewiczs
© Sander Jurkiewiczs

The interview is © myFanbase 2010. Please do not copy it to other websites or message boards.

1. What is your favourite track on your album "Wait for Evolution"?

Though I fortunately don't have kids, I'd probably agree with the cliché "Your songs are like your children". They are all so very different. And there's different things to like about them. I have times that I enjoy the darker ones like "Meet The Devil", and get annoyed by the popular kids. But a month later I could well be more into the catchy stuff like "The Fantastic Journey Of The Underground Man". Live I always love playing the songs in which we improvise a lot, like "Wait For Evolution" or "I Am Here To Lose Control".

2. Was there something like a light bulb moment when you were young, maybe a concert, a certain song or a record that made you dream about a career as a musician?

Queen live at Wembley Stadium, opened my eyes as a kid, for sure. Great band, and that Freddy sure knew how to get to the crowd.
Oddly enough was Moby's hit record "Play" an inspiration. The way he worked with loops, samples and his own instruments motivated me to get further into the magical world of computers. And it would be wrong not to mention Queens Of The Stone Age's "Songs For The Deaf". That's just a big fresh pair of groundbreaking balls on a disc.

3. What were you doing before your music carrier started? What would you do if the music carrier would fail?

I was studying composition and music production. It's hard to imagine me not doing anything with music. I've had my share of washing dishes and driving garbage trucks. Don't want to do that shit ever again. It imprisones the brain. If music wasn't an option, I'd probably try to find my way into film making.

4. What has been the best experience so far, as a musician?

There are a lot of moments to talk about: playing at great festivals like Pinkpop, Lowlands and Sziget. Or shooting weird videos with great directors. Picking the best one is hard. I think the best experience is the feeling I have almost every day: having a good time with your best friends, on stage or off stage. Creating new things. Maybe most importantly: not having any kind of boss to answer to. That experience remains to be awesome.

5. Your own taste in music? Are you all listening to the same kind of music?

My taste is quite broad. I tend to have these periods. I'm in an African blues from the 70's period right now.
We're definitely not all listening to the same kind of music. Our drummer and guitar player listen to overcomplicated fusion stuff sometimes, which I can't stand. But it's great that our musical taste is so diverse. You can really hear our individual roots and taste when we play live.

6. What was the first record you bought?

Not sure, but it's probably a cd called "No Sweat 7" or something. An awful collection of the newest R'n'B and Hip-Hop. Haha. I do recall a Black Eyed Peas track on it. They actually were OK back then.

7. Is there a song which you could always hear, which inspires you?

I don't know any song that wouldn't eventually drive me crazy. I've heard Arvo Part's "Fratres" about 7 times in a row. That's a lot for me. But then that started to annoy too. If there was a song that I can always hear, it would probably be called "silence".

8. With whom would you like to go on tour?

U2. Don't like the music. I just want to run circles on their ridiculous stage.

9. What record would we find in your CD-player right now?

Jookabox - "Dead Zone Boys"

10. Since myFanbase is an online magazine about TV series, do you have a favourite one?

I really enjoyed "Dexter". It almost made me want to be a serial killer. But I pussied out, and became a musician instead.

Nicole Brandt - myFanbase