My recent note on Dutch punk rock band WE ARE THE KNIGHT resulted in a short chat with these guys. We discussed the band’s new EP and their hunger for more! Scroll down to get the details.
Hey, guys! What’s up in Amersfoort? [smiles]
Hi! All is well here in Amersfoort. Bright skies, but it’s freezing like hell.. We’re keeping ourselves warm though, practicing and preparing for the EP-release show here in our hometown in three days (as we speak). Superstoked!
Cool. What do you have planned for the gig? Who will be joining you on stage?
[laughs] Well nothing much really. We’re just gonna do our very best to put on an awesome punk rock show. The two other bands are very awesome and a friend of ours will play some punk rock classics between the bands, so it should be awesome! The place is not so big so it’ll be very crowded. That was our condition for the release show: the place should be packed. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen, if we can believe the rumours [laughs].
Great! How many people do you expect there?
About a 150 would be great, but I don’t know if they will all fit in the venue. Reason for a lot of stagedives. [laughs].
Make sure to send me your review of the show!
Ok. Let’s turn back time for a while. When, where and why did you start WE ARE THE KNIGHT?
About seven years ago we al played in punk rock bands here in The Netherlands. The scene in Amersfoort was quiet big, some called it the punk rock centre of our country. The last couple of years people formed new bands and some made it big, going into a more poppy direction. We though wanted to go back to the type of punk rock which we loved as teenagers, and still love. My best friend for ages Jeffrey and I wrote some songs in the summer of 2011. The following months we worked them out and we started of as a five-piece punk rock band early 2012.
What’s the story with “the knight”? [smiles]
[laughs] Well, nothing much really. Our drummer Goofus came up with WE ARE THE KNIGHT, which sounded a little less bad then the alternatives. We should work on an epic knight battle story though.
What was your personal gateway into pop punk and punk rock?
About ten years ago it were the local bands that led me the way into punk rock. Soon after followed all the American bands. My first concerts were NEW FOUND GLORY, LAGWAGON and YELLOWCARD, if I remember well. Bands that still have a big influence on our sound nowadays.
Ok. Let’s go back to the new EP you have just released! Congratulations! [smiles] For how long have you been writing and recording it?
Thanks, hooray! Jeffrey and I have been writing since the summer of 2011, but the most of it was written in 2012. We recorded all music in four days in October, with Dutch punk rock maestro Nico van Montfort. He is well known (around here) for his work for a.o. ANTILLECTUAL. We loved working with him, he makes more than 12 hours a day and helped us making the best record we could at the moment.
Are you completely satisfied with the record? Are there already things about it you’d change if you could?
We gave everything we had for this record, so for me personally there’s nothing I would want to change. We’re stoked it gets picked up quite well already, and are only looking forward to make new recordings, probably later this year.
Cool. Why would you release an “October” in February?! [laughs] Tell us more about the title.
Because we didn’t want to wait eight more months [laughs]. I wrote the song ‘October’ last summer, when I couldn’t wait for October to come. I love these rainy Dutch days, which are at best in autumn. So the song kept the title, and we booked the studio in October. And then it even became the EP-title. We’re not waiting for the next October to release it though.
Are you afraid of the music pirates? [smiles] What is your stance on piracy in general?
[laughs] No not at all. We’re giving away our music for free only. The cd-version is for sale for a price you can name yourself. We want the recordings to get heard be the people who like it, so we support any kind of distribution of our music. Of course we wouldn’t want to see anybody get rich of it without telling us, but that has nothing to do with piracy. It would be awesome to see We Are The Knight on The Pirate Bay.
You have only a handful of shows planned for the upcoming weeks. Any plans to go farther?
Yes we have! We’re currently booking a tour with some awesome bands through The Netherlands in March, April and May. Dates will be posted all together late February. There are also some plans for an international tour later this year, but we’re not sure yet where or when. Maybe October? [laughs]
Nice. Make sure to let me know.
You mentioned the good condition of the local punk rock scene. How’s the Amersfoort music scene in general? It’s not a big city, right? How do you feel about the current state of punk rock in your hometown?
Well there are not much punk rock bands in Amersfoort today. There is some sort of national scene though, with a lot of active bands and crowds. Here in Amersfoort is currently getting bigger by the day, as we notice that our upcoming release show is getting some people from ‘back in the days’ excited about punk rock again. Let’s hope that goes on and more bands will start.
How are you involved in your local music scene besides being in a band?
Besides I do a lot of different things in the local music scene. I write for a music website, run two band practicing rooms and a studio and work for some festivals. But in my head, I’m only in the band [smiles].
Ok, so what’s the game plan for the rest of 2013?
Sound cliché, but getting our music out there! We want to play at least three/four shows a month in The Netherlands and make our first international steps this year. We’re working our asses of, not only in the practicing room but also behind the scenes. The ultimate goal is the write and record the most epic punk rock album ever. Hopefully we’ll be making some steps in that (never ending?) process this year!
Any ideas for the next steps when it comes to writing and recording? Would you consider teaming up with other musicians and do some featurings together?
Well, maybe! Currently we’re focusing on writing and recording with just the five of us. It would be a dreaming coming true though recording an album with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore, who recorded a lot of our favorite punk rock albums. At the moment we’re not really busy writing or recording with other musicians, but who knows what the future will bring!
I wish all the best for the future, boys!
Thank you for the interview! Take care!
You too! [smiles]
