BARSTOOL PHILOSOPHERS
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 10th February 2011.
Progressive/symphonic rock act Barstool Philosophers was founded in 1997 in Almelo, The Netherlands. Their latest album "Sparrows" had a feature in our Previews section (here) so we thought we'd better find out more...
Bass player Bas Hoebink answers questions.
Hi Guys, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. What’s the history behind The Barstool Philosophers? How did the band form and what’s the background of the various members?
Bas: I could answer this question by copy/pasting the biography on our website. But that would mean a long and abstract story, which (for the die-hard fan) can be found on the website. But it comes down to this… Ivo and Martin already played together in a band called “Gracious Souls” which lasted two years. After that, they got drunk at a local pub, shared the most intimate musical experiences and decided to form a band. Their philosophical adventure of that night lead to the band name: “The Barstool Philosophers”. Not long after that decision Mark Portier (bass) joins them. With the coming of René Kroon (keyboards) the musical mixture took form. Like Martin and Ivo he loves sympho to jazz-fusion to metal. The fact that they made two songs on their first rehearsal, speaks for itself.
From this point I can tell you from my own experience that life takes turns that were ‘meant to be’. The search for a singer was solved when Martin hears the singer (Leon) of a friend's band. After that band quits, Leon joins the Barstools… coincidence? Hmmm… Then Mark Portier (bass) stops and a new search can begin. Martin played in several bands, one of them being Symmetry. I was the bass player and had known Martin for years. After a zillion (terrible) auditions for a bass player for The Barstools, Martin asked me to record the bass parts so they could finish their debut album. I liked the music and agreed… then Symmetry quit and like it was ‘meant to be’ I joined The Barstools. So actually The Barstools begin where other bands have stopped. That’s no coincidence! I really do think this is the hand of… music…
Who were the early influences? Is it all progressive music or do your tastes vary wildly?
Bas: Early influences are the sympho and jazz-fusion of the early 70’s. But the tastes do vary in all directions… Our biggest difference with the prog music is that we focus more on the song then on the instrumental parts.
Did you know what sort of sound The Barstool Philosophers was destined to have at the start, or has it developed a lot since you began?
Bas: I think that at the start the sound and kind of music were very clear for the band. ‘Sparrows’ is pretty clear in genre and influences.
Over the past few years the sound evolved and became more ‘out of the box’. René always picks the strangest chords that give the music that extraordinary sound. Ivo has a strong melodic sense that makes his sound very organic and epic. Martin has such a broad musical taste from which he gets inspired, that it always brings up a grooving drum part; lots of ghost-notes and small details as well as fast, double bass and over-the-top drumming. I play a fretless bass and that has its own distinct sound. I combine it with some bass effects for some characteristic low and supportive sounds. And Leon (vocals) really has a story to tell and that brings more dynamics, emotion and feel to the music. I do think that this combination of sounds and musicians has some uniqueness to it.
So the songs for the next album are really different in sound and intensity. Emotion in lyrics as well as music are key to the energy. Dynamics become more important. So there is definitely a development, yes. What hasn’t changed is the jam-wise evolution of the songs. The songs of The Barstools tent to write themselves. We record the jams at the start of the rehearsal, and every time that gives an idea (or ten) for a new song. Songs always develop over a period, sometimes without interference of the members. It gets shaped every time it gets played until it feels good. That natural flow of the song is very important in the writing process.
How would you actually describe your sound to somebody who hadn’t heard you before?
Bas: An atmospheric, emotional, colourful, energizing, bombastic, thrilling, devastating, dynamic sound.
How and when did you come up with the name? Are you all “Barstool Philosophers” yourselves, or is it more of a comment on other people?
Bas: We are not all philosophers ourselves… haha! I can add this to it… That alcohol-filled band name comes up in a lot of reviews and interviews. Is it a good name? A bad name? It doesn’t matter to us. The name is as honest as it can get. I mean, two drunk guys came up with it! Drunk! The most honest moment of men! And with that, this ‘weird’ band name always gets remembered once heard. Okay, it’s kind of strange and doesn’t sound like a ‘cool rockband with tattoos and bunches of chicks’. And indeed, that’s not what we are. We love music, we love the music we make and we do think that our music could make a lot of people very happy. And in this world music needs to have a name. And ours is: The Barstool Philosophers!
What is the music scene like in the Netherlands, and how has it affected the band’s development?
Bas: Well, it hasn’t really affected us in any way. The music we make is not for a very broad audience. It’s difficult to get heard with this kind of music. It’s even harder to get a gig, let alone a review in a magazine. Germany was the first country that really noticed our music and gave us good exposure. That made us realize that we should not concentrate on The Netherlands. Apparently, our genre is much more appreciated in other countries.
So, I guess, in that way the musical scene in The Netherlands did affect us...
How long did “Sparrows” take to write and record, and how easily did it all come together?
Bas: ‘Easy’ is a word that’s totally out of place in this story! The recording took at least 6 years, maybe even more. I was not involved in the writing process, so I can’t comment on that.
There are several reasons why it took so long. A friend of ours who would mix the drums had a burn out… delay one. Mark (former bass player) quit The Barstools… delay two. And then René (keyboards) had to learn to record and mix our music properly… delay three.
René now is completely into recording and mixing and he did a great job on ‘Sparrows’. But those are pretty much the reasons why it all took so long. We learned a lot from this whole process. Now we have the experience, the ability and the know-how to do all future recordings ourselves. And that gives us the ultimate creative and artistic musical freedom we were all looking for.
How do you typically go about writing a song? Is it always through jamming?
Bas: Jamming, definitely. I can say that every new song now is born through a jam. Actually, almost every jam could be the start of a new song. Every jam ends with an idea you could make a song of. We have tons of jams recorded, so we have tons of ideas for more great songs. It’s hard to pick the best ideas to do further work on. I do think that’s our ‘magic’. It’s comes so natural that it sometimes even scares us a little!
From an initial idea or jam, the songs mostly evolve over a period. There is not much of a method we use. When it feels right, it’s good. If we have to twist and turn too much to get it right, we drop the song for a while. It’s more ‘doing’ than ‘thinking’. It has to have that natural flow. In this process the lyrics and vocals evolve, too. We hate to force things in a song.
Where do you look for your lyrical and musical writing ideas?
Bas: All lyrics are written by Leon. He writes from his own experiences and life itself. He loves to write about the darker side of life. I think that personal note in his lyrics does give it the emotion that characterizes our music. He really has a story to tell. And he has the gift to translate that to the listeners emotionally.
Musically, we all have our different influences. From jazz to metal and beyond. One of the most important ingredients is that we want to make a song. Everything gets dropped for the song. It’s all about the song and not about our abilities or capabilities.
Is there a story/theme running through the songs or is it more a collection of standalone moments?
Bas: ‘Sparrows’ does have a theme through the songs. It’s about Leon (vocals) breaking up his relationship. The songs tell his story of a night in the city in which he reflects on that broken relationship. So, it’s very personal and, as he says himself, therapeutic.
Do you do anything special or unusual to get your sound?
Bas: We do try to find the right sounds for the song. A lot of songs depend on specific sounds of the keyboards, the guitar or the bass. That combination often makes the difference between a song and ‘a killer song’. That’s not ‘special’ or ‘unusual’. Lots of bands do that, I think. But it strongly influences the way we sound.
Do you have a favourite track or moment on the album?
Bas: I have several… ‘Lies’ for giving me goose bumps every time I hear it. It proves that Leon can bring that emotion to the listener. ‘Silence’ for the drive and energy it gives from the first moment you hear it. And to me it has something special. In the first rehearsals I did with The Barstools this song really made me feel I was ‘flying through the rehearsal room’, it kind of ‘lifted me up’ (sounds crazy, I know, but it made clear to me that we had definitely something special going on here). And ‘Away from here’ for being so simple, so weird and still so addictive. It really shows the broad musical approach of The Barstools. And we are still expanding that musical horizon! Wait until you hear our next album!
Do you enjoy the whole studio/creative experience, or do you prefer getting up on the live stage?
Bas: Until now we are really a studio band. We do rehearse every week… but it’s hard to get gigs here in The Netherlands. Right now we really do want to perform our music live. I think we have come to the point where we are ready to perform our music the way we want it be and the way we want it to sound. The whole process of recording is something especially Martin (drums) and René (keys) like. They are really into that.
What do you think a “Barstool Philosophers” live show will be like?
Bas: I think it will be like in the rehearsals. Very diverse in a musical way, full of dynamics, lots of emotion, also a lot of humour and craziness (René is like a mad scientist on the keys), bunches of pleasure and songs that are little journeys on their own.
What have been the highlights of your career so far?
Bas: Completing ‘Sparrows’ and the positive vibe it brought to us. For this album we did everything ourselves and the reactions were overwhelming. We realized our music does matter and we have something special going on here.
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Bas: Euuuhh…
Q: Would you like to play in front of 50.000 mad Barstool fans?
A: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yesssss!
And with everything asked and said I think you’re now officially a Barstool-expert! You pretty much know us inside-out now… (we’re not that difficult, we just want to PLAY!!!)
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Bas: After I have finish this interview I’m going to watch a DVD: “Tool, The Ultimate Review”. I had this DVD for three months now but couldn’t find the time to watch it. Now I will, yesssss!!!
Anything else you would like to mention?
Bas: Currently we are making a demo of the new album. Recording sessions are planned in March this year. We really hope to do some live shows in the near future to get those new songs to the audience.
Thanks again to Bas for his time.
Artist's website(s): The Barstool Philosophers | MySpace | Facebook
