We had a talk with Pim from Said and Done. One of the guys behind asice.net! Also a great designer with artwork for bands. Said and Done is a band who has gone their own way. With much influences and their just released a new tape. And they are going on a uktour. They keep on going strong! With much sympathy i asked those questions. Pim is a great guy, and Said and Done is a example for many hardcorebands! Please book them a lot, their show is awesome! We talked about the difference between Belgium and the Netherlands.
Hello Pim. How is Said And Done doing at the moment ?
Yo dude. We’re doing great! Our original drummer might be away for half a year to Taiwan, but because of Henri stepping in on drums we’re still going strong. We’ve just released a new tape, we’re going to the UK, we’re writing new songs. It’s all good!
Being in a band of course takes a lot of time. Does it indeed consume all of your time, or do you also do other stuff besides the band, like work, hobbies, family life? And i also know you are a designer, you are busy with a ezine and a lot of other stuff. I really don’t know how you combine all those things.
Haha you kinda answered your question already, yeah there’s stuff besides the band for sure. I switched from a fulltime education to part-time earlier. I’m working at a web development company and I’m going to school 1 day in the week. Aside from that I’m doing freelance stuff (creating sites etc. for people), helping out with asice. net. I should be starting on Some Will Never Know #2, just have to find the time. All kinds of stuff. Busy times, but I’ll manage. It’s just that it’s all cool stuff to do, so it doesn’t really feel like ‘work’ most of the time you know. I love what I’m doing. Guess I’m lucky.
You have released your second album. In what ways has the band grown since your first release ?
In every way I think. We’ve all grown. Both as musicians as persons. It’s a long road we’re travelling and each rehearsal I’m still curious to see where we’re going to take it this time. We still learn every time.
What are the main influences of Said And Done ?
Bands like Only Living Witness, Cro Mags, Leeway, Bad Brains, Motorhead, Fugazi, Quicksand, Supertouch, Handsome, Inside Out, Nirvana etc. etc. etc. All those bands influence us more or less. You know, hardcore, heavy but melodic. But I guess pretty much everything influences us. Can be a song on the radio, can be something I read, something I see. Anything.
What’s your favourite artist, outside of hardcore and punk?
Does Nirvana count as OUTSIDE hardcore/punk? I don’t know. But if so, it would be them. Or stuff like Johnny Cash, The Doors, Screaming Trees, Alice In Chains, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joy Division or even Prodigy now and then. There’s so much great stuff outside hardcore/punk. Don’t lock yourself into any genre.
What is hardcore for you and how do you arrange your normal life in a hardcore way ?
Hardcore for me is a mindset, a state of mind. Not so much about the music at all. It shaped me to how I am today, so that’s kinda what I take into account arranging my normal life. Mostly the DIY stuff you know. Getting off your ass and doing stuff, getting it done. Thinking about stuff, not taking anything for granted.
Belgium or Netherlands ?
Can I pick both? I live in the Netherlands. Love it. Has good sides, has bad sides. We played some great shows in Belgium (the first one was insane!), cool bands over there, we know some cool people. Belgium’s cool.
Sometimes i really think that the scene is really smaller in the Netherlands. But you got bands like Born From Pain and No Turning Back. Reflections Records is also active in the Netherlands. How do you see this ?
The Netherlands have an amazing scene man. Those bands are huge and worked hard to get where they are now, but how about Union Town, Tenement Kids, State Of Mind, New Morality, Strike First, Brat Pack, Citizens Patrol. Straight A’s is quitting but they were cool too. Reflections Records is great, but also check out Shield Recordings, Not Just Words Records and Crucial Attack. We’re doing just fine.
The thing Belgium has and what we lack is young, active kids. Belgium has lots of younger kids, that are actually active. Doing bands, setting up shows, doing zines etc. That’s what we’re lacking. I think the only younger band we have is Outlive? They’re cool, so check em out. But that’s about the only band we have of younger kids at the moment. That’s not much.
What’s the secret ingredient you guys have over there? Oh well. I guess there will be more new breed in time.
You are also one of the contributors to asice. net, and you have your own zine. What’s your opinion about zine’s and webzines these days ?
Both are cool in their own way. E-zines are great for actuality, for news and updates you know. Zines are great for in-depth interviews. If you ask me what I prefer, I’m totally for paper zines though. It’s just great to sit down and absorb the pages you know.
I don’t know, a computer screen can’t really replace that feeling of reading a zine for me. But still, they serve their purpose. An example of a great e-zine is the Double Crossed blog. Go check it out!
Let’s talk about the lyrics for a second. Your lyrics really reflect your way of life and your way of thinking. What are your main influences or thoughts when you are writing the lyrics ?
You basically answered that question yourself haha. My life and way of thinking indeed. You know, the things I see around me. Stuff that pisses me off, stuff that I can’t get out of my head. Stuff that I think needs to be adressed. It can pretty much be anything.
The Presidential Election of 2008 is coming our way, Obama or Mccain and why ?
Easy, Obama. I think it’s a good thing to see a black president in the USA. A fresh start after that cowboy 😉 But that’s from an outsiders perspective. I can only judge from the television, internet blurbs I see/read you know. But to me he seems like the better candidate by far. He makes far less mistakes than Mccain.
Said And Done only exist for two years, and you have done three cool tours. How do you see the future of Said And Done. And where do you see yourself in ten years ?
I see us doing more trips, writing more songs, releasing more records and having more fun. Just doing exactly what we want and how we want it. No pressure, no ‘it has to sound like this’, nothing. But that’s pretty much the next couple of years. I have no idea where we’ll be in ten years. Ten years is a long period for a hardcore band. Next year December Joost and I are jamming for 10 years. We should celebrate that, big time.
thanks for your time!
Thanks for your time man! Thanks for giving us the chance to speak out and good luck with your e-zine and other projects you’re working on. Be active, activate yourself!