Hi Pim, how are you doing?
Yo Kevin, good! I should be busy with school cause I have a lot of stuff to finish, but stuff for the band (like this interview) keeps popping up. And off course I want to do that stuff first. Setting your priorities, right?
Right! Just for the record, could you start by giving an introduction of your band?
Ok, here we go. On the left side we have our infamous party animal Stef on guitar, on the right side we have rock star Joep on bass and longhaired Remco on guitar. Hidden in the back is Joost, but he’s beating so hard nobody is missing out on him. Then there is me (Pim), the fatso on the mic. I’m pretending I can sing.
You told me that all of you also played in the band Stab Back, why did you decide to start a new band under another name with the same guys?
Well, a couple of reasons. First of all I was pretty fed up with the way I was singing in Stab Back. I needed something new, something fresh. Also, we were all getting a bit tired of the metalcore stuff. So the new stuff has a different vibe, different vocals. It just felt totally different. Aside from this all, the name ‘Stab Back’ was always picked up as a macho/tough guy name, while we intended it as a reaction to backstabbers. Coming up for yourself, not as negative as it was picked up. We wanted to change that as well. So we summed that up and the logical conclusion was to start over, start fresh. Glad we did.
The band is now called Said And Done, why did you pick this band name? Is there a special meaning behind it?
Well we had huge lists of names. Aside from names from our own lyrics etc I just went through all my records and wrote down possible names. Looking at song names, lyrics etc. So at rehearsals we just went through that list and crossed off names. In the end we got a couple of favourites. We started googling, of course some existed already but we didn’t found any Said And Done hardcore bands. Boy, we were wrong haha. I think there was at least a German Said And Done and a Boston Said And Done before. The Boston one is pretty cool by the way. Oh well, almost every name has been used before. We could have gone for a name like The Bloody Horizon Is Killing The Eternal Sun In Black Death or something instead. But we didn’t.
How did you get involved into hardcore and when did you have the feeling you wanted to start a band?
Well for me (and I think for most of us in the band actually) it pretty much started out with Nirvana. Not the hardcore part, but the music part. I was always busy with music, but Nirvana just hit me. It felt real. It just totally got me into heavier music and I wanted to play the guitar. So that’s what I did, I met Joost and we started jamming. We played songs I wrote myself and some Nirvana covers. But that’s still no hardcore. After some time I talked to Gio (ex-guitarist of No Turning Back) at a local show and he invited me to their show the next day. So that’s what I did and that’s what drew me in. The energy, the passion. Amazing. And now I can’t get out anymore. haha.
Do you think it is a good thing that there are a lot of new bands now days? Because I have the feeling that everything has been done before and that it’s very hard to create an own sound.
Yes everything has been done before. But I don’t mind that. Actually I don’t care much about an ‘own sound’ at all. Most of the bands that want to sound original either sound horrible or don’t sound original at all. Not all of course, but I guess you know what I’m saying. As for new bands, that’s a good thing for sure. Without the new breed there’s no future dude. We need new kids doing bands. The more the better.
What are some of the musical points that Said And Done has and other bands don’t?
Pfff. I don’t know man. People better judge about that for themselves. I hate ‘selling’ the band. If people like it, great. If people don’t like it, fine. We just write melodic, grooving songs. Sing-along, mosh, think, do whatever you feel like.
Do you wish to stay independent and more underground or do you hope to become mainstream and more well known with the band in time?
As long as we decide what we do it’s all good to me. I don’t care about something being mainstream or ‘sold out’ or something. I don’t like it though if bands turnaround completely because they can be really famous. If they get really famous by just doing their own thing, that’s just great. I don’t get it when people don’t when their bands to be well known. Oh well. I do really enjoy what we’re doing now though. Slowly getting out there, playing more and more shows. Seeing a bit of the world. Still enough time for school etc, but rocking the free world. Good times.
Does Said And Done have a message? Who writes the lyrics and what does he write about?
We do have something to say. As far as having a general message, I think it’s probably pretty simple: THINK. Just really use your head before you do anything and learn from your mistakes. Instead of people getting smarter and learning from the past we are getting more stupid every single day.
I write all the lyrics for Said And Done. I do pass them on to the rest though, so they can read them through. Because I don’t want the band to speak about stuff they don’t agree with. To give you an idea what our lyrics are about, let’s go through the album really short: ‘Your Downfall’ is about people close to you throwing their lives away. Horrible. ‘I’ll Be Fine’ is about hardcore and people not understanding why you’re into it. They just don’t see the beauty of it. ‘Worlds Apart’ is about people really close to you but are at the same time very far away from you. ‘Controlled’ is about all the influences from the outside trying to control our lives. Be it the government, religion etc. ‘Overcome’ is about overcoming bad times. Try to keep your head up. ‘Use Your Head’ is about thinking before you act. ‘Everyday’ is about the fact that we still learn every single day. ‘Let It Rain’ is about letting all of your frustrations out. ‘Reflections’ is about the fact we’re all searching for ourselves. Trying to find out who we are. ‘Wake Up’ is about the world we live in and the fact we’re getting more passive by the day. ‘Time’ is about the pressure time brings along. We all know about that. ‘No Balance’ is about the fact that the world is not balanced at all. Read the newspaper or look at your television and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Which are your favourite bands? In which way to they inspire you when you are writing new songs?
All kinds of bands inspire us. Biggest influences are bands like the Cro Mags, Bad Brains, Leeway and Motorhead I guess. Something like that. But also stuff like Johnny Cash, The Beatles, The Who, Dire Straits, Nirvana etc etc… We’re not stuck to one genre or something. If it’s good, it’s good. Lately we’re on a ‘Only Living Witness’ trip though. That band is a really big influence at the moment and you’re going to hear that back in the new stuff for sure. Be prepared.
Last year you released your album called Everyday, but the LP release is scheduled for this year. Why did you wait so long before bringing out the LP?
Money. The root of all evil. The label had a couple of releases going and there just wasn’t enough money to do the LP release right away. That’s pretty much the whole story behind it. It’s coming out on the 30th of June now though. Can’t wait to hold the vinyl in my hands. How great is vinyl!
Haha, can’t agree more with that, but about the album, can you tell us something more about it?
It’s released by the great people of Shield Recordings. Gert-Jan & Fieke are really cool and we’re really glad to be working with them. It’s 12 songs in like 25 minutes. Harcore. We’re pretty lucky it’s getting some great feedback from all over the world. We’ve had comparisons to bands like the Cro Mags, Leeway, Bad Brains, Maximum Penalty, Beowulf or even Motorhead. Not our words, but you will not hear us complaining off course haha!
You called it Everyday, is there a reason why you named it that way?
Yeah, we try to do (almost) everything with a reason. Both the artwork and the name are picked with a reason. The artwork depicts the influences we’re exposed to everyday. The same the song Controlled is about. The government, the police, religion, the fear for terrorists, drugs etc. Every single day we experience stuff like that one way or another. It also stands for the fact that every day we learn from our mistakes. Falling down and getting up again, but we’re learning. Another reason is the fact that nowadays we’re busy with this band everyday. There’s not a single day I’m not doing anything band related. Be it working on the website, writing lyrics, answering interviews etc etc.
When is a Said And Done song good enough to play it live and to put on an album?
That are two different things. We do try out a new song (that we are satisfied with) now and then live, but it’s possible in time the song will change. When it’s put on an album it’s finished though. We’re working on a song called ‘Into The Distance’ at the moment and we played it live a couple of times already. But in time it changed a bit but only now it feels really finished. Be on the lookout for that, we’re finishing a couple of new songs. They’re a bit different, nothing shocking though. We hope to record sometime this year. No dates set though, no pressure. We’ll see.
About downloading music, a lot of people have already albums from bands before it ever came out. How do you feel about that… or downloading music in general?
I don’t mind that at all. I mean, when a band I really like has an album coming out and I get the chance to download it… I’ll do it right away. I’ll be enjoying the songs and when I like them I’ll be buying the vinyl for sure. I do download a lot actually. Out of print stuff etc. Maybe later on I try to find myself the vinyl or something, but a lot of that stuff is just way too expensive. I do think that people that are only downloading stuff are missing the point though. Most hardcore records aren’t expensive. Bands and labels need you to pick up their stuff to support them. The more you pick up, the more they can put out. That’s just how it works. Most bands don’t gain that much money with playing shows, it’s mostly in the merch. Shirts, vinyl, CD’s etc. Not that it’s all about the money, but I think you get what I’m saying. On the other side, when people download your stuff, they probably know the words to the song a bit faster etc and shows will be more fun. So maybe I should just say ‘go ahead and download away’. If our stuff is available online that is, don’t know. Don’t care.
About the live aspect, can we say that you are a live band, or do you consider yourselves more as a studio band and why?
I think all hardcore bands are live bands. I mean, most of the time a band works better live than on a record. There’s just another layer that’s so important to hardcore. The experience. The feeling you get when seeing a band live. Participate. We love playing out live. We love getting direct feedback to our songs. We feed on that. But on the other side I can’t wait to finish our new songs and record those. Studio is really cool now and then but playing live is just great.
You already played in Belgium a couple of times, can we compare Belgian and Holland shows to each other? Or are there some differences?
It all depends on the show I think. Bruges was awesome and maybe the coolest show we’ve played so far. We just didn’t know what to expect and people went nuts. We hardly started playing and people were crowdsurfing already. Singing-along. Feeling it. Just plain great. Roeselare was cool too, but totally different. We’re going back to Bruges to release our LP on the 4th of July and we hope it will be as great as the first time. But the same goes for shows in Holland. Sometimes they’re wild (the Light The Fuse show was great, the show in our hometown was amazing), sometimes they’re not. Of course the first are the coolest ones, but hey it’s all good. We’re just thankful we get the opportunity to travel and play our songs for people.
Maybe a bit of a false question, Belgium and The Netherlands have a rich history in hardcore bands which country has the best bands in your opinion?
Let’s see. The Netherlands had/has Mainstrike, Reaching Forward, No Denial, Razor Crusade, Restless Youth, Strike First, Nothing Done, Tenement Kids, Union Town, No Turning Back, Born From Pain. Belgium had/has Dead Stop, Justice, Rise And Fall, Mans Ruin, Diablo Blvd., Losing Streak, One Voice… Both not so bad lists I think, I’m still going for the Netherlands though dude. Germany had True Blue though… Oh well, let’s stick to the Netherlands.
This is a question we ask to every non-Belgian band. What is the first thing that comes in your mind when you hear ‘Belgium’?
At the moment it’s Losing Streak. A GREAT new band from Belgium that you and your readers probably know all about already. Check it out people. I also want to mention the cool guys from The Struggle. Heavy stuff. What else… Friet! French/Belgium Frites haha. And you guys are probably the nicest and modest people in the world. That are pretty much the first things that come to mind when I hear Belgium. Oh and the hit by ‘Het Goede Doel’ called ‘België’ of course…
Ok, this was it for the interview. I wish you the best of luck in the future with the band! Any last words you want to tell us?
Good luck with your zine as well. Good to see you’re turning it into a paper zine as well now, we need more of those! Check out zines like Rising Tide, Persistent Vision, Running Through, Colonization, Mass Movement, Clocked In etc etc. Reading doesn’t hurt.
Thanks for the opportunity to let us speak out dude. Really appreciated.
That’s all, I’ll shut up now.
Interview by: Kevin