Our Take
Said and Done is a relatively new old school style hardcore band that is from the Netherlands that formed from the ashes of another group called Stab Back. The group has big plans for the future with a tour of Spain and a full length planned for early next year. With that in mind, I decided to have a chat with vocalist Pim about their background and plans for the future.
To start things off, tell us some facts about the band and each of its members.
Well, before Said and Done we all played in a band called Stab Back. We kind of grew tired with the style we played with that band and were fed up with the name. It was time for something new, enter Said and Done. As for other facts, we’re all from small towns in the BRABANT area, an area in the south of the Netherlands. We have Joost on drums, who got asked to play a bit softer once by a sound guy cause he couldn’t handle the rest of the sound. Then there’s Stef on guitar. People always ask how old he is, because he looks 12 or something. We’re going to keep it a mystery. Then we have Remco, also on guitar. He’s the dude with lots of hair and doing the solo’s when needed. Next is Joep on bass, he is known to lose his stuff all the time and cry about it. Then there’s me, Pim. I scream. I’m the fuhrer of the band. Every band needs one.
What’s the most well known band you’ve played with so far, and who would you like to play with?
Well we only just started playing shows as Said and Done. The most well known band was Justice from Belgium I guess. They’re heading for the USA again soon. Check them out if you haven’t already.
As for bands we would like to play with, I would have to say that Cro Mags are high on that list and the great thing is we’ll be playing with them (well… Fearless Vampire Killers that is) on the 23rd of November in Utrecht (NL). We’re really looking forward to that. You will not hear us complain.
I see that you guys are invading Spain in early 2007, anything special planned for that tour?
No, not really. We’re really looking forward to it though! We should have our full length ready by then; maybe we’ll do some special covers or something. Don’t know yet. We can’t wait to get over there! Many thanks to Carles & Deathwish Team Girona for making it possible!
How did you guys decide on your logo, and what does it represent?
The panther you mean? That’s not really a logo, it’s a shirt design. We just wanted a strong image. A panther is a strong animal, a fighting animal. Don’t take it literally though. Keep our song “Overcome” in mind and maybe you’ll understand what we’re aiming at. Overcoming problems. Everyday struggle.
What other bands have influenced you? I would think a lot of traditional hardcore groups would be listed as inspirations, but are there other types of music that influence you as well?
Well we’re all pretty diverse in music taste. Aside from the obvious influences, most of us enjoy stuff like Johnny Cash (a legend, make no mistake!). We all listened to Nirvana. We all enjoy stuff like Elvis Presley, The Doors. You know, old stuff. Most of us are into hip-hop as well, there are some great hip-hop groups from the Netherlands at the moment. I don’t think there’s a lot of music we don’t like. If it has some good energy we’re probably into it.
You are working on a full length for Shield Records. What has it been like working with this label so far, and what is your overall impression of them?
Working with Shield Recordings has been great. As Stab Back we released a MCD (“Breaking Out”) with them and Gert-Jan & Fieke are just great people. They work hard and it’s paying off. That’s why we chose to work with them again for the Said and Done full length. Never change a winning team right?
In your opinion, what does it take to make a good hardcore band these days?
Hmmm. I can tell you what is important to me, I don’t know if the rest agrees with me… Anyway, I have tended to focus on the vocals a lot lately. A singer makes or breaks a band for me. I love singers who really sing or at least have some melody in their voice. And I still think that lyrics/the message a band wants to spread is important. A band that speaks out on stage, about stuff they think is important, we need more of that. Oh and of course I think a band needs to have a great groove. When the music is shit, nobody listens anyway.
Obviously you’re going to Spain, but is there anywhere else you’d really like to tour in the future?
We would like to play anywhere! Really, hit us up for a show and we’ll try to work something out. But that’s not what you want to hear right? Well, we heard some crazy stories about touring Japan and Eastern-Europe. So if that could happen that would be awesome. Of course touring in the States is a dream as well. Too bad we’re never going to play the original CBGB’s. But we can’t have it all. Justice and Rise & Fall played there. That’s great! We’ll see where we’ll be heading in the future. Spain is up first.
If you had to describe your music to someone without them ever hearing it, what would you say?
Hard question, it’s always better if people just check it out and decide for themselves how they think we sound.
But if they’re asking I could probably tell them we make raw hard-hitting old school hardcore, there’s some melody but all in all it’s still pretty heavy. Hardcore you know; just how we like it ourselves. To people not into hardcore, I always tell them we’re making terrible noise. Most of the time they don’t care anyway.
What is the hardest part of breaking into such a large and established genre?
I don’t think it’s that hard really. You just have to work hard. But you have to do that with everything in your life. I’m busy with this band and hardcore related things everyday (Pressure Release Records, I’m also part of the crew behind asice.net, designing sites (No Turning Back, Life Long Tragedy, Justice site coming up etc)) everyday. I like doing this. With Said and Done we’ll see how far we can take it. There’s no big master plan to make it big or something. That would be really unrealistic as well haha. We’re just doing what we like, and then playing out live and recording stuff.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about Said and Done?
We have 2 songs up on our site (www.saidanddone.org) and Myspace (www.myspace.com/saidanddonehardcore). It would be cool if people checked them out and gave us some feedback. Be on the lookout for the full length we’ll be recording later this year and releasing early next year on Shield Recordings. Do zines, pick up demo tapes and support the bands. And of course, thank you for the interview!
It’s clear that Said and Done certainly has a lot going for them, and they should be one to watch for. To find out more about their music or listen to some sample tracks, check out the links listed in the last paragraph of the interview.
Chris Dahlberg