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J:
Thank you very much George. The reactions were very positive and beyond
our expectations. It all goes very well! We have been working very hard
the last months to get everything just fine, but currently it’s even
busier with doing interviews, promoting and rehearsing in order to play
our music live in the future. But it’s all fun, you know. The
album is a concept one. Would you like to tell us, in a few words, the
main story of the album and why did you name it “The Sun Also Rises”? J:
The story of the album is a conceptual tale about a young boy (in fact
it’s about Gerben) in search for his identity (yes I know, that’s not
new). Most of the time he’s in the shit, but at the end of the road he
will find his routing. Beside of this the brothers lost their father in
2003. The album is dedicated to dad Klazinga (“The knight who lost the
devastating Alzheimer battle”). During the recordings the four years old
son of one of the guitar players died of cancer. One of the songs is
dedicated to this boy (“A new day at last, for Ferry”; Gerben played a
part of this song on the piano during the funeral). The album and lyrics
are all about life and death/hope and fear/joy and despair. With this
title we are trying to pick up the pieces… Sometimes music can heal the
wounds. Tell
us about your early days in music, when you and your brother Gerben,
created this concept. J:
Two tracks from the album have their roots in the 80’s (“The
Gate”… and “Saevis”). We wrote and played it in the parental
house. Hereafter Gerben played for several years in the band Sangamo, but
this band seldom came out of the rehearse rooms… Early 2000 I advised
Gerben to do his own thing and soon after I was very enthusiastic
listening to his basic recordings, so I decided to join him. We finished
the recordings in the spring of 2003.
Knight Area was formed in 2004, as I know. What forced you and Gerben to form a band that would release an album that its concept was created more than 20 years ago?
J:
That’s not the whole story. The concept was created in the year 2000 and
at first we did not have any plans to form a band. But after the project
was received so very well, we decided to form a band to bring our music
live. Tell
us about the musicians that took part in the recordings. J:
Mark Smit: fantastic vocalist, keyboard player and backing vocalist in
Miracle (Queen cover band). His voice fits our music very well. Peter
van Heijningen: greatest guitarist of Holland, but he does not know this
himself… Gijs
Koopman: our Rickenbacker wizard; former bass player of Cliffhanger. Ron
van den Bas: very solid bass player; comes from Toyz. Jeroen
Hogeboom: played the guitar in a very melodic way. Comes from Sangamo. Mark
van Nieuwenhuizen: very good drummer. Comes
from Sangamo. Arjan
Groenendijk: played most of the heavier guitar riffs; long ago member of
Within Temptation. Stephanie:
very beautiful and talented young vocalist, but regretfully she vanished;
she probably went back to France, where her father lives… (“Stephanie,
where are you, please come back, you’re great”!!!). Vincent
Frijdal: played most of the acoustic guitars and wrote the lyrics of
Conviction. Kees
Flameling: with his accordion in The Gate… Kees managed to add some
extra emotion in the song. Below
you see the musicians of the current Knight Area Band. I must say, it’s
a pleasure to work with a bunch of brilliant musicians. Gerben
Klazinga: main keyboards Joop
Klazinga: additional keyboards and
flute Mark
Smit: vocals Mark
Vermeule: guitars Rinie
Huygen: guitars and backing vocals Gijs
Koopman: bass guitar and bass pedals Pieter
van Hoorn: drums. Now
I would like you to tell me a few words about each one of the songs. J:
“Beyond…”:This
instrumental track only lasts for 29 seconds, however it is a true header
for the entire album. Gerben and Joop are the composers of this piece of
music. “The
Gate Of Eternity”: This
track basically finds its origin in 1982 when it was entitled ‘Before
the storm’. It is a dynamic song with ups and downs… Gerben and Joop
created the music. Joop wrote the lyrics. “Conspiracy”: Gerben composed the music and A.
Verhoeven & Joop wrote the lyrics. “Forever
Now”: Composition:
Gerben. Lyrics:
Jankees Braam. Up-tempo piece, play it loud! “The
Sun Also Rises”: Gerben
wrote the instrumental title track like a journey into a symphonic area.
“Conviction”:
Composition: Gerben. Lyrics:
Vincent Frijdal.
Kind of metal song.
“Mortal
Brow”:
The music is by Gerben; Joop wrote the lyrics for this song. Brilliant
synth solo by Gerben. “Moods
Inspiring Clouds”:
This track has a Pink Floyd mood, people say… “A
New Day At Last
(for Ferry)”: The music is by Gerben, while Joop wrote the lyrics.
‘The sun is back… This song is dedicated to Ferry Groenendijk, 17 Sept
1997 - 26 July 2002. “Saevis
Tranquillis In Undis”: This
instrumental finale was written by Gerben and Joop and tells us about the
tranquil heart of the knight all through the tempestuous sea. Which
song do you consider as the best of the album and why? J:
The Gate Of Eternity is absolutely the best song of the album, because it
has everything: lots of dynamics, anger, great guitar solo’s and lots of
mellotron. How
would you characterize the music style that you play? J:
Well, let’s call it power Sympho. What are your influences as a band? J:
We can’t say our inspiration is this or that band. Of course, when I was
16 years old he saw (and of course listened to) Genesis (with Peter
Gabriel) doing The Lamb… live in Amsterdam. This performance had a lot
of impact on me, but there are maybe more than hundred influences. Gerben
also is into bands like Saga, IQ and Threshold. Are
you totally satisfied with the album? J:
You always can do things better. So the next album will be even better
concerning the production and we hope to bring you some louder and longer
tracks. The
album was recorded in your own studio and produced by you and Gerben.
Do you believe that the final result would be better if you had recorded
in a famous studio abroad and had hired a professional producer? J:
Maybe, but it all has to do with finances, you know and when you can work
in your own studio, you can take your time to do your things; it’s more
relaxing.
What
can you tell us about The Laser’s Edge, your label? J:
When we finished the recordings, we send a demo to 15 record
companies all over the world. We received 10 very positive reactions First
we talked to some Dutch labels, but here we missed the professionalism.
After that we had long discussions with German and Swedish companies, but
they had not good distribution in the Benelux. Then we came to meet a
Dutch rock journalist. He advised to talk with Ken Golden from the
Laser’s Edge. One phone call and everything did work out fine. The
Laser’s Edge is a big record company with distribution all over the
world from Japan to Sweden, so by now we are very happy with our American
friends. Tell
us a few things about the wonderful artwork of the album. J:
That was the only thing we did not do ourselves; Mattias Norén (www.progart.com), the famous Swedish
prog-art creator, did a great job! By the way, he was working for the new
Ayreon album and also for bands like Arena and Evegrey. By the way:
Mattias is a very pleasant guy. Are
there any plans for a tour? J:
Currently I am talking to a few people who organize gigs in The
Netherlands and Belgium. The first gig still has to come. In December we
are performing in Verviers, Belgium. I hope next year there will be more
gigs in Europe. What
are your future plans? J:
Playing our music live would be excellent, releasing a new album within a
few years. Gerben also plays in the band Sangamo; they also have plans
creating an album. Guitarists Rinie and Mark and also bass player Gijs
participated in a new progressive project called Novox (the boys of the
former Cliffhanger without vocalist). They hope to release their album
within a few months. Gerben played some keyboards on the new Ixion album.
Let
me ask you some more general questions about music and life… Do you earn
your living from your music, or do you have to resort to other jobs too? J:
I wish we could make a living out of our music. No, that’s a fairytale.
It only costs money, but that’s no problem. We have an economist, a
computer specialist and a psychologist in the band, but we all are very
common guys! ;-) What
does music means to you? J:
Everything, a world or life without music must be terrible. Let us
consider the deaf people… Can
you name three rock albums that you consider as the best of the best and
three albums that impressed you the last year? J: The best of all times are: Steve Hackett – “Voyage Of The Acolyte”, Arena – “The Visitor” and IQ – “The Wake”. The
last year: Threshold
– “Subsurface”, Riverside – “Out Of Myself” (Poland),
Moongarden – “Round Midnight” (Italy). How do you imagine that the music world would be, one thousand years from now? And why? J:
If we are going on like we do nowadays, there won’t be a world anymore
by that time, I’m afraid. Did
you watch the Olympic Games? Did you like them and what’s your opinion
about Greece? J:
Yes, the games were great, very good organized and performed. I merely
watched athletics and basketball. Gerben and I played basketball in former
days. That was a fine game for us “sorties”
;-) (2.03 m. and 2.00 m.). Greece
is a great country with nice people and huge historical cultural
possessions. So far 2004 is fantastic year for you with the European
soccer championship and the Olympic Games; well done!!! Ok
Joop, I wish you the best for the album. The last words of this interview
belong to you. Thank you again for your time! If there is anything else
that you would like to tell to Grande Rock readers, just do it!!! J:
Thanks. A liked doing the interview, however it was rather extended ;-).
All the best to the readers of Grande Rock (an excellent webzine) and to
all the people in Greece. PS:
In a few weeks there will be a completely new Knight Area homepage with a
new music sample! Check it out on: www.knightarea.com. Joop Klazinga. by George Kouvelis |
Hi
Joop! First of all I must congratulate on “The Sun Also Rises” album!
How has the reaction of the fans and the media been till now?