interview
“Do what you need to do, when you need to do it.”
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On October 14 2015, British band Brother&Bones came to Brussels, Belgium to spread the word about their first album. Keys & Chords was generously invited for an interview, and the subsequent gig in the excellent venue called ‘Le Botanique’. Julian De Backer had to interrupt the band while they were enjoying a nice, quiet evening meal, but Rich Thomas (vocals/acoustic guitar) and James Willard (electric guitar) were ever so professional and kindly answered all questions. Much appreciated, lads!
James Willard: “I’ll try not to slurp!”
Julian De Backer: "In Jackson Browne’s ‘The Load-Out’, he mentions a few things he does while touring. ‘Eight-tracks and cassettes in stereo’, ‘Richard Pryor on the video’ etcetera. What do you guys do, on tour, to take your mind off of touring and playing?”
Rich Thomas: “We always try and make an effort to explore certain areas. It’s quite limited. We try to squeeze in a little bit of the culture. We ran late today, so as soon as you get it, it’s straight to work. You don’t get to spend that much time playing music when you’re on the road, so we need all we can get for our sanity. I actually met Jackson Browne and his band, about three or four weeks ago, at a festival. Really nice guys, amazing to see them play.”
Julian: “And the stories they have to tell. Forty years on the road!”
Rich: “Yeah! It’s mad. Most spend 4 years on the road, and become a bit jaded. Browne is still the nicest guy.”
Julian: “Guys like Jackson Browne don’t come to Belgium all that often. We’re just a small country. I guess we should enjoy Brother&Bones while it lasts, before you hit it big!”
James & Rich: “Haha!”
Julian: “It’s the sad reality of living in Belgium. For example, I’m eager to see Bob Seger, but he never visits Belgium.”
James: “I think it’s because of America being so big. As an artist, you can just stay there. You can choose to have lots of fires going in Europe, or you can just opt for America.”
Julian: “When you think of British music, it’s easy to name The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, or – for newer audiences – Editors, Oasis, Blur. But you guys really have an Americana sound. That’s quite unique. You guys are not steeped in British musical tradition.”
Rich: “We get that quite a lot. It’s not a preconceived thing. It just kind of worked out that way, to be honest. I’m not sure why. I like Nick Drake, for example, but …”
James: “I think we have the blues influences … but then again, you could say The Rolling Stones are a blues band. It’s quite hard. Like Rich said, it’s not like you go out and make an effort to sound American. I guess all of our influences come together.”
Julian: “Even the singing, the accent, is not distinctly British. It’s not colloquial English. It’s not quintessentially British, while most bands we named are very British in the way they dress, the way they talk, the way they walk …”
Rich: “Must be the Cornish in me. You know Cornwall?”
Julian: “Yeah, a teacher once told me that the few palm trees the UK has can be found in Cornwall.”
Rich: “That’s it!”
James: “Rich has got one outside of his house!”
Julian: “But, still, did you guys get any influence from the giants of British music, even though you don’t sound like them?”
Rich: “Sure, we got quite an eclectic taste in music, and we listen to a lot of American bands. We like Rage Against The Machine and Bob Dylan. And these days, there’s amazing British music, like Foals.”
Julian: “Ah, yes, I recently discovered them. A friend of mine is a major fan, and she was hyping them.”
Rich: “Yeah! Your question is a hard one to answer, because when I like something, it just goes into my being. Subconsciously, or consciously, you keep the influences.”
Julian: “When I write something in English, I always translate from Dutch to English. It’s a sad reality that I’ll never write as good as you guys – native speakers of English. Can you tell me the backstory behind some of your best lyrics?”
Rich: “I don’t think what you’re saying is true. You know The Tallest Man On Earth? He’s from Sweden, and he’s arguably the best lyricist I’ve heard.”
James Willard: “I’ll try not to slurp!”
Julian De Backer: "In Jackson Browne’s ‘The Load-Out’, he mentions a few things he does while touring. ‘Eight-tracks and cassettes in stereo’, ‘Richard Pryor on the video’ etcetera. What do you guys do, on tour, to take your mind off of touring and playing?”
Rich Thomas: “We always try and make an effort to explore certain areas. It’s quite limited. We try to squeeze in a little bit of the culture. We ran late today, so as soon as you get it, it’s straight to work. You don’t get to spend that much time playing music when you’re on the road, so we need all we can get for our sanity. I actually met Jackson Browne and his band, about three or four weeks ago, at a festival. Really nice guys, amazing to see them play.”
Julian: “And the stories they have to tell. Forty years on the road!”
Rich: “Yeah! It’s mad. Most spend 4 years on the road, and become a bit jaded. Browne is still the nicest guy.”
Julian: “Guys like Jackson Browne don’t come to Belgium all that often. We’re just a small country. I guess we should enjoy Brother&Bones while it lasts, before you hit it big!”
James & Rich: “Haha!”
Julian: “It’s the sad reality of living in Belgium. For example, I’m eager to see Bob Seger, but he never visits Belgium.”
James: “I think it’s because of America being so big. As an artist, you can just stay there. You can choose to have lots of fires going in Europe, or you can just opt for America.”
Julian: “When you think of British music, it’s easy to name The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, or – for newer audiences – Editors, Oasis, Blur. But you guys really have an Americana sound. That’s quite unique. You guys are not steeped in British musical tradition.”
Rich: “We get that quite a lot. It’s not a preconceived thing. It just kind of worked out that way, to be honest. I’m not sure why. I like Nick Drake, for example, but …”
James: “I think we have the blues influences … but then again, you could say The Rolling Stones are a blues band. It’s quite hard. Like Rich said, it’s not like you go out and make an effort to sound American. I guess all of our influences come together.”
Julian: “Even the singing, the accent, is not distinctly British. It’s not colloquial English. It’s not quintessentially British, while most bands we named are very British in the way they dress, the way they talk, the way they walk …”
Rich: “Must be the Cornish in me. You know Cornwall?”
Julian: “Yeah, a teacher once told me that the few palm trees the UK has can be found in Cornwall.”
Rich: “That’s it!”
James: “Rich has got one outside of his house!”
Julian: “But, still, did you guys get any influence from the giants of British music, even though you don’t sound like them?”
Rich: “Sure, we got quite an eclectic taste in music, and we listen to a lot of American bands. We like Rage Against The Machine and Bob Dylan. And these days, there’s amazing British music, like Foals.”
Julian: “Ah, yes, I recently discovered them. A friend of mine is a major fan, and she was hyping them.”
Rich: “Yeah! Your question is a hard one to answer, because when I like something, it just goes into my being. Subconsciously, or consciously, you keep the influences.”
Julian: “When I write something in English, I always translate from Dutch to English. It’s a sad reality that I’ll never write as good as you guys – native speakers of English. Can you tell me the backstory behind some of your best lyrics?”
Rich: “I don’t think what you’re saying is true. You know The Tallest Man On Earth? He’s from Sweden, and he’s arguably the best lyricist I’ve heard.”
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Julian: “But when a foreigner translates something, don’t you think it’s always a little off?”
Rich: “Maybe that’s what makes The Tallest Man so magic. His lyrics, honestly, are the closest thing our generation has to a Dylan. He’s a great example.”
Julian: “Sure, maybe I’m mistaken. Take the famous Norwegian example of a-ha. What does ‘Take On Me’ mean?”
Rich: “Yeah, that’s true, yeah.”
Julian: “It works, and it became a worldwide smash. Anyway, back to your lyrics. What did you mean by ‘And pull the moon closer just to keep the dark disguised’ from the song ‘Back to Shore’?”
Rich: “I suppose that song is just a bitter one. It’s a lyric that just a spell. Written in a visceral moment. I don’t know, really.”
Julian: “Was it a group effort?”
James: “Rich writes the lyrics.”
Rich: “I normally pay more interest when I don’t write the lyrics than when I do write them. You don’t necessarily need to explain it, literally. It could create an image, it could be self-explanatory.”
Julian: “Pete Townshend once said: “I wrote ‘I Can’t Explain’, and I spent the next forty years explaining its meaning to journalists” …”
Rich: “Ha, yes, explaining lyrics is a difficult thing.”
Julian: “One more: ‘It’s the rat race supper/the half full cup and the smile corrupt to the bone’ from ‘Raining Stone’ … what is a ‘rat race supper’? I know what a ‘rat race’ is, and I know what ‘supper’ is. Is it guys in the rat race of life, while having dinner?”
Rich: “Yeah, I suppose. That song is about a fucked-up situation with two people. All the stuff they didn’t know about each other, and all that was going on behind their backs. I suppose they’re both trying to get ahead in the world of mediocrity.”
Julian: “Does it come from real life?”
Rich: “That comes from real life, but it’s not about me. It’s about another couple of people.”
Julian: “You don’t always know if it’s the singer singing about himself, or if he’s singing about a character or a persona.”
Rich: “I find it a lot easier to put myself in the situation of the first person. You’re taking liberties with the reality of the situation, because you’re trying to articulate something that you haven’t experienced. It’s not always about me.”
Julian: “You mention a ‘careless kiss’ in one song. Can you compare that to a ‘carless whisper’?”
James: “Haha! That’s actually where Rich got most of the inspiration for that song.”
Rich: “George Michael? Yep.”
James: “He’s Rich’s hero.”
Rich: “Please don’t write that.”
James: “Hahaha!”
Rich: “Another one of these fucking headlines.”
Julian: “I always write down the truth. So, it’s dark and brooding lyrics for the most part, but I did chuckle once with ‘I’m the ghost that makes the toast’.”
Rich: “I meant ‘toast’ as in ‘raising the glass’. But when I wrote that, I did think: “Oh, no, it’s going to sound like ‘making a toast’ …”
James: “Hahaha!”
Julian: “I had a mental picture of a ghost eating a marmalade cracker.”
James: “Casper!”
Rich: “Ha, that might have worked. No, it’s proposing a toast.”
James: “Cheers.”
Rich: “Maybe that’s what makes The Tallest Man so magic. His lyrics, honestly, are the closest thing our generation has to a Dylan. He’s a great example.”
Julian: “Sure, maybe I’m mistaken. Take the famous Norwegian example of a-ha. What does ‘Take On Me’ mean?”
Rich: “Yeah, that’s true, yeah.”
Julian: “It works, and it became a worldwide smash. Anyway, back to your lyrics. What did you mean by ‘And pull the moon closer just to keep the dark disguised’ from the song ‘Back to Shore’?”
Rich: “I suppose that song is just a bitter one. It’s a lyric that just a spell. Written in a visceral moment. I don’t know, really.”
Julian: “Was it a group effort?”
James: “Rich writes the lyrics.”
Rich: “I normally pay more interest when I don’t write the lyrics than when I do write them. You don’t necessarily need to explain it, literally. It could create an image, it could be self-explanatory.”
Julian: “Pete Townshend once said: “I wrote ‘I Can’t Explain’, and I spent the next forty years explaining its meaning to journalists” …”
Rich: “Ha, yes, explaining lyrics is a difficult thing.”
Julian: “One more: ‘It’s the rat race supper/the half full cup and the smile corrupt to the bone’ from ‘Raining Stone’ … what is a ‘rat race supper’? I know what a ‘rat race’ is, and I know what ‘supper’ is. Is it guys in the rat race of life, while having dinner?”
Rich: “Yeah, I suppose. That song is about a fucked-up situation with two people. All the stuff they didn’t know about each other, and all that was going on behind their backs. I suppose they’re both trying to get ahead in the world of mediocrity.”
Julian: “Does it come from real life?”
Rich: “That comes from real life, but it’s not about me. It’s about another couple of people.”
Julian: “You don’t always know if it’s the singer singing about himself, or if he’s singing about a character or a persona.”
Rich: “I find it a lot easier to put myself in the situation of the first person. You’re taking liberties with the reality of the situation, because you’re trying to articulate something that you haven’t experienced. It’s not always about me.”
Julian: “You mention a ‘careless kiss’ in one song. Can you compare that to a ‘carless whisper’?”
James: “Haha! That’s actually where Rich got most of the inspiration for that song.”
Rich: “George Michael? Yep.”
James: “He’s Rich’s hero.”
Rich: “Please don’t write that.”
James: “Hahaha!”
Rich: “Another one of these fucking headlines.”
Julian: “I always write down the truth. So, it’s dark and brooding lyrics for the most part, but I did chuckle once with ‘I’m the ghost that makes the toast’.”
Rich: “I meant ‘toast’ as in ‘raising the glass’. But when I wrote that, I did think: “Oh, no, it’s going to sound like ‘making a toast’ …”
James: “Hahaha!”
Julian: “I had a mental picture of a ghost eating a marmalade cracker.”
James: “Casper!”
Rich: “Ha, that might have worked. No, it’s proposing a toast.”
James: “Cheers.”
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Julian: “I tried to order your 7” vinyl single in my local record store ‘FatKat’ in Antwerp, but it was unavailable. Is it a website-only purchase?”
Rich: “Yeah, we sell it on our website. We got some here, as well. We sell them on tour.”
Julian: “You guys just released your first album. Do you guys still have straight jobs?”
Rich: “We all do other bits and pieces musically. I play for another band. I play keys, mainly, a Hammond B3 organ …”
Julian: “Ah, the classic!”
Rich: “We tour so much, that we live on a shoestring budget. We’re away all the time. We only got time in between, and we make sure we’re busy all the time. We can’t afford to spend loads of time making music. It’s a necessity to be efficient when you’re not a signed band. We don’t get advances from record labels.”
Julian: “Did you have some talks with labels?”
Rich: “Kind of, but never really anything that came to fruition. Not the right thing came up, or it wasn’t the right time.”
Julian: “It is a hard time for bands.”
James: “It’s hard for record labels as well, I think they’re really struggling. They can’t afford to take chances. They’re playing it safe a lot of the time. That’s why you get a lot of pop records, because they know they’ll sell. But even if you think back to the people that inspired us. Take Queen for example. Someone had the balls to say: “Release ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’!” No one’s got the balls to do that anymore.”
Julian: “Queen was lucky that track wasn’t on their first album. It would have been career suicide. Just try to release a mind-blowing song like that.”
James: “When The Red Hot Chili Peppers were signed to Warner Bros., they did like three or four albums before they released ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’. I read an interview where they stated that that album was their last chance. Afterwards, they became superstars. But the industry can’t afford to be like that anymore.”
Julian: “That’s the main problem. Those guys had the time and the money to struggle for a period of three albums. Nowadays, you have to have an immediate hit.”
James: “Yes, and they also had the time to hone their craft. We have to learn the hard way, as we go. Those guys had a bit more leeway.”
Rich: “It’s not the worst thing, the fact that everything is changing. The modus operandi is not set. There’s not a definite way of doing it. In those days, there was a template. These days, you go online and discover different ways of distributing and recording music. It’s nice to be in flux, as well, and be adaptable. Do what you need to do, when you need to do it. Now, there’s not anybody, apart from ourselves.”
Julian: “It’s still weird. I don’t download, because …”
James: “You like to have CDs?”
Julian: “Vinyl records. I’m a big vinyl fan. My nephew has 26,000 illegal songs, and I always argue with him. I’m always arguing. You wouldn’t go to a bakery, and steal a loaf of bread. Then why do you steal an album?”
James: “Most people use the argument of: “So many other people do it, so, if you can’t beat them, join them” …”
Julian: “That’s the worst argument!”
Rich: “You can’t blame kids growing up in that environment.”
Julian: “I think you can.”
Rich: “Yeah, we sell it on our website. We got some here, as well. We sell them on tour.”
Julian: “You guys just released your first album. Do you guys still have straight jobs?”
Rich: “We all do other bits and pieces musically. I play for another band. I play keys, mainly, a Hammond B3 organ …”
Julian: “Ah, the classic!”
Rich: “We tour so much, that we live on a shoestring budget. We’re away all the time. We only got time in between, and we make sure we’re busy all the time. We can’t afford to spend loads of time making music. It’s a necessity to be efficient when you’re not a signed band. We don’t get advances from record labels.”
Julian: “Did you have some talks with labels?”
Rich: “Kind of, but never really anything that came to fruition. Not the right thing came up, or it wasn’t the right time.”
Julian: “It is a hard time for bands.”
James: “It’s hard for record labels as well, I think they’re really struggling. They can’t afford to take chances. They’re playing it safe a lot of the time. That’s why you get a lot of pop records, because they know they’ll sell. But even if you think back to the people that inspired us. Take Queen for example. Someone had the balls to say: “Release ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’!” No one’s got the balls to do that anymore.”
Julian: “Queen was lucky that track wasn’t on their first album. It would have been career suicide. Just try to release a mind-blowing song like that.”
James: “When The Red Hot Chili Peppers were signed to Warner Bros., they did like three or four albums before they released ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’. I read an interview where they stated that that album was their last chance. Afterwards, they became superstars. But the industry can’t afford to be like that anymore.”
Julian: “That’s the main problem. Those guys had the time and the money to struggle for a period of three albums. Nowadays, you have to have an immediate hit.”
James: “Yes, and they also had the time to hone their craft. We have to learn the hard way, as we go. Those guys had a bit more leeway.”
Rich: “It’s not the worst thing, the fact that everything is changing. The modus operandi is not set. There’s not a definite way of doing it. In those days, there was a template. These days, you go online and discover different ways of distributing and recording music. It’s nice to be in flux, as well, and be adaptable. Do what you need to do, when you need to do it. Now, there’s not anybody, apart from ourselves.”
Julian: “It’s still weird. I don’t download, because …”
James: “You like to have CDs?”
Julian: “Vinyl records. I’m a big vinyl fan. My nephew has 26,000 illegal songs, and I always argue with him. I’m always arguing. You wouldn’t go to a bakery, and steal a loaf of bread. Then why do you steal an album?”
James: “Most people use the argument of: “So many other people do it, so, if you can’t beat them, join them” …”
Julian: “That’s the worst argument!”
Rich: “You can’t blame kids growing up in that environment.”
Julian: “I think you can.”
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Rich: “To a certain extent, but it’s become a culturally accepted thing. I don’t know what kind of comparison to make, I can’t describe it. Most people download movies, anyway. Even people involved in music will download movies. I know loads of people, working in different capacities in the world of music, and they’re all illegally downloading movies. Cause everybody does it, and says: “Oh, you want that movie? Take it off my hard drive!” You wouldn’t do it if you were an actor, a director, or a producer. Unfortunately, and it sounds weird to say that, it wasn’t capitalized on before. At the same time, it’s given them something to think about in terms of the way stuff’s going to evolve. Otherwise, it would just be another big corporate entity that had all control. So it pulled the rug out from under the carpet as a consequence, you know what I mean? Big labels are very frightened, and don’t have the control anymore. In a way, that resulted in the artists having a bit more clout, but it also completely fucked us, because the labels aren’t getting any money and no one’s signed anymore. It’s two-folded.”
Julian: “Indeed, just fifteen years ago, you would have gotten a sweet advance after one extended play.”
James: “I do think we go in cycles as well, just like fashion for example. Right now, vinyl’s quite popular again and I think people once again start to appreciate having a physical thing. I have always bought CDs, I have always wanted something to put on the wall, read the booklet, see the lyrics. My brother is just four years younger than me. He never had to go out to buy CDs, because he just borrowed mine. After he got to a certain age, and started listening to his own music, he bought songs off iTunes and all that. It has devalued music. Now, my brother’s coming around. Now I have a record player, and he wants to play vinyl records on my deck. “Yeah, go for it!” I’ll say.”
Julian: “My friends will always use the argument: “There are too many good movies to watch, I don’t have the money to buy them all”. OK. But when we were younger, we had 15 pounds, saved from our allowance, to buy a movie. We had to choose. What made us go from “I have enough money to buy one tape” to “I want to see ten movies, and I don’t want to pay for them”? What a twisted way of thinking.”
Rich: “It’s the amount of movies and films that are available. We used to go to a Blockbuster, or your local video store, and just look through …”
James: “Read all the synopses. The society also needs things instantaneously now. We give a movie five minutes, and say “Nah, I’m not grabbed” …”
Julian: “Instant gratification.”
James: “You could do that to ‘The Godfather’, but it may take you 25 minutes to discover the greatness. If that movie were released now, people wouldn’t give it the time of day.”
Rich: “Unfortunately, the momentum has unchangeably shifted, thanks to Spotify. Streaming has taken over, and it’s irreversible.”
Julian: “I really don’t like Spotify.”
Rich: “If you say to a hundred kids “You can either spend 15 quid on one CD, or spend 6 pounds a month and you get unlimited access to unlimited music”, their choice will be made. You can’t argue with that, as much as we would like to. You can’t expect to want to do that. Things have changed.”
Julian: “Final question, and then you can eat in peace. A tired, old, clichéd question: do you guys know any Belgian music?”
Rich: “Anything Belgian? Eh. Van Damme?”
James: “Haha!”
Julian: “Music! Music!”
James: “If you were to name a band, I might say: “Oh yeah, I know that”. Röyksopp, where are they from? Are they Belgian?”
Rich: “They’re Danish (Norwegian, actually, ed.). Good try, though.”
James: “Haha!”
Julian: “Soulwax?”
James: “Oh, yeah, Soulwax, yeah! Deejays.”
Julian: “They started out as a standard rock band, but they evolved into something unique and unheard of.”
James: “Oh really? What about Justice?”
Julian: “They’re French. Maybe you know Stromae?”
Julian: “Indeed, just fifteen years ago, you would have gotten a sweet advance after one extended play.”
James: “I do think we go in cycles as well, just like fashion for example. Right now, vinyl’s quite popular again and I think people once again start to appreciate having a physical thing. I have always bought CDs, I have always wanted something to put on the wall, read the booklet, see the lyrics. My brother is just four years younger than me. He never had to go out to buy CDs, because he just borrowed mine. After he got to a certain age, and started listening to his own music, he bought songs off iTunes and all that. It has devalued music. Now, my brother’s coming around. Now I have a record player, and he wants to play vinyl records on my deck. “Yeah, go for it!” I’ll say.”
Julian: “My friends will always use the argument: “There are too many good movies to watch, I don’t have the money to buy them all”. OK. But when we were younger, we had 15 pounds, saved from our allowance, to buy a movie. We had to choose. What made us go from “I have enough money to buy one tape” to “I want to see ten movies, and I don’t want to pay for them”? What a twisted way of thinking.”
Rich: “It’s the amount of movies and films that are available. We used to go to a Blockbuster, or your local video store, and just look through …”
James: “Read all the synopses. The society also needs things instantaneously now. We give a movie five minutes, and say “Nah, I’m not grabbed” …”
Julian: “Instant gratification.”
James: “You could do that to ‘The Godfather’, but it may take you 25 minutes to discover the greatness. If that movie were released now, people wouldn’t give it the time of day.”
Rich: “Unfortunately, the momentum has unchangeably shifted, thanks to Spotify. Streaming has taken over, and it’s irreversible.”
Julian: “I really don’t like Spotify.”
Rich: “If you say to a hundred kids “You can either spend 15 quid on one CD, or spend 6 pounds a month and you get unlimited access to unlimited music”, their choice will be made. You can’t argue with that, as much as we would like to. You can’t expect to want to do that. Things have changed.”
Julian: “Final question, and then you can eat in peace. A tired, old, clichéd question: do you guys know any Belgian music?”
Rich: “Anything Belgian? Eh. Van Damme?”
James: “Haha!”
Julian: “Music! Music!”
James: “If you were to name a band, I might say: “Oh yeah, I know that”. Röyksopp, where are they from? Are they Belgian?”
Rich: “They’re Danish (Norwegian, actually, ed.). Good try, though.”
James: “Haha!”
Julian: “Soulwax?”
James: “Oh, yeah, Soulwax, yeah! Deejays.”
Julian: “They started out as a standard rock band, but they evolved into something unique and unheard of.”
James: “Oh really? What about Justice?”
Julian: “They’re French. Maybe you know Stromae?”
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James: “Hm, no.”
Julian: “He’s making big waves, he just played Madison Square Garden.”
Rich: “Wow!”
James: “It’s crazy how someone can play Madison Square Garden, and yet, we haven’t heard of him. I guess that’s just my personal knowledge.”
Julian: “What you could know, is the famous song from the Singing Nun, ‘Dominique’. From the sixties.”
Rich: “Nope.”
Julian: “And, of course, The Smurfs are Belgian.”
James: “Oh, are they?”
Rich: “I didn’t know that.”
Julian: “And Tintin.”
James: “Is he Belgian?”
Rich: “We got our own Tintin (points to Robin Howell-Sprent, their drummer and percussionist, ed.).”
James: “I didn’t know Tintin was Belgian.”
Julian: “His creator, Hergé, was from Brussels. Around the corner.”
James: “And he’s back now, in the flesh! What’s the dog called again?”
Rich: “Snowy.”
James: “And Captain Fish.”
Rich: “No, Captain Haddock.”
James: “Right!”
Julian: “Do you know his first name? An obscure bit of trivia that’s only mentioned in the last album. It’s Archibald.”
James: “Archibald Haddock? Well, there you go.”
Rich: “Learning so much here.”
James: “Captain Haddock is sitting next to me (points to Yiannis Sachinis, their other drummer who does indeed resemble Haddock, ed.)”
Julian: “Haha, yes, you can make a joke tonight. “We got Captain Haddock on stage, in Brussels” …”
James: “Haha, and Tintin!”
Rich: “We’ll do that, just for you!”
James: “Give it up for Captain Haddock!”
Julian: “Guys, thank you for your time.”
Rich: “Thank you so much for coming out.”
James: “Nice talking to you.”
Rich: “Finally some different questions.”
Julian: “I try to do my best. Break a leg on stage tonight. Thanks again.”
True to their word, the band did make the Tintin joke later that night. How very considerate and nice. Here’s to a bright future for Brother&Bones
Julian: “He’s making big waves, he just played Madison Square Garden.”
Rich: “Wow!”
James: “It’s crazy how someone can play Madison Square Garden, and yet, we haven’t heard of him. I guess that’s just my personal knowledge.”
Julian: “What you could know, is the famous song from the Singing Nun, ‘Dominique’. From the sixties.”
Rich: “Nope.”
Julian: “And, of course, The Smurfs are Belgian.”
James: “Oh, are they?”
Rich: “I didn’t know that.”
Julian: “And Tintin.”
James: “Is he Belgian?”
Rich: “We got our own Tintin (points to Robin Howell-Sprent, their drummer and percussionist, ed.).”
James: “I didn’t know Tintin was Belgian.”
Julian: “His creator, Hergé, was from Brussels. Around the corner.”
James: “And he’s back now, in the flesh! What’s the dog called again?”
Rich: “Snowy.”
James: “And Captain Fish.”
Rich: “No, Captain Haddock.”
James: “Right!”
Julian: “Do you know his first name? An obscure bit of trivia that’s only mentioned in the last album. It’s Archibald.”
James: “Archibald Haddock? Well, there you go.”
Rich: “Learning so much here.”
James: “Captain Haddock is sitting next to me (points to Yiannis Sachinis, their other drummer who does indeed resemble Haddock, ed.)”
Julian: “Haha, yes, you can make a joke tonight. “We got Captain Haddock on stage, in Brussels” …”
James: “Haha, and Tintin!”
Rich: “We’ll do that, just for you!”
James: “Give it up for Captain Haddock!”
Julian: “Guys, thank you for your time.”
Rich: “Thank you so much for coming out.”
James: “Nice talking to you.”
Rich: “Finally some different questions.”
Julian: “I try to do my best. Break a leg on stage tonight. Thanks again.”
True to their word, the band did make the Tintin joke later that night. How very considerate and nice. Here’s to a bright future for Brother&Bones
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Julian De Backer / photo's: Matt Holloway ©