#mjf50

Spike: Yeah, Dead Moon are a three-piece garage band from Portland, USA led by Fred Cole. He makes music since the 60s, he’s a really old guy. He still plays live. Unfortunately, the drummer died last year, Andrew Loomis. But they started playing in the late 80s and they played a lot around Europe in the 90s. They did a gig in Den Haag, our hometown, in 2006. I didn’t know at that time, but two days later they split up. Actually, it was the day after. They are garage punk veterans.

Do you like it here in Montreux?

Miss Fuzz: I like it very much.

Spike: I like the gardening. I wish I had a garden like this. My garden is like concrete. Just bricks and some dead plants! (laughs)

Miss Fuzz: A concrete jungle!

Spike: I mean, we have never been here before. It’s like stepping into a movie scene! The buildings are insanely beautiful. You look up at the mountains and see these castles… It’s like you’re in a fairy tale. It’s a very unique place to be for us as a band because like Miss Fuzz said, we did a European tour six months ago and most of the places were squat buildings or small, dirty bars. But this place is really fancy.

Miss Fuzz: What kind of people come to the park shows do you think?

Everyone. It’s free, so literally everyone comes to see the shows. The free venues usually have some great bands.

Spike: It’s cool that the festival puts effort into the program of the free venues. Bastian Baker invited us to play. It’s a funny story, Kit can tell!

Kit Carrera: Yeah, we played Eurosonic in Groningen last January. I don’t know if he played there, but he saw our show. And next we got an email where he invited us to play on this stage.

Yeah, I’m actually surprised that he invited you guys to play because you’re making very different kinds of music.

Spike: Well, that’s the funny thing, because we were asked to play here and I mean- we know that Led Zeppelin played in this festival in the 70s, and Deep Purple plays here this week. It’s not only jazz music that gets played here. You know, we don’t like to think in boxes and I think Bastian Baker doesn’t do that either. We haven’t spoken to him yet, we only talked through email. But I guess he liked our energy and our songs.

Mau at the end of the concert.

You guys are obviously very inspired by 60s garage rock. Why this genre in particular?

Spike: Well, a lot of music changed during the 60s. I think it’s because our parents are from the 60s, so you get influenced by that as a kid. I mean, my dad always played 60s records when I was young, and Kit’s dad is a blues musician so he grew up with a lot of blues records. It’s the same for Miss Fuzz and Mau. It’s very unpolished, vibrant and primitive. You know, bands in the 60s like the Sonics, the Kinks and the Rolling Stones really wanted to change something from a teenage rebellion kind of force, to kick the establishment and to make a difference. I think that’s what inspires us. It doesn’t matter if you play garage rock and roll in the 60s or if you play it now. When you play it, releases this inner rebellion force. I think everybody has got it, and we try to unleash that when we go on stage. Sometimes we need 6 or 7 songs to push away the shame, because we go crazy from the minute the concert starts – you will see it tonight. Sometimes people get shocked by it and don’t know what to do with themselves, but if they throw away their shame and go into that tornado of rock and roll and energy, then magic things happen.

[…] We can’t go back to the 60s, we don’t know how it feels when you only have this sweet pop music, and then suddenly the electric rock guitars came in and everything changed. The whole music industry changed. So we don’t know how it feels like, but we do know that nowadays dance and hip hop music are really popular. A lot of that music is created with electronic beats. It’s robotic. We try to make a change with real instruments and real energy on stage. And sweat and dirt.

How is garage rock music doing in the Netherlands? Is it popular?

Spike: Hmm… It’s not really popular, but bands like the White Stripes and the Strokes made this genre big again. I mean, it was really underground during the 80s and the 90s. But bands like these were so big that they brought it back. In Holland, it’s not huge, but I think the funny thing is that you can put us at Montreux Jazz Festival, a pop festival, a metal or a rock festival, it doesn’t matter. We always try to write melodic songs. It’s a simple guitar riff with a melodic vocal line or whatever. I think it’s easy music to go wild on. So it has got a wide following. People who listen to our music don’t only listen to 60s music I think. They listen to whatever they want. And it’s good that those borders are getting vague you know.

Miss Fuzz: I think that the people who will come tonight and see our show who are maybe into more polished music or more complicated music, like jazz or classical – even they can relate to the kind of energy that we’re bringing, right?

Spike: Yeah, because everybody has this loud side. Even if you work five days a week in an office, sometimes you want to destroy your computer. You can’t do that because you will get fired, but you can smash your imaginary computer at our concert! (laughs)

What are you guys doing besides the band?

Miss Fuzz: We all do things in music to earn money. I mean, we cannot live off this band only. That would be nice, but that’s not the case to be honest.

Spike: It’s hard to make your living from music. But you know, it’s beautiful to do the things you really want to do. I have two bands and Midnight Mau is also a DJ, and he makes money from that. Janneke (ndlr: Miss Fuzz) is teaching music lessons, and Kit has his own music school. It’s very nice to make a living with your passion.

You have released two albums so far, Toot Whistle Plunk Boom! In 2011 and The Deaf in 2014. What would you say is the main difference between them? I read somewhere that you recorded the second one in a different way.

Spike: Yeah, definitely. We had the possibility to record the second one the same way bands in the 60s did, on tape. So you’ve got a very big room. The amplifiers, the drum kit… Every instrument was in the same room. We’re mainly a live band, you know. We love playing live, being on tour and exciting people. That energy is our fuel. We wanted to record that energy, so the only way to put that on the record is to play it live.

So, everybody in the same room, recording all at once?

Spike: Yeah. The first one was also that way, but the amplifiers were not- It’s a bit boring, technical story. But yeah, for the second one we had more possibilities to record it in a more vintage way. That’s the main difference I guess. And we experimented some more with slower songs.

Yeah, I really like that second album, especially because of those ballads!

Spike: We might play one tonight! The thing is, when we go on tour and play that record, we play the faster songs. But we are very proud of this last record, and it takes some balls to play the slower songs as well.

Rock and roll baby.

How did you work with each other when you were writing this album?

Miss Fuzz: You mean, how we write songs? Well, the first ideas always come in Spike’s head, and then he usually records it with his phone. And then we start playing and try to get the feel of that. And then, out of that feel- that’s kind of a jam session part out of discovering the possibilities of the song. And then, I think the finishing touch is arranging these possibilities and choosing what is best for the song.

Spike: Yeah, it’s very intuitive. I play a riff, and then everybody joins and it sounds like The Deaf. It’s not a process of weeks or months, it’s in the moment.

Also, I wanted to talk about your song Soul Trapper. I think it it’s really good, it could have been written by 60s bands like The Zombies!

Spike: Wow, thank you! I take it as a compliment if you mention The Zombies. We were at a concert of The Zombies a few years ago.

Oh wow, how do they sound now?

Spike: Old. But still good. I mean, he’s still got this angel voice which is amazing, it’s really touching. The Zombies are a band I listen to a lot. But we’re also big fans of The Animals. We listen to them a lot on the road, and I think Soul Trapper is one of those traditional songs. I wanted to write a decent classic beat song, like a 60s pop song. It’s funny because we had the chorus for a long, long time and we played it up-tempo and then very slow, but it never… I think we’ve had the chorus for a year, but the verse and the rest of the song didn’t connect right. But I always had the feeling that the chorus was really, really good, so sometimes you just have to put it on a shelf, and when the best idea comes along it combines. So it happened. Sometimes you have to be patient and you know, just leave it for a while and then it connects to a part that will be written later.

Miss Fuzz: I like the harmonic layers in that song a lot. If you play loud music, you cannot always combine many harmonies. It can sound great, and it can also sound very stupid, or very cheesy when the song comes together.

What kind of songs do you enjoy playing live the most? The faster or the slower ones?

Midnight Mau: I enjoy both slower and faster songs. It depends on the show, when we play a 30-35 minutes show, we play more faster songs. But if we have more time, we also play more slower songs.

Miss Fuzz: Also, it depends a little bit on the crowd. We always make a setlist, but we don’t have to stick to it. If we feel like the energy on stage or in the crowd is asking for more up-tempo songs, or if we feel like a slower song can be played, then we change it.

If you had to describe The Deaf to a deaf person, what would you say? In three words.

Spike: Oh that’s a nice question, we’ve never heard it before! Wild teenage rampage. Wild teenage rebellion. But we’re not teenagers anymore! Fast, dirty, loud?

Miss Fuzz: Dirty, loud, okay…

Spike: Dirty, loud, energetic! (laughs) Sleazy dirty rock and roll. Yeah.

Finally, what can we expect from The Deaf in the future?

Miss Fuzz: Well, as you probably noticed, we have existed for 9 years but only released two albums so far. We’re more productive on stage than during studio time, also because we do a lot of stuff besides the band.

Spike: Yeah, we’ve got to be creative with schedules.

Miss Fuzz: Yeah, we recorded our previous two albums in a rush. We had 10 days to record a full album and mix it, and that’s ambitious. So we did that two times, it kind of worked out well but now we’re trying something new. We’re writing a couple new songs, recording them and then waiting for new songs to come up. So every time we’ve got a couple of days we work on something. So eventually we will have an album.

Spike: Yeah, but that’s a nice thing. We’ve never had the ambition to be the hippest band around the block you know. That’s the nicest thing about rock and roll I think, we don’t have to conform to any trends or rules!

Il y a deux choses qui m’ont surprise (en bien !) lors du concert. La première est la volonté de Verena de construire une connexion avec le public. Elle ne reste jamais longtemps sur scène et préfère descendre pour chanter et danser au milieu de l’audience. La barrière n’existe plus, et nous, pauvres Suisses timides, ne sommes plus à l’abri d’un contact visuel ou physique avec Verena. La plupart des mélomanes présents sont ravis et participent volontiers en dansant avec Verena ou en partageant un câlin. Quant à celles et ceux qui ont le nez dans leur téléphone portable, elle leur accordera à eux aussi de l’attention, ce qui les embarrassera gentiment (n’empêche, parler au téléphone pendant un concert en salle, il faut y aller quand même...). Il y a un côté jubilatoire avec cette manière de faire, car tout le monde se sent impliqué ; c’est comme une grande fête.

La seconde chose, en plus de me surprendre, m’a vraiment émue. Les chansons de Verena sont très personnelles, cela on le sait. Mais parler ouvertement du suicide de son frère devant une foule d’inconnus, cela demande un courage énorme ; cependant, c’est aussi une manière de forcer la connexion avec le public et de dire “Voilà ce qui me tourmente et ce qui me tient à cœur, et je veux partager cela avec vous car je sais qu’il y a une part sombre en chacun d’entre nous”.

Verena Von Horsten et ses musiciens à la fin du concert

En ce qui concerne l’album, les chansons prennent tout leur sens en live et semblent avoir un effet thérapeutique sur Verena. Sa voix, parfois puissante, parfois fragile, envahit la salle tandis que ses musiciens, plus discrets, assurent la partie instrumentale sur scène. L’apogée du concert sera atteinte avec Fire, qui captivera tout le public.

Comme pour ton ami Juan Wauters ! Je l’ai aussi interviewé, il m’a parlé de ce quartier.

Mac : Il a tous les bons plans pour le Queens parce que c’est là qu’il a grandi. Alors lui et mon coloc, Matt- tu l’as rencontré aussi ? Matt Volz, il s’occupe des lumières pour Juan.

Oui, je l’ai aussi rencontré !

Mac : Ils m’ont branché, New York style.

Mac qui prend un bain de foule au Montreux Jazz Lab, à travers mon appareil jetable.

Pourrions-nous parler un peu de Another One ? J’imagine que tout le monde te le demande.

Mac : Bien-sûr !

D’abord, la pochette. Où es-tu ?

Mac : C’est juste en-dehors de ma maison à New York ! La photo a été prise par ma copine, Kiera. J’ai une petite plage dans mon jardin !

J’ai l’impression qu’il y a eu un avant et un après Salad Days en ce qui concerne ton utilisation des synthés. Je les aime bien sur Another One, on dirait qu’il y a une sorte d’atmosphère flottante…

Mac : Ouais, l’album est un peu plus doux que Salad Days.

…Je pense que A Heart Like Hers est ma chanson favorite. Comment est-elle née ?

Mac : Hmm… Je ne suis pas très bon au piano, alors d’habitude je joue des accords avec ma main droite. Et ces accords sont venus, et je chantais un peu… Le refrain est venu en premier (ndlr : il le fredonne). Mais je me souviens, c’était drôle avec cette chanson parce que je l’ai enregistrée sur mon portable, et ensuite, lorsque j’y suis revenu plus tard pour la chanter à nouveau, la mélodie changeait tout le temps. Je ne me souvenais pas de ce que j’avais fait, mais j’ai fini par y arriver. Je ne sais pas, la chanson est sortie d’elle-même j’imagine.

Je voulais aussi parler de My House By The Water. Est-ce que c’est une sorte d’outro ?

Mac : Ouais, c’est une jolie chanson instrumentale. Le son de l’eau vient du même endroit où la photo de la pochette a été prise. Je vis tout près de l’aéroport, alors il y a des avions qui passent. C’est une manière de me souvenir de cet endroit, car je ne vais plus y vivre pour longtemps. Alors je pourrai désormais écouter ce morceau et me souvenir de ma maison.

Est-ce que c’est une sorte d’album d’adieu ?

Hmm… En quelque sorte. Je veux dire, cela fait déjà un an et demi que je vis là, donc je pense que pour moi en particulier – parce que je n’ai jamais enregistré d’album au même endroit – j’aime me souvenir où est-ce que j’ai enregistré chacun d’entre eux tu sais. C’est une sympathique petite friandise pour Mac !

La foule l’a porté jusqu’au bar à l’arrière de la salle, et on lui a donné une bière. Désolée pour mon doigt tout moche.

Tes vidéos sont toutes plutôt rigolotes, et tu blagues beaucoup sur les réseaux sociaux. Est-ce que cela empêche parfois les gens de prendre ton travail au sérieux ?

Mac : Hmm… Je ne sais pas, peut-être pour certaines personnes, mais pour moi… Tu sais, peu importe à quel point je veuille être drôle, je n’ai pas de problème lorsqu’il s’agit de parler franchement ou honnêtement aux gens. Mais je pense que je n’ai pas de problème avec ça. Je suis capable de rentrer chez moi et d’écrire des chansons sincères. Mais je suis sûr que certaines personnes se disent « Mec, j’aime sa chanson mais c’est un putain de crétin ! », tu sais ? Mais ce n’est pas mon problème, c’est juste qui je suis (rires).

Tu as été très proactif en ce qui concerne tes sorties de disques. Du coup je voulais savoir si tu avais déjà des nouvelles chansons prêtes pour un prochain album.

Mac : Oui, c’est le cas ! J’ai pratiquement écrit un album entier il y a deux mois, mais je ne l’ai pas terminé. Mais j’ai beaucoup de démos en ce moment. Je ne sais pas si je vais toutes les garder, mais nous allons faire des albums-démos ou quelque chose comme ça. Je prends un peu plus de temps parce que nous sommes en tournée, mais ouais j’ai du nouveau ! Je suis impatient, ça sera cool.

Wow ! Est-ce que tu enregistres et mixes encore tout chez toi ?

Mac : Yep !

C’est génial. Enfin, que pouvons-nous attendre de ton concert ce soir ?

Mac : Je pense… Cinq jeunes hommes bien foutus sur une scène ; des guitaristes, des claviers, des basses, des percussions. Nous allons essayer de nous assurer qu’il y ait une atmosphère agréable. Nous allons jouer certaines des chansons, je ne sais pas à quel point elles seront bien jouées, mais elles seront jouées. Ça va être sympa.

Like your friend Juan Wauters! I interviewed him as well.

Mac: He’s got the tips for Queens because he grew up there. So him and my roommate, Matt- you met him as well? Matt Volz, he does the lights for Juan.

Yeah, I met him too!

Mac: They hooked me up, New York Style.

Mac crowdsurfing in Montreux Jazz Lab.

Could we talk about Another One a little bit? I guess everyone must want to talk about it.

Mac: Sure!

First of all, the cover. Where are you?

Mac: That’s outside my house in New York! It was taken by Kiera, my girlfriend. I have a little beach in my backyard!

I feel like there was a before and an after Salad Days, in terms of how you use synths. I like them on Another One, it feels like there is a kind of floating vibe…

Mac: Yeah, it’s a little softer than Salad Days.

…I think my favorite song on Another One is A Heart Like Hers. How did it come to life?

Mac: Hmm… I’m not very good at playing piano, so I usually hit chords with my right hand. And those chords came, and I was just singing a little bit… The chorus came first (ndlr: he starts singing it a little bit). But I remember, it was funny with that song because I recorded it on my phone, and then when I went to re-sing it later, the melody kept changing. I couldn’t remember what I did, but I got it eventually. I don’t know, it kind of came out I guess.

Also, I wanted to talk about your song My House By The Water. Is it a sort of outro?

Mac: Yeah, this is a nice instrumental track. The sound of the water is from the same place where the front photo was taken. I live really close to the airport, so there’s also planes going over. It’s kind of to remind me of living in there, because I’m not gonna be living in there for very much longer. So now I’ll be able to listen, and to remember my house.

Is it a kind of goodbye album?

Mac: Hmm… Sort of. I mean, I’ve lived there for a year and a half already, so I think for me particularly – because I’ve never done an album in the same place really – I like to be able to remember where I did every single one of them you know. That’s a nice little treat for Mac!

Your music videos are all pretty funny, and you joke a lot on social media. Does it sometimes prevent people from taking your work seriously?

Mac: Hmm… I don’t know, maybe for some people, but for me… You know, regardless of how funny I want to be, I don’t ever have a problem speaking from my heart or speaking honestly to people. But I think I don’t have a problem with it. I’m able to go home and write sincere songs. But I’m sure that some people are like “Man I like his song but he’s such a fucking goofball!”, you know? But that’s not my problem, it’s just the way I am (laughs).

The crowd carried Mac to the bar at the back of the venue, and he got a beer. Sorry about my ugly finger.

You’ve been very proactive regarding your releases, so I wanted to know if you already had some new songs recorded for another album.

Mac: I do, yeah! I pretty much wrote a whole album a couple months ago, but I didn’t end up finishing it. But I have a lot of demos right now. I’m not sure if all of them will make it on, but we’ll do demo albums or whatever. I’m taking a little bit more time because we’re touring, but yeah I’ve got some new stuff! I’m excited, it should be cool.

Wow! Do you still record and mix everything at home?

Mac: Yep!

That’s awesome. Finally, what can we expect from your show tonight?

Mac: I think… Five strapping young lads up on a stage; guitarists, keyboards, bass guitars, drums. We’re gonna try and make sure there’s a nice vibe. We’re gonna play some of the songs, I don’t know how well they will be played, but they will be played. It’s gonna be a good time.