Truce Diaries Nits by Stefan Jermann

In a career spanning three decades and more the Nits have written and performed some of the most interesting pop music to come out of continental Europe. They have recorded some twenty albums; had hits including “Nescio”, “In the Dutch Mountains” and "Soap Bubble Box"; and have built up a faithful following thanks to their unique concerts, which include elaborate videos and stage backdrops. Never content to stand still, the Nits have evolved constantly and kept their music fresh. For want of a better word “pop” is what they play: that is “pop” as in popular. Their sound defies classification. It can be everything from moody, melodious, impressionistic and charming to noisy, wistful, and silly— This Dutch trio is a cult ba nd with fa ns worldwide.

T ext :: E ric Facon

The Nits have changed their line-up almost as often as they have changed their style and format. Henk Hofstede (vocals, guitars, keyboards, lyrics) and Rob Kloet (drums) have been with the band from the beginning while Robert Jan Stips (keyboards) has been there for two thirds of the band’s life. Others have joined these three core

members at various stages. The band has gone from Beatle-style Mersey-beat music (Amstel Beat) to dark New Wave, from impressionistic to symphonic style, as well as making forays into the classical, countryish and jazzy. To follow the course of their career is to take a meandering trip into a colourful universe built on constant crea-

I was studying literature when I was offered a job selling music in a store. Needless to say I had many things to learn, many musicians and bands to get to know. My boss, Rudi, seemed to think that most people coming into the store should listen to and love an unknown band from Holland sporting a strange name: The Nits. As in lice eggs? Frankly, I wasn’t that impressed. Amsterdam Oost

tivity within a structure similar to a family. This world of images, words and sounds began way before the Nits were formed. Once upon a time in Amsterdam Oost... Once a week, the world would come to a family home on Fahrenheitstraat in the neighbourhood called Watergrafsmeer in the eastern part of Amsterdam. The man with the newspapers delivered reading material door to door, and he had something for everyone in the family: the “Panorama”magazine with its stories about famous people for the parents and “Pep”, the mag with

TRUCE Diaries ~ Intro ~

the newest comic strips for little Hennie. Having delivered his goods, the newspaper man would stay in the kitchen for a lekker bakkie koffie and a chat with the mother. Meanwhile, Hennie was busy speed-reading his magazine, travelling through time and space, through apparently real and fantastically surreal stories. Some thirty years later, this “Panorama man” became the subject of a song by the Nits, the band little Hennie formed during his student days. Another twenty years later Henk Hofstede and his friends are still travelling through this colourful fantasy world.

Those were the days of the New Wave: a style that no one could clearly define. The music was harsh, dominated by choppy rhythms and yelping voices, while the lyrics were slogans. Record sleeves were mostly black and white and grey.

Their sound was urban, angular and quirky The Nits’ first two albums, “Tent” and “New Flat”, seemed to belong to this elusive category. Their sound was urban, angular and

quirky—somewhere between Kraftwerk, XTC and the Beatles. While their British and American contemporaries generally paraded their Weltschmerz, this Dutch group didn’t seem to care so much about alienation from modern society. The Nits sang songs about life on camping grounds, young Italians on scooters, holidays on ice and the kidnapping of a young reporter. Songs about Tintin or Italian crooner Bobby Solo hinted at a different, non-Anglo-American set of influences. The record sleeves were adaptations of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian’s geometrical abstractions of the world. Then the Nits came to town. In the meantime I had come to like about four songs on these two albums, so I grudgingly agreed to ac-

company Rudi to the gig. About fifty people, amongst them Dieter Meier of Yello fame, had gathered in a small nightclub. When the concert started two hours late, the Nits proceeded to play my favourite songs first which left me wondering what I was going to make of the rest of the evening. Little did I know that I would be a fan by the end of the night.

solos and fills. And there was a precise drummer with an ear for sounds. At the end of a good two hours, they encored with “Komm gib mir deine Hand” by the Beatles. On the whole, it had been a nice evening with a nice band. The Nits might have seemed a bit shy, even gauche, but they had two qualities that many other bands sorely lacked: humour and charm.

The Nits weren’t mind-blowing, but they were good—a lot better than I had expected. One singer’s belting voice recalled John Lennon and Bob Dylan; the other’s fragile voice was heartbreaking. There was a keyboard player who hadn’t appeared on the records, an amazingly dexterous young man who played both the bass parts and astonishing

Next time they came to town they brought their third album along. “Work” was stark and claustrophobic in atmosphere, with songs about strange lodgers and about tables and chairs biting each other’s legs. The first three albums were okay, if a bit derivative, but the concerts were strong. The Nits seemed to come alive on stage: in front of

THEY have assured THEIR loyal fanbase over the years

in front of an audience – a more playful and charming band emerged an audience a different, more playful and charming band emerged. In later years, this was confirmed. The Nits went from strength to strength on stage. They became one of the most exciting live acts around, an elegant, unassuming and unique band who showcased their music with creative stage backdrops and films. It is above all the concerts that have assured their loyal fan base over the years. Back in 1983 my boss Rudi, ever the enterprising fan, decided the Nits were too good to be playing unknown nightspots. They

TRUCE Diaries ~ Intro ~

should play bigger venues and he should be the concert organiser. That’s when I met the band. Jan Hendrik Frederick Grönloh (1881 1961) was a businessman by day and an author by night. He was neither very prolific nor very successful as a writer—until after his death when most of his slim oeuvre was published. Today, this author of three novellas and a handful of stories, diary entries and letters is considered one of the

central figures of Dutch literature from the last century. His work is often dedicated to the conflict between the ideals and the demands of society.

“Titaantjes” (Little Titans) is the title of the following novella, which follows the story of Japi’s friends as they try to live up to their vague ideals and fail.

Grönloh went by the pseudonym Nescio, meaning, “I don’t know” in Latin. The first of his works to be published was “De uitvreter”—the loafer or sponger. Its central character is Japi, a young would-be bohemian who would rather live at the expense of his friends than work. Once he realises that he cannot sustain this free existence eternally, he commits suicide. It is not a violent death. As Nescio describes it Japi doesn’t jump off a bridge, he walks off it, as if it were something you do every day.

The setting for both novellas is AmsterdamOost. In the Oosterpark there’s a statue of the titaantjes, which is almost visible from Henk Hofstede’s living room window.

A synthesiser rolls out a carpet of sound, the bass repeats a basic riff, drums and acoustic guitar enter. A wonderfully fluid grand piano part flutters in, followed by the lead singer with the Lennon-ish voice. The melody line seems influenced by Chinese opera, the lyrics alternate between English and Italian. “Nescio” is a unique song and a great moment in global pop.

“Nescio” was also the title of the song that gave the Nits their first hit outside Holland. It picks up the story of Japi the sponger, but gives it a different ending. In Hofstede’s version, Japi jumps off the bridge and swims until he reaches Italy, the country of romantic dreams. From there, Japi calls Nescio.

In 1983 “Nescio” was particularly striking. Nothing in the Nits’ back catalogue had hinted at this new sound, and no one else sounded quite like them. The album “Omsk” that included “Nescio” brought more surprises. The sleeve promised as much: an impressionistic canvas in a white frame replaced

Each new album expanded on the previous one

“Nescio” and “Omsk” were the Nits’ first steps toward their own voice and their own sound. Neither the single nor the album were fashion statements: the band didn’t seem concerned with the flavours of the day. There were echoes of musicians that the Nits liked—the Talking Heads, the Beatles, Van Dyke Parks, XTC and Japan—but in the end, they managed to sound like themselves for the first time.

and most of them took steps in new directions the dark atmospheres and geometrical designs of the first records, bold strokes of bold colours. The music contained within was the equivalent of a warm ray of sunshine in a dark room, a shaft of light that illuminates the furniture, the paintings on the wall and the people inside. Acoustic instruments, guitars and dulcimers, had replaced the choppy electric chords. There

TRUCE Diaries ~ Intro ~

were string arrangements and a grand piano had joined the keyboards. The band had a new member, Robert Jan Stips, who was a veteran of the Dutch scene (having played with Golden Earring, Supersister and many others), and had produced parts of the first two albums. The Nits had a strong urge to surprise themselves and the musical means to do so.

The band went on to record 15 more albums. Each new album expanded on the previous one and most of them took steps in new directions. “Giant Normal Dwarf” (1990) is a psychedelic fairytale recorded only with sampling keyboards, drums and vocals. The next album “Ting” is a collection of crystalline songs recorded with two pianos, acoustic bass and percussion. In

the parallel album, “Hjuvi”, the core members of the band become part of a classical orchestra. “dA dA dA” (1994) is an album by a fully-fledged, pretty conventional popband. “Wool” (2000) is a collection of jazzy pop-songs, while “Les Nuits” (2005) is the atmospheric sum of all the earlier experiences. Every album is a separate entity, a new chapter that opens up new worlds.

This was the first evidence of one characteristic that distinguishes them from many of their contemporaries: the Nits are a band from continental Europe, and that is reflected in their music. (Perhaps this explains why most of their audience is in Europe: Great Britain and the US have yet to discover the Nits and they have played few gigs in either country). Like everyone of their generation, the Nits grew up with the Beatles, the Kinks, Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake—but their roots are not Anglo-American. No blues-riffs, no rhythm’n’blues shouting, no rock’n’roll. (It is only with their latest CD “Doing the Dishes”

from 2008 that they made a rock record). In fact they The band also grew up with Johann Sebastian Bach, with Jacques Brel and with the Carillons, the tower-bells of the Benelux countries. There is a map to the inner world of the Nits. It shows the Watergrafsmeer neighbourhood in Amsterdam-Oost. Henk Hofstede was born here on Celsiusstraat, later moving with his family to Fahrenheitstraat and finally to Réaumurstraat. Henk’s mother still lives there today and her house can be seen on the cover of “Alankomaat”, the album released in 1998. An uncle living in the same street was the subject of the song “House of Jacob” on the same album. Hofstede later moved a bit further north to the neighbourhood of the Oosterpark. One might say he never strayed too far from Amsterdam-Oost. (Alankomaat, by the way, is the Finnish name for the Netherlands.) The three parallel streets of his childhood— Celsius, Fahrenheit and Réaumur—formed a small, but very adventurous world in young Hennie’s mind. As ships travelled up

“Fiets in het hoofd”

the canal behind the row of houses, their masts could be seen floating by above the rooftops. There is a local football club in Watergrafsmeer called “Jeugd Organisatie Sportclub”, which Henk’s grandfather had co-founded,; this club is the subject of “J.O.S. days” from the 1987 album “In the Dutch Mountains”. At Henk’s school, there was a map of the Netherlands on the wall: a web of criss-crossing rivers and canals, streets and roads in vast fields of green, with smaller and bigger dots representing hamlets, towns and cities. Outside the borders of the Netherlands was a blank space.

TRUCE Diaries ~ Intro ~

Little Hennie thought that this void was the place where the Dutch mountains stood— they had to be somewhere, didn’t they? It still feels as if the Nits travel all over Europe looking for these fabled mountains. One afternoon in 1985 Henk had asked me whether I wanted to go to the Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Basel, so I took the afternoon off. Wandering through the rooms full of strange ideas exploding off the walls, I wondered aloud whether the Nits always spent their spare time on tour like this. No, no, Henk assured me: the three

other members of the band were sure to be somewhere else in town or back at the hotel taking a nap. However, within fifteen minutes, we encountered all three of them within those same walls. Over a cup of coffee at the Kunsthalle, the four of them talked about their influences and favourite things. In no particular order: the best pop record ever (“In the wee small hours of the morning” by Frank Sinatra); Monty Python; the sculptor Henry Moore; the very strange album “Discover America” by Van Dyke Parks; the Kinks; Hergé, the inventor of Kuifje or Tintin. An endless stream of people, objects, cities, books, records, movies, comics, food. I heard that Henk had had the choice of a career in either art or music. He chose the latter while still dabbling in the former. Later at the concert venue I caught keyboard-player Robert Jan and drummer Rob seated at a grand piano, engaged in a classical music quiz. Back in the dressing room, the two singer- guitarists were tackling “Love me two times” by The Doors. I concluded that there were no limits to the interests of this band, and determined to watch where it would lead.

the Nits are a band from continental Europe– and that is reflected in their music

Sloterdijk, a part of Amsterdam West, a comfortable bike ride away from the centre of town. Somewhere behind the Volkstuinenpark Sloterdijkermeer, across the canal from the Haarlemmerweg, lies a strange little patch of land. There’s a church with a steeple standing among some houses; it looks like a small rural village from long

TRUCE Diaries ~ Intro ~

ago. Beyond this, there are ultra-modern office blocks, steel and glass, the noise of traffic, cars and trains and planes, and there’s tramway number 12, screeching through the curves. An area of stark contrasts. Tucked away in a shadowy corner stands a small brick building, a little square edifice

without windows, which used to be a school gym. This is the Werf, the geographical centre of the Nits. In 1995 everyone who had ever been part of the Nits, of their entourage, or had been important in the course of their career was invited to a photo shoot for the band’s first “best of” album. The photo was taken by a special camera that takes a picture spanning 360 degrees and the result can be seen on the inside of “Nest”. There we are, Rudi and me with another hundred or so people in a little space in front of the band’s rehearsal room, smiling doubtfully at the camera revolving around itself like a lawn sprinkler. It is no wonder the Nits invited their friends and families to the Werf, for this is where most things to do with the band originate. It is here that the band rehearses and here that they have recorded most of their albums: “Henk” (1986), “Wool” (2000), “Les Nuits” (2005) and many more. In a brave move “In the Dutch Mountains” was recorded at the Werf, live to two-track, without any production or mixing. And you

somehow hear the history of the room. Whenever the Nits rented other recording studios, they ended up with albums that didn’t exactly sound like the Nits: “Adieu Sweet Bahnhof” (1984) and “dA dA dA” (1994) were slicker, less personal affairs. The Werf has been the location for some of the Nits’ promotional videos, and it is the place where stage sets are created. Inside it is like a jungle. There are instruments everywhere, drums and wires, cables and keyboards, guitars and banjos. There are old stage sets, ladders leading nowhere and collections of lamps. Sketches of record covers and paintings, photographs and old concertposters line the walls, which seem to grow thicker every year. The Werf is what you see on the cover of “Doing the Dishes” (2008). This is the home of the family/enterprise called the Nits. Why family? Rob and Michiel Peters, two of the founder members, have known each other since kindergarten, Henk and Rob have been playing in the same band

TRUCE Diaries ~ Intro ~

for 33 years and Robert Jan has spent about 17 years with the Nits. Brothers Paul and Tom Telman take care of sound and lights respectively and they have also been with the band for ages. This family is almost selfsufficient. Henk, Rob and Robert Jan (and whoever else is in the band) play music, while Henk and his wife Riemke take care of the CD artwork and the videos. Over the years the family has grown. First came the kids, then other friends such as Seppo Pietikäinen from Helsinki and then came other musicians with whom the Nits have worked—including Kimmo Kajasto (also from Helsinki). Back in the 1980s, Rob often played with Swiss avant-garde drummer Fritz Hauser. Henk’s 1996 club tour of Switzerland with Bernese band Stop the Shoppers was the beginning of a long series of collaborations with Swiss musicians. The guitarist Oli Hartung (a.k.a. “The Milkman” on “Les Nuits”) and Simon Ho are just two of these. Henk sang on all three of Ho’s CDs, a project that fulfilled an old dream of his to sing with the world-famous Finnish folk-pop band Värttinä.

The apparently small world of the Nits is a busy universe. Rob continues to play with Fritz Hauser and has started working with visual artists. Robert Jan plays solo concerts and gigs with comedian/poet Freek de Jonge. There are Henk’s videos for various occasions and his installations, for example at the Biennale de Lyon in 2001. Then there’s the Avalanche Quartet, a band in which Henk gets to sing the songs of his idol, Leonard Cohen, in the company of some musician friends. This family has indeed grown in every way.

Eric Facon, born 1957 in New York City, studies in English and German literature, journalist for print media in Switzerland and for Swiss radio DRS.

Even today, there are still a lot of people that are connected to the band and our music. It really also has to do with those people that came to the very first shows, they infiltrated others to come see US. {Interview & Photography by Stefan Jermann}

TRUCE Diariesâ&#x20AC;&#x192; ~ Henk ~

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

Intro It’s a rainy afternoon in Amsterdam and we are heading off to Henk Hofstede’s house that is close by a little park, called Oosterpark. The wind is getting stronger and it’s dearly pissing down at us, but what could stop us now? After all we are about to meet Henk Hofstede: charismatic founder of Holland’s most legendary Band The Nits. I immediately get my focus back again when the gentleman himself opens the door and greets us warmly. Henk tells us about his house that he is in the process of renovating and that he is doing most of the work himself. It is a beautiful old Amsterdam brick house on four levels, furnished with a beautiful garden with lots of green space: “You know, having such a garden in Amsterdam is really a great luxury“. Unfortunately it is raining, so we are sitting at a huge wooden table in the dining area and start talking about his ‚girls’ (daughters) and his wife Riemke, she is also there and welcomes us warmly. So here sits this guy Henk in front of me, he has passed his Fifties, he has seen it all with the Nits that he founded, he has a beautiful family and seems well balanced, but I am thinking, what keeps this man going and creating so many things at the same time, with an enourmous amount of drive, what is his code, what’s his secret...? I admit, I am still not a hundred percent sure, but one of his secrets that I and probably most people filter out of Henk quite fast:

this man shows humbleness–he is hungry forlife 20

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

and yes, he is a true gentleman Stefan: I am just gonna start recording a bit, ok...? Henk: Yeah, sure. The Nits have been together for almost 34 years...? Mhh, they started in seventy four. That was really the first concert we did here in Amsterdam, it was in December 1974 at the Paradiso. And what keeps those three same guys going after all those years..? Almost the same guys-, Robert Jan had departed for a while, to work on his own projects

TRUCE Diariesâ&#x20AC;&#x192; ~ Henk ~

and then we had a lot of female singers suppport. But it is because we are a band that is still looking for new possibilities. Soâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;next week I am going to Vienna.

You gonna go play there? Yes, I will be playing solo in private living rooms. The whole thing is organized by a singer songwriter called Rick Treffors Really sounds like a great idea Yes, and depending on the size of the living room there could be up to 50 people and the host will feed them in addition to the gig for a small cover charge, I am gonna play three

concerts. There is no microphone, the is just accoustic guitar, if there is a piano you can use it. I basically just bring my guitar.

Have you done this before? Yes, I have done it here in Holland, but now it seems like this will go everywhere accross Europe. I actually also heard about this happening in the States with some of the bigger bands within the post punk MTV generation, but I really see you doing this, it takes a lot of guts, I think..! Something else that we were talking about yesterdayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;you have a beautfiul family,

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

“As a fact, I only know musicians with 0intact families” 3 daughters and and intact life, almost too good to be true for a musician, aren’t you an exception? As a fact, I only know musicians with intact families... (laughs) But in what sense does the family stand for you, does it have a strong influence on your music? It’s probably not the most important thing (reflecting pause)—you know it is very important by itself, for my life. But it is certainly not my main inspiration, or maybe that is not fully true, because my inspiration comes from all kinds of corners. So it’s not like you are getting ideas for songs from your kids..?

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

It is very inspirational, of course. And my daughters are interested in music and film, so more and more, they are starting to connect to what I am doing—what they are doing. It is kind of a normal process, I believe. If I had a more ordinary job, let’s say at an office, yes, I would probably not be as connected to my children and my environment as I am now.

At the Avalanche Quartet concert in Zug you mentioned that you were talking to Leonhard Cohen, and he said that he had made a mess out of his life, what did you do right that your life seems so well balanced? I think it has a lot to do with the culture. He grew up in America, it is an enormous country and when you are a famous person your

life is changing so drastically, the change gets much bigger in your personal life though the environment is more or less the same. A lot of famous people, I think, get at some point disconnected to their environment, their families, their home.

You mean that your faces are not that much connected to the music? Yes. Of course there are the hardcore fans that sometimes approach us, but it has never been a problem at all. For me it was never a problem, but I have some famous friends and they would give you a different take on it. They are more careful about going out. If I go to a bar with them, people start starring and that’s not that nice.

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

“it’s wonderful how Leonard Cohen handles the 0being unique” 0

Yes, that’s true, but getting back to Leonard Cohen, what’s your fascination with this man? First of all, his songs from the very beginning—they are extremely strong, his lyrics are great. But also his life: on how to grow older as an artist and also how to deal with the music world—it’s really wonderful how he handles the ‚being unique’. How does he do that? I don’t know, that’s his secret. But I am sure

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

that he is very serious about his song writing and he is not in a hurry to make it, that’s his strength. The guy can walk away from his music and in fact he did go away for seven years to a monastery. After that he came back with songs and an album.

That’s quite impressive and where did he go, where was the monastery? It was in the mountains of Los Angeles. I believe he has had a long relationship with this place and he knows this Japanese Zen

master there. He is certainly a man with a lot of spiritual interest, but he also has humour. He is now in his seventies, but he is very strong.

Do you think your fascination could be, because there are many parallels from you to Cohen? I am not sure about that... Of course it is always for people that you admire, one hopes for parallels, but maybe there aren’t any… (big smile).

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

One can always hope. Did you say that you had gone to his house in Greece at some point? Yes, several times.

“The record business is a very traditional and limited entity, mostly very conservative in their views

And you met up with him there? Not there. I met him at the end of the Eighties in Brussels during a TV show. And then years after I wanted to do a documentary film on him and his house for the Finnish television, together with my friend Seppo. Seppo actually knows him much better, because he is translating his poetry for him. That’s why we were able to film inside his house, but he is no longer there. He used to live there in the Sixties, but when he got really famous, he moved back to live in Los Angeles. His daughter is actually using the house much more now.

it was always a struggle”

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

Did you send him the Avalanche Quartet recording (tribute CD to Cohen songs)? Yes I did, but I haven’t heard anything (smiles). oh no...! He is the kind of man that you suddenly have on the phone! And that has happened to you? No (laughing), but he did it with Seppo. Hopefully, I get to meet him again as Seppo will conduct a long interview, so maybe I can join him... How is your sandwich, by the way? Good, very good! I like the food here. It’s very simple, but it’s great. Your music and the artwork have always sort of gone hand in hand. Is that because you grew up like that or is it more because you try to keep the overall control of your ‚package’ as an artist? That’s a very important thing, of course. Not necessarily in the first place, though. It is about control, but it is also about liking it. I am very interested in design and fine art and

when I started making our first music videos, all of it got very exciting.

When you got your first record deal, was it already clear to you that you would take care of the artwork? To me it was clear (laughs)... But you had to convince a few people first? Yes, always. Even nowadays? No, not anymore, but it was always a struggle. The record business is a very traditional and limited entity, mostly very conservative in their views. I used to have hour long meetings with the record executives. Like in the Eighties, when we were doing our first music video clips—at that time in Holland there were no other music video clips. You were basically the only Dutch band having music clips? Basically we were the only ones, besides maybe The Golden Earrings, but we were probably the only ones making our videos ourselves.

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

So you acted as the director and the cameraman? Everybody did the camera, we had to make turns, depending on the scene. Everything was shot on film, mostly 16mm. I really kind of learned how to film and edit by doing it. And pretty soon after, the computers came in. Your video clips were some of the first ones to be played on MTV in Europe, I believe ‚The Dutch Mountains’ was one of the very first clips. Was it easy for you to get picked up by MTV? Well, they probably just liked it and played it. But they had also played it in other countries such as France... I think the video trav-

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

els the world in strange ways. You make a record and that is kind of organized how it works, but videos, they just spread everywhere. I had people talking to me from Rumania and they told me that they saw our video clip in a café. So in the first place I wanted to learn how to make a music video and then before you know it, it is all over the world!

Tell me a bit about your wife Riemke, I understand that she is a very talented artist, when did this collaboration start between you two? Already quite early, I believe the first album I still did on my own, but then after that we started working together.

What is she in charge of ? She is very interested in typography, and she is very good at it. When you make a cover, the most important thing is the typesetting. Did you have a lot of convincing to do, or was it easy for her to join your projects? We are having a very good work-/life balance. Most of the time I have some sort of idea on the look and feel and then we go from there, we work and we see what happens. Sometimes it can be a very long process, it can constantly change. It is quite often that we work with the idea of three different covers and then we throw away

“We are having a very good work/ life balance. it is handy that you also live together so there is a lot of exchange and our house has a lot of space to work. I am doing my art here, the grand piano has to have a place and all my other instruments”

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

the other ideas that no one will see. But you know we get along very well and so it feels natural, it is not draining or anything like that. And of course it is handy that you also live together so there is a lot of exchange and our house has a lot of space to work. I am doing my art here, the grand piano has to have a place and all my other instruments...

But your rehearsing studio is a bit outside of Amsterdam? Yes, we have a big studio externally and that is great like that. Do you appreciate keeping some things separate?—or do you come home from rehearsing and start talking about music to your family..? No, no. That’s also because I have three children. They are going through so much more than I am going—they’re in such a ‚movement’. For my part, I know more or less what I am doing. When I perform, I know what to do, that’s it, end of the story. But with children, they have to figure everything out and the pace is amazing, the changes, the education...

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

Do you think it is harder today being a child or a teenager than compared to when you were a kid? I am still not sure... Some people say that. I could imagine that it is quite hard being a teenager today. You have to keep up with the latest trends, you have to be cool and you have too many choices to choose from! They are offered way too much, but they have to make choices. But maybe it is about limiting those choices—they have to decide whether they want to do sports or getting into the arts. The choices can complicate things, but it is also wonderful to have all those choices and what they can do today with music and film with such easy tools is quite great. Jumping to another topic: you have a quite strong relationship to Switzerland, when did all of this start? Once a year you are playing a sold out show at the Volkshaus in Zürich... how come Switzerland? It has been like that since the Eighties. Really, starting from our very first concerts, Eric Facon had already been there in the audi-

ence. And even today, there are still a lot of people that are connected to the band and our music. It really also has to do with those people that came to the very first shows, the infiltrated others to come see the show. I can explain the phenomenon like this: When Andy Warhol and Lou Reed put out their first record with Velvet Underground, they probably only sold about 2’000 records, but each of them who bought one, afterwards started his or her own band (laughing)..!— That’s how things get started.

Do you remember the first place you played in Switzerland? It was a small discotheque in Zürich, very close to the lake? Was it called Mascotte? Yes, I believe so, yes! In Basel we played, of course, at the Atlantis where we became quite famous. The next time we came to Basel after our first gig, we played three nights sold out. Everything went quite fast and in the beginning of the Eighties we started to create more and more interesting albums. Then we played Germany, but Germany is so

“AndyWarhol and Lou Reed only sold about 2’000 oftheir first record, but each ofthemwho bought one, started his or her own band—That’s howthings 0get started”

big, it is hard to control... In 1981 we played our first gig in Paris and we went to Finland, Sweden and Denmark to play big festivals.

I’ll have another coffee. I’ll have another glass of white, I am having a lazy afternoon, I am not gonna do anything!

What do you think is your most important market? I think it is certainly Germany, besides Holland. The German audience is really rewarding and the country is so big, you could play gigs forever! Of course we love Switzerland, but it is a tiny country! Do you care for something else to drink?

I understand in Switzerland however, you do have quite a lot of long lasting friendships? That’s the really amazing thing, out of all the countries that we have played, Switzerland has brought out some very good friendships. At one point I was invited by the city of Berne to play the ‚Berner Sommertage Festival’ at the Dampfzentrale. Eric kind of organized it

TRUCE Diaries ~ Henk ~

as he worked with Stop The Shoppers. And we did many smaller gigs, a very good one I recall was in Thun at the Café Mocca. Since then I went back many times to play and collaborate, for instance with Simon Ho. That friendship stayed throughout all this time. ‚The Dutch Mountains’ was your biggest hit to date. Tell me a bit about the idea of this song..., because to my knowledge, you guys don’t have too many mountains in Holland... (laughing)? It was very much connected to the album we

Bus / Man gieter

TRUCE Diariesâ&#x20AC;&#x192; ~ Henk ~

Bootje / Bus

Frank / Sjaan

Parijs daag nacht