BRACE FOR IMPACT

                    THE BATMOBILE

On band have to be something very special if they have been here 40 years. Its even more special when you doing it on this kind of underground scene as like rockin'music is and when they doing all these years with same line-up. Hats off ladies, gentlemans and all others. We all have to give em BIG HAND🔝🔝

Still remember well when one of ma best mates Sami Barcker bought very first Batmobile release "Transsylvian Express" on Kix 4 U label and played it to us at Ranch of Mellilä. "What a bloody hell is that " we screamed . It a totally blowed our minds way back then. They still do that after all these years. 

I wanted to do this interview right now because they released their 13th studio album "Brace For Impact" on 4th Of February 2023. To us its almost like Christmas always when new Batmobile album coming out.

Hopefully you enjoying reading this because Jeroen Haamers put his free time for giving great answers for my questions.

Enjoy. I will do review bout album later on.

Here coming questions:

- Your 13th studio album "Brace For Impact" is almost here as it coming out 4th of February..what we can waiting for bout it?

13 brand new songs in the tradition of 40 years Batmobile. So it will be rockabilly and psycho-rockabilly sounds, we tried to compose different kind of tunes again, so hopefully we produced something new and exciting, with a familiair Batmo feeling

-Batmobile celebrating its 40th Anniversary during this very year..did you ever believed that you are here still after all these years?

No definately not. When we started out we thought people over 40 were senior citizens. But now we do we feel to be very lucky to have achieved this with the 3 of us from the start.

- Your debut album blowed psychobillies minds 1985..how the hell you were so tight and great already so young and straight away on your debut?

I think because we have been playing for two years already before recording our debut album. We've played many live shows so we were already 'a real band' if you can call it that.

-How things are changed during all these years on studio and in live..any memories doing your debut for Kix label?

Things have changed immensely. We recorded and mixed our first album in 2 days. So the pressure was on! Fortunately we knew the songs very well because we have been playing them live a lot already. Unfortunately Eric got a cramp which led to at least half a day playing on the pooltable waiting for the cramp to go away. So we recorded in about half a day and mixed in a day. Later albums were recorded with more time, which was pleasant. Nowadays I have my own studio in which we record albums, so there is no time pressure whatsoever. We have taken the time to record Brace for Impact, although we only took a few weeks to record and mix it.

Live things haven't changed much, we still have the same crew we started with. We still jump in a car or on a plane to get to a show. I only have a few more guitars to choose from ;)

- You were only foreign ( I think so anyway🙄🤔) band at legendary Klub Foot gigs...do you have idea why you were only none UK band there?

Yes we were the only band from the continent. I think because we were one of the first on the mainland to play this kind of music. Other Eurobands didn't exist or were just starting up in 1985-1988, which was the period we played in the KlubFoot. And from the very first time we did very well there, so we were asked back a lot of times. In the early days psychobilly and neo-rockabilly was mainly a UK scene, we were just lucky to be a part of the earlier period.

-Any story to share from Klub Foot happenings, atmosphere etc...?

I write some thoughts on the KF when they asked us to release our live set; this is what I said:

o   First time we went over it was financially the worst show ever. We thought it would be fun to bring along an extra van with friends/fans from Holland for whom we paid all costs…….well we had a lot of laughs but it costed a shitload of money.

o   We stayed at Terry’s hotel across the street….if they ever want their ashtrays back, they can pick them up at Eric’s place in Breda

o   The snakebites in the café downstairs were legendary, the food in London always constantly godawful

o   The sound on stage was horrible back there

o   The fact that before each show about 50 people asked for requests was new to me, so I had to write the names down on my setlist or there was no way in hell that I would remember all of them

o   I don’t remember specific shows or events much but I do remember the night they shot the Klubfoot footage. It was hell on stage. I think it was about 50 ͦ C on stage so we died a few times on stage that night. That night it rained on stage, brown drops of condensed sweat….indeed barftime!

o   We did the show that was taped for the Klubfoot video with Rochee and the Sarnos. At the soundcheck their bassplayer Jamie the Phantom was no where to be found and no one could find him anywhere. So they asked Eric to fill in for him. Eric had to rehearse the full set of Rochee that afternoon and played along with their show before the Batmobile show. And ofcoursethe Phantom showed up 5 minutes before their gig…….but he wasn’t allowed on stage anymore ;-)

o   I was 19 the first time we came over and fresh from the province in Holland, so I was pretty amazed by the fact that I walked on Kings Road and people shouted ‘Batmobile’ at me and asked me for an autograph

o   The Townsend Thoresen ferry with that terrible pasta on board but great pints of bitter!

o   At the ferry docks we bought shrimp crisps that were new to us and what an awful invention of the British that was

o   A guy we knew (who shall remain nameless) posed himself as the singer of Batmobile at the time, there was some resemblance and back then not everyone knew our faces yet……he scored more girls because of this then the 3 of us together

And I remember the shows to be packed and so hot!

-You started your own label Count Orlock already 1987...why you wanted to do that and how difficult was found time for label after all those gigs on all around the world and other things on life?

The album we did on Kix4U was good for us because it jumpstarted our international work. But we never recieved our royalties for sales. So the relationship with Bert Rockhouse wasn't that great to put it mildly. So we had to do something different for our second album. Drummer Johnny and soundman Eddie took it upon them to start their own recordlabel and Bambooland was their first release. Which did so well that it allowed them to release a lot of albums after that.

"BRAND NEW BLISTERS" came out 2017 what you think bout it now ....are you happy for it. What you have done after it and during lockdown years? How hard it were for an musican as you couldnt see other people and couldnt do gigs?

I am still happy with BNB, I think it was a solid album which produced a few live favourites as well. It was the first big release I did from my home studio, so that was exciting for me personally.

Lockdown was tough. We couldn't work, so that is weird, when the government sais that you can't do your job anymore. For my other band Speedmobile it was extra tough because we just finished a new album and arranged a tour as well. We had to postpone that for 2 years. I wrote many new songs, recorded two albums with my countryband JJ's Country, with my brother Eric and a great drummer from my hometown Mark. We have reheased every week with this band for the last two years, and that's just a fabulous project as well. Also I wrote many new songs for Batmobile as well, which allowed us to make a new album too. 

-Now talking bout brand new album "Brace For Impact"..when and where you recorded it?

We recorded in my own Shitpit Studio, in the summer of 2022.

- Please open us little bit your record session ways..how you working on studio and building up your songs?

We recorded by playing the songs live, which gives the sound a very honest feel if you ask me. Ofcourse we always record dubs afterwards, but the live feel still remained. It's a great puzzle to work on songs with the 3 of us and most of the time songs turn out way better then you could have hoped for.

- During all these years how your songs writing has changed and from where you got ideas for songs?

The inspiration for songs is very different. A song comes as it comes. Sometimes you're frustrated and you write angry lyrics, sometimes you feel funny and write silly ones. I think on this album we have produced a lot of crazy rockabilly sounds, maybe more in the line of Amazons then fast psychobilly sounds. It fits our age and personal musical taste. I strongly believe the core of Batmobile lies in weird rockabilly more than anything, and you can hear that well on this album.

-Could you please pick up 3 songs from your brand new album and deeply open em to us please?

Brace for Impact is the opening song, which is written by Johnny. It celebrates the energy of a live Batmobile concert and will be the opening song on our new tour. It's a fierce song which will roll over you like a Mac Truck. We also have a few songs in the style of Bambooland/Jungle Night/Gorilla Beat. A great song written by Eric is A Marula Rockahula, which is about monkees getting drunk of the fruit of the Marula tree. It's good fun and typical Batmojunglebilly. I wrote a few good songs myself. Sick Love is quite the song which does very well live too. It's a tale about a pandemic kind of love, which is so addictive that you want to die for it. It stand for a lot that happened to me the last few years.

- Do you have any special party for celebrating your long trip from stoneage eighties to future?

Or just doing gigs and festivals..?

We have a releaseparty planned on the next Scumbash festival in Rotterdam. After that we will be touring a lot this year, playing all over the world hoping to entertain people with songs from the new album and old fan favourites.

- When I say FINLAND so what coming to mind at first?

Hahaha drinking and sauna! But also many many great shows we did and wonderful people we met.

-Question that never been asked bout you but you would like hear it and your answer for it?

Not really, you asked good ones!

-Any special story to share with us?

We're just so happy to still be around and still have people to be interested in our music. We hope we have earned your trust again with the new album!

- How we could get more newcomers and young people and fresh bands for our lovely scene?

It's hard to say. There are young people interested in this kind of music and I think it's very important to inspire them with good shows for existing bands and a welcome attitude towards them. They are the future, so we have to remind ourselves that. Personally I try to keep in touch with people as much as I can and if they have any questions about my playing or whatever, I'm always happy to talk to them, make videos or what not.

-Anything else that you would like add for this interview?

I hope people will enjoy Brace For  Impact. We made this with the love of our music and our supporters. Hope to be back in Finland very soon again!!!!