SXSW Interview: St. Tropez
We caught up with self-described yacht punks, St. Tropez this week to catch up with the band before they make their way over to the US for SXSW. You hopefully know the routine by now…we give them questions, they give us answers. We also include the latest single from their Debate EP.
ATH:For a lot of bands, this is their first time coming to SXSW, Austin, or even the United States. What are you anticipating for your arrival into our town? Anything youre really hoping to do (again) while youre here?
ST:Were really looking forward to visiting Austin, heard so many great things about it, and were hoping to discover a lot of great bands.
ATH:For most SXSW sets, you get 30 minutes to leave a lasting impression. What’s your plan of attack? You have a set list mapped out yet?
ST:We love playing short sets, we pick our most energetic songs and try to burn the venue down within the short amount of time we got.
ATH:The festival caters to music fans, but food and booze are an important aspect of the fans and the bands. What’s your band’s food and beverage of choice?
ST:Mexican food, bananas and tequila.
ATH:Describe the music community where you come from – Does everyone work together? Is there lots of competition?
ST:Theres not too many garage punk bands in Holland, let alone yacht punk bands. Thats mainly because we came up with this genre ourselves, but we like that; we try to be unique and disturbing.
ATH:What are a few bands we in Austin and the States might not know about that should be on everyones musical radar?
ST:Joe Goes Hunting, Crows.
ATH:Let’s say your band has been booked an official showcase at a pop up venue somewhere in the middle of 6th street (where a lot of shows are set up). The lineup features thrash metal, hip-hop, spoken word, and you. The sound is horrible, the lineup is not your style, and the crowd seems angry at the world. How would your band deal with such a situation?
ST:This sounds like the perfect situation for us to perform in. Let’s face it: its the right time now to be angry: theres reasons enough to be. In Holland were dealing with our own version of Trump in the coming elections. We just released an Ep called Debate with 4 songs on politics, populism and fear.
ATH:What’s your favorite album to come out in the last year? What’s playing in the tour bus/van?
ST:We always fight about what to play in the van, it differs from the latest Wilco album, Dinosaur Jr. to Bach.
ATH:What are your band’s thoughts on and experiences with streaming services like Spotify, Pandora, Youtube etc? Are you sticking to services like Bandcamp to sell and distribute?
ST:We use all the streaming services available. We think its a great way to get your music out there.
ATH:Clearly coming over to the SxSW to play shows is something a lot of bands are excited about, but what are some other life or musical highlights for you this year? Wed like to get to know you.
ST:This is going to be our first time playing in the US, and were also doing some shows in NY before SXSW and some shows in LA after. In our Soundcloud stats, the US listeners are always on top, so we are really looking forward to play here. This is definitely going to be the highlight of the year.
ATH:Arent you happy we didnt ask about Trump?
ST: 😀
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