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Rating: Antwerp is a wonderful city. And Belgium (although for many it only recalls seafood, clouds, and French jokes) is an extraordinary country. Especially musically. That's why this tribute, this "Antwerp Special," was born. Since the early '90s, around (but also parallel to) dEUS, an incredibly creative and high-quality music scene has developed in and around Antwerp. This series of interviews is dedicated to the main characters of that scene...
Tim Vanhamel is not from Antwerp. He comes from Hasselt, like his historic band, the Evil Superstars, which he joined at the age of only 15. 10 years later the Evil Superstars disbanded, Tim played for a period in dEUS, founded his own group (Millionaire) and made a breakthrough in America with the Eagles of Death Metal alongside Josh Homme.
1) Hi Tim, first of all: where are you? What are you doing at this very moment? What are you wearing?
I’m at home, getting ready for a live reunion with my old band, the Evil Superstars, which will take place in a few days. We will be covering "Jerusalem" by Sleep, a song that lasts 60 minutes. I’m wearing nothing but a feather behind my ear.
2) Since the early '90s, the Belgian and Antwerp scenes have been very active: dEUS, Millionaire, and Soulwax are just the tip of the iceberg... What do you think about it, have you been influenced by it in any way?
I think the influenced are influenced by the influential. Honestly, I don't know, I try to steer clear of difficult subjects like this.
3) If you could put together a super band with your favorite artists of all time, who would be in it?
- Aphex Twin on drums
- Old Dirty Bastard on vocals
- Michael Jackson on backing vocals
- Frank Zappa on guitar
- Bootsy Collins on bass
- Bernie Worrell on keyboard
- percussion: everyone beating on Michael
4) How do you write your songs? Do you think of the lyrics or the music first?
Even today I haven't figured out where songs come from. In the end, they always surprise me when they arrive. Music is a cursed blessing, a spiritual thing, but a bit of good old hard work never hurt anyone.
5) Eagles of Death Metal is your first project outside Belgium’s borders: how does it feel? Is a "foreign" project somehow different from your previous musical experiences? And then... what will happen for Millionaire and Eagles of Death Metal?
I’ve just finished recording a new album with Millionaire, it's called "Paradisiac" and it will be released in March*. The album was recorded in various studios in Los Angeles. And Josh Homme took care of the production. The Eagles of Death Metal have been fun, we’ve had some great tours in America and Europe. But now I’ll focus on Millionaire for a while, and so we’ll be bringing some rock your way very soon.
* the 5 questions were asked a few months ago. Paradisiac will be released on September 19. Another release planned for September... it will be a month full of surprises, dEUS first and foremost. I'm looking forward to it!
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