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Posted by Manuela on July 8, 2001, 7:52 pm I always hesitate when I have to write about bands which are my friends. After all, how objective can you be about people you care about? But this time, I didn't have to worry...I was just as surprised as the rest of the audience who didn't know them. I arrived before the band had soundcheck as things were running late- which gave me time to chat with Tanja a little over this fanzine and catch up on things. I noticed she was full of andrenaline and jittery, ok, she is always a bunny jumping all over the place, but tonight she was particularly nervous: she didn't know what to expect. She said they are in the transition of changing their band name-even considering changing it at every gig-which is interesting to follow up on! The sounds- You can tell the band is heavily influenced by other grrrlbands, but at the same time they were able to create an originality in the sound...hard to tell for the time being (let's see what the future has in store), but I imagine the complexity of the sounds comes from the fact the members are different from each other. But then again, the band is very much together. You can see there is a synergy between them. Later, Sanne said she didn't like her playing and Bianca was forced to play on a drumset bigger than what she's used to, but the audience didn't tell. That's the great thing about playing in front of beerpunks. The vocals- Tanja can scream! I didn't realize how much passion-anger she had inside her..you could tell that she was putting ALL OF HERSELF into the songs. She moves around a lot, claiming the floor as much as the stage, singing in people's faces, sitting on the edge of the stage, which is something that can shock and intimidate, but also teach and enlighten (if you can catch what she's saying, it all goes very very fast!). You can tell she has an acting past. She was losing her voice a little in "Diamonds are forever", their ballad, but after hearing her inside story, I imagine it was because she used up so much of her soul energy in the beginning. The lyrics-When the concert was over and we were all leaving from the OCCIII, in the tram, I asked Tanja for a copy of their lyrics. I was anxiously waiting to read them, but I waited for the next day (and sobriety...). From my understanding, the lyrics are highly political. I mean, they have a very clear standpoint about certain issues, and they are not afraid to be blunt about their opinion. Tanja has a good feel for words and some phrases have stuck to my mind, like "No rerun-No reset-No rewind" (in talking about the atrocity of war). See below for the lyrics to one of their songs.
ONE TRICK PONY-Review
Band members: Sanne-bass, Bianca-drums, Fritz-Guitar & back vocals, Tanja-main vox
Anyway, after a band checked their sound, it was their turn. Tanja immediately took control of the stage: checking positions, feedback, trying out sounds repeatedly to make them purr-fect. I thought she looked very competent and natural on stage. When she got off the stage in one song and then back up again, I thought she was just checking what it sounded like from the audience...but no, that is all part of the act!
Later, when they played, I remembered her telling me that they wanted to call themselves 'One minute wonders' at one point as their songs are almost all within 1 minute length. It became obvious after the third or fourth song that the description suited them well. But let me tell you, a lot was going on in that 1 minute!
Fritz's vocals make a nice balance to the band- when he and Tanja alternate, the effect is very powerful, it's like they're saying "we both believe in the same things and stand together for them. Gender makes no impact on our message"...most of the time, bois in grrrlbands hide in the background. With this band, they are both in yer face.
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