The setting:'3FM Tent' in Landgraaf.
Jaap Boots: interviewer
J-Y Tola: percussionist of 16 Horsepower

Welcome, Jean-Yves. Welcome to the show.
Hello, good evening.

We were just talking how the show was for you. How was it for the drummer of 16 Horsepower?
Was really good. It felt really good. A lot of work. On these big stages, a lot of room for the sound to go everywhere but where you want it to stay, so you really have to concentrate and focus. So you can't really let go as much as you could in a club. But, at the same time, you know, it's beautiful: Outside, sunset, lots of people, ... so you know, it's wonderful.

Do you prefer clubs over festivals? Would you rather play in a club with your kind of music?
It's really not as much as I prefer, it's just such a different world. You know, it's almost like playing live or recording an album on this level, you know. Playing in a club, there's a lot of positive things to it but there's also problems with clubs and visa versa. So, it's really a matter of trying to just focus on what you're doing. And playing outside is really nice as well.

You were just saying before we spoke on the radio, we were talking about the gig, and you said there are a lot of distractions. What kind of things distract you on stage on a festival?
Well, it's just ... everything, you know. There's so many people, that's a distraction to start with ... and flags waving around...

(laughing)... with band names that you don't know, like the Urban Dance Squad. I saw someone waving with an Urban Dance Squad flag all the time.
Yeah, and the camera's going around and everything. And it's easy to get lost, you know.

16 Horsepower uses a specific brand of instruments, you know: you have the up-right bass, you have Dave Eugene Edwards with the bandoneon, the banjo and the guitar. I wondered, is it for the drummer of 16 Horsepower... do you also use the drumkit in a different way than you would in a "normal" rock band?
Probably, I probably do. Most of my life I've played drums with bands in the same genre, in the same veins. I'm not really interested in just going boom-tjak-boom-tjak. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's needed, even in 16 Horsepower. I don't mind that, but I like to think of drums as full instruments where you can actually play music with it, and with the musicians. So I don't think I could play with just a straight rock&roll band, I would get bored real fast, you know. I like the challenge of playing with accordions and violins and slide guitar ... you have to think more ... you have to really scratch your head and come up with something interesting, I think.

When you composed together with David, is it like he comes in with a finished song and says: Okay, you drum along like this? Or do you sometimes come with a rhythm and say: Isn't this a good rhythm to play with?
It doesn't even start that way. We both come up with music. I come up with some music as well.

Really?
I play the piano and I even have other ideas: bass, whatever ... and some drums. And David can come up with some beats as well. We just collaborate musically all the way. You know, all the way to the way the vocals are placed on the song. You know what I mean?
No problem-exchange between us as far as the composition goes and the arrangements. You know, if somebody has some really strong idea, usually it's gonna come forward. But at the same time criticism may come. We just let each other really breathe and we're very critical of each other as well, but without any problems. It's really agreeable and very fulfilling to work with David.

Would it be an offense if you said that David is the captain of the ship, or do you think you're all four captains?
No, I mean, David is the lead singer, the singer. He's definitely the leader of the band. He's the strongest image. He's up there, up front. And there's no doubt about that. Behind the scene, it's different a little bit, where we communicate more and there's not such a dictatorship. (laughing) If you know what I mean? It's really more him and I, that kind of orchestrate the whole thing.

One of the things that happens because David is the face almost of 16 Horsepower, ... is that, we know a lot now after four albums. We know a lot about David's beliefs, and about the way he writes lyrics. The way he wants to bring his views on life and death and what have you ... across. We know very little about the other bandmembers. I wanted to know, what are your beliefs? Are you a Christian yourself?
I'm not, actually ... and euh ...

Are you a religious person?
I wouldn't call my ... even though people say I am religious, I don't call myself religious. I do have a very strong spiritual life and I do believe in a lot of things that David does believe in. But I don't feel comfortable with the church, I don't feel comfortable with the Bible as much as he does, you know. I think there's a lot of other religions that are as interesting and as powerful as a message, you know. I don't care what church you go to. I don't care what clothes you wear. What counts for me, is at the end of the day, what you do is what counts. You can say you're this or that. I don't care what you say. Let me see what you do. And that's kind of my spiritual way of looking at things.

Do any of the bandmembers ever argue with David about his beliefs and the thing that he puts in his lyrics?
No, not at all. We just respect each other. I know David's lyrics are very ... you know, the way they are ... I don't need to explain it. But it's also his lyrics. It's something he puts a lot of himself into: his whole soul and his whole life is in his lyrics. It's kind of purgatory in a way, where outside of the band he's more of a regular person. If you didn't know, you wouldn't know. You know what I'm saying? So ... no, we just respect each other's views. I mean, we agree on a lot of things as far as human peace, human rights ... all that stuff. It's something that we do all agree. It's a big common ground. After that it's his thing, I have my thing, Pascal has his own ways, Steve has his own ways and we just let each other breathe, you know. We hope that people can do that around too.

Your music sounds alive and breathing, so that's a good thing that comes from this point of view, I guess. What would you do if you weren't the drummer in 16 Horsepower? And don't say: I would be the drummer in another band.
No, no, I actually do other things, I raise horses in central California and that's probably what I would do. That's probably what I end up doing when I'm too old to beat the drums.

When will you quit 16 Horsepower, when will you stop? When you think?
I have no idea.

Could it be 10 years?
It could. It could be 10, it could be 20. Could be a year, ... I can't tell. I don't look at it that way. I just do it now, I feel good about it. We all feel very good about it. We just have more to say, and until that goes, we won't stop. The day we kind of like: "Hey, maybe we've got around the block and let's do something else", then we'll maybe move on.

Let's hope that moment is not too soon. Thanks very much for being here, Jean Yves Tola from 16 Horsepower.

Transcript by Ing!