The choice of the band name always is a good criterion to determine the originality and attitude of a band. Or have you heard anything recently of Army Of Lovers? In Sixteen Horsepower's case the name is taken from an old folksong in which an old man has the coffin of his deceased wife pulled up the hill by sixteen jet-black horses. It immediately conveys what Sixteen Horsepower stands for: for tradition, for dark narrative art, for faith.

Singer and multi-instrumentalist David Eugene Edwards experienced a stringent religious upbringing and that marked him. Not that Edwards has become a religious fundamentalist, on the contrary. If you listen attentively to his patient discourse, you discover a moderate but determined man. For let one thing be clear: Edwards doesn't take one step in his life without God.

With 'Secret South', the quartet from Denver, Colorado has delivered an excellent third full length CD. If you play the album loud enough, you will even see sulphur escape from the loudspeakers. In March 16 Horsepower will call at the G(h)ent Vooruit, so an ideal moment for an openhearted conversation with David Eugene Edwards and percussionist Jean-Yves Tola.

David, in the booklet of 'Secret South' I saw that your daughter Asher also plays on the album. What is her contribution exactly?
David Eugene Edwards: "Asher played the violin part on 'Just Like Birds', a song that is about her by the way. I had wanted for a long time for her to cooperate with us in one way or another, but it never worked out. Now everything fit nicely, also because the song is about her. And Asher has now reached the age she can do this sort of thing well. She's thirteen and has a good ear for music and a good timing."

I once read that you think that people don't play enough music at home. Do you play at home together with Asher, as a social activity?
David: "No. Well, not in the way I would like to. Sometimes we do really play together, but mostly we just listen to each other's music."

Your grandfather is a Nazarene preacher, a very strict religious community. Did you ever rebel against that influence?
David: "Well, it did indeed have a big impact on my later life. The way in which you are raised will anyhow strongly determine how you will turn out, that is evident. And within the Nazarene church a number of very stringent rules were effective. But I never really rebelled against my upbringing. When I reached my teens, I seamlessly went from listening to church and country music to listening to AC/DC, Motörhead and punk rock. Yet, I don't think I was in revolt that way because I never traded in one for another. Those two totally different musical worlds had a similar effect on me. Whether I was listening to Joy Division or to an unknown musician from the Appalachian Mountains living in the middle of nowhere; I heard the same aggression, emotion and honesty with which they played."

Do you consider yourself to be a preacher like your grandfather?
David: "No. We do believe in the same things, but we express ourselves differently. I am just a musician singing about what he believes in and my grandfather preachers about his faith. His calling lies elsewhere. And you can do the same through art or literature or by being a good friend or mother. You just have to that for which you are chosen."

In your childhood you often attended funeral ceremonies that were conducted by your grandfather and once in a while your grandmother took you along to see dead bodies. Did that change your attitude towards death?
David: "In my childhood I was already familiar with matters with which most people are not confronted. In former days I saw very many physically and mentally diseased people and I also often visited sick children in hospital. There aren't many people who are brought up with such matters and therefore they can't handle them. A great many things around death can indeed be terrifying one way or the other, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of death. For me it is just a part of life and it is something everyone has to learn to deal with. A lot a people find that difficult. Because I was raised this way, I learned that you have a responsibility for people who need you. For you would want to have someone by your side when you find yourself in a similar situation, wouldn't you?

You once said that the only thing that strikes terror in you is God. Isn't that contradictory to fear He, who you trust so much?
David: "When I say that I'm afraid of God I mean that in a healthy way. It is a respectful fear. For you know to a certain extent what He is capable of. At the same time you do know that He is good and doesn't have evil intentions with you, but that respect has to be there. You must stand in awe of God. (thinks) You just must. What He is, demands that you stand in awe of Him, and what you are makes that it is like that. For you are not God, you are only a mere mortal."

An ordinary mortal who is less than God?
David: (emphatic) "Yes."

Are you also afraid that if you commit a sin or do things for the wrong reasons, you could lose your place in heaven?
David: "According to me there only is one way to do things for the right reason and that is for God. But I don't think my sins will cost me my spot in heaven. For I don't pull the strings myself, I belong to God. And God will help me to make the right decisions. That doesn't mean I always make the right decisions, for I am tempted by the same things as everybody and nine times out of ten I will choose the wrong thing, the selfish thing. But God will always make me see that sooner or later. (silence)
What I want to say is that it makes no difference whether I do everything right or not, that will not necessarily get me into heaven. That is why I believe in Christ, who died on the cross for my sins, for what I am. I can't change myself, only God can and he will only do that if I believe in him. When I appear before the Lord, He will not see me, but His son who is perfect and who has taken my place. The price for sin is death and Christ was the sacrifice. That toll has to be paid. If I should be imprisoned for a crime and Jean-Yves would say let me go in his place and the law-court agrees, then that is the same thing. Because someone had to pay the toll."
Jean-Yves Tola: (surprised) "I'm not going to jail for you. (laughs).

I have been told that you find new age plainly noxious. Can you explain why?
David: "In my eyes new age is just a deception, a dangerous one moreover. Because those involved come across as warm, friendly and good people. And because of that goodness and that outward appearance they can easily entice a great number of people. Another point at issue is the fact that these people are evil according to me and should be saved but they don't believe that. They don't believe that man is evil or that he sins, at least not in the way I believe in sin. In new age it is accepted that there are no constants. My God is my God and your God is your God, they say. To them that doesn't even matter, but I don't agree with that."
Jean-Yves: It is a complete lie as well, because you only have to watch the news for 30 seconds to see that it does matter. For me new age is just a good example of superficiality. People are given to think they can just say: Hello, how are you doing? Good? Okay, see you. And that they are friends this way. It just doesn't mean anything. You may have shallow moments in your life but it doesn't suffice, people must dare to dig deeper. That is of course disturbing and that is why it is so easy to sell such a shallow vision. It is like a glove, the hand in it can be bloody or can be of gold. I am certain that a lot of innocent people with good intentions are dragged along, but behind it are, above all things, a number of people who are laughing out loud now."
David: "... all the way to the bank. The same people who are apparently so good and who want to make the world a better place and have eye for the environment, they turned it into a giant industry like has happened with so many other things."

Do you believe in the apocalypse?
David: (determined) "Yes, I believe that Christ will come down to earth and those who believe in Him will accompany Him and those who have not chosen Him will get what they wanted. You can already see that the Apocalypse has started. The world is in a pernicious state, worse than ever, and it becomes worse by the day. But I don't speculate about when that day will come, I don't find that important. I just know I have to serve God."

But the Apocalypse is inevitable?
David: "Certainly. I believe every letter that's in the Bible."