What sort of arts did you work on during
your formative period?
I mostly did line drawings and coloured those in photoshop
sometimes. At least, that’s what I did during my short visit to college. There
was a lot of experimentation with photoshop back there. The professors weren’t
that much into traditional techniques and media. I haven’t made an awful lot of
drawings that way.
I have always been
drawing kind of “grim” stuff though. Especially skulls have always intrigued
me, for some reason, ever since I was a kid.
When and how did
you begin doing artworks for bands? Do you still remember the very first art
that you have published?
I used to play in some bands and we played a lot of shows
all over Belgium, so I met a lot of other people in bands. I did the artwork
for our demo’s and shirts and that’s how word got out, so to speak. Soon I was
doing covers and shirts for other local bands and zines. The whole myspace
thing helped too. It was a good way to get your stuff “out there” in a more
global sense. Things only grew from there. I honestly can’t recall the first artwork that
got published, besides the stuff I did for my band back then.
Your style is
primarily stippling technique. What made you fall in love with this style?
Aside from it do you do some other style too?
I have always loved the effect of the stippling technique. The
first Pushead design I saw as a little kid always stuck with me. It was a
Metallica poster they were selling at a local store. I had no idea who
Metallica was, and I don’t really care for them now, but I remember saving up for
weeks and weeks to buy that poster.
I don’t really do other styles. Only tattoo designs are done
solely with pencil. Other than that I just combine some techniques, for example
my coloured pieces are done with watercolour and pens. I’d love to try and do
some oil painting, but I haven’t had the time yet.
What sort of
medium do you normally work on?
I work on regular
drawing paper. Nothing special in any way. I bought this drawing block once that
was supposed to be specifically for pen/ink, but that was the worst paper I
ever had to work on. The only thing I have worked on which wasn’t paper, was an
old skateboard of mine.
At which point do you go digital?
When the inking is
done. I try to keep the digital stuff to a minimum. It’s handy to save time
colouring backgrounds, contouring or adding splatter. Sometimes I ink the
backgrounds and do the contours directly on paper. It depends on what I think
is best at the moment. I mostly just use photoshop to add band logo’s to the
designs and to adjust the colours, for example to make sure the black is 100%
black. Usually, I don’t put more than 20 minutes in the digital part, unless
it’s for record layouts.
How do you go
about when doing arts for bands? Do you always ask for idea from the band?
I automatically ask if the band has an idea I should work
with. It’s their design, so I think it’s only natural they have the first say. Usually
I have enough freedom to come up with my own ideas and details. Most ‘clients’
know what they’re in for when they ask me to make them something.
Since most of the
bands you’re working with are independent, I’m sure you’re not getting enough
in terms of financial benefits.
Not at all. But I absolutely love what I do. It’s my
greatest passion, so it’s all good. There’s is no feeling like finishing a
drawing you’ve spend countless hours working on. Personally, it gives me a
great deal of satisfaction, especially when it makes the people you made it for
happy. If I had to give up drawing I’d delete myself. It’s one of the few
things keeping me moderately sane, haha.
Majority of the
bands you’ve been working with are in the grind, powerviolence, d-beat and the
likes. Any bands that you would like to work with in the future that’s outside
this realm?
Ha, that’s a good question. Definitely The Darkness. Andrew
W.K. too. I practically don’t listen to anything besides grind, crust, fastcore
and some death metal.
Who are the other
artists that inspire you?
As I mentioned earlier, Pushead, but M.C. Escher and
Salvador Dali had an impact on me when I was in my teens, as did a lot of manga/anime
artists. Right now inspiring may not be a completely accurate description, but
other artists which I think are really great and definitely worth checking out
are Daniel Shaw, Santos, Alisha Chainsawguts, Shunsuke, Stiv and Arif.
What about bands,
who are your favorite and found to be truly inspiring?
That’s kind of a hard question. I like lots of bands and I’m
sure they influence me one way or another. In my teens I was really into
old-school hardcore like D.R.I., Toxic Reasons, Black Flag, 7 seconds, Reagan Youth,
BGK, Minor Threat,... Bands whose records I still play regularly right now are:
Ictus, Cop on Fire, Kill the Client, Toxic Narcotic, Passiv Dödshjälp, Tragedy,
World Burns to Death, Noisear, Swallowing Shit, Entrails Massacre, Livstid,
Fuck the Facts, Pig Destroyer, Running for Cover, Insect Warfare, Bloody
Phoenix, Rehashed, Nice View, Real Reggae, Look Back and Laugh and Melt Banana.
There’s a
distinct combination of beauty and sickness in some of your pieces. What
message are you trying to point out in those themes?
It’s a metaphor for the duality of life/people/reality. There’s
a beautiful and an ugly side to almost everything and everyone. Not a single
person in their right mind can get passed the fact that horrible and
unspeakable things take place on this planet every single day. I don’t think I
need to give examples. Just pick up a newspaper or watch the news. On the other
hand you shouldn’t ignore all the positive things around you either, though I
know sometimes that’s easier said than done.
Do you have a
certain inspiration in female arts? It’s noticeable that they all have the full
lips.
Haha, I thought you were going to say big breasts... I’ve
had people say that to me before. This is the first time someone says “full
lips”. The thing is, I just like drawing women. For me it’s a little more
challenging and interesting to get right
than something like skulls and it’s a nice change every now and then. None of
the women I’ve drawn portray what might be considered an ideal look or what I
think any woman should look like. I want them to be well drawn first and
foremost. Of course I have my preferences when it comes to the opposite sex and
without a doubt some of that reflects in my drawings. However, I don’t go “hey,
let’s draw some big ol’ titties and ass now.” Women are beautiful to me. Only
their mind can make them ugly.
Tell us about
your love of guns, bullets and other weapons. They are almost always a part of
your arts.
They are the tools that bring death and destruction. Used to
enforce and maintain control or to change and overthrow, for better or worse.
They can symbolise resistance and rebellion. Personally, I truly don’t believe
a revolution can come to pass without the use of some form of weapons.
Whether or not that’s a good thing is
debatable. Therefore weapons are an extension of our nature and what humans are
capable of doing to each other. And that can be with or, as it more often
seems, without the best of intentions.
How much of your
time do you spend on a particular artwork? What’s the typical working
environment do you prefer when working?
It depends mainly on the size of the piece. Usually it takes
from around 20 up to 60 hours. The only preference I have when working is to be
left alone, but that’s not a necessity. Pretty much anywhere will do. I can
just as easily work in crowded spaces. As long as people don’t act too
annoying, because I might get the urge to stab them in the eye with one of my
pens, haha.
Tell us about the
art book you have recently published.
An art book to me is like a record to a band/recording
artist. I had one a bunch of years ago, which was more like a zine, being
printed in black and white on photocopy
paper at a local store. So all these years and whole bunch of designs later I
figured it was time to do another one, but I wanted it to be/look a little more
professional. Zines are great and all, but I wanted to have some coloured
images and a thicker cover too. Looked around for a while and found a great
printing company online. The result is a full colour, 40 paged, A4 sized
paperback.
We started out as a three-piece somewhere back in 2007. Back then it was
just me, Owen and a guy called Gert. We were (and still are) heavily influenced
by bands like Cop on Fire, Ekkaia,
Ictus, End of All, Ambulance and wanted to try something like it, but with more
blastbeats. We just wrote some songs, not really planning on ever playing live.
Gert was supposed to play bass and do the vocals. That didn’t work out like we intended
and we wanted to have two guitars to do some melodic stuff, so Gert traded the
bass for the guitar and we asked Olke to come and sing. We couldn’t find a
bassplayer and played our first couple shows without one.
Gert also played in a
German metal band called Deadlock. He used to travel between Leipzig and here
all the time, but he became more and more involved with life in Germany, so it
didn’t take long before he just didn’t have time for Days of Desolation
anymore. He lives in Berlin now. In 2009 Strouven joined on bass. He’s not in
the band anymore. That’s about all there is to tell about him.
Then another
couple years later Frank ‘the tank’ Rogiers joined on bass. Sometimes we do
play shows as a 2 piece or 3 piece when Olke, Frank or both have other
priorities.
How do you define
DOD’s music?
To me it’s all just hardcore, nothing more and nothing less.
I’ve seen a lot of descriptions like grind, crust, metallic-crust, grinding
crust, stenchcore, ... So a combination of all the aforementioned would be a
pretty good description, I guess. I can’t say I really care. If people enjoy it, that’s really great. If
they don’t then that’s great too.
DOD's lyrics are
very political and to the point, it fits right to the harshness of your music
but the question is do you think the listener cares about the lyrics at all?
Honestly, it’s really not my concern if anyone cares for the
lyrics or not. It’s how we (or at least the people who wrote them) view certain
things a certain way. No one’s forced to care or agree. We’re not out to please
anyone or spread a message. If we were out to do that we’d be better off making
pop music. We play for us and because we have fun with it, not for anyone or
anything else. The day I stop liking the music we play, is the day I’ll quit.
That said, I do not care at all for anything racist, homophobic or
misogynistic.
DOD’s drummer,
Owen is also an accomplished graphic artist. Does having two graphic artist in
a band affect your stature in any way?
I wouldn’t call either of us accomplished artists, but
thanks! To answer your question, no, it doesn’t have an effect on me at all. I
treat my own band like any other band I do artwork for, so we discuss
everything properly beforehand. It happens that we don’t agree on things, but
then compromises are usually easily made. Owen and I get along pretty well in
general.
The album was
recorded at the span of over one year. What took it so long to be done?
One of the reasons is that we re-recorded the whole thing, because we
bought better recording equipment. The other thing is that this band is just not
a priority for any of us. Everyone was/is busy with getting/keeping their lives
together. I’m drawing all the time and busy with other projects as well, with
Owen it’s pretty much the same thing and now he’s studying again too and our
singer has his wife, kids, work, ... Frank
is actually doing a winter stop right now, because he has too much stuff going
on. Something always comes up when stuff needs to get done, though I’m sure
that’s part laziness too sometimes. But that’s just the way it is with us and
I’m sure we’re not the only ones. Of all the bands I’m in this is the one I
invest the most in though. It’s also the only band we actually play shows with
every now and then.
The album is
available in both CD and free download. What’s the deal with that?
We have the cd for when we play shows or people who want a
physical copy. There’s not much more to it. It’s just a hobby, so why wouldn’t
we offer it for free. A lot of people around the world can’t afford to buy
records, so in case they have an internet connection or know somebody who has they
can get it for free.
You’re also
gearing up for a split EP with Controlled Existence (CZ). Are the songs for
this EP all new? How would you compare the new songs to your older materials?
Yes, we are quite excited about that split. It should be out
in March on Power-It-Up records from Germany. All the songs on there will be
new. I’d say it’s more of the same. A little bit more straightforward perhaps.
It’s kind of hard for me to tell, because I write most of the songs and I don’t
think about it that much. It’s like drawing. When I look at a drawing from
years back I can tell how much I’ve progressed and how recent work is
different. It’s kind of like that with the music too, so I’ll be able to
properly answer the comparison question in a few years, haha.
You and DOD
drummer also have a band called China Syndrome. What makes this band different
from DOD?
China Syndrome is faster, a lot more gindy, straightforward and
less “technical” than DOD. Owen does drums and I play the guitar like in DOD,
but we both do the vocals. The vocal style is different from DOD with less high
screams and more low “grunts” if you will.
What other
bands/projects are you involved in? What can we expect from you and your
projects in the near future?
Owen, myself and Frank also play in a band called
ShakenBaby with me on drums, Owen on the guitar/vocals and Frank on bass. We just put
our songs from the split with Mental Waste on our bandcamp. You can download
that stuff for free. As far as shows go, I have no idea. Shaken Baby hasn’t played
one in a while and I don’t see us playing one soon. Same goes for China
Syndrome. There are plans for a tour with DOD, but nothing’s set in stone yet.
We’ll see how everybody’s schedules work out. I’m working on another grind
project too right now. A bunch of songs are ready. They just need to be
recorded. It’ll end up as a free download on bandcamp for sure though.
Artwork is taking up most of my time nowadays. I’ll be
working on some very cool projects this year I can’t say much about it right
now. Keep checking out my facebook page if you want to be up to date.