Train conductor Marius and process-manager Vic Suiker from Venlo share one big passion: Music from the American band Venice.  Together they travel far to see this band.  Here's the story of two "colleagues / brothers" who quit their own band "Frontline" at the beginning of this year.

Marius always was a big fan of The Eagles.  In the autumn of 1998, he went to his local CD store to ask if The Eagles were bringing out a new CD in the near future.  "This wasn't going to happen," he tells us.  "When they saw that I was a bit disappointed, they asked if I'd ever heard of Venice.  The owner of the store told me that their music matched perfectly with the music of The Eagles.  I immediately started listening to this CD, called Born and Raised.  Their music was so great that I bought the CD without hesitation.  I knew that my brother Vic has the same taste in music, so I asked him to listen to this CD too."  Vic: "Yes, I thought it was great too."  Marius and Vic tell us that Venice got famous in the Netherlands after Jan Douwe Kroeske did two television programs ("2 Meter Sessies") with the guys.

Internet:
From this moment on they wanted to know everything about Venice.  On the Internet, they found a great site (www.venicecentral.com) where one can find a lot of information about this band.  "Through this site, people can join a mailing list," Marius tells us enthusiastically.  "Once you're a member of this list, you'll receive all emails fans post about the band, and you can join the discussion.  Through this list, we came in contact with a lot of American and Dutch fans.  Two members of Venice are also members on this list, and that's how I got in touch with the guys."

Venice in the Netherlands:
In October 1999, Venice visited our country for a few concerts.  Marius was able to be at the soundcheck of one of these concerts (at Doornroosje, Nijmegen), and had the opportunity to talk with the band members.  "To my big surprise, they even let me sing a song with them.  They knew (from the emails I sent), that this was a big wish for me.  After that, I was invited to join them the next day.  They had a few interviews and a live-session for Radio 2."

Far Trip:
Last year in December, Vic, Marius and their wives went to Los Angeles for a week.  Venice invited them to be at their Christmas concerts.  Vic: "Here, we met some American fans that we already knew from the Internet.  The day after the concerts, Venice organized a breakfast for some fans, and we were invited too.  During this breakfast, we were asked if we'd like to do merchandise for the band during their Dutch tours.  You know, selling T-shirts, CD's, posters and more."

Real Friends:
"Of course we accepted this offer.  So far, we've already done three tours with them and travelled the whole country with Venice.  At Pinkpop and the Enschede benefit concert, we were backstage.  It was awesome!  You could say that we consider them real friends by now.  They even mentioned our names in the credits of their last CD, 2 Meter Sessies.

Fan Meeting:
Marius: "I found out that the Dutch fans also would like their own mailing list.  Last June, I started one, and we already have about 175 members.  During this last tour, Vic and I and some other people organised a fan meeting in Hardenberg.  Venice did an acoustic set with songs they normally don't play at concerts.  I can tell you that this meeting was a great success.  This month, we'll be going back to Los Angeles to see their Christmas concerts again."

Last January Vic and Marius' band "Frontline" broke up.  Now they (and two other friends) only play (guess what?) Venice music.