On Saturday, January 6, De Kast and Venice will perform the Mega Intiem Concert at the Gelredome in Arnhem.  Syb can be heard on then new promo-single "If I Were You," recorded live on Jan Douwe Kroeske's TV show.  Now, just before the Gelredome concert, Syb and Michael Lennon met for a double interview.  During the conversation, they found out that they had a lot more in common than they thought...

Michael:  During our last Dutch tour in October, we heard that we were about to sing in Jan Douwe Kroeske's new TV show with a certain Syb from the famous Dutch band, De Kast.  We didn't know the band and we'd never heard any songs from them.  Therefore, we were pretty nervous, until we met Syb.  But we got along just fine.  We were impressed by his powerful voice, and he's also a handsome guy...

Syb:  I heard you for the first time on the radio, about three years back.  A track from your first album, Born And Raised.  I really liked it.  After The Eagles, I've never heard such beautiful vocals.  I immediatly ordered the CD, and from then on, I became a fan.  After you were in Twee Meter Sessies, I dropped your name here and there, telling everyone that I was a big fan.  After that, the record company called Jan Douwe Kroeske to see if we could do something together.  So then came the performance on "Leven In De Brouwerij."  It was a great day.  I got goosebumps when I heard you guys sing.  That I could do a part in "If I Were You" was great.

Michael:  We enjoyed it too.  I haven't met the rest of your band yet, but if they're as cool as you, then it's great...  We like your music, and there are certain similarities.  That could be a cool fight if we perform together, haha!

Michael:  Do we fight a lot, you mean?  Well, not much. We come from big families, and from a very young age, we learned to get along in a fun way.  Mark and I are from a family with thirteen kids.  Kipp and Pat were with eleven people.  It's probably easier, being in a group with your family.  We have the same ideas about what's good for the band and what isn't.  Of course, we have our difficult moments, but in the end we always make up and laugh about it.  We always make the best of it.

Syb:  Peter, our guitar player, is my cousin, and in our first years, his brother Sake was in the band as a rhythm guitarist.  The sound of brother's voices is always very beautiful.  When you guys do harmonies, it's difficult to hear who's who.  We have that too!  Sytse and Nico are sounding more and more like me.  It's more one block of voices.

Michael:  The Beatles!

Syb:  Logical, when your name is Lennon...

Michael:  Yes, but we're not related.  After The Beatles, there's never been a band that was so consistent.  Almost every song on every album is good.  Not many bands can say that.  Of course we also like The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, The Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Sly & The Family Stone, CSNY, Stevie Wonder, Jackson Browne and so on.  But The Beatles are my number one.  Oops, almost forgot De Kast there...

Michael:  David is one of the nicest people I've ever met.  He likes our voices and told a lot of people about us.  He's also one of the funniest people I know.  Nothing is better than getting a compliment from someone who's been in two of the world's best vocal groups.  It's a great honour.  At first it was a little scary, to meet a legend like that, because you don't know what to expect.  But, like I said before, I've never met an artist that wasn't nice.

Syb:  That's funny...  Like, you describe David Crosby, that's exactly the image I have of him.  His last album, with his son, is also very good.  It's good to hear that he still makes beautiful music.

Michael:  Not a perticular one.  Sometimes I forget about a song, and when I hear it later, I think:  'Wow... I will never write a song like that...'  But I keep on trying.

Syb:  It's difficult to name a favorite song.  I have about twenty.  It also has to do with your mood and the time.  Right now, I really like "Beautiful Day" by U2, with the electronics and the rock 'n' roll that's in it.  I also keep on trying to write my best song.  It's always a big challenge to write something that has value.

Michael:  It takes forever to travel across America.  When you're lucky, you play once a year in a certain town.  That doesn't have a lot of impact.  The fun thing about Holland is that it's so small and compact.  It's a lot easier to make fans here, because you're twice or three times in a town.

Syb:  That's right.  America is so big.  You guys need a year to promote one song.  We can visit all radio stations in one day.  The chances to break through in America are a lot smaller than over here.  The bad thing about The Netherlands is that you immediately get a certain label.  When you're not good in the market for a minute, you don't have a chance.  That's different with you, because there's lots of radio stations over there.
 
Syb:  Funny that we have alot of musical heroes in common.  That's because we're almost the same age.  We also have a few Dutch heroes, like Kayak.  But The Eagles, Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell...  They were also our inspiration.  The big difference between you and us is that you've worked with a few of these people, and we haven't.  We do it our way, in the Dutch scene, but you guys did it with top acts like Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley and Stevie Nicks.

Michael:  We did have the privilege to work with people like Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne, CSN, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Don Henley.  It's unbelievable to work with icons like that.  We kept pinching each other to make sure we weren't dreaming.  And all those stars were nice.  We even talked for forty five minutes with Bruce Springsteen, after we'd finished his project.  He gave us a lot of tips and advice about the way of life in a band.  He taught us to always keep believing in ourselves. Just in those moments when you think it's pointless, that's what you do.

Syb:  We work with Dutch stars.  That's very inspiring.  You can learn a lot from eacho ther.  It's important to get off your own little island every now and then to work with other people, and motivate and inspire each other to create beautiful things.

Michael:  They're the best!  They sing more and better than the Americans.  They appreciate our music and the things we sing about.  We have a lot of great fans in the USA, but we really locked the Dutch fans in our hearts.  It was our first adventure outside the USA.  The people were so great to us.  We'll never forget that.

Syb:  I'm always suprised by our fans.  When we play at night, the first fans are already in front of the doors at 6:45AM!  They do that to get a good spot.  And because of the atmosphere.  I guess it's a really cool club.

Michael:  We've never been to The Gelredome.  We're looking forward to it, and it's really exciting.  I think that night will be part of the Venice history.  It's a big step for us.  We owe you, Syb, De Kast and your organization a big thank-you.  We're very happy that you've invited us for that cool show.

Syb:  It'll be a historic moment for us, too.  It's gonna be one big theatre, and we've only performed twice for a seated audience.  This will be the third time, and it will be in front of 15,000 people.  It's gonna be very exciting, also, because we'll be playing songs from our new CD only for the second time then.  We like challenges!  I'm really looking forward to it.  And hey, the nerves will be gone after one song, and everything will turn out fine.

Michael:  De Kast, Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney and all our idols from our childhood.

Syb:  What we're going to do now with you guys, is wonderful.  I'd also like to do something with Don Henley.  That would be the coolest.  I've always tried to imitate him, and that's why I can sing so high now...