MIST
Interview with Rick Treffers
Fronted by Rick Treffers and formerly known as Miss Universe, Amsterdam's Mist take a new turn on their latest - and best - album to date, " We should have been stars". Blue is the main colour here, not only on the nice cover artwork, but also in Rick Treffer's recent material, swathed in mist - as emphasizes the new name of the band - and melancholy. On their way to Paris, Rick and Mist drummer Jaimy Quite kindly stopped in Reims to meet the Rockomondo man, delight his faithful listeners with an acoustic session. and answer our questions.
ROCKOMONDO: Rick, for some time, I've been wondering who was really coming to see us tonight. Because when we first talked of your coming in the show, you were the leader of a band called Miss Universe. Then, with the very same musicians, you became the singer of Miss Superman. And finally you're here tonight as the frontman of Mist. So, what's the reason of those name changes ? Are you starting some kind of a collection like Will Oldham ?
RICK TREFFERS: You could see it like that. But actually, it was not the meaning of those name changes. The fact is that we became too famous, I think, in America, because in the summer of 2001, we received a letter from the lawyers of the Miss Universe elections in the United States, saying that we should change our name within ten days. It was a threat, and we would have to pay if we wouldn't like to change our name. So we thought about it for one year, we had some chat and some correspondence with the organization there, but in the end we decided it was wiser to change our name as we didn't want to lose any money.
RM: Then you became Miss Superman, but only for a short while. You changed of name again soon after. Why ?
RT: In fact, when we said we'd like to call the band Miss Superman, a lot of people told us it sounded like if we were a gay band or a travesty band. We were making quiet songs at that moment, and in the end I thought it wouldn't really suit us, so that's why we changed our name again. We have existed as Miss Superman only for two months, just the same band. In the end, five days before sending our material to the record-company, I decided that Miss Superman was not an apppopriate name. So we had only five days to invent a new name, and a good one. Within that time, we found Mist, and we are quite happy with it.
RM: You're just back from Spain where your new album " We should have been stars" has just been released. What have you done there ?
RT: I was in Spain last week to promote the album. I did a lot of interviews with the Spanish press, a lot of radios and magazines. There was no less than 35 interviews in three days, and that was organized by our record-company Astro in Madrid. The CD is received very well, and I think that we're gonna do a big tour there in the end of april 2003.
RM: It's something quite special, that close relationship that you have with Spain. In the band's prehistoric days, when you were called Girlfriend Misery ( another name !), your debut album was already released on a Spanish label. So, why and how did it start, that kind of love story between you and Spain ?
RT: The main reason is that I just love Spain. I felt in love with Spain when I lived there in 1990 for one year. When I got back to Holland, my one and only desire was to go back to Spain, so a good way for me was to go there with my music and see if my records could be released. Another important thing is that I really like Spanish people, and especially the Spanish audience. They're really enthusiastic and they have a lot of respect for music. So I felt really at home, because in concerts they always listen very well, they're very attentive.
RM: This is amazing because at first sight Spain and The Netherlands are such different countries. Maybe it's a bit cliché, but The Netherlands are a northern country, protestant, with people living indoors, and so on... while Spain is just the opposite in fact, so how do you explain that it clicks so well between you and them ?
RT: One of the reasons our music is received so well in Spain, I think, is that it's quite melancholic. When we play in Holland, people say : " Why do you have to play such a sad music ?". But in Spain, they're very happy when they hear melancholic and sad music, because they think it's beautiful, and deep, and very warm. While in The Netherlands, they have a problem in showing their emotions. They're afraid to show themselves vulnerable. So it's easy for me to communicate with the audience in Spain. In Holland, it's a hard work.
RM: We've just listened to a song from your previous album " Club Tabu" released in 1998. What is your feeling on this album now, five years after its release ?
RT: I still think it's a coherent album. The band's line-up has changed since then: we've got a new drummer with Jaimy who is here with us tonight and does quite a good job. It sounds like very long ago and very young. We're still young, of course, but we were even younger at that time. I'm still happy with it. I think it's a good record.
RM: At the time of " Club Tabu", Miss Universe was often compared in the music-press to bands like REM or Radiohead. In my opinion, these comparisons are not totally relevant, but I guess I can understand what the reviewers wished to say. I suppose they wanted to point out the fact that your music is both melodic and with a strong emotional content. Is that rough description something you can agree with ?
RT: It's very difficult to compare, but I think these groups are very true to their ideals. Like you said, there's a lot of melody, and a lot of emotion and drama in it. The lyrics also are important. So, I think that in a way, you could say we're influenced by them, but we're influenced also by a thousand more groups. REM is a band that we listened a lot in the past, especially records like " Fables of reconstruction" or " Green". They're truly great albums. It's OK. If they want to book us as opening act next time they play in France, we won't say no.
RM: In spite that your recent material is more restrained and introspective than ever, it still keeps a very important melodic side. Could you do, for instance, what Radiohead experimented - with some success - on their latest albums, and drop the melodic aspect to focus only on the emotional side of your music ?
RT: For me, the melodic aspect is very much a part of the emotional aspect, so it's very difficult to see them loose one from each other. On another hand, the atmosphere, the ambiance is also very important. On our last album, it's maybe 50/50 with the melodies. You can have ten or fifteen beautiful melodic songs, then you have to think how you want to make them sound. That's where we have grown a lot, I think. We have thought and experimented a lot with that. In that regard, Radiohead's last two albums, especially " Kid A" have been important for us. They don't think anymore in terms of " songs", they have the guts to let the tunes out, but it's still melodic though. The melodies are not there anymore, but you can still hear them. That's brilliant and beautiful, and it's something we're also experimenting with.
RM: As a lyricist, do you consider yourself more like someone who writes from a personal point of view, or more like a storyteller, a short-story writer ?
RT: I'm not a storyteller. Almost all of my songs are autobiographical, written from a personal point of view. It is always a combination of experiences, things that happened to me in the past. Actually I was discussing about this with Jaimy this afternoon, about people like Bob Dylan who invent stories, say what they have to say through characters. That's not my strength. I sing about what my life is. It's the best choice for me.
RM: Your songs often talk of aborted relationships, how it is difficult for people to live together. With regards to what you've just said, I'm a bit worried about you, Rick. Is everything OK in your life ?
RT: Well, some things happened in my life, and in a way, yes, it's a struggle. But it's also a beautiful life because you always discover new things, both in yourself and in other people. That's what the song " We should have been stars" is about. We are all looking for some kind of perfectionism, ideal situations, desires, and I want to reach those. But when you really try to reach those, you can fall very hard and deep. That's the other side of the medal.
RM: There's a five years gap between " Club Tabu" and your new album. What is the reason why it took so much time in the making ?
RT: We have done a few things. We have recorded a single and a E.P. in the meantime. Actually, in 2001, we already thought that we had the new album ready. But it was more a combination between intimate stuff like what we do now, and songs more in the style of " Club Tabu". The new songs I was writing at that moment, like " We should have been stars" or " In love with love" were really different, so we thought: " We have choose one or the other style, a way to go". I was very creative at that time, because of another relationship gone by. So I wrote a lot of new songs and we finally decided to opt for the intimate side. Another reason was because we were listening the music of bands like Sparklehorse and Spain...
RM: Is that also the reason why you dropped the idea of choosing Ken Stringfellow ( Posies) as producer ?
RT: It is true that he had offered us his collaboration. But when we recorded the album, he was very busy touring with REM, and didn't have a lot of time. Also, we had grown a lot in recording and producing our own records. We thought our music was sounding quite well. Our idea was very clear about how we wanted it to sound, and we had the equipment to do the job. So, we thought " OK, let's try to do it by ourselves".
RM: Maybe your change of name was fully justified, in the end, because not only the name changed, but also the music...
RT: You're right. The new name is far more appropriate to the music we do now. It was Bloem de Ligny, the Dutch chanteuse who sings with us sometimes - she's also singing on our new album - who convinced me to change of name. She told me : " It's a great record, but you really have to change the band's name. This one is horrible". So I called the rest of the group and said " We have to change our name !" . In the end, it was a very good decision. We're very happy now. Mist, for me, is a very poetic, strong and kinda mysterious word that fits well to our music.
RM: Do you have any contact with other artists - apart from Bloem de Ligny - in The Netherlands, and what is your overall vision of the Dutch rock/ pop scene ?
RT: Yes, I'm in touch with Henk Hofstede, the singer of The Nits. I know him for a few years and he helped us also a little bit in listening to the mixes of the record, the production and so on... He has had a very positive influence on it. The mastering also has been made in The Nits studio. It's a good connection for us. We're also good friends with the singer of Daryll-Ann, which is our favourite Dutch group. Regarding the Dutch scene, it's the same as in other countries, I'm afraid: 90 % is bullshit. 10 % is beautiful music. The bullshit is on T.V. and on radios, the beautiful music is on local radios and you have to search for it. There's a few good groups, but it's quite a complex subject and we'd need an hour to really talk about it.
RM: Besides making music with Mist, you're also the promoter of gigs in Holland, under the banner " Live in the Living Room". The concept is quite original. Could you tell us more about this ?
RT: I was playing a song in my living-room in october 2002, and it sounded great. So I thought: " I should invite some people to let them hear this song". An idea was born. I gave it the name " Live in the Living Room", I invited some other singer-songwriters, charged some euros for the drinks, and soon my whole living room was packed with people who wanted to listen our music. In Holland, singer-songwriters sometimes suffer from too much talking in the audience. In the living room, nobody talks, which is very positive for the musicians and for the listeners as well. Together with Kees Jonkheer, I started to organize these kind of evenings in Amsterdam and Haarlem. Soon, other cities followed. Most of the time, the " Live in the Living Room" concerts are all sold-out. People can get in by paying 10 euros through inscription on our website ( still in Dutch).
RM: Due to your contacts with the music world, I suppose it's easy for you to find artists who want to play at " Live in the Living Room", but how do you manage to find the people who lend their flat for those gigs ?
RT: We always ask the visitors to come up with ideas about this. It's not that difficult actually : a lot of people want to have good music in their houses, so it is no problem to find " venues ". Sometimes, people also read about us in the press and get in touch via www.liveinthelivingroom.com.
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