After the concert in Bochum on January, 14th 2005, Berry gave an interview to our editor Nathalie Mohr.
Thanks for the interview. Would you please introduce you to the readers who don`t know you?
Of course, yeah. What it is is like... All the guys who play in JudasVille have a life of other bands like the bassplayer that`s one of my oldest friends and we started out [the] first band and we [builded up] my real first band [at all] that`s called “Lovesteaks“ (G. Charger (drums), "Handsome" Dick Spade (bass), Barry Black / Berry Hoogveldt (guitar)) and the drummer (Sander van Baalen / “Son of a Cop“) used to be in “Violation of Trust“ that`s a [beautiful] legendary hardcore band, the guitarplayer has been in several Metal and Hardcorebands.
So after that I played in a band called “The Spades“ (former members: G. Charger (drums), John Peate (guitar), Son Of A Cop (Sander van Baalen) (drums); 2001-2003 Barry Black / Berry Hoogveldt (guitar); 2001 till now "Handsome" Dick Spade (bass)) and we had [...] some of success in Holland and he played drums, [...] and I played guitar [...]. Well we were the “Guns and Roses“ of Holland, without the success, that`s it. So that was a problem, there were big egos [...] and after that we ... I`ve always been writing songs so I have ... (pause, askes me if I wanted to check, if the recorder works...)
So Judasville has been playing for the last ... 16 months or something like that. So it`s pretty funny because I had all the songs finished ... before JudasVille started [...] because I`m a [... customer] of Roch`n`Roll, I`m a dictator, so I wrote everything, I have my small studios, so I recorded everything as a demo at home and then I you know I looked for the right people to start up with the band because I have been in so many bands where ... there`s a lot of opportunity ... but there`s bigger egos [...] I only played music because I have got the songs in my head, but everybody has got the wrong reason to be in a band you know to get drunk, to get drugs, to get women ... It`s very rare to find people who only wannabe in a band to make music. How obvious it sounds [but] it`s not that obvious, believe me. But ok, we started ... what we did is, we started rehearsing the songs and we had a record deal before we ever played one show. Because what we did is, we went to the studio we [recorded the songs], we got a record deal and everything started you know ... but the album was ready before we ever [did a] show. But because we all have expirience life [...] with every band I had to start at the bottom and I had this feeling like let`s do it different, let`s do a good album first and let`s see where that leads us ... and that way you can have ... for example ... we have like ... up till now we only have 25 shows it`s nothing but we had like the resistance tour and we had like ... but it get`s appreciated better and earlier this way. Because you have a good album and if you don`t have a album this days there`s no reason to play live.
How accruded the bandname and which meaning does it have?
So the bandname JudasVille that`s funny because I`ve got two explanations for that ... my personal one and that is ... I don`t know about Germany, but in Holland it`s not that nice to live there anymore ... `cause it`s like the [...] people who don`t ... work ambitiouly ... they are talking nice seeing in your face and they talk shit behind yout back ... and that`s JudasVille you know Judas [...] that`s Holland and the friendly explanation is that like it`s a mixture of “Nashville“ and “Judas Priest“ like Hard Rock and Country that`s a combine thing ... that`s JudasVille [...] so you can decide what you want so write ...
When our editor Dominic Türk wrote the name JudasVille he thougt of (the Hip Hop album) “Nellyville“... (interrups me)
Nellyville, yeah! Yeah we are gangsters, too, sometimes ... We`ve got the J-unit not G-unit but J-unit ... Nellyville, yeah ...
Do you handle with your personal stuff in the lyrics?
Yeah! I do and the thing that bothers me is that like when you play Roch`n`Roll everybody like automaticaly thinks you are a cliche and ... oh there`s no avoiding cliches but this album is pretty personal to me, because I have gone through a very bad time for the last 10 years (laughes) so ....... never till that 10 years, but you know it`s pretty personal, it`s like me not understanding women and me not understanding myself ... it`s not about cars and driving fast and drinking beer ... oh only one song - “Come On Pretty Baby“ - but I wrote that to prove that I can also do cliches, but the rest of the album is pretty peronal ... but ... nobody writes about that they all say like about okay you know that doesn`t fit and it`s all like the way Roch`n`Roll is supposed to be but ... I don`t think so ... I think we are a bit different from the most Roch`n`Roll bands but ...
You had a lot of fun while the recordung of the album... (interrups me)
Yeah...
When one hears it, he has much fun, do you have it, too?
...my mind goes everytime ... (switches to German) 300 km pro Stunde ... I’m working at a new album now so that’s my ... everything is new, that’s better but I really think ...
Yeah! I can still listen to it ... I know where to improve things and all that shit but I know it’s a good ... album ... yeah I like it ...
I mean when I for example heard the album I could hear and feal this fun...
Yeah that is also a point you know I have always been in bands ... were very ambitious and everything has to happen tomorrow, today, tonight ... and this band is more than like ... we’ll see where it leads us, we’ll see ...
We have some confidence ... we can deliver but there’s no pressure ... we like each other ... we hang out also without the band ... when we’re at home ... maybe you can hear that...
(to Dominic Türk) it’s actually my first live interview ... all the interviews for the rest were by email ...
Well, Dominic said the beginning of “Come On Pretty Baby“ sounds a little bit like “Metallica“ and the rest reminds him of “White Zombie“. Has anybody ever compared you with other bands?
It’s the first time someone compares us with “Metallica“ and “White Zombie“ ... the thing is like “Come On Pretty Baby“ ... let’s put it that ... I was always like a songwriter always wanted to be original and special and that shit ... but I stopped all that I just wanna sound the way I am [...] and I like “Thin Lizzy“ I like “Kiss“ ... I like “Iron Maiden“ - I see... (he‘s wearing an Iron Maiden Shirt) - ... I think “Come On Pretty Baby“ is some kind of a “Kiss“ song ...
That’s good that you hear your own stuff in it ...
(Dominic tells him that he thought of “Fuel“ of Metallica. Berry says “Come On Pretty Baby“ was the slow song and starts to sing)
... I haven’t checked your Metallica song... (D.T. and Berry talk about “White Zombie“ and the guitar player and the drummer are talking with Berry, too...)
Would you like to record a classic Rock`n`Roll song like “Rock Around the Clock“ for example?
The thing is like you have to know I started out as like a real Rockabilly ... in that time I had a lot of hair (lifts up his cap) my first band was a Rockabilly band with a double bass. I’m a sucker of Rock`n`Roll [...] I like that old Country guys [...] one day I will do a real authentic sounding Rock`n`Roll album. I wanna do that ... my [other] love is Country and I’m writing ... I [...] recorded songs at home ... one day I’ll do a Country album. When you listen to my songs they are actually Country songs played loud ... with the twin harmonies ... that’s just me ...
Who came up with the idea of the cover artwork?
Oh, the thing is I was looking for a concept and I thought JudasVille should be as the not existing place where everything happends that you want to happen .. it’s not in real life, but it’s there you know and so I just keeped looking the internet ... I just bumed on the foto ... I asked the owner if I could use it and so ... But the artwork is done by Bartmann that’s the bassplayer of “Peter Pan Speedrock“ – ever heard that? - no - okay that’s like the biggest Rock`n`Roll band from Holland and [...] he was the bassplayer of “Lovesteaks“ my first band so [...] when you check the booklet ... it’s like snapshots of a town ... – We didn’t get a booklet or a real CD ... (I show him the Promo CD ...). – Well, we’ll talk about this later...
Do you live after the principle “sex, drugs and Rock`n`Roll“?
Not really. I’m 34 years old, I have four children ... and I have a dog ... and he shits in my living room if I don’t walk him at seven so ...
I don’t know ... sometimes I feel pretty cool, but not at seven in the morning so ... I don’t know... I don’t really follow principles actually ...
Why is your homepage in the style of comic books?
Yes, good question. Because ... I knew the guy who did it ... we know him ... he just designed the T-Shirts for us and he was also webdesigner and we asked him to do a ... to make our website ... so it’s why it happend ... at the other hand I’m pretty pleased with it you can see there’s a lot of work in it ... you see like ... it has some qualities, so ... but I’m not a sucker of comics . it’s not really...- (refering the “qualities“) and the woman has two big “arguments“... – yeah ok, I have met that one woman looks like a crackwhore and the other one looks nice to me but the other one looks bad [........]
What’s your attitude towards internet magazines such as Soulburner.de?
... Internet is my lifeline so ... I support it and I think it’s the best thing that ever happend to Rock`n`Roll ... because in the early days [...] you had some little paper magazines [and so on] but it [took long to come the world around ... the world of music needs it...] (at this position the cassette of my recorder ended, but I didn’t recognize it... so I had to reconstruct some of these parts up from here...)
Finally some brainstorming:
Rock’n’Roll: That’s how they call my music.
Festivals: [I like festivals ... but there is a straight organisation and so on ...]
Fans: Yeah thank you ...
Thanks, the last words belong to you!
[Don’t drink and drive, don’t take drugs and drive, don’t drive and take drugs...
Buy our album, come to our shows and we’ll make a party...]
interview: Nathalie Mohr
pictures and grafics: Rudy De Doncker, Judasville, www.ardan.nl, Judasville, Isabel Nabuurs
source: Braindamage Bookings
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