Alors, Et Toi? is a quarterly magazine of the arts, digitally published on the world wide web.
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PALOMINE MUSIC
Palomine
An Interview by R.J. Williams
I admit it: I’m a PALOMINE addict! It’s insane, but apparently I’m not alone. I’m one of the 14,418 fans who faithfully visit their band page,looking for that “PERFECT SUMMER NIGHT.” Carelessly humming to the tune of “YOU’LL BE MINE,” while hoping to download “A BRAND NEW START.” These are just some of the great songs from their album, “GET THE LUXURIANT BATH SIZE.” Not to worry though; the Belgium band has been making a tremendous splash on Myspace and on almost every social network on the web, I invite you to visit through the pages of Alors, Et Toi as I interview Levi, bass player and member of PALOMINE!
AET: Well what can I say I love your music. I can’t tell you how psyched I am to be able to interview you guys, even though it’s through this electronic medium. Let me start by asking: I would love to know how you guys got together, when did you form your band?
PALOMINE: In 2002, Simon (piano), David (vocals and acoustic guitar) and Noel (our former drummer) formed the band Palomine. In 2005 Noel left the band, and Levi (bass), Ralf (electric guitars) and Nico (drums) joined the band. In the early days, Palomine was more of an acoustic act. Nowadays we are an indie/pop band. Levi and Simon are brothers, Simon and David played in the past in My Sweet Sister, and Ralf and Nico were friends and played in Strawberry Blonde. So, we knew each other before we played in Palomine.
AET: Your band sings in English, is this a common occurrence for European bands?
PALOMINE: Most European bands sing in English, even though that is not their native language. Belgium is divided (language-wise) in three parts: Flemish (Dutch speaking), Walloon (French speaking) and a little German part. And still most bands sing in English. Bands who sang Flemish, used to be commercial, non-intellectual (lyrics-wise) bands most of the times (there were exceptions). These days there are a few bands who can pull it off—bringing modern music with Flemish lyrics. But those are a minority.
AET: The album, Get the Luxurious, Big Bath Size! What a title! Care to elaborate?
PALOMINE: People often thought we were called Pantomime, or Palmolive. (even the DJs at radio stations). (By the way, Palomine means ‘pal of mine’, and we found that title by the Dutch band Bettie Serveert, who had a song Palomine on an album named Palomine in the early nineties).
But Palmolive was of course known for its soap products. So I searched on the Internet for retro ads of Palmolive. There was one in particular that I really liked. It was a woman, sitting in a bath-tub holding a piece of soap. The title of the ad was: Get the luxurious big bath size! I thought it was weird that in the fifties, a bar of soap could be a luxury item, as opposed to a simple consumer item. So, I redrew the ad (I work as a graphic designer, and turned the woman in the bath tub into the returning face of our debut album, posters, stickers, flyers etc), but I kept the original slogan. We thought it would make a good album title.
By the way, when we play live, we encourage the announcer of us, to try to pronounce the title into the mike, which almost always fails! Then we have a good laugh on stage and we kick off our set!
We even made a compilation of mistakes, of DJs on national radio stations, when they are struggling getting the album title right!
AET: The video for the single Perfect Summer Night, which one of you came up with the idea for it or was it a group effort?
PALOMINE: I (Levi) heard that the copyright on a lot of old movies had expired, or that those movies were public domain. So, I came up with the idea of searching a suited old movie, re-edit it, and make a music video out of it. For this, we didn’t need a director, expensive cameras etc. I could do this myself at home.
So I searched for what I had in mind: it had to feature a woman, in a convertible, with a lot of wind through her hair because after all, Perfect Summer Night is a happy love song. After days of searching the website of www.archive.org, I found what I was looking for: an 18 minute short film This Charming Couple, from 1950.
Here you can watch the original movie.
To keep the music video interesting, I added my own story line, about a subject that alot of people could relate to: most people think their bottom is too big. And when they ask somebody about it, people always say: “No dear, you look great, trust me!” Even though that is not always sincere
Because I used after effects to mimic the whole silent movie concept, most people are confused if we shot the music video ourselves or used old footage. Even movie directors asked me that question—haha!
AET: I love the nostalgic feel of your profile; you carry that feel into the video. What’s the average age of the band members?
PALOMINE: The average age of the band members is 30 years. When you bring out a record, you have to be consistent in your graphics. So I make all the artwork related to this release pretty retro: the official website, our MySpace, printed materials, booklets etc. For the next record this may be different, as you have to keep putting out fresh designs, so people don’t get bored.
AET: I thought I saw on your MySpace that you, Levi, have editing credits on the video. How many hats do you wear for the group?
PALOMINE: I wear a lot of hats actually, because I like doing it! Besides playing bass and working on the songs (which we do all together), I take care of the graphic design, I do video editing and post production on the music videos, I do the post production on photo shoots of the band, I create Palomine-pages on Facebook, iLike, ListFM, MySpace and Hyvel.
On other tasks we work together: Simon does the technical aspects of our official website, the lounge page, the newsletter etc.
AET: One thing that attracted me to you guys in addition to the music, was the level of communication you maintain with your fans, is it difficult?
PALOMINE: When I first heard of MySpace, it was not yet the big thing as it is right now. I saw a good communication medium, which didn’t cost a thing, except the time you spend on it.
Fifteen years ago, people went to record stores to listen to music, and then decided to buy it or not. Nowadays, the music industry has changed a lot, and the artists themselves have to approach the people. That’s my vision anyway.
A lot of people are afraid to talk to an artist when they see them after a gig, or on the street. But, behind their computer screen, people dare to say more. It is a lot of fun connecting and making new friends via MySpace, but of course, it takes alot of your time! But this process is so rewarding in many ways: you get to know your audience, and often get friends with their friends. That’s the word of mouth, in MySpace terms I think.
MySpace is of course great ( for getting) to know great artists you never heard of before, to meet other creative people like re-mixers, photographers, producers, festival organizers, promoters, managers etc.
AET: Levi, you seem to take the lead. In doing so, is it hard to do? Why not just pay someone to do it?
PALOMINE: Well, some bands pay other people to run their MySpace. I don’t see that as an option, because then, the biggest purpose of MySpace gets lost: the artist getting in touch with the fans. And that’s something I really believe in.
I usually take the initiative to explore the possibilities of websites. After that, the guys in the band help me as much as they can. For example, for the moment, Nico and Ralf take care of the birthday comments on and most of the friend requests on MySpace. We all respond to comments, and really try not to say thanks for the add. When people send us a friend request, I look on their profile to see which music they listen to, which art they like, what hobbies they have Then it’s pretty easy to say something personal to them.
AET: Tell me about the publishing deal your band signed with Chrysalis Music Benelux.
PALOMINE: We are very happy with this deal! Publishing companies have worldwide connections and partnerships. Chrysalis is looking for opportunities to get our music in film scores, commercials, TV shows. As a band, it is almost not possible to do this on your own.
AET: You guys toured recently; what cities did you visit and are there any plans to tour the US?
PALOMINE: We did a little tour last February in the UK: Manchester, Sheffield and Nottingham, but we play mostly in Belgium. The cities you may have heard of: Brussels, Antwerp, Liege, Ghent, Leuven (Home of Stella Artois!).
Our record is not available in record stores in the US, although you can buy it worldwide via numerous websites (check www.palomine.be/albumstores ). Or download it via iTunes.
A tour in the US would be a dream! But first we want to grow as a band in Belgium and Europe. Hopefully one day, who knows! But you have to be realistic about that: you have to hook up with a lot of third parties: promoters, distributors, organizers, etc. It is imposible for a band to handle that on their own.
AET: I have to say, you guys are everywhere, MYSPACE, FACEBOOK, HYVES, Last. FM, how do you keep up?
PALOMINE: Haha, with not sleeping as many hours as I should be! We all have a day job (David is a teacher at school. Ralf and Nico teach guitar and drums, Simon is a doctor (really!) and I’m a graphic designer. The thing is, music is just a big part of our lives and everything related to that, we do it with pleasure! But indeed, we should sleep some more actually haha!
AET: How would you summarize your MYSPACE (The band’s) experience?
PALOMINE: it’s fantastic! You get to meet so many people and bands in a short period of time! We get friend requests from all over the world. It is a place to communicate, listen, view, and work with each other!
I also made some personal friends via MySpace. And also, some people find comfort and courage in our songs, when they experience bad times. Those messages do not go via MySpace comments of course, but sometimes, when you get to know each other better, I exchange email addresses. It’s nice to be able to say something worthwhile to somebody in need. And then, you can live with sleeping not enough hours.
RJ, thank you so much for this interview! I’m glad that MySpace brought us together!
About The Author
R.J. Williams lives in Southern California, she is a dreamer and a lover of all people. For the past year she has been devoting her free time in developing her skills as an artist and writer. She has interviewed English based reggae singer Heath Hunter, who recorded Trench Town in corroboration with Damian and Stephen Marley, she has also interviewed Chris Dommin, lead singer of the band, Dommin. Recently R.J. has developed a love for poetry and the flash fiction genre, and one of her short stories “Out of Sight” received an honorable mention, and was published by 34th Parallel.