Интервю с Rob van der Loo (Epica, MaYaN, ex- Delain)

It is with great pride and joy that I present to you a great bass player and a total dude with whom I had the pleasure of talking to. He is Rob van der Loo and he is know to us as the ex- Delain bass player and at the moment part of the complex (and super cool) project – MaYaN. Furthermore, for about a year now, he is part of Epica. Apocalipses, terrorists, Bukowski and something more… with a taste of 70’s rock.

Rob

Hello! How are you? Thanks for the interview 🙂
You’re welcome! I’m doing great.

Tell us who’s Rob van der Loo for you? The one fans can’t see..
Uh, me? I guess I’m a down to earth and easy going person who doesn’t really see that he is seen as a „rockstar“ by many people. I enjoy the little things in life.

When did you started playing the bass?
At the age of 14 I bought my first bass guitar. It was a pretty crappy instrument but I was very happy with it and I got asked for bands right away since there has always been a lack of bassists. I learned playing by playing in bands…. I didn’t took any bass lessons.

What did you wanted to work when you grow up,when you were little? 🙂
I wanted to become an inventor. 🙂

And how did you started playing with MaYaN?
A few months after I left Delain I met Mark at a music event wich I organised. Around that time I had taken a break of playing in bands so I refused all offers from bands who wanted me to join. Mark told me he was in the recording process of Quarterpast and that Jeroen Paul Thesseling wasn’t able to do the live shows because of his job. Since it’s pretty hard to find bassists who are able to play 6 string fretless bass I agreed to become a substitute but eventually I became a permanent bandmember. 🙂

Why is it called MaYaN? By the way, did you use to believe that the world would end on 21.12.2012?
Because of the huge interest in the Mayan culture. Mark wanted to call the band „Maya“ but Frank suggested „MaYaN“ because it’s symmetrical.
I didn’t believe in the end of the world… It’s all based on misinterpretation just like many earlier Apocolypses… The Maya’s predicted the coming of a new time, a new circle.

Tell us more about the new MaYaN album..I heard something about a track called “ We want blood“ ? 🙂
We are in the process of writing new songs and that song is the first MaYaN track written by me and… It’s pretty heavy. 🙂

MaYaN

Just being curious..when you play with MaYaN how do you all get on one stage,it should be a huuuuge one 😀
We just do it.

What’s the story behind „War on terror“‘s music video? Where was it filmed? The beginning reminds me of Harry Potter and the video always makes me think about war and the countries in this position?
We knew that the whole War on Terror was a provocative subject so we needed a provocative video but in a certain that people can interpretate it on their own way… Be it positive or negative… Saus enough about those people. 😉
It was actually filmed in Holland but ofcourse images were manipulated with computers. We knew that a lot of people would see this video as an attack on the US but it’s not. For example if you look at the soldiers you see they are driving a US Humvee, using British weapons and wearing Dutch uniforms with a black flag. So it’s pure fiction. The message is that there aren’t winners in war… Only losers and victims. In this case both the shooting soldier as the civilians are victims…

How do you feel in Epica? I think you fit perfectly..
Thank you! Since day one I absolutely feel like I have been a member for many years.

Do you listen to metal in your free time? And if you do,what kind of metal? Which bands inspire you?
Oh, I listen to all kind of genres. One day you can find a record of Cannibal Corpse in my record player, next day it can be Lana Del Rey…
I can get inspiration from any kind of band be it metal or not. Music is a thing of mood and every day is a different day. But I’m a big fan of 60’s and 70’s heavy rock.

With Simone Simons,Epica

Do you have a favourite book? If yes which one? 🙂

Same thing as music. 🙂 I love to read. One day I read biographies, next day graphic novels. At the moment I’m reading „Betting on the muse“ by Charles Bukowski.

You travel worldwide..which country do you like the most?
I don’t have one favorite country… There are so many beautiful countries. My favorite city though is Prague. 🙂

Whose public is the best? Musicians keep telling around that it’s Bulgarian’s audience.. 🙂
That’s a nasty question. Fans are fans and they’re all great so it’s not honest to call one specific audience the best.

Where haven’t you been and where do you want to go?
New Zealand.

Will you celebrate Valentine’s day? You and your girlfriend are so cute.. :))
Haha! We don’t celebrate Valetine’s Day… Every day is Valetine’s Day in our life. 🙂

What would you say to readers of Metal Hangar 18 and Bulgarian fans? And when we will see you here- with Epica or MaYaN ? 🙂

All I can say is that I hope to see everybody asap but of course that depends on Bulgarian bookers. Book us and we’ll play in your beautiful country! \m/