New interview with Alan
Cotton by Patrick Hawke
The Cotton Soeterboek band was formed in
2003/4 when guitarist Alan Cotton decided the time was
right to gather a band of like minded musicians around
him and play the type of music he loves, after doing
session work and producing other peoples music for many
years.
Alan
contacted Robert Soeterboek, a brilliant vocalist
capable of injecting great amounts of soul into anything
he
sings.
Robert was born march
21 1968 [Ed's note, that makes him younger than me! I
feel old] in Rotterdam Holland. He started his music
career at the age of fifteen in a band called Tempter.
Later on he played in several bands like: Vulture,
Bodine, My brother jake, renegades, overrated,
bulletproof, showdown, planet nine, Wicked sensation,
Highway chile, Silver Dollar Star one and the
Cottonsoeterboekband.
Robert made
albums with: Vulture, Wicked sensation, My brother Jake,
Highway Chile, Erik Norlander, Lana lane, Ayreon, star
one, van Ee, Silver Dollar and the
Cottonsoeterboekband.
Luckily,
Robert was very much up for working with him and the
Cotton Soeterboek band was formed. Rounding out the band
originally was Drummer Reynold Carson, Bass player Mike
Davis and keyboardist Joost Van Den Broek. Carson and
Davis have recently been replaced by Wim Den Boer on
Bass and Wilfried Broekman on
drums.
My own
interest began when I heard Robert sing in Wicked
Sensation. My immediate thought was that this guy is
magnificent, and I have been watching from afar as his
career unfolds. While I admit to being disappointed when
he left Wicked Sensation, it is perfectly clear that the
Cotton Soeterboek band more than makes up for
that.
I feel
very privileged to be able to bring you an interview
with Alan Cotton, my first such
interview
[Paddy] Hi
Alan!
Thank you
for agreeing to answer a few questions. This is the
first time I have ever done this. I hope I don’t sound
to stupid. I composed a few questions then googled your
name to help me get more and I found an interview you
did on Youtube….that dude stole most of my questions! I
don’t want to ask you stuff you get asked by everyone
else. You must get sick of answering those
ones.
[Alan] Haha. No, you
just try and think of inventive ways to say the same
thing.
[Paddy] I
thought once you replied I would put the youtube
interview underneath this one, so anyone surfing in will
have a large amount of info about
CSB.
[Alan] Perfect, that
was a fun
interview.
[Paddy]
There is also a CSB song on youtube, Cold and Grey,
would it be ok with you if I also put that in as a
sample of your
stuff?
[Alan] No Problem at
all. I don’t who posted that but you can post or link
anything you would
like.
[Paddy] I
am going to add an “in profile” section to the site,
where I go into a reasonable amount of depth about bands
I like. CSB is going to be the
first!
[Alan] Thank you so
much Patrick, that is
excellent.
[Paddy]
I’ll just ask you the things that I really am curious
about.
1) I
imagine that for the time being at least this album,
this whole genre of music will go over much better in
Europe than in the US, are you prepared for long trips
away from
home?
[Alan] Actually the
response here in the U.S. has been pretty amazing. There
are a lot of people here that love this style of music
and in the past didn’t always have a chance to discover
new music. Because of the specialty radio shows, online
magazines and myspace, we have been able to reach an
audience world wide. But back to your original question,
yes, I have my passport ready
haha.
2)
[Paddy] There is a curious mixture of the classic
Southern Rock sound and the mid seventies British hard
rock sound which for my money, gives this album a
refreshing “newness” about it while at the same time
tipping it’s hat to the old masters. Was that a
calculated aim or is it just the influences merging to
create something
unexpected?
[Alan] That’s a great
question. Robert and I just wanted to make a rock and
roll album. Being a Southerner, I’m influenced by the
blues but also all the great British bands, so we just
tried to have a unique take on
it.
3)
[Paddy] When you eventually go on the road, will you be
taking this same line up out with you? (PS…how many
copies do I have to buy to get you to
Australia??)
[Alan] Bassist Wim den
Boer and drummer Wilfried Broekman joined the band soon
after we completed recording the album. We couldn’t be
happier since they have joined and can’t wait to hit the
road for a nice long tour and would love to include
Australia on the schedule. We will have to
see…
4)
[Paddy] What do you listen to…you know, when your just
chilling.
[Alan]
I was listening to Rory
Gallagher today haha. You know, that’s just the music I
love. What a great, honest musician.
5)
[Paddy] Do you have any other “irons in the fire” at the
moment? (As in, still doing some session work or
appearing on other peoples
albums?)
[Alan] Caf Fine Records
is a company Robert and I started so that takes up most
of my time. Between the company and promoting the album,
I don’t have a lot of free time at the moment for any
thing
else.
6)
[Paddy] It took a long long time to finally get the
album out there, was it a rocky
road?
[Alan] It did take a
long time. The biggest thing was finding the right
producer. We had several that we wanted to work with but
it came down to a matter of scheduling conflicts and
that just kept moving the dates back. We ended up
working with Robert Selvaggio, who has worked with Creed
and Jewel. Great guy and we are going to be working with
him again on the second
album.
7)
[Paddy] I believe the band has another album coming out
very soon, were they both recorded at the same time,
like Ozzy Osbourne did with his first 2 solo
albums?
[Alan] We have about 6
songs written already for our follow up album. I should
be back in the studio in the next few weeks to finish
writing. The plans are to have the second album out by
the end of 2009 or beginning of
2010.
8 )
[Paddy] With Robert living in Holland and yourself in
Colorado, that must create logistical nightmares. Do you
know of any other bands in a similar
situation?
[Alan] Logistics really
aren’t a problem for us. We have a great airport close
by. Robert and I just have to schedule every thing in
advance. It actually works out great for us because we
get everything taken care of ahead of time. I don’t
think many of the larger bands still live in the same
areas, like
Aerosmith.
9)
[Paddy] It’s no secret that Robert has that “Coverdale”
style, which is of course a good thing, but do you think
there is a danger that people may hear him and write him
off as an imitator? (Much like they did with Jorn Lande
for a little
while)
[Alan] I can see some
of the comparisions to a young Coverdale because they
both share that soulful vocal style but I’ve worked with
Robert for so long I just hear his voice. So no, I don’t
think it will be a problem at
all.
10)
[Paddy] As a self financed band, does it bother you that
so many lesser (read crap) artists get so much exposure
in the mainstream media? (Pink
anyone?)
[Alan] As long as there
has been a “music industry”, it has always been that way
so you really can’t let it bother you. We are just
trying to reach out and build our audience and thanks to
people like you, we are able to do
that.
11)
[Paddy] There seems to be somewhat of a swing back to
the classic hard rock sound, at least here in Australia
(bands like Jet, Wolfmother, Hell City Glamours,
Airborne, a hugely successful Angels reunion and a lot
of younger bands without any cd’s out yet) do you feel
that in the US? If so do you reckon you can capitalize
on it? (I myself live in
hope!)
[Alan] I see it too. We
really didn’t take any of that into consideration when
we started recording the album. I believe games like
guitar hero are introducing kids to classic rock in ways
that the radio never could. Our audience is probally
about half younger people who are just discovering
classic hard rock for the first
time.
12) In
Robert you have what sounds like the perfect vocalist
for your “smokin” guitar style, do you anticipate
longevity, can we fans look forward to many more Cotton
Soeterboek Band
albums?
[Alan] Robert is the
singer I’ve been looking for my whole life and with Wim
and Wilfried joining the band, I can’t imagine playing
with anybody
else.
[Paddy]
Last question, I bet your glad about
that!
13) As an
artist, in a new band working very hard to be heard
above the pack, do you think file sharing is good or
bad? There seems to be 2 trains of thought on this. Some
take the “steal the food from starving artists mouths”
line and others say it gives them free exposure and
brings many people in for live appearances. What do you
reckon as a person with a vested
interest?
[Alan] I can see both
points of view. People tend to look at downloading music
as commercial free radio. There is no way to completely
stop it, but it does hurt to see your album being
bootlegged before it has even arrived at all the stores
yet. People should know about the effects of piracy on
artist and try to minimize
it.
Thank you Alan, I will get that “in
profile” up as soon as I can and let you
know.
Much respect and I wish you all the
luck in the world!
Patrick
http://www.patrickhawke.com/?page_id=600
Get Ready to ROCK! Best of 2008
Jason Ritchie at Get Ready To Rock has
named Twisted as one of his top ten albums for 2008.
Reviewers choices will be featured in an end of year special on Get Ready to
ROCK! Radio, Sunday 28 December 15.00
http://www.getreadytorock.com/best_of_2008.htm
Timeline:
New Ayreon compilation album
Robert Soeterboek appears on the new
Ayreon compilation album Timeline.Timeline follows the
thirteen-year evolution of the Ayreon sound from the
1995 debut The Final Experiment to the release of
01011001 in 2008. In addition to selecting tracks from
the existing Ayreon discography, Arjen has also written
and recorded a new Ayreon song exclusively for Timeline,
titled Epilogue: The Memory
Remains.
In
addition to The Memory Remains, TIMELINE's 3 audio CDs
comprise 32 essential Ayreon tracks (almost 4 hours of
music), all carefully remastered specifically for this
release. The accompanying DVD features nearly two hours
of released and unreleased video clips,
behind-the-scenes featurettes, 5.1 mixes, and live
performances of Ayreon tracks (Star one and Stream of
Passion
versions).
TIMELINE will be available from
InsideOut Music on 7 November 2008 (G.A.S), 17 November
2008 (Europe), and 13 January 2009 (N.
America).
http://www.ayreon.com/
http://www.myspace.com/ayreonauts
The Cotton Soeterboek Band on ARFM
Radio
ARFM is playing
The Cotton Soeterboek Band
song "Little Sister". You can email your request to the
station to play "Little Sister" or any of your other
favorite CSB songs at studio@arfm.co.uk and can visit their website at http://www.arfm.co.uk/
Wilfried Broekman on tour with Martyr
Cotton Soeterboek Band drummer Wilfried
Broekman will be on tour with Martyr in support of Lizzy
Borden on their European tour. The band will play in
Holland, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Denmark and Sweden.
To all CSB fans, please go out and
show your support for Wilfried, Martyr and Lizzy
Borden. Martyr Tour Dates with Lizzy
Borden
06/12 - Turock, Essen - Germany
08/12 -
Frontline, Gent - Belgium
09/12 - Die Halle,
Frankfurt - Germany
10/12 - Mayday, Glogow -
Poland
17/12 - Rockland, Sala - Sweden
18/12 - The
Rock, Copenhagen - Denmark
19/12 - Sticky Finger,
Gothenburg - Sweden
20/12 - Treibsand, Lubeck -
Germany
21/12 - Metropool, Hengelo -
Holland
New Interview with Robert
Soeterboek at True Metal
Cotton Soeterboek
Band (Robert Soeterboek)
Inviato il 28/11/2008 da
Fabio Vellata
Breve chiacchierata con Robert Soeterboek - talentuoso singer olandese già
ascoltato più volte nei vari prodotti di Arjen
Lucassen - di nuovo sulle scene, dopo un
periodo d’inattività, grazie ad un interessante progetto hard rock vecchio
stile, in cui la tradizione degli anni settanta e qualcosa
di più di una semplice influenza.
Robert, iniziamo come da
routine, con una breve panoramica sul tuo nuovo
progetto.
Lascio a te introdurre la Cotton Soeterboek
band ai nostri
lettori.
Il gruppo, come dice
il moniker stesso, è l’unione di Alan Cotton con me,
Robert Soeterboek.
Naturalmente non siamo gli unici
membri del gruppo. In formazione ci sono anche Wim den
Boer al basso, Wilfiried Broekman alla batteria e Joost
Van Der Broek (After Forever, Ayreon, Star One) alle
tastiere. Il nostro primo cd “Twisted”, è stato inciso
un po’ a Los Angeles ed un po’ in Colorado.
Tengo a
sottolineare che, durante le registrazioni, abbiamo
potuto contare sull’aiuto di un paio di artisti di
grande valore: Butch Reynolds dei Driver, alla batteria
e Mike Davis (Lizzy Borden, Rob Halford) al
basso…
Come è nata l’idea e come sei venuto
in contatto con Alan
Cotton?
È stato lui
stesso a cercarmi, per chiedermi di ascoltare qualcuna
delle canzoni che aveva scritto. Mi sono piaciute subito
e l’ho raggiunto immediatamente negli Stati Uniti.
Abbiamo
passato un po’ di tempo insieme in una baracca in mezzo
alle montagne rocciose, vicino ad una piccola cittadina
chiamata Florence. Poco più in là, due miglia circa,
c’era niente meno che la prigione federale più dura di
tutti gli USA. Un posto desolato
insomma!
Ci siamo
dotati di una camionata di Heineken ed abbiamo ascoltato
la nostra musica preferita per qualche giorno, mentre
orsi e lupi vagavano tranquillamente fuori della nostra
capanna.
Dopo che ci
siamo conosciuti quanto bastava, abbiamo registrato un
paio di canzoni, che ci sono sembrate buone. Una nuova
partnership era
nata!
Sai, a mio
parere tu sei, insieme ad un tale Jorn Lande, uno dei
migliori singer della cosiddetta “nuova generazione”.
Sei scomparso dalle scene per alcuni anni e mi sono
sempre domandato i motivi. Cos’è successo dopo la tua
partecipazione ai Wicked
Sensation?
Beh, dopo i
Wicked Sensation sono successe molte cose. Oltre ad
iniziare questa collaborazione con Alan, sono diventato
padre, evento che, come puoi ben immaginare, ti cambia
la vita e ti tiene lontano dal palco per un po’. Ma
eccomi di nuovo, pronto a fare ancora del mio meglio…
Hey a
proposito. Grazie per le belle parole che hai speso nei
miei confronti. È esattamente questo, ciò di cui un
musicista ha realmente
bisogno…
Veniamo al
vostro debut album dunque. Come giustamente riferito
dalla bio, le vostre influenze principali sono Deep
Purple e Whitesnake.
Cos’altro?
Molte cose
in verità. Tutto ciò che riguarda il soul, il vecchio
funky, il country e la musica rock in generale. Sono
aspetti che credo siano comunque determinanti e ben
riconoscibili nelle nostre
canzoni.
Ti occupi tu dei
testi?
Si certo,
ma ad essere sincero, non ho mai una vera storia in
mente quando inizio a scrivere. Un paio di righe lette
sul giornale, una notizia ascoltata alla TV e bam, ecco
che mi viene
l’idea!
Come sta
andando Twisted e quali obiettivi ti sei posto con
questo nuovo
gruppo?
Sta
andando bene, meglio del previsto. Sembra che la gente
sia ancora interessata al rock della vecchia scuola.
Continuerò a comporre e scrivere
musica e ad incidere album con questa band sino a quando
ne avrò la possibilità. È una cosa di cui ho
semplicemente bisogno. La musica mi scorre nelle vene.
Siamo già in pista con le registrazioni di un secondo
cd, che speriamo di far uscire molto presto. I pezzi
nuovi sembrano ottimi, addirittura migliori di quelli
incisi su
“Twisted”!
Domanda a
bruciapelo. Da appassionato ad appassionato, cosa pensi
del nuovo disco dei
Whitesnake?
Mah…preferisco i vecchi Snakes.
Quelli con Micky Moody e Bernie Marsden.
“Good To Be Bad” è uno spettacolo e
suona incredibilmente bene…ma non posso negarti di
preferirli ancora alla vecchia
maniera!
Mi pare di capire, che il tuo
decennio preferito a livello musicale siano gli anni
70…
Assolutamente, i seventies sono gli
anni che musicalmente amo di più, non c’è
dubbio!
Cosa mi
dici del tuo amico Arjen Lucassen? Vi sentite
ancora?
Certo,
siamo ancora in stretto contatto. Siamo amici da
tantissimo tempo! Tuttavia, non so se collaboreremo
ancora insieme in futuro. Non si può mai dire
però…
Il futuro
di Mr.
Soeterboek?
Come
detto, stiamo terminando il songwriting per il prossimo
disco dei Cotton – Soeterboek.
Nel frattempo ho concluso un nuovo
album in Germania, in compagnia di Dennis Ward dei Pink
Cream 69 e Michael Klein, mio vecchio compagno nei
Wicked Sensation.
Dovrebbe
uscire intorno a marzo / aprile del prossimo
anno!
Direi che
può bastare Robert. Io ti ringrazio e ti lascio la
parola per
chiudere.
Io ringrazio te e tutti i
lettori!
Continuate a supportare il rock
classico e vi prego, date un’opportunità al nostro
disco. Potrebbe piacervi. Se vi capita poi, non perdete
l’occasione di venirci a trovare ai nostri shows!
Ci vediamo!
Fabio Vellata
http://www.truemetal.it
New Interview with Alan Cotton at Eternal Metal Flame
01. EMF: HI, it’s really cool
to have an interview with you. It was surprise to get
your CD, cause I know Roberts Voice since his time with
the German Band Wicked Sensation. Your music is
some times compared with White Snake and Deep Purple,
but you have your own trademarks , a little bit of blues
and country sound. Where do you see your
typically trademarks of your music
by
yourself?Alan Cotton : I like to call it New
Millennium Hard Rock! It has a lot of the best elements
from all the classic bands, but still has modern
production values. The best of both worlds.
02.
EMF: What facts can you tell about making the
Twisted?
Alan Cotton : I had
decided to put a new band together, and Robert’s name
was recommended to me. I gave him a call and the next
week he jumped on a plane and we started writing
together. It was that fast. By the time we started to
look for the other members, we just wanted friends of
ours. I gave Butch a call and he jumped on board. Robert
had just finished touring the Star One cd with Joost, so
he was next. Butch recommended Mike, and that’s how it
all came together. The whole idea was simple, just write
music we love and record a classic rock and roll
album.
We began searching for the right
producer but it became more of a problem with scheduling
conflicts than "musical differences" with them. By the
time Producer Bobby Selvaggio (Creed, Puddle of Mudd,
Jewel) came on board, all the main tracks had been cut.
Since the release date of the album kept being moved
back, we knew it was going to be a problem taking Butch
and Mike out on the road, so that's when bassist Wim den
Boer and drummer Wilfried Broekman joined the band.
Robert had worked with both of them in the past, so we
all got together in Boulder for full production
rehearsals and it went over so well. It just clicked
from the first note. Couldn't be happier. These guys
have amazing chops and can play anything, but they know
exactly what to play for the songs. That's why we are
really looking forward to start recording the second
album.
03.
EMF: Can you tell something about the
background work in the
band?
Alan Cotton : People will know
Robert Soeterboek from his work on many of the Ayreon
albums and the Star One album as well as with Wicked
Sensation. Bassist Wim den Boer is best know for his
work in Abyss and Jeff & Co. Drummer Wilfried
Broekman comes to us from Martyr. My background is from
working with Maestro Alex Gregory as well as years
playing on sessions in the
studio.
04.
EMF: Where is the CD available via Internet or in
special
shops?
Alan Cotton : In Europe the album
should be available in your local shops as well as the
larger online music stores. In the US, Twisted is
available at Amazon.com, Target.com as well as the
online shop at our website http://www.cottonsoeterboekband.com.
05.
EMF: To get an impression of the songs on the CD,
can you give a short comment, track by track
?
Alan Cotton : Since Robert writes
all the lyrics, I will try to stick to answering mostly
about the
music...
01. Set Me
Free
I actually came up with the
main riff a long time ago. It had changed quite a bit
and ended up being a song I recorded with Mike Stone
from Queensryche on vocals. I always liked the heaviness
of the original riff better, so I pulled it out and we
wrote a new chorus and lyrics for
it.
02. Pretty
Maureen
A song Robert wrote for
his wife Maureen. A nice crunching and rhythmic riff
through out and a song that has a lot of meaning for
Robert. I like it a
lot.
03.
Twisted
The riff just came to me
while I was playing. Listen closely and you will hear
the guitar army going on here. A lot of different guitar
lines through out and some cool slide parts. Robert
already had these lyrics, and they just fit together
perfectly.
04.
Colorado
This is one of those
times when the whole inspiration for a song comes to you
at once in a flash. It has the Jimmy Page type
descending riff slowly building to the bridge, then the
heavy chorus kicks in. I had just played it for Robert
and we went out in my front yard just looking at Pikes
Peak and he said "I have it". I think it struck him the
same way it did
me.
05. Leave
Me Blue
A real southern sounding
song using a sparse arpeggio motif to outline the chord
movement leading in to a simple but effective chorus.
Very
nice.
06. Little
Sister
Big classic rock groove
that goes in a slight different direction for the
chorus. When the refrain kicks in, it's pure soul. Ha ha
Love
it.
07. Gold
and Gray
Another southern
influenced song. It has that Alabama swamper meets the
Stones
feel.
08. Still
of the Night
Just a classic Rock
and Roll romp. I've heard so many groups base there
whole sound off of this one idea. I just wanted to say -
"hey, here's our take on
it".
09. The
Game
The most European sounding
song on the album. Heavy but in an even more modern
direction than the rest of the album. It has a real nice
Mick Ralphs type solo on
there.
06.
EMF: What are the current Band
activities?
Alan Cotton : Right now most of our
time is spent promoting the album. Caf Fine Records is a
company Robert and I started so it is a full time
job.
07. EMF
: Can we hope to see you live in Germany in the
next time, may be at some Club
Shows?
Alan Cotton : Yes, we will
definitely be playing Germany. It looks like we will be
appearing at some of the larger festival shows but
nothing confirmed
yet.
08.
EMF: Where do you play live at the moment
and how run your
shows?
Alan Cotton : We decided to wait
until the second album is done before we do a large
tour. We will be touring through out Europe and the
US.
09.
EMF: Have you already any plans for new releases
within the next 2
years?
Alan Cotton : Yes, Robert and I
have written half the new album already. I am trying to
get back to writing in the next few weeks to finish the
rest of the songs. The plans are to have the second
album out by the end of 2009 or beginning of
2010.
10.
EMF: From your point of view, what is important
for a perfect teamwork within a
band?
Alan Cotton : That’s a good
question. My perspective is a band can’t just be a group
of great musicians, they also have to be a group of
great friends. If you don’t like the people your working
with, it’s almost impossible to create that magic.
11.
EMF: What means internet promotion on Myspace and
You tube for you?
Alan Cotton
:Myspace has really been great for us. We have been able
to expose our music to people from all over the world in
a very short time. But Myspace is just one part of it.
The online ezines and print magazines as well as radio
are still a very important part of promotion for us.
12.
EMF: Some reasons for the Fans to give Twisted a
Chance?
Alan Cotton :Are you
tired of going to the store and not finding any music
that interest you? Want to hear an album full of music
the way it use to be played but with a modern twist? If
you like rock and roll, you will love this album. It's
New Millennium Hard
Rock!
13. EMF: At the End
of the Interview some words for the Music
Fans?
Alan Cotton :First, I want to thank
Stephanie and Eternal Metal Flame for this interview and
for supporting new music and to your readers for taking
the time to read it. Please stop by our website or
myspace page and check out the band. Help support the
music you enjoy and also support magazines like Eternal
Metal Flame that make interviews like this possible.
http://www.eternalmetalflame.com.
CSB on the CMS
The Cotton Soeterboek Band would
like to thank our friends Wendell Neeley and Chris Akin
at the Classic Metal Show for having Alan on November
15th to talk a little bit about the new album Twisted,
as well as the history of the band and the current state
of the music industry. Other guest on the show were Snew
lead singer Curtis Don Vito (http://www.snewyou.com) and Pro-Pain's Gary
Meskil (http://www.pro-pain.com).
New Interview with Robert and
Alan at GRTR!
GRTR! Get Ready To Rock
Interview
10Q’s
with COTTON SOETERBOEK
BANDThe Cotton Soeterboek Band have
just released a very enjoyable debut album, ‘Twisted’
perfect for fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchett and
Deep Purple. For more on the band click here and now
over to guitarist Alan Cotton and vocalist Robert
Soeterboek…
csb
1. What are you currently up to?
(recording, gigs,
plans)
Robert: Well, with our new album
Twisted just coming out, that has been taking up most of
our time right now. We just signed a distribution deal,
so the album should now be available at record stores
all across
Europe.
Alan: With the new album out now,
I’m having to juggle between the business aspects of
things and trying to finish writing the second album so
I’m staying very
busy.
Robert: I did recently record an
album in Germany with Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69),
Michael Klein (Wicked Sensation) and Dirk Bruinenberg
(Elegy, Dial). It’s a project and it doesn’t have a name
yet, but I think it sounds
great.
2. How did the band come
together?
Robert: I suddenly received a call
from Alan and he said: I finally found you! We ended up
getting together in the Rockies and recorded our first
two songs together. It meant we had a partnership so we
ended up writing about 20 songs together and 9 of them
made it on the
album.
Alan: Yeah, that's basically it.
Robert and I hit it off right away, it just clicked and
the whole idea was simple, just write the type of music
we
love.
Robert: By the time we started to
look for the other members, we just wanted people we
knew so it was that easy. When the release date of the
album kept being pushed back, we knew it was going to be
a problem because of previous commitments, so we did
have a line up
change.
3. Could you take us through your
excellent debut album ‘Twisted’ please (e.g. story
behind the song, song writing
process)…
Alan: Either Robert or I will come
up with a song and we will sketch out a rough idea for
an arrangement. By then, Robert already has the melodies
and lyrics in mind but we might still bounce some lyric
ideas around at that point. Then we will record them. We
try not to spend too much time going over something
endless times. It either works or it
doesn’t.
Robert: I must say that I really
wrote the lyrics fast. I don’t have to think a year
about it. I just write down what I feel. Traveling to
the States always gives me much of the inspiration for
our music, except Pretty Maureen. That song is about how
I feel about my
wife.
4. Have you seen an upswing in
interest over the past couple of years in classic/hard
rock? How easy/hard is it for a band like yourselves to
get onto tours with established
bands?
Robert: A while back I did a
concert in Holland called Classics in Rock with many
well known singers. I worked with Graham Bonnet, Glenn
Hughes, John Anderson, John Waite and Chriss Thompson. I
ended up singing at a secret show with Chriss Thompson,
Neil Murray and the keyboardist and second guitar player
of Queen. After that we had a big show in front of ten
thousand people. That proved to me that classic rock was
back.
Alan: You know, we get so many
people that like our music who grew up listening to all
the classic bands, but also because of things like
Guitar Hero, we probably attract as many young
listeners. People who are just finding out about
“Classic Rock” for the first time. I have to say that
the response so far has been
amazing.
5. Alan - what made you want to
start playing guitar and what piece of advice would you
pass onto budding
musicians?
Alan: Music has always been a part
of my life. It’s something you’re born with, just part
of your DNA, so you really don’t have a choice. My
influences would be all the greats like Jimmy Page, Gary
Moore, Allen Collins, Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie
Montrose, Tommy Bolin, Robin Trower, Michael Schenker,
Billy Gibbons. Those are the guys who made me want to
play guitar. As far as advice for budding musicians,
besides practicing and songwriting? If you can touch
some ones emotions with your music, make them smile or
bring joy to their life, even if just for a little
while, you have accomplished your goals as a musician
and that is what you should always strive
for.
6. Who are the bands musical
influences and if given the chance who would the band
love to tour with &
why?
Robert: We didn’t write with any
band in mind, but I would love to tour with Lynyrd
Skynyrd and Deep Purple. And don’t forget the Allman
Brothers. There’s a lot I could learn from those bands,
and they mean so much to
me.
Alan: Any of those bands would be
great. Just having the chance to watch them perform from
the side of the stage every night would be
amazing.
7. Robert - How did you hook-up
with Ayreon/Star One? What have been the highlights,
both recording and live
wise?
It’s easy, Arjen is a good friend
of mine. We had played in bands together for years, so
Ayreon was the next step. It was great doing the tour
with Star One, we all got along really well. Recording
with Arjen is always funny. We have the same sense of
humor so it’s always
great.
8. What have been the most
memorable live shows from you and
why?
Robert: Supporting Status Quo, the
Classics in Rock show and the Star One
tour.
Alan: Probably doing a live show
for MTV. There were about 7,000 people there so that was
crazy. The Gibson Guitars All Star Jam was also a lot of
fun.
9. What do you like doing with your
spare time outside of
music?
Robert: I like to shop, cook and
BBQ and enjoy my
kids.
Alan: I don’t have any free time
outside of
music.
10. Message for your
fans….
Robert: Thanks to everyone for the
tremendous support you have shown us so far. It means
the world to
us.
Alan: If you like our music, please
tell your friends about us. That is the only way bands
like ours can survive and as always, please support
websites like Get Ready To Rock that brings you the
music you
enjoy!
New Interview with Alan Cotton at
Review Busters
Interview with Alan Cotton of The
Cotton Soeterboek Band
Eric:
Tell us a little about the bands
history.
Alan: I
had decided to put a new band together, and Robert
Soeterboek's name was recommended to me. I gave him a
call and that was that. Robert's the vocalist I had been
looking for my whole life. Not only is he a fantastic
singer, but a true friend. Well, we ended up getting
together here in Colorado and just started writing
together. Locked away in a cabin up in the mountains.
That was great, nobody to bother
us.
The idea from the beginning was
just write music we love. When it was time to put the
whole band together, we just starting thinking of our
friends that we would like to work with. That's when
Butch, Mike and Joost came on
board.
Eric: The
bands first release was the self-titled EP. At this
point in your career the release was put out with no
label help. Did it take long for a label to take notice
after the EP's
release?
Alan:
After the EP came out, we had some offers from small
labels but nothing we felt that great about. What we
really didn't want was a label trying to make artistic
decisions for the band. Pushing us in any one direction.
Caf Fine Records is a company Robert and I ended up
starting
together.
We recently signed a distribution
deal, getting the album into stores worldwide. That has
really helped because we have a large fan base across
Europe.
Eric: Has
The Cotton Soeterboek Band's sound really changed since
the
EP?
Alan: Not
really. We try not to write the same song twice. If you
listen to any one of our songs alone, you would get a
limited perspective on what the band is all about. But
if you listen to the ep and album as a whole, they fit
together perfectly. Actually, Good Morning Georgia is
such a great song, we might end up re-recording it and
putting it on the second
album.
Eric: The
first single off of Twisted is Set Me Free. Is there any
chance that we'll see a video for this songs
release?
Alan: I
would love to see a video for it. Set Me Free is the
song that's really being pushed to radio right now and I
think that would be the best song to expose the band to
a larger audience through
video.
Eric:
Twisted came out on October 14, 2008. Have the sales of
this album been better than you
expected?
Alan: They
are doing quite well. Sales seem to be strongest in
Europe right now, but the radio campaign has just
started over here. The good thing is we are seeing a
whole range of ages in people buying the album. From
kids who are just getting turned on to "Classic Rock"
for the first time, to adult's who grew up listening to
Whitesnake and Deep
Purple.
Eric:
Which bands influenced you when you were starting out
with
music?
Alan: Led
Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers,
Bad Company. All the classics. As far as guitar players
go, Jimmy Page, Ronnie Montrose, Johnny Winter.... too
many to
count.
Eric: Are
there plans for a full length tour to support
Twisted?
Alan: The
plans right now are to finish writing the second album
and then a full length tour across the US and Europe. It
took us a while to get the first album out so we want to
make sure the second album is going to come out on time.
That's our main focus right now but if a large tour
offer comes our way, we would take
it.
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