RedPrint's evolution from The Plan to a dynamic rock force unfolds in this interview. From band origins to COVID-19 challenges and the transformative impact of Selinde's arrival, discover the essence of RedPrint's unique journey and sound.
1. Can
you provide a brief overview of how RedPrint came into existence and evolved
over the years, starting as The Plan in 2012?
The band
started because another band broke up. The bass player (Milan) and 2
guitarplayers (Jacco and Geoffrey) decided not to quit. Jacco and Geoffrey knew
a girl that tended the bar at the pub they used to go to and heard her sing
during karaoke. So thats how Michelle joined the band. A website for bands to
form was used to find a drummer and thats how we found Rick. Jacco had send a
email around with The Plan as subject to set up a meeting to start everything
and it was Michelle who said why not call us The Plan. Original we wanted to
start a blues band, play Chicago and Texas blues, but we got our first gig
pretty fast and we decided to play what we knew at that point to be ready for
the show. This sticked, the whole be a blues band went away more and more and
we got more rockband over time.
2. The
band underwent changes in both the guitarist and vocalist positions. How did
these changes influence the band's sound and identity, especially after
Michelle's departure in 2018?
Geoffrey
had to miss a lot of rehearsals because of his work and personal life. This
must have been very frustrating for him. But we did see him leaving comming. Is
was sad because you have a great time together and nobody wanted anyone to
leave. But we do think the band got better after we found Ronald. Because we
could have rehearsals with a complete band. If you miss a member you can only
maintain what you do and its almost impossible to start new or different songs.
Michelle's
departure came a bit out of the blue. We where shocked, she was the face and
voice of the band. She was what gave us our identity. We feared we could not
recover for a while. Decent guitarists are plenty but singers that also fit
what we did was hard. And did we seek something simular or something different
was one of the hard questions. We had several singers come over and even
thought we found someone but she was not really motivated.
After we
found Selinde the band progressed very good. She has a great and unique voice
and is different from Michelle in many ways. We don't really have a favorite if
we had to choose it would be to difficult (we would have both). But we dont
think we would be doing this interview if Selinde didn't join us. She has great
motivation and brings a lot to the band. In vocals, lyrics gigs she even
organises a charity event every year called showvid. To raise funds (this year
for mental health) and give bands a place on stage. She got bands that just
began to bands that had expirience for several years and larger venues.
3.
Selinde, you joined as the current vocalist after a search and several guest
singers. How did you become part of RedPrint, and how has your unique vocal
tone contributed to the band's musical direction?
I've been
struggling with my mental health my entire life. As part of working on myself I
wanted to try and seek out my passions, which I was always too afraid to
pursue. In 2019 a friend of mine tagged me in an advert for a singing position
in The Plan (RedPrint's former name). I found the courage to apply, thinking
they would never respond, but they did within 10 minutes! Before I knew it I
had a try out to prepare for. At the end of the try out they said they didn't
even had to discuss it. That was that. It really helps me face my fears and
strengthen my self-confidence.
I honestly
couldn't say how my vocal tone contributes. Personally I think it has more to
do with how all of our personal preferences in music get mixed together and
create this unique mixture. Who knows where we go in the future and what genres
will tickle our inspiration.
( The rest
of the band would like to add that even though in the beginning we had the idea
that the personality was good for band dynamic and Selinde sings good enough.
Through the years she went from a decent singer to a great singer. She really
went through great development. Maybe Selinde felt like she was just the
replacement of Michelle for a while. We can safely say she became much more
then that. Selinde is the face and voice of RedPrint.)
4. The
band faced challenges during the COVID-19 lockdowns, yet that period birthed
"Stop Running" and "Immersion." How did the process of
creating music remotely impact the band's dynamic, and what inspired these
songs?
At first it
didn't, stop Running was delivered to the band as a pretty much complete song
by Jacco and Selinde. They did this project together and we did change the song
as a band. We recently listened to the first draft and you can't compare it to
the studio version we did. But the outline and structure of the song is pretty
much the same.
Immersion
did start in the rehearsal room. Jacco had made the synthesizer tune and chords
of the verse but the song got made and shaped by the whole band.
So at first
covid gave us the impulse to make original songs. But we do think this was the
period that Jacco lost his motivation to continue. The original song's gave him
hope he could but it was not enough for him. After a while it was clear he
wanted to go a different direction from the rest of us. First musical and later
personally.
5.
Jacco's departure in late 2022 led to changes in the band's direction. How did
this impact the musical style, and how did Selinde stepping in to play
synthesizer parts on her violin shape the sound of RedPrint's music?
First we
had to postpone the recording of the songs. We had 3 songs pretty much ready
and that didn't change. But we did have to find a way to do the synthesizer
parts, and the rhythm guitar parts Jacco did in those songs without him. That
did take some time. The style we did after he left was in line of what we did,
but because he would rather do something different a less rockheavy sound that
did give us more freedom. We think Colour me Insane and Telephone would be
different if they would exist at all if Jacco wouldhave remained. We can never
tell, they also could have been even better then they are now.
The violin
is different from the synthesizer, but it does give a unique feature to the
band. Selinde gives something extra, hard for her to get used to play it in a
band but she picked it up great.
6. The
band's name was changed to RedPrint in October 2023, signaling a new direction
for the band. Can you elaborate on why the name change occurred and how it
reflects the band's current identity?
We didn't
want to change the name really. But we recorded the songs and wanted to put
them on the streaming services. A Quick search on spotify made us realise we
would be a small drop in a large pool of bands called the plan or something
simular. If someone where to search for us on Spotify they would have a really
hard time to find us and maybe give up before they do. We named the EP The Plan
as a hommage to our past.
Our
identity is different because we share our original songs in stead of covers.
The name, well it did take some getting used to call ourselves RedPrint but now
we think we are RedPrint. We are not The Plan anymore. Even if some of our fans
do hear the same familiar sound as from the time we player only covers. For
shows we do need to still play covers to fill the show untill we have enough
original material but we did have to drop plenty of covers that didn't fit the
new RedPrint style.
7.
"Immersion and Stop Running" features Selinde playing synthesizer
parts on her violin. Can you share more about the creative process behind this
track and how the band navigates incorporating diverse elements into your
music?
Parts for
both songs where already ready, Selinde did make them her own but they where
basicly ready. But because it was a synthesizer she could not just play a clean
violin. But the last thing we wanted was a violin that sounds like a guitar
(sometimes violin in rock sounds like that) we already had a guitarplayer. So a
way to make it unique was found with effects. Now it does not sound like the
synthesizer pr a guitar because it is not and people should hear it is a
violin. But it doesn't sound like a clean violin either.
New songs
will be made that features the violin, but because Selinde is used to play in a
orchestral setting this is not a easy thing. However new songs are in the
making and we are excited about them.
8. The
EP, titled "The Plan," pays homage to your history. How does this
collection of songs represent the band's journey, and are there any specific
themes or messages embedded in the EP?
Make
original songs was The Plan for some time. We do think all the different covers
we did over the years contributed to all the songs we made. Also all our
personal musical preferences come forward in it.
It is not a
theme EP, but it does feature the struggles and personal problems of Selinde’s
past and present in the lyrics. We would not have this EP without those lyrics.
So i think it is more Selinde’s journey through life that shapes these songs
and the EP.
9. Can
you shed some light on the various musical genres and subgenres that people
have associated with RedPrint? How do you personally perceive your music, and
do these labels influence your creative process?
We have
been called Classic Rock, Prog, 90s College Rock, Desert Rock and Harder Rock.
But we can be sure we are a Rockband. We just work on a song and if we like it
we make it. At the moment we are working on something that would probably be
grunge (i guess) but we can't be to bothered by it. If you like rock you
probably like some or most of our songs. I don't think we try to avoid or go in
a direction because of what others think we do or should do.
10. With
the EP released, what has been the audience's response, and how do you feel
your music has been received within the diverse genres you explore?
In general
the response was great, sure it's not to everyones taste. But our
"old" audience likes it. But we do draw in a new audience. Some reviews where writen and
they where very positive. The response from other artists are also great. And
they are a tough crowd to please in general.
11. As a
band that plays across various rock subgenres, how do you approach songwriting
and music composition? Are there specific influences or inspirations that guide
your creative process?
There
probably are plenty of influences and inspirations that help. But nothing
specific we keep in mind while creating these songs. Usualy there is a bassline
or guitar riff that gets jammed a bit during rehearsal. Selinde then finds a
vocal melody that fits. If she can find the lyrics that fit that melody the
song progresses. Usualy the end result is nothing like the first jam. When
there is some idea how the lyrics fit the parts we already have we build the
song further around that. Some might say we work backwords but how we get to
the end result is unimportant to us as long as the end result is satisfactory
to us and the audience.
12.
Selinde, being both the vocalist and violinist, how do you balance these roles
within the band, and how does the addition of violin contribute to the overall
sound of RedPrint?
Selinde
tried to sing while playing violin, but that was awkward, she can do it but it
looks silly and cramps her neck. So that is off the table for now. Thats why
there are defined vocal and violin parts in our songs. But the violin does give
a unique edge to our music compaired to most rockbands. The part in immersion
where the violin and guitar solo come together is a great example of what we
would like to do more. We are eager to make new songs that feature the violin.
13. What
are the main challenges you've faced during the recording process, and how have
these challenges shaped the final versions of your songs?
The biggest challenge was to record 5 songs in one day really. We always wanted to have a "live" feel to our recording because we don't want to sound completely different on the studio track from when we play live. We did do some dubbing for some guitar parts but in general it is recorded as we play it live. And we can hear that live feel in the end result. But we are happy the way they turned out.
14.
Looking ahead, what are RedPrint's current future plans? Are there specific
goals or milestones the band is aiming to achieve in 2024 and beyond?
Ideal we
would like to have a second EP, but we will not set a deadline for that. If we
can we will, if not it will be for a later time. We also want to play as many
shows as possible. Play shows is what we like to do the most.
15. How
does the band plan to promote the EP and connect with the audience, both
through online platforms and live shows?
Right now
we promote it in any way we can, social media like facebook, instagram and
tiktok and various websites like musosoup and submithub. We played live on a
radio station and reviews that are made
are really helpfull. We hope this interview will help us as well in the future.
16.
Finally, could you share some insights into the dynamics within the band, how
you collaborate on new tracks, and any rituals or traditions that you have
developed as a group
We mostly
try te be ourselves most of the times. This is why the right people getting
together was important. You can be the best in what you do but if you are a
prick or can't accept the rest for who they are you have no place in RedPrint.
The dynamic of how the tracks are made is a group effort. I can't say we have
real traditions, but somehow we do this chicken thing lately that somehow
started when the bass player messed up a song.
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