Bang Bang Bazooka

Bang Bang Bazooka formed in 1987 and is a band from Holland. It’s hard to place a genre Psychobilly/Rockabilly comes to mind since they use an upright bass but there genre is so diverse. Whatever the genre it’s a beautiful thing and they bring a unique sound to the table. They have been Rockin the mic for over 25 years now and in 2013 we may be in f or a treat in the USA. Not many details besides that are known at this time but keep your eyes on their page for info to come. You may recognize there handsome bass player from an interview we just did.  Eric Haamers also plays in the legendary band Batmobile. I had a chance to sit down with Marc and here’s the man himself…

BBM: What’s your name and what do you do for the band?

 My name is Marc Burger and I'm the band's drummer since 2009. Before that I played in 69 Beavershot, The Penguin (Eric Haamers), Scam (revival). Currently I'm also playing in Liptease & The Backstreet Crackbangers and Dee Ann & The Nightcaptains. 

BBM: Give us come history on the band

Marcel, our guitarplayer/lead singer, was playing at the time in a band called "The Cavemen". In this period he became a close friend to Francois and wanted him to be part of the Cavemen. After several rehearsals The Cavemen were not very enthousiastic about the new sound. Marcel didn't agree and decided to quit and start a new band with Francois.

BBM: How did you come up with the band name?

We always say "From the dictionary" and in fact it's true! We were looking for something explosive, so after the letter A you soon come across the letter B for Bang further down Bazooka. 

BBM: Influences?

Actually we have a very wide spread musical interest and are influenced by it, so from jazz to blue grass, honky tonk, rockabilly, rock'n roll, punk, surf, you name it. More than ever our musical influences can be heard on our soon to be released new album. 

BBM: What was your first major experience with music and what inspired you to start a band?

My personal first major experience with music was actually the jazz that my dad always played at home. Art Blakey inspired me to start playing the drums. Later I was having my first official gig with my first band when I was 12 (punk). 

I told you how Bang Bang Bazooka was started earlier. I joined in 2009. One year later Eric Haamers (Batmobile) also joined. 

BBM: How’s the scene different compared to when the band first started?

Most of the time we are missing the -billy. But still there are a lot of really good bands coming up. The music genre or style rockabilly / pyschobilly is still HOT!!

BBM: How does it feel to still be enjoying success and making great music 25 years later?

Well, it feels great! It's very nice to see that fans from way back are joined by new younger fans. We play many gigs on festivals where a variety of scenes are coming together and we're blending in perfectly; or better set we keep on rockin' those places! Especially after Eric and myself joined we have been able to give Bang Bang Bazooka a twist towards different music styles but never loose the Bang Bang Bazooka sound. 

We never had the feeling that the psychobilly scene really enjoyed a BBB gig, but maybe also that's because we never really felt being a typical psychobilly band. We wrote a couple of tunes and lyrics that can be classified as psycho, and we still do, but we did the same with Rock'n Roll, Rockabilly and Blues... Again, the main thing was that in any of these styles, which we all love, you can hear it was played by Bang Bang Bazooka.

BBM: It must have been an amazing journey so far whats your fondest memory?

Oooowwww we have lot!! We could write a book about it. Maybe we will !

BBM: Funniest touring moment?

That must have been when our Dodge Van lost a wheel. In the middle of the night on our way back from a gig we heard a strange noise. We checked the car but couldn't find anything wrong. So drove on and 10 minutes later in the middle of a small village the car flipped over to the front left side and we saw the front wheel bouncing on the street next to the Van: "Ow, that's not good!".

BBM: Favorite place to tour?

Well, every country has it's own atmosphere, culture and people. We have seen many of them but couldn't decide for one. Recently we traveled to Finland and Italy which was very special. Great people, fabulous organization and we had a lot of fun. And still after 25 years we love playing in Holland too.

BBM: How would you say the sound of the band has changed compared to its forming?

I think we have grown but we never lost that Bang Bang Bazooka sound. Our soon to be released new album partly contains songs that were  written 20 years ago and now finally found the right feeling to put it on CD. We are very happy about the result!

BBM: Where do you find inspiration in life?

My personal life motto is "Via Est Destinatum" meaning the destination is the road itself. I try to learn from every single moment or event happening in my life. I enjoy listening to other people's music and of course most of all making music myself. As corny as it may sound, but of course my wife and my 4 kids are a big inspiration to me as well. They give me energy in the few times that I'm actually at home.

BBM: Tell our readers about the album that came out this past year?

It hasn't come out yet, but it will in the next 2 months! We have recorded and mixed the album at Eric Haamer's little studio last year. Mastering was done by me in my studio (Burger Productions). We will be releasing the album ourselves. It will be available on our website www.bangbangbazooka.com/hell

BBM: What are some words of wisdom you would give a youth wanting to start a band?
Do it! It's fun!

BBM: Where is the best place for a fan to pick up an album/merch
The best place is at our gigs. Our driver/merch lady Moniek is always there! So bring us over to the US!! Otherwise: send us an email via our webiste or at bangbangbazooka@gmail.com

BBM: What’s coming up for the band in the future?
First the release of our new album. Then unfortunately Eric has to have some surgery on his shoulder, so he'll be out of business for about 6 weeks, but after that we'll be back on the road!! Hopefully also in the US next year!

BBM: Any last words anything you want to add?
ROCK 'n' ROLL!!! HELL YEAH!!! See ya on the road!