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The Setup: still going strong

posted by: David on 29 June 2009

Every band that struggles with line-up changes has a hard time. Especially when the singer and guitar player/song writer leave the band. The Setup survived these difficulties and continues on their road towards the top. Singer Kris Deweerdt picked up the microphone and from the band Fallen they recruited guitar player Jef van de Weghe and bass player Michiel van Steen. After the mini-cd ‘Crawl & Reign’ The Setup now returns with the album ‘Torchbearer’. AsIce.net had a quick chat with singer Kris about it.

How do you like the way ‘Torchbearer’ turned out?

We’re very pleased with the new album. We were still getting used to each other on the previous mini-cd. ‘Torchbearer’ was written for my voice, while the songs on ‘Crawl & Reign’ were already written before I joined the band. On top of that I was pretty nervous during the recordings of the mini-cd. This time it was a lot easier and we really took our time. I think the sound is way better this time too. The mini-cd was a bit too rough for my taste. ‘Torchbearer’ is rough as well, but in a different way. More polished. Recording wise we really headed in a different way with ‘Crawl & Reign’ and that worked out well.

So the line-up changes did affect the band during the past period?

Yes, of course. It’s not easy for a band that is going strong to deal with such difficulties. You have to replace people and that’s always hard. On top of that, guitar player Andries has always been one of the driving forces behind The Setup. But it all worked out fine. By the way, Andries will be connected to The Setup in the future and he also wrote some of the songs on the new album.

Did you ever thought of changing the band name?

No, because the line-up changes happened gradually. Of course, the hardest thing for the band was when singer Dries left the band, but it was never an option to change the band name to something other than The Setup. When you do that, you’ll have to face even more difficulties. The music was still the same and at the time there were two original members in the band. After a name change you have to start all over again with promoting your band and all that. Now you have a well-known name that you can use. The live shows are still just as powerful as before, so it’s still The Setup.

You just mentioned the new way of recording. It reminded me a lot of the sound that Born From Pain has now, the band that Andries joined. Is that a coincidence?

No, it’s not a coincidence. Born From Pain introduced us to Jacob Olsen who recorded our album in the Mono Studio in Denmark. Rob Franssen, the singer of Born From Pain, is also our manager and he sings on the song ‘Another Heresy’ as well. As you can see there are obvious connections between both bands.

How did you end up singing for The Setup?

I accompany the band for several years now, as a roadie or merchandise guy. I’ve known Andries, Dries and Raf for a long time and I’ve been in a few bands, so I think the guys thought it was obvious to ask me as their new singer. When you recruit someone new, you never know how it will work out. There will always be people who think The Setup sounds better with Dries on vocals and not everyone will appreciate our new style, but you always have to deal with that. When you play in a band, you can expect criticism. That was kind of hard for me in the beginning, since I replaced a very charismatic singer and people follow your every move. By now I think of The Setup as my band and not the band that I happen to sing in. Of course I read a negative reaction every now and then, but there are just as much positive reactions, or even more. During the shows the crowd really gets going, so I think people are used to me by now.

What was it like for the two new guys Jef and Michiel to switch from a relatively small band like Fallen to The Setup?

I think the switch was a very natural one for them. As you know, a band like The Setup has to have replacement musicians when a band member can’t go on tour or has to cancel a show. Jef and Michiel already were the replacements for The Setup. I think they had to get used to being in the band permanently, but it’s also a gradual transition, since they already kind of were in the band.

At this moment The Setup is doing really good. How far do you think this band can go?

Of course every band strives to get as far as possible and the play as many cool shows and festivals. The same goes for us. I have no idea how far we can go, no one can predict the future. It’s tough though, because you get stuck on a certain level of popularity at one point. Also, we don’t know how family life of the band members will affect the band, but the way things are looking now, we sure want to try to come as far as possible.

Interview by David.
Pictures provided by GSR.

Related bandprofile: The Setup

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Kijsersnee

Posted on 29.06.2009 (10:32)

goto top

Siked voor cilinder

xjeagerbombx

Posted on 29.06.2009 (10:39)

goto top

torchbearer draait al weken non stop hier, wat een heerlijke plaat.
Live beukt het naar mijn mening harder dan ooit. De stem van kris gaat door merg en been.

Kelvin

Posted on 30.06.2009 (09:33)