Photo by Alex Post

MeloManics are the winners of the Diesel:U:Music golden turd, which means they get to travel along with the Rock ‘n Rave Circus now. We talked to their almost unnaturally blond singer Guido about bull fighting.

You won the Diesel:U:Music contest! How did that feel?
We didn’t expect it, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t extatic to receive that golden elephant turd. A certain type of pride came over us. We didn’t play at safe, we played three new tracks and flamed like we never did before. And that was appreciated.

What is MeloManics’ part in a good party?
We’re about two things: going through the roof ourselves and letting other people go through the roof because of our music. Our part is clear in that. Usually a crowd could use a little push, and we give them that.

What kind of audience do you like  best?
Dutch people tend to check out the band or DJ with dead eyes from the side. But secretly everybody wants to go crazy. It’s that moment, the moment when the audience loses all its shame, that’s what we like. Sweet, a bit naughty and no embarassment at all.

In your outfits, made by Bas Kosters, you look like a group of bull fighters that has just visited a vodka brewery. Do they fit you well and are they convenient for doing a gig in?
The outfits are perfect. It’s good you mention the bull fighting, because that’s how we see ourselves, actually. The bulls in the audience have to be tamed. And everytime they think they’ve got us, we turn into a whole new direction. If you look at the set we play at the Rock ‘n Rave Circus, you’ll see that we’re quite diverse. Fucked up rave, an ultimate disco song and two floorfillers to end it. What were we talking about again? Right, the outfits. They fit like a glove, that was what I was saying, and it looks good on stage. The red flag is a little inconvenient sometimes, but the show must go on. The circus band from hell won’t give up that easily!

You were the last ones to enter and complete the circus crew. Were you received with open arms by the rest of the crew, or did you have to clean out the horse stables in the first weeks?
One of the reasons we were added to the circus crew was because our attitude towards music and throwing a killer party is the exact same as Joost and the gang. We want to throw a party together because that is awesome. For us the night isn’t just our set; we’re helping the strongest man in the world, and in the end of the evening I bring a serenade to Joost. It’s a bunch of mutual respect mixed with an elaborate dose of underwear jokes.

What is your favourite groupie like?
Sweet, silent, shy, but in the end he or she will come by to tell us they loved it, and then they’ll leave with a shy giggle and a MeloManics sticker on a random bodypart.

Which of you guys makes the most mistakes?
Everybody makes them, but when it comes to ruining the most important and greatest MeloManics shows, I’m the worst of them all. Tearing up the guitar cord during Lowlands so the guitar got unplugged… For some reason nobody ever said something about it.

Describe every band member in one word.
Jeroen is a sound lab worker. He owned at least 18 different synthesizers, 8 drum computers, 5 compressors and an infinite amount of great little effect machines. I’m a stage animal. Hans is living imagery. He tattood the name of a band that played at his bar on his chest, just because that band paid for the tattoo costs. Put together, we’re music freaks.

What is your greatest trick?
Our greatest trick is our upcoming album, that we’re working on really hard right now. It’s meant to be done at the end of this year. Our new single, Spices, will be out soon too. The video is on MTV regularly already. And it’s hypnotising. We’re not even kidding.

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