Earlier this year, we chatted to Belgian noise merchants Steak Number Eight mere minutes before they took to the stage to support Marmozets on their recent stint of headline tours. Talking about Belgium, a cottage in Middlesborough and not compromising, we see what else the band had to say…
How are you and the guys today?
Yeah we are pretty good thanks, excited to play with Marmozets again.
How does it feel to be over in the UK supporting Marmozets?
It’s very awesome, nearly all the shows are sold out which it very exciting and we toured with them two years ago when they weren’t as big as they are now. The cool thing actually is that we promised each other that if one of us got big that we would support each other again, and now they are much bigger so it’s good to be over here with them again.
What is it like coming over to the UK compared to playing in your native Belgium?
It is difficult sometimes because in Belgium we have been playing to the same people for the last 10 years and they know our stuff. We have been coming to the UK for the last 3 to 4 years and we do see some similar faces each time which is nice to see. It’s awesome, though. It is hard sometimes because there are times where you play in front of two people (laughs).
Have you ever played in front of two people?
Yeah we have actually, it was up in Middlesborough, we played in some cottage thing, which was like the first time we ever played over here. But now it’s awesome.
How does it feel to have your music over in the UK and building a solid fanbase?
I think it feels very awesome, we have worked hard on it. To the country’s we have exposed ourselves to, the UK have been very kind to us. It’s a massive compliment. We’ve seen bands that we like give us compliments and it just so awesome.
What is the music scene like in Belgium?
It is very small, it is almost rare. The bigger bands in Belgium are European level bands and that’s it. There’s a small hardcore scene, but there is a scene and most of them are very young bands which is good. It’s just not as mainstream over there as it is over in the UK. So we are very proud to come over and be able to play over here as well.
What can we expect from a Steak Number Eight Live show?
It’s intense, we try to bring it as a story and we try to bring it as a bit of a trip. You can decide what trip (laughs). We choose the setlist and change it a lot because we only have 30 minutes, we try to take the crowd into our hands in our set. If we give that to the people then we feel like we have accomplished something.
You also get to play at the Electric Ballroom on this tour, is London one of those places to play on the bucket list?
There is always a positive atmosphere in London, it is the one city in Europe that all bands want to play and hopefully we will see some familiar faces from the last time we playing in London.
What is one rule for being on the road?
No compromises, just go for it, it sounds a bit cliché but just do what you want especially musically. Listen to other people as well and just do what makes you happy in the long run.
Thanks for your time.
Yeah cheers man, thanks for the chat.
Steak Number Eight’s new album KOSMOKOMA will be released in November 2015. A full European tour including a show at London’s Boston Music Rooms on the 22nd of November will follow in support of the new album. Keep in touch with Steak Number Eight on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/steaknumber8.
