erg jammer...... 22nd of December 2014, the Netherlands Dear friends, All good things come to an end. Barry, Jochem and I will call it a day soon. We wont pull the plug immediately, but 2015 will be the last year for Vanderbuyst. Some of you will heave a sigh of relief and think: finally! Others will curse this announcement and might want to smash our records, tear the Vanderbuyst posters from the wall or scrape the VDB tattoos of their arms. But there is no need to be dramatic. After playing 400 shows in 21 countries, recording 4 full lengths, an EP and a 7-inch, we feel the game is over, as simple as that. To be honest, this decision didnt come out of the blue. About a year ago we realized that there was no future for Vanderbuyst. We learned that trying to make a career in hard rock is like Don Quixote fighting windmills – brave but foolish. Notwithstanding, when we came home from our European tour in February 2014 we decided to record our last album. The ones who have been listening carefully probably already saw the writing on the wall, when we sung sweet goodbye. Our passion for music is the motor of the Vanderbuyst machine, our friendship the oil. And the fuel we needed we found in our unified will to work. When colleagues in the scene (often) asked us how we got to this point, we always told them the same thing: work harder, rehearse till your fingers bleed. Promote yourselves because nobody will discover you. Improve everything you do all the time. Invest all you have, when broke borrow or steal to support your self-deluding fantasy. In this manner, we have realized more than we dreamed of. And every time we checked off something on the list, we raised the bar again. We always gave 100% and sacrificed shamelessly. Like monomaniacs we headed for what we wanted. Obviously, you can work your ass off all you want, you will need the luck to meet the right people at the right time and place. We have been blessed with that. An inspiring bunch they have been! The guys behind our band gave us full support and total freedom. We never had to compromise. Of course, we were always hungry for a higher level. The moment we arrived at the point that we would have to violate the integrity and the core of our band to get to a higher level, we knew we had reached our limits. The music business in general is a path of thorns, no need to dwell on this. But it involves a lot more than the romance of rock and roll. That said, we will never complain! The fans we have were an immense motivation. We knew that without them we would be nowhere. We have always stuck to the philosophy that we are the same people as our audience. No barrier; we party together, united we create the energy our shows are known for. Some of our fans traveled for thousands of miles to attend the gigs. They have spoiled us with presents and birthday-cakes. However, the biggest gratitude we could get is when they sung our songs. Goosebumps all over when I think about it. Needless to say, in all this touring and making records, we have neglected our families and friends. Nevertheless, they too gave us full support. When we told them we would hit the road again for a month, they would wish us Godspeed. They were always in the back of our mind. We knew one day we would make it up. That day has come. Indeed, the day has come we take a look at ourselves in the mirror. With a heavy heart, we must admit that a healthy career in music with this band is not going to happen. The days where you could support your family with your rocky tunes are over. Undeniably, the opulent oasis in the days of yore is sucked dry and leaves us staring at a Fata Morgana. But luckily there is more than this band. Standing at the crossroads we realize that we have other ambitions besides playing in a hard rock band. Starting a family, trading the part time job for a more serious affair. Engaging in new musical liaisons. Traveling the world and finish studies, to name a few. You might say: sure no problem. You can do all these things while keeping the band going! But the ones who know us a little better will understand that we cannot do things halfhearted. Our credo: all or nothing, still remains. What got us this far is exactly the thing that forces us to end this adventure. Vanderbuyst has been more than just a hobby on the side and we want to preserve that thought. What will 2015 bring? We will rock as hard as we always did at the upcoming shows in the Spring and the festivals in the Summer. In September 2015 we will play our last Vanderbuyst gigs and make it something special. It would be nice to see you all on the last part of the road one more time. Hopefully you will respect our choice. On our latest album At The Crack Of Dawn we sung about sweet goodbye. Let it be a sweet goodbye. All there is left to say is a big thank you! We hope you enjoyed the ride as much as we did. Wish you all the luck! Willem, also on behalf of Barry and Jochem
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 12:38:10 +0000
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