Interview with Endeavour
Interview with Endeavour
What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?
Most of us were getting into heavier music around the age of fifteen. Bands like Escape the Fate, Falling in Reverse, Asking Alexandria, Parkway Drive and Slipknot are what started our love for metal. Gijs and Anthony were making music together already (in a cover band) so it just made sense to start making heavy music.
''Alongside being in a band, I'm content creator and product manager at Redux Gaming. Probably still would have been doing that if I didn't get into music.'' - Gijs (vocals)
''I had a lot of different interests while growing up. It could have been something like psychology, architecture, game development, film director or history teacher. Although I feel like music was definitely the right choice for me.'' - Anthony (rhythm guitar)
''I'd probably be a history teacher if I hadn't studied music.'' - Rob (lead guitar)
''Studying microbiology or becoming a freighter captain is probably something I would have done if I wouldn't have studied music.'' - Jan (bass)
''I would dedicate my time to skateboarding and surfing or something in the field of engineering.'' - Teun (Drums)
What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?
We all have different hobbies. Jan likes to sail in his spare time. Teun can be seen skating most of the time when he's not drumming. Gijs loves gaming. Most of the time Rob can be found at the gym or doing miniature painting. When Anthony is not writing new music he likes to spend time with friends and occasionally plays a video game. It probably does influence our creativity in a subtle way. Not sure in what specific way though. We get influenced in so many different ways all the time. Sometimes it is hard to know what specific thing triggered our creativity.
How long has your band been around?
We've been active as Endeavour from around 2018. In 2020 we started working on our debut album 'For The Time Being', which will be released on the 16th of June.
Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?
We're a metalcore band from The South of The Netherlands. The lyrics for 'Black Box', from our upcoming debut album, were inspired by the MH-17 passenger plane being shot down. Most of the people that died that day were from The Netherlands. Other than that, we don't think it has a big influence on our music.
How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?
Gijs (vocalist) came up with it. He really liked the idea of a 'one-word' band name. When he proposed the idea everyone liked it straight away. The name symbolizes in a way how we started this journey as a band. Our goal was, and still is, to write and play our own music for our own enjoyment and everyone else that appreciates it. Though we had no idea what it meant to be in a band and we still have a lot to learn, we keep pushing ourselves to learn. We aspire to learn as much as we can to be able to write the most interesting and impactful music we can possibly make. We look back on our development throughout these years with pride and are eager to learn and evolve beyond what and who we are right now. The best part of it is that we're all sharing this with one another and everyone that supports us and our music, which is a big motivation.
Tell me about your most memorable shows.
Our most memorable show was at the Muziekgieterij in Maastricht. The venue was packed and it was an absolute blast. The energy from the crowd was amazing. We have a lot of fond memories of this show.
What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?
The Muziekgieterij in Maastricht is probably our favourite venue at the moment. There's a lot of venues that we'd want to play at in the future. Essigfabrik in Cologne, Patronaat in Haarlem, Trix in Antwerp and O2 Academy Islington in London to name a few.
If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?
Sleep Token, Bad Omens, Loathe and Northlane.
What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?
Persistence, working hard, being eager to learn and grow and not shying away from undertaking action will probably get you pretty far even though it can be difficult. If you enjoy what you do, all the work it takes isn't a big deal. Just go for it!
If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?
Don't question yourself too much. Keep working hard and it'll all be fine.
Of your songs, which one means the most to you and why?
It's probably 'Sober' from our upcoming album 'For The Time Being'. Working on this song is what influenced our writing the most out of all the songs from the album. In a way it shaped a lot of what we've been working on for our second album.
Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?
Gijs (vocals): Sober
Anthony (rhythm guitar): Colourblind
Rob (lead guitar): Colourblind
Jan (bass): Black Box
Teun (drums): Aimless
'Definite' is a fan favourite for sure. Most people tell us it's their favourite Endeavour song.
What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?
Our rhythm guitarist Anthony writes most of the music. He records every part of the instrumental demo. After that, Anthony and Gijs (vocalist) start working on the vocals together. Mostly the music we listen to on a daily basis inspires us to create our own music. These influences come from different genres and manifest themselves in different ways.
What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
Our lyrics are a combination of personal stories and broader issues around us. It's mostly a way to write off negative emotions. We're always working on developing our writing and expanding on topics to talk about in our music.
Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?
We feel like every band goes through disagreements. It's just part of working together closely. Getting past it is all about listening to each other and not letting your own ego get the best of you. If everyone works hard and does their part there's nothing to worry about if you're willing to listen to each other.
What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?
Our upcoming debut album 'For The Time Being' will be out on the 16th of June. We're looking forward to the release and are happy to finally present it to the world! Stream our music and follow us on Social Media here: https://linktr.ee/EndeavourNL
We're already far into the writing process for our second album as well. The upcoming single 'Colourblind' and 'Sober' from our debut album 'For The Time Being' hint a little bit at what we're planning to do in the future. To promote our music we want to play as many shows as we can in Europe in the next three years.