Down the Rabbit Hole: SONS

Arno – the elusive fourth member of Belgian noiseniks, SONS – considers alternative futures and a four-headed hound.

When you were younger, did you always imagine you would per- form and play music?

Of course, when you start playing an instrument you always dream of being in a band. 

“Before we wanted to be rockstars, we wanted to be professional cyclists.”

Did you have any other wild dreams about what you wanted to be in the future?

When we were younger, both Jens and I were big into cycling. Before we wanted to be rockstars, we wanted to be professional cyclists, but that dream died when we started partying. 

What did you imagine for the band when you first formed SONS together?

In the beginning, not that much. We didn’t plan to do gigs. Robin and I started jamming together in his Dad’s warehouse for fun. Our first gig was at a Halloween party. I was in a nurse costume, Thomas was a devil, Jens was dressed up as an old lady covered in blood and Robin was a priest. We played ‘Ricochet’ but we didn’t have any lyrics so we just blabbered over the music.

How do you have fun as a band on the road and how does that differ from in the studio?
On the road, we spend a lot of time in the bus, so a lot of jokes and stories are told. At night, if we’re in a good city, we’ll go to a few bars. We love food so we’ll always look at what the city has to offer. Then at home, we pretty much do the same thing!

You arrive at the festival grounds early and you’re stranded on the site’s lake with only a fishing rod and some rope. What do you do?

Catching fish won’t be an option because they’ll have all died of alcohol poisoning. Probably, try and have a fight with the stick and the rope. Thomas should be a strong swimmer because he’s our drummer, so he could start swimming and he can pull us to the shore by the rope. Team effort… with kudos to Thomas!

You’re stumbling back to the band’s tent at night and stumble onto your perfect afterparty, what does it look like?
The perfect music would be the wrong ‘80s metal type; Mötley Crüe and Slayer. Rum and Cokes would be the drink for all four of us. It’s tacky to say but we’ve got a big friend group here in Belgium so if they could all be there that’d be the best. And the guys from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.

If SONS was a mythical animal, what would you be and why? 

Isn’t there a mythical creature like a dog with three heads or something? (Ed. Yes, that would be the underworld creature of Cerberus) Then that dog but with four heads instead of three.

SONS plays at this years Down the Rabbit Hole Festival at 16.30 Saturday, at Fuzzy Lop. Subbacultcha has proudly produced this years Down the Rabbit Hole festival guide for the fifth time, available here.