aaamusic | On 28, Feb 2021

Who are you and where are you from?

We are Joy Killed the Duke, we’re from Utrecht, the Netherlands and started the band back in 2017. We are Joy (vocals), Steven (bass), Sjoerd (guitar), and Marty (drums). We are all a bunch of idiots who love to make noise. Whenever we play music together, that noise starts to form catchy and energetic rock songs that we’d love everyone else to listen to! 

What inspired you to get into music?

We are inspired by grunge bands, but we take our influences from all types of stuff: punk rock bands, bands from the 00’s garage rock revival and we even sneak in some post punk influences. For us, it’s all about combining influences from the many artists that we love, and bland those influences into something new.

What have you done?

We wrote a shit ton of songs and started to hit the road in 2018. We played throughout the Netherlands and last summer we released our debut EP “Would You Still Like Me’’ on online platforms like Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music. We were supposed to start our first European tour last summer to promote our debut, but unfortunately Covid-19 came knocking on the door… During the pandemic we wrote some new material that we are very proud of, and we will record some of these songs soon. With this new material we hope to acquire new fans, and also find a booker who can help us get loads of gigs after the pandemic is over.

What are you like live?

In short? Very hyperactive… on and off stage for that matter. Our shows are all about letting Joy out of her cage, and just do her thing. She breaks down the fucking stage. The rest of the band is just as hyperactive. Most bands in our genre wear black or grey clothes on stage, but not us! Our performance clothes are the brightest colours that we could find. It’s all about bringing over those positive vibes that make the audience feel comfortable to go batshit crazy. We get a lot of positive feedback when it comes to our shows, and can’t wait to play again when the pandemic is finally over! 

What makes us unique? We are a female fronted grunge rock band with an insane amount of energy on stage. Joy’s voice will take you anywhere: she can sound very fragile and emotional but she can also scream with a force that blows people away. Our outfits make us stand out: we are usually the weirdest looking people in the room. We love to weird everyone out, in that way, everyone else will know they can be as weird as they want to be. There is no way anyone will make fun of them now, compared to us. We create a safe zone where there is no peer pressure or insecurities about how you look or how you act. There is no normal and that is okay.

Physical vs Downloading vs Streaming…How do you listen to music?

Of course, nothing is better than experiencing your favorite artists live! But sometimes, you just wanna sit at home and relax with your favourite records. We usually prefer vinyl for this, because it has this “warm’’ sound that makes you believe the artists are playing the songs in your own living room. But we also use Spotify, because bringing a record-player on your back going to work is just really fucking uncomfortable. Also, it is super easy to discover new artists and songs through streaming services. 

Our first EP is available now on CD and streaming services. Our next project will also be available on vinyl for sure!

What have you been listening to?

The Beatles “Eleanor Rigby” – Billy Eilish “When the party’s over” – The Offspring “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” – Weezer “Say It Ain’t So” – Sum 41 “Still Waiting” but also… everything else – Everything from Blink 182 – Run the Jewels “Blockbuster Night, Pt.1 – James Blake “Life Round Here” – Foo Fighters (new song “Waiting On A War” ) then i thought fuck it and listened to the album “There is Nothing Left To Lose” then i lost control and played “The Colour And The Shape”  – Liam Lynch (fucking love the album “Fake Songs”) – The Smashing Pumpkins with “ Bullet With Butterfly Wings” – Audioslave “Cochise” – Flagpole Sitta “The Composure” <— This song was stuck in my head this whole week!My life in a nutshell: Marilyn Manson “The Fight Song”

New shit: Bayside with “The Walking Wounded” – Steriogram “Walkie Talkie Man” – No Warning “Bad Timing” – This is the best discovery yet, but i am kind of ashamed i didn’t know this band at all… Lagwagon with the song “E-Dagger”. Also this one… i knew Fidlar for a while now, but only ever listened to one album called (you’ll never guess…) Fidlar. wow… but they uhm kind of make other songs too! who figured…. so i now listen to this song on repeat: “40Oz.” on Repeat.

What are your aspirations for the future?

We plan on recording a few new singles and releasing them as soon as fall 2021. We are really happy with the songs we wrote during 2020 as it feels like we are taking our sound to the next level. We are currently looking for a high-quality studio and producer that can help us do these songs the justice they deserve.

When this fucked-up pandemic finally ends, we want to hit the stage as much as possible! We want to play some awesome support acts in the Netherlands and abroad, and we are preparing to book our first tour abroad as well. At first we’re looking at our chances in Germany. Touring the UK is definitely on our to-do list as well. We want to to tour as much as possible to introduce more people to our music, so we can tour more, so we can introduce more people to our music, so we can tour more, so we can introduce more people to our music, so we can tour more… something something something… I want to see the world upside down while riding on the back of a turtle who doesn’t know its a turtle…

Questions answered by: Joy Killed the Duke….