Antillectual

… and that's actually pretty literally. Because the worst thing we can do as a band is happening; we have to cancel a part of our upcoming tour. We are extremely sorry and appreciate all help from the people that worked to get this thing rolling. But sometimes things are not only in your own hands. Maybe some of the dates can be shifted towards the dates we were planning in July and September. We will keep you up to date. Please, read Yvo's explanation below:

"Hi there,
We have very bad news: we have to cancel a part of the upcoming tour in June. The reason is my girlfriend Suzette is pregnant of our second child and the pregnancy is not going very well. She's feeling really tired and she simply can't take care of both herself and our son on her own while I'm away. We've tried everything in our capacity to increase her health but this is beyond our reach. After Suzette ended up in the hospital, we had to draw our conclusion: I'm needed at home to take care of her and my son and we have to cancel a part of the tour.
We're really sorry to tell you this, we wish it was different. You all will probably know that touring is our fuel and the thing we like to do best, but the health of my girlfriend (and the little one inside of her) are the first priority.
We are playing the first three shows of the tour and after that we will be playing local shows. On those shows I can get home the same night.
A long time ago we already agreed on continuing the touring with a replacement bass player during the last months of my girlfriend's pregnancy. Therefore our friend Pitter (Rush 'n' Attack, Omission) will replace me on the tours from July till November. I will be at home, changing diapers and writing new songs. After November I'll be back on track."

So there were already plans to replace Yvo temporarily but nature's call was too urgent to anticipate in time and we can't do (all) the dates in Austria, Italy and France. We apologize and hope you understand and that you might come out to one of the shows we are actually playing. Or maybe catch you later this year? Take care, we will keep you up to date.

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Is your weather as great as ours? Hopefully it is. But, what's your excuse to sit behind a computer then? Ah wel … this is my excuse:

This weekend we will be playing the Give It A Name Fest in Italy, Milano. We'd love to invite all Italians to come over, but we simply don't have all your email addresses. Therefore No Reason Records put our new album temporarily as a stream on their website to promote our show at Give It A Name. If you are Italian and want to read about us in your native language go here, Noize Italia did an interview with us.

For our tour in June we're still missing some dates for which we'd love to have shows. Please check the show section and let us know if you're able and willling to help us out. Would be much appreciated! In our own little country we keep on getting more and more shows confirmed. See the same show section for details.

Remember the news that Just Like Your Mom's new van got crashed? In case you didn't believe it, here's some proof for you:

Pretty F'ed up, no? Fortunately Mom will be getting a new toy again soon.

And, as usual, we have some new reviews for you. Check em out here or under the "About" section. Both Testimony and the Waves EP have been reviewed lately.

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Welcome to our new website! This site is online since a couple of days now and we're very happy with all the positive reactions we've had so far. It is still not completely finished, but you can check more than you could ever do on our myspace: Tour reports, shows, reviews, photo’s, subscribe to our RSS-feed, order T-shirts, hoodies, girlies, albums, etc. And on the new website you can comment on news items, reports, reviews, interviews, everything without having to register or anything. Please, feel free to leave a comment, we’d appreciate it! A lot of thanks to Suzette (www.hi-fibre.com) and our own Riekus for creating this website.

Yesterday we also sent out a brand new news letter. If you want to sign up for it please send us an email. Below you can find some high lights from it:

If you want to order our album, we have some “Special Offers” for you: old & new album = 15 euro, album & T-shirt/girlie = 15 euro. From now on you can also go to www.interpunk.com to order our new album on both vinyl and CD.

Speaking of reviews, we’re getting back more and more of them and they keep amazing us. Even people in Germany seem to be able to enjoy our music, how’s that? Some quotes:

8.5/10 Antillectual has every right in the world to be mentioned among bands like THE LOVED ONES, A WILHELM SCREAM or AGAINST ME! When listening to "Testimony" you realize how much heart those guys put into writing and composing. You get the feeling of holding a record in your hands that European punkrock can pin its hope on. (Slam Magazine (ger))

The Nijmegen and Arnhem based Antillectual is possibly Holland’s hardest working punkrock band. The frequent playing caused Antillectual’s growth into a determined, politically aware punkrock machine. (Oor (nl))

With the current lack of serious substance in mind, Testimony is a release that definitely should be cherished. (Fret Magazine (nl))

97/100 Punk has seldom sounded so inspired. An album for the year lists! I doubt the new Anti-Flag album will be a match for this album. (Up Magazine (nl))

88/100 A band that spreads its message with this much passion and integrity and, on top of that, is a treat for the ear, what else could one wish for? How beautiful punkrock can be sometimes. (Punx.nl (nl))

Where most bands try it, Antillectual does it and makes it look really easy. A true parade of different punk rock styles. (Asice.net (nl))

8/10 Testimony is more than just a very good album. It’s a labour of love, with songs that are not merely entertainment, but which also carry a message. (Disagreement.net (lux))

Antillectual convinces me totally. This is one of the best punk/hardcore releases in recent months. (Dedication.it (ita))

Testimony is undoubtedly an incredibly coherent and meticulously thought out piece of music. (Lamette.it (ita))

This is a band that does the walk instead of doing the talk. And we don't have too much of this today. (Misfitzine (por))

If you have a zine or know a zine that should feature a review, get in touch with us and we might be able to arrange something. You can check the complete reviews we received here.

Because of the release of our album “Testimony” we did several (online) interviews. You can find some of those here:
KD Cobain (Italy, in English and Italian)
Bobby In A Volvo (Belgium, English)
Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll (Italy, Italian)
All interviews we’ve ever done will also be available on our website.

We just got back from our tour through Scandinavia a couple of days ago and on our myspace you could read some reports from that trip. You can find the complete written report here and check some pictures here. And long awaited: here is a diary of how we recorded “Testimony” in August of last year. All other tour videos are still to be found there too, you can subscribe yourself to our account too.

And if just coming back from a tour isn’t enough, we’re preparing two new ones at that. This time we’re going back to places we’ve been before: Germany, Austria, Italy and France. There’s still some dates left open and we would really appreciate your help since the dates are coming closer and closer:

Fr June 13 Germany, Regensburg, Jahninselfest. W/ The Gaslight Anthem
Sa June 14 Germany, Zwiesel, Jugendcafe
Su June 15 Slovenia/Austria – Available!
Mo June 16 Slovenia/Austria – Available!
Tu June 17 Italy/Austria – Available!
We June 18 Italy – Available!
Th June 19 Italy – Available!
Fr June 20 France – Available!
Sa June 21 Lux/Fr/Ger – Available!
Su June 22 Holland, Steenwijk, Trashfest

We Jul 16 Germany: Available!
Th Jul 17 Austria: Available!
Fr Jul 18 Austria: Vienna, Arena. w/ Supernichts
Sa Jul 19 Italy: Carpenedolo. Extreme Sounds Festival
Su Jul 20 Italy/France: Available!
Mo Jul 21 France: Available!

We also get the luck to play some of the coolest shows the upcoming months including very nice festivals. Yesterday we already played with Strike Anywhere, Agnostic Front, Madball and many more (great) bands on the Jera on Air festival in Ysseltsteyn, the Netherlands. May 17 we will be playing the Give It a Name festival in Milano, Italy. The festival features (great) bands like Strike Anywhere, Story of the Year, Silverstein, Vanilla Sky and again many more. We’ll also be playing on the Jahninselfest in Regensburg together with The Gaslight Anthem and the Trashfest in Steenwijk in June, the Mystage fest in Drachten, the Funtime fest in October and the Offshore Skatefest in August, both in Belgium. On top of that we have some more awesome shows with Strike Anywhere, Story of the Year, Brat Pack and The Real Danger. If you want to help us out with a show, you’re very welcome. We’re always looking for shows!

That's it for now, enjoy the weather!

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Some last words from us before we enter the tour van together with Smash the Statues to leave for the north. We're really looking forward to play territories we've never been before and we've heard great stories about. We'll keep you up to date through updates and tour reports.

We received some more photo's from the release show we did on March 21 in Arnhem. Check our picasa picture site for the last additions we got from Lars Jansen.

We keep receiving new reviews from our record. below is the review Fret Magazine (Dutch) wrote about us.

Antillectual – Testimony
Since the succesful debut album Silencing Civilization (2005) Antillectual’s sound changed little. On the new CD Testimony the Nijmegen based punk band still sounds loud, raw and very determined. Especially singer/guitarist Willem adds a great emotional value to the songs with his singing and guitar parts. He sounds best in the more melodic punk rock songs. Particularly in the modest I Hate Myself When I Shave Myself he strikes the right tone. Testimony starts off euphoric with the title track and stays that way until the beautiful and accessible final song I Hope You Got My Letter. There’s not much too laugh about on Testimony and the message that Antillectual has for its listeners, is very obvious. With the current lack of serious substance in mind, Testimony is a release that definitely should be cherished.

Disagreement.net wrote this:

8/10
Antillectual from the Netherlands are the antithesis of their band name. This young band, who just released their second album, not only packed a lyrics sheet into the splendidly looking digipack, but they also explain the background of every song, which is a good idea, as it makes you understand their motivations much better. Ranging from the personal to the political, I mostly agree with their points of view, although at times they are a little too radical for me. In my opinion, it rarely is ok to smash windows and throw bricks (On Its Own), and by accusing Al Gore of making money out of Global Warming (Waste = Food), they may have a point, but Al Gore opened the eyes of more people than a DIY punk band ever will.
Musically, the album is bookmarked by two slower and longer songs, the four minute opener Testimony which has some nice piano parts, and the seven minute closer I Hope You Got My Letter. In between Antillectual attacks with short but surprisingly melodic punk rock songs. The vocals are shared by the three members of the band and sound raw, charismatic and to the point. Their technical capacities on their instruments are just as perfect, and it’s great how filled their songs are despite them only being a three-piece. Most of the times, they sound like a Europeanised Strike Anywhere, but the melodic I Hate Myself When I Shave Myself shows them from a mellower side.
Testimony is more than just a very good album. It’s a labour of love, with songs that are not merely entertainment, but which also carry a message which is definitely important to the band. To make it easier to get the album, it’s been released on different labels in different countries: Fond Of Life (Germany), Infected (Portugal), No Reason (Italy), Rise Or Rust (Austria), Shield (Netherlands) and Youth Way (France). Furthermore, instead of putting a copyright on their music, they released Testimony under the Creative Commons licence, which makes it legal to burn your own copies. What better way to spread your message?
Antillectual attacks with short but surprisingly melodic punk rock songs. The vocals are shared by the three members of the band and sound raw, charismatic and to the point. Their technical capacities on their instruments are just as perfect, and it’s great how filled their songs are despite them only being a three-piece. Testimony is more than just a very good album. It’s a labour of love, with songs that are not merely entertainment, but which also carry a message.

If you want to improve your Italian (or your English) there's a perfect occasion on kdcobain.it. There you can find an interview with us in both Italian and English. About the new record, politics, other bands and selling out.

That's it for now. Hope to see you on the road or behind your computer. Take care. 

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sorry for the almost double posting, but after the update of this morning (see next blog) we checked this website and got another confirmation: we'll be playing the give it a name festival in milano, italy! for those of you who don't know it (get out under that rock!) it's a festival travelling around europe featuring bands like strike anywhere, story of the year, silverstein, vanilla sky, the audition and others. no reason records arranged this great opportunity for us and we're very greatful to play there. check the details on the give it a name italy myspace.

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