Interview with VOLBEAT bass player Kaspar Boye Larsen – English version – part 2

The danish exceptional rock band VOLBEAT is currently honoring the republic together with BARONESS and DANKO JONES. On November 7th VOLBEAT rocked the Frankfurt Festhalle mightily. After the extremely nice bassist of the band, Kaspar Boye Larsen put his two young children to bed in Denmark by smartphone, he talked to Lydia and Michael from the Metalogy.de team. Kaspar told about the message of the songs, his studio, his wishes for the future, his children and much more. Read the second part of our three-part interview here.

Do you also write your own songs?

Kaspar: Yes, I write all songs in the punk band. At ANTI RITUAL we all write together. I’m even planning another project. It has no name yet, but we will release a single soon. I also have a small minor label. So I can realease my own stuff.

What is the message from your other bands?

Kaspar: The punk band is very left-wing. Typical punk. ANTI RITUAL is also more left-wing and very political. That’s where I come from.

Is the studio you mentioned at home?

Kaspar: Actually, no, it’s in Copenhagen. Near Roskilde, where the festival is. I live in the country about 10 minutes from the festival.

Volbeat © Polwin-Plass_Festhalle_FFM_525

Then did you grow up with the Roskilde Festival?

Kaspar: Oh yes, I’ve been to the Roskilde Festival about 20 times, or something. I haven’t been there that often in the last few years because we’re always touring at that time. But I’ve been to this festival a lot.

So, the studio is currently in Copenhagen. But the plan is that it comes back to me. We have some old stables. We would like to convert them into a studio. If I ever have the time.

Do you also produce other bands?

Kaspar: I also produced other bands. But these are pretty nasty and brutal things. I like that too. But that’s more of a hobby. I do this because I find all the equipment, the sounds and the recordings really entertaining.

Do you have an idol yourself?

Kaspar: Until recently it was Morrissey, but he’s a little crazy now. He’s been singing crazier things over the past few years. (laughing)

In terms of bass, these are certainly Simon Gallup from THE CURE, Steve Harris from IRON MAIDEN and Geezer Butler, of course.

When did you start playing bass?

Kaspar: I started around the age of 14. Because I thought then and I still think that Sid Vicious looked so incredibly cool. And I knew that punk music wasn’t that demanding and you didn’t have to practice that much. So you could start right away. So I started because of Sid Vicious. But of course it’s also fun if you learn it properly. So I also practiced scales and so on.

Volbeat © Polwin-Plass_Festhalle_FFM_391

Did you take lessons too?

Kaspar: Yes, I got some lessons when I was just starting out. But you only really learn it when you play with other people. This is by far the best way to learn to play. Of course you will also learn music theory, notes and things like that. The best thing about coming to Volbeat was that Rob was there. He is a master in all of these things. He is a huge inspiration and taught me a lot.

Can you play other instruments too?

Kaspar: But only pretty bad. I can play some power chords for my punk band on the guitar. But as soon as you need a little more dexterity, I’m out. I would also like to play drums, but that doesn’t work either.

Is there a country you would like to play in?

Kaspar: Japan. I know the band was in Japan before I got there. But I would love to play in Japan. And Australia.

Is there a festival you’d like to play at?

Kaspar: We have played at all kinds of festivals. One of my favorite festivals is the Hellfest. That’s great. We already played there. I also like festivals like Roadburn. I would love to go there. Although I would rather go there to hear the music and not to play there. Because when you play there, your focus is on something else and not on the bands that play there. I would love to go there next year if I have the time.

What do you think of metal as a lifestyle or philosophy?

Kaspar: I love that – and this applies to all genres – that there is more openness towards people who do something completely different. I was a hardcore metalhead myself and still am. I think that sometimes there is a tendency to think too conservatively. Especially online. If you are at festivals or gigs, you won’t find anything of the intolerance anymore. I also really like this outsider mentality. That’s how I felt back then. I was happy to find other people who liked the same music. I come from a very small town. When I found someone who liked the same music, it was an incredible relief for me. But overall, a little more openness would be better, but this applies to all genres.

Is there a band you would like to tour with?

Kaspar: I would love to be part of this Greenday / Weezer tour right now. I love both bands, but especially Weezer. I’ve been a huge fan since the blue album (The Blue Album) came out. I have all of those albums. I just love the band. It is definitely one of my favorite bands. And I am so glad that they are now successful again in Europe. They had a few weaker years in the late 90s and early 2000s, but now they’re back. This is awesome. I love this band. I would love to go on tour with them. But there are no plans for this. Of course I would also like to tour with Iron Maiden. Or with Black Sabbath. We were very lucky to be able to play with them once. In Stockholm. Just meeting Black Sabbath was incredible. And then of course we’ve been touring with Metallica. A dream came true for me. And there we played two songs with Lars Ulrich. We played a show in Denmark a few years ago. And he came on stage for a few songs. That was amazing. How cool was that. I don’t even remember what I played because I was just amazed. Lars and the whole band are also really nice and just cool. Very down to earth. For the others at Volbeat this is almost normal because they have all met their idols. But I’m new and suddenly I meet all my heroes. Barney from Napalm Death for example. He is such a great guy.

Volbeat © Polwin-Plass_Festhalle_FFM_315

So many of my dreams have come true. To be able to live from music and to get to know great people. To stand on stage in front of so many people. What could be better?

Have you ever thought of taking your children on tour with you?

Kaspar: Yes, but I think that they are still too small now. And we also sleep in cabins. So that would not work. Our youngest is still sleeping in our bedroom. In his bed, but in our bedroom. In a few years I will certainly take them with me. The whole family. On such a long tour, I miss her very much. It was like this on our US tour: When I drove away, my little one was still crawling around and when I came back he was walking. So he started running when I wasn’t there. I missed his first steps. But unfortunately it is. On the other hand, if we take a break from December to April, I’m there all the time for four months. Fortunately, I don’t have to go to work. So there are advantages and disadvantages.

Read the third part of the three-part interview series here on Metalogy tomorrow.

And here is the first part:

Read the third part of the english version of the three-part interview series here on Metalogy tomorrow.

Here you can also see our PHOTO ROUTE and our follow-up report from the VOLBEAT gig in the Frankfurt Festhalle.

PHOTO RANGE and short review: VOLBEAT, Baroness and Danko Jones in the Frankfurt Festhalle

https://metalogy.de/fotostrecke-und-kurzer-nachbericht-volbeat-baronesse-und-danko-jones-in-der-frankfurter-festhalle/