little things that kill

Goodbye Smokescreens, hello future!

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:21:00 +0200

Years ago we started writing for an album. Holed up in a mice infested garage in the forests of the Veluwe, we started with about 40 songs, 12 of which finally made it to Smokescreens, our debut full-length. It was released last year in March, and having toured it for over a year, it’s time to say goodbye to the set. Wednesday will be the last time we play our ‘Smokescreens’ songs as main part of a show.

It’s a funny feeling, saying goodbye to something you’ve gotten so close to. It feels like we know every corner of those songs. The bits that make people dance, like “Speak Up Baby” (last ‘Koninginnedag’ it was a joy to see the whole field of people at Oranjepop in Nijmegen moving to the beat). Or the bits that make them just stand and listen to guitars building on guitars, ending in plain noise, like “Secrets”. The quiet parts that are epic when they work, but pretty uncomfortable when everyone starts talking through them (I remember a deathly quiet De Heks in Deventer just a few weeks ago, standing on the bar, singing at the top of my lungs while all around me people were just soaking it in. I also remember a full hall of teenagers talking through me and making me feel pretty much like an idiot singing this song, when we opened for Go Back To The Zoo in the Xinix in Nieuwendijk). Or just the plain fun sing-along bits, night after night in the Popronde, hearing people sing along to “So Beautiful” and “On Your Side”. Or the totally crazy stage invasions that our friends of The Medics do each time we end up playing “Go!”.

But now it’s time to walk away from these songs as a set.

As a musician, you’re always wanting to move on, to create, to make new things. Which is what we’re going to do.

We’ve got about 15 new songs we’re working on, with lots more ready to ooze out of our instruments if we can just make the time. To make the time, we’ll not be doing any shows for the summer. The plan is to record an album, or maybe a part of it, over the summer. Hopefully there’ll be new songs to release in the fall.

Of course, we’ll still play some of these songs live in the future. We’re proud of them! But after far too long with this album, it’s time to move on!

So, if you want to catch our “Smokescreens” set one last time, show up at the Winston Kingdom next week Wednesday, the 22nd of June. See you there!

Antonie, Little Things That Kill

Rocked the Exit in Rotterdam last Friday. Now back to writing...

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:15:35 +0200

Rocked the Exit in Rotterdam last Friday. Now back to writing new stuff!

We are going to do some shows again, in the beautiful south!...

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:09:53 +0200

We are going to do some shows again, in the beautiful south! April 14th we will rock Altstadt (Eindhoven, New in Town showcase) together with The Sidekicks and April 15th we will play with Zerah John & the Great Escape at the Exit in Rotterdam. Hope to see you there..!

Would be nice if we could post some new material, but...

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:00:39 +0100

Would be nice if we could post some new material, but we’re still writing…
This week again, as a matter of fact.
Sorry all I can post is a pic, hope to add some sounds to that really soon :)

@el_mich

Live Twitcam accoustic concert from our singer @antonie for Red...

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 21:19:58 +0100

Live Twitcam accoustic concert from our singer @antonie for Red Ribbon Rock. Will start on Valentine’s Day at 21:30 CET. After the show it’ll be archived for all of you to listen to and enjoy!

Bandmeeting today, plus rocking a cool party in Haarlem.And...

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Bandmeeting today, plus rocking a cool party in Haarlem.
And we’re working on new songs. And we’ll try to update this site regularly. Really :)

Love from us

A quick update for all you guys/gals out there! Currently, we...

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:31:32 +0100

A quick update for all you guys/gals out there! Currently, we are working on

- some brand new songs which will be released in early 2011
- this website you are looking at right now
- expanding our fanbase, for example by connecting on Facebook or Twitter
- a little idea involving world domination, nothing fancy or anything.. ;-)

A long blog post (Dutch) on our Popronde tour so far.

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:58:44 +0100

A long blog post (Dutch) on our Popronde tour so far.

Last night, on the way back from Enschede, we were pulled over...

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 18:00:10 +0200

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

Last night, on the way back from Enschede, we were pulled over for a road side alcohol & car safety control. Tons of cops in the middle of the night.

Moodshots on the way to a gig. Ed Harcourt, oliebollen and...

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 17:56:20 +0200

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

Moodshots on the way to a gig. Ed Harcourt, oliebollen and sleeping Spif’s…

Lttk songwriting

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 05:52:38 +0200

Lttk songwriting

MySpace is dead. We've gone. #quitmyspaceday

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 14:06:00 +0200

Musings on shows

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:33:24 +0200

I’m in the train, heading home, to pick up the car, to pick up the stuff, to drive to Rotterdam for tonight’s gig. The last acoustic one of the Popronde. Tomorrow sees the whole band gracing the stage of Zwolle’s Eureka, and from there on it’s full blast till the end of the November. Since the train trip is a short one, so too will this posting be.

We had a great weekend last weekend, playing acoustic shows in Merleyn, Nijmegen on Friday, and an open air show in Utrecht on Sunday. In Merleyn we were the very first band of the whole Popronde, which was being opened for the season that night. In Utrecht, we decided to play a second show later in the day. And thanks to Café de Stad for the wonderful Karmeliet Tripel beers. Honestly one of the best beers man has ever made.

It’s always strange to play acoustic shows. When you’re used to have a wall of amps and drums behind you, when you’re accustomed to literally feel the bass drive the song along, it feels almost naked to be sitting there with just the two of you. It forces you to strip the song back down to its roots, and to build it from the bottom up. No more ‘this is where the kick starts thumping’, but really focussing on melody, lyrics, and which rhythm on your acoustic would work best.

However, it’s always a pleasure to do it with Michel. Guitar player with mystique he is, and the acoustic set is where he gets all the room he could possibly want to be subtle, large, angry, diffuse, or whatever is necessary for the moment, the mood, or the song.

One more of those shows tonight, in Rotterdam. It’s free, so be sure to come. Oh, and if anybody wants to drive me back to Amsterdam tonight, I’d be much obliged! I tend to fall asleep in the car after a gig & I’d like to still be here for tomorrow’s show.

Sorry, we've had to cancel our Amersfoort show

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:00:23 +0200

Sadly, we’ve had to cancel our Popronde show in Amersfoort on November 6th, something we really don’t like doing. When we booked it, we knew that we might have to, but it’s always tough to cancel a show.

However, there is a reason. A good reason even. For the last few years I’ve been working for an organisation called STOP THE TRAFFIK (Dutch), or STT for short. STT fights human trafficking and modern slavery worldwide.

As such, I’m going to have to go to India for a week. For a few meetings with people from all over the world, but also to visit some projects of real-life heroes that rescue girls from forced prostitution.

This is an issue that I feel very strongly about. You can even find it on our album Smokescreens, on the track Bloody Hands. Give it a spin.

Or better yet, write your own songs, poems, blog posts etc. about it! A wise man once said that “the only thing necessary for evil to prosper, is for good men to do nothing’. So speak up, get involved, do something!

So, while we really hate to cancel the show, there is a good reason for it this time. We hope to be playing near you soon. Check our giglist here. First show is tomorrow (Friday) night in Nijmegen, and Utrecht this coming Sunday.

(written by Antonie)

Some excellent photographs of our show at Uit Je Bak festival...

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:00:26 +0200

Some excellent photographs of our show at Uit Je Bak festival last Sunday.

Due to technical issue we had to go straight on stage and didn’t get any form of soundcheck, but we had a good time & played well. Great atmosphere there. Fun for young and old & lots of rock music too boot. An honour to be able to play straight after Moss.

We hung around for a while after the show & then went to the beach where we just dived into the sea at sunset. A great way to end a good day.

All these pictures: vereniging Vrienden van de Bakkerij, pictures by Jorinde Reijnierse. Original set can be found here.

New gigs confirmed

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:42:39 +0200

A bunch of new Popronde gigs confirmed. Check our Gigs page for more info.

Looking forward to Sunday's gig

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:04:15 +0200

We’ve been practicing in this incredible heat a few times to bring you a tight and actionpacked set on Sunday at Metropolis Festival in Rotterdam.

We’ll be playing around 15:50, and if we’re not mistaken it’s a free festival. With LOTS of cool bands (Adam Green, Tim Knol, Japandroids and many more). The weather’s looking good too. So come…

We’ll be selling hard copy versions of Smokescreens as well!

The last video of today: we were at Rob Stenders 3FM radio show...

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:00:05 +0200

The last video of today: we were at Rob Stenders 3FM radio show last week. Our bass player Spif displayed some hilarious civil disobedience…

And we did a nice little interview for Freshvids as well.

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:57:29 +0200

And we did a nice little interview for Freshvids as well.

Short, sound is crap, but hell, does it look cool…

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:55:47 +0200

Short, sound is crap, but hell, does it look cool…