Bertram, Richard

0:09HostWelcome to Interceptor Beyond Podcast. My name is Arthur and today on the episode we have an Austrian band from Linz, Parasol Caravan. Recorded just before the show at the Arena venue. Don't forget to follow this podcast if you dig it and rate this show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Anyways, let's talk to Parasol Caravan.

0:30BertramHi, my name is Bertram and I play guitar in the band Parasol Caravan.

0:35HostI play guitar in Parasol Caravan as well and my name is Richard. I discovered you some time ago. I discovered the song Nemesis, my favorite song of Parasol Caravan. It's from the latest album which was released in 2019, I think. Yes, that's correct. First of all, how are you doing? You've been traveling. Yesterday you were where?

0:54BertramYesterday we played in Salzburg at the Rockhaus bar.

0:58?Yeah.

0:58BertramAnd it was a really cool crowded night and a perfect start for our tour. Really enjoyed it.

1:04HostGreat play. And tomorrow you're in Linz.

1:06BertramYeah, tomorrow we're going to play actually our last show for our final return to space tour. Because after that tour we are going to, yeah, return to space. And no one knows if we're drifting there like an endless drifting wreck and just floating there and never return back to earth or whatever.

1:25?Yeah, well, yeah, it's going to be our last show.

1:27HostWait a second, the last tour, you mean the band is kaput or what? Oh no, we're not disulfing I think, but at least we're taking a very extended break from break. You had a break before, guys, like during Corona and stuff.

1:42?Yeah, yeah. Yeah, but it's another kind of break.

1:45BertramIt's just to have more time to focus on the things that matter around the band, in the band.

1:52?And to, yeah, just to clear our minds and know where the band is exactly at the moment.

1:57HostYou just restarted. You just released like two albums. Like one was in 2015 and one was in 2018. You're just starting, you know, like don't, don't, don't stop. I mean, the music is great. I like your music, you know, your, the Nemesis song was on my Spotify players for a long time. So, yeah, thanks.

2:15BertramWe like the music as well. It's, it's not that we are, it's not that we're quitting because we don't like the music or that we don't like each other anymore.

2:23HostWe enjoy the music very much. We like playing live. We like rehearsing, but it's just that we are at a point in our lives where everyone's getting children. And I was about to ask, it's family. You're getting old. Guys, you're getting old.

2:37BertramGetting old or to the point where we decided, do we really want to become the next dead rock band or like the next Nickelback? Or do we just want to take a break for, I don't know how many years and then just focus on songwriting maybe and just not play live anymore? That's, that's the thing that we were talking about.

2:56?Yeah.

2:57HostHave you made it up your mind or is it just your, I mean, if you're telling me, it means that you already discussed it quite for a long time. Actually, it's official.

3:20BertramYeah. After that, there are normal live shows.

3:23HostI didn't get that because I thought that like the Wolf Mother canceled and then you like decided to play now, you know? Actually, what's the Wolf Mother canceling was one of the main reasons or it was just like an additional?

3:37RichardThat just was an unhappy coincidence. Yeah. We really were looking forward to that one, but yeah, didn't have.

3:45HostYeah, but it really, as I said, I didn't notice that there were some, okay, maybe I did bad research. I'm joking, maybe, but it's like not, not like in the posters everywhere. Like it's the last, last, last or whatever. You mentioned it, you mentioned that casually.

4:04?I'm heartbroken.

4:06BertramIt's saying the last trip of the Fastronauts.

4:10?All right. All right. All right.

4:12HostFor my, for my, for, you know, like in my defense and in defense of everybody, it's really small font. You can't see shit. And it's like really abstract.

4:22BertramI think that's because we didn't want to make it like final, final. So we just want to keep it open.

4:27HostI think it's bullshit. I think it's bullshit. I think you're bullshitting me. It's not the last one. You're just saying it's the last one. So that the third album that you're working on right now, I'm pretty sure.

4:37BertramTonight's not the last one. Tomorrow in Lintz is the last one.

4:40HostNo, we actually don't have a single new song since. Jesus, it's horrible.

4:45RichardSince this album, we haven't worked on anything. We just rehearsed. And that's one of the reasons why we said it's not working anymore at the moment because we're just rehearsing to play live. And we just meet in the rehearsal room to rehearse our live set. We don't do any new numbers or something. And so we said we take a break from playing live or finish playing live.

5:10HostWhen did it, when did realization come? During the Corona? Because, I mean, you released the number 2019. You're like pumped up. All going well, Corona hits and then slowly goes down like everybody else. People are like going mental and stuff. But when you made this decision, it's really important for me.

5:27BertramActually, it just happened this last year when we played just a couple of shows.

5:32RichardLate summer, I think. Late summer. Yeah.

5:34BertramAnd we rehearsed really a lot. I mean, more than we usually did because we were thinking, hey, we're going to open up for Wolf Mata. We have to be really prepared. We want to just play a really cool set. And then we had some shows that were also really good, to be honest. But it was just like this, why are we doing this at the moment? We're just rehearsing for the next show. But we don't have the time to focus on new tracks. And it's been three years since the last release. And it was Corona and shit and everything. But we didn't have the time to focus just on the thing that's most important for us. And that's just playing and writing songs together. And during those three years, yeah, we all got children. We all had... Congrats. Thank you very much. No, and the focus in the band just was shifting somewhere else. Yeah. And so we said, okay, it's either just playing more and more, but playing or repeating the same old stuff again. Or just take a break for now and say, hey, that's it for now. You know, we can't play live anymore. We just really need time for us to think about the band, to be... Yeah, just to find each other again. And...

6:48HostYeah, it's... That's kind of a cliche, but we want to find joy in music again. No, you should understand. I respect your decision. And it's just, in my head, I'm thinking, oh my God, this is the moment. Maybe like the Beatles are splitting up right now and have a chance to convince them not to split up. I will change the whole history, you know? No, like this is like really important. So I'm going to bust your balls about this.

7:12BertramBut Ringo already left the band.

7:17HostI don't know. I don't know. Substitute it with another Ringo. I don't know if it's possible. No, no.

7:23?No, that's also a thing. I mean, we were talking in the last couple of years during Corona because it always came up. If Samba is not available at the time, should we play shows with a substitute or not? And we just decided first. Parasol Caravan is just the four of us. It's not a possibility to play with a substitute because we have been together for 14 years.

7:46BertramAnd most people don't know it, but three of us know each other since kindergarten.

7:52BertramI joined the other guys at the age of, I don't know, 13, 14. And since then we were...

7:58RichardI got to know you. I think we were 12, 13 around. And us out of three know each other since kindergarten.

8:04BertramYeah, and we just have been together all our lives basically and just doing music together all of our lives. And to be honest, the main thing that's always been there is music and playing together in different bands and for the last 14 years with Parasol Caravan. For now, it's just...

8:25HostMaybe you just need to change the music style a little bit. Okay, for that, you need to go... That can only happen if we take time for ourselves. Exactly, yeah. Okay, I understand. Okay, you might come back. I see that you might come back. It's not going to be the regular style of Parasol Caravan. You're going to be a marching band of jazz, cabaret style. I'm pretty sure you can do that.

8:52BertramI'm not really sure if we really changed the style of music that we're playing.

8:57RichardI can't. I'm not the best guitar player, so I simply can't change.

9:01BertramFor me, it's already hard to change the key. So that's the reason why we're changing guitars on stage, because they're tuned differently. Because I just... No drop tunings to play.

9:14HostOkay, I see the pattern there. You need to have some break so that you see that you can't play in other bands, so you come back together in the band. No, of course you're a good musician. Officially, we are finished for now, and we'll just see what happens. We take our time, maybe rehearse some time, maybe just two of us, or three of us, or all four of us. Just when time allows it, we're going into the rehearsal room and find some joy in the music again. Yeah, this is like the saddest interview I've ever had, because I didn't expect any of this. I mean, do you tell people? I don't think you tell people, you know?

9:55HostNobody knows.

9:57BertramThat's the only reason, because there are so many people coming to our shows at the moment, because it's the last shows.

10:06HostOkay, this time I did really bad research. I focused on personalities and how everybody's doing and everybody's playing and stuff, you know, but I missed the main point that the band doesn't exist anymore. Cheers to that.

10:21BertramYeah, it was a pretty harsh start into the interview. Hey, guys, how are you doing? Yeah, pretty good, because we're breaking up.

10:27HostYeah, but it's a quiet... You need some quiet time to be alone, to wander out, to find yourself again, to meet other new people.

10:42RichardI want to meet you, but maybe not rehearsing for gigs.

10:46HostI know, I know. You want to go on a summer vacation, sabbatical for three, four months, somewhere in Thailand, or they were just to find yourself. India, shit.

10:56RichardI'm thinking about three, four years more.

10:59HostSee, it's getting harder and harder.

11:02BertramBut our last album also took us four years, so... Well, it's true.

11:06RichardBasically, not the fastest. Never been.

11:08HostYeah, and actually, like, with each album, you change a lot. It's like the first album... I mean, even before the first album, you had your, like, home recordings and stuff. Then you were with Panteré, you know, and then you did with the Tortozone and all this stuff. Next one's going to be a new label, I guess.

11:25BertramNo, maybe not. But because, actually, that's my label as well. I know.

11:30HostSooner. I'm working in the music industry. I'm doing this full time.

11:36BertramI think we're going to, yeah, keep continuing to keep our rights and do it on our own, yeah.

11:45HostYeah, but it's the way. If you can do it on your own and keep all the label things, rights and stuff in the bands, it's the best way to go. Like, everybody... Like, when I interviewed Clutch, that's how they did it. When I interviewed Bloodsucking Zombies of War From Outer Space, same thing. and many other bands doing the same thing. So, you're doing the right thing. It's just you're doing it really slow and you're canceling shit. So, fuck you guys. I mean, in a good way, sorry. It's just like, you know, a bit, a bit, a bit, a bit, no, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad, sad.

12:20?Sad.

12:23HostYou're going to be so sad. I hope you're going to be sad so you can write new songs about sadness. Sad songs is not our thing, I think. That's what you're going to do. You're going to, like...

12:35RichardJust blues and acoustic guitars now.

12:37HostOh, blues is perfect. Sadness, blues, stuff, acoustic guitars, whiskey. Do you drink alcohol?

12:43BertramIt happens. It happens from time to time. Mostly when we're on tour. No. Do you drink on tour?

12:51RichardI think nearly everyone does. If the tour is long, of course, you need your sober days. But generally speaking, we're not doing long tours anymore. So if we're playing a gig tonight, I drink beer, yeah, of course.

13:04HostWhat's your favorite drink on tour? Beer?

13:07?Beer? Yeah.

13:09HostBeer and coffee in the morning.

13:10?Yeah.

13:11HostI'm asking because, I mean, I ask this in every interview, almost every interview, because early in the beginning, one band said they like to drink margaritas on tour. Margaritas. Come on. After that, you need to be asking this.

13:23RichardWe don't get margaritas anywhere, so I don't know.

13:25BertramMaybe we are too underground to get margaritas served on stage. We get gin tonic a lot.

13:30HostBut they don't get served on stage. They just find. They just, like, when they are on tour, they try to drink margaritas because it's fun. Actually, they're a sad, sad band. But when I interviewed them, it turns out they're really funny people.

13:45?Yeah. Yeah.

13:47BertramYeah. I think drinking is just a part of it, as long as if it's in, as long as if you're able to keep up and play. But we are far away from being a straight edge band, to be honest. But it's not like we are... Yeah.

14:01HostWhatever makes your music the way it is, then yes. Okay. So, the band is falling apart. No turning back. I can't convince you. Let's imagine that you stay together. What would be the third album sound like? I would like to try to make it more progy. I tried it always, but it never works out the way I think. But that's the beautiful thing about writing songs together. I come into the rehearsal and present a riff that's nearly unplayable.

14:40HostAnd then it gets broken down. There come new ideas and stuff like that. I would try to make a third album as progy as possible. And then Bertie tells me that we make it, I don't want to say simpler, but more easy to

15:02Richardlisten and more commercial friendly.

15:05HostI mean, he owns a label, so he's like into this commercial shit. He knows what he's talking about. And he is very good at this. Yeah. I mean, you've been in the business for a long time. You've been a tour manager. You've been organizing stuff. You have signed, you have signed, I mean, I know you're tough shit and stuff.

15:21RichardAll the catchy riffs are written by him.

15:23?Right.

15:27RichardNever been able to write the riff that's really catching your ear.

15:32?That's not true.

15:33BertramAnd it's, yeah, as you already said, I think it's always the mixture of four different individuals just playing together and creating something new, and even if I'm coming with an idea and practically presenting a complete song to the band, it's just sounding the way it is because everybody's just putting their parts in it. And yeah, that's the beauty of it.

16:00RichardA completely written out song is not accepted by the other three.

16:04HostSo it's a constant conflict. That's the best way how to write songs.

16:08RichardWe honestly couldn't answer the question, what would the third album look like? Because we don't know.

16:14HostI know.

16:15RichardI mean, I need to ask about your part of the second one, I guess. But what it's really like, I couldn't tell you.

16:24BertramI just think that we would like to, or me personally, I would like to try to spin the idea of the whole story that we had with the first two albums and keep it going to the next one. So because basically we started as the self-fast renounce, and who went to outer space. And now we are on the second album. We've been back on Earth and just trying to figure out ourselves. And then the third, maybe we're going to another planet.

16:55HostYeah, and the third, we're leaving Earth again, we're in space, we conquer black holes or something. So it needs to be proggy.

17:03BertramYeah, that's it. We conquer black holes.

17:10HostThat's what I do on this podcast, trust me, on every podcast, I help, help, help musicians

17:20Bertramto get, that's it, the black hole conquerors. That's the title.

17:23RichardYeah, because you talked about it, we never talk about it.

17:26HostThat's why I'm here. I'm like your therapist, but for free.

17:29?Feels like it.

17:30BertramHow much do you ask for an hour?

17:32HostA beer, whiskey, beer, whiskey, whiskey, beer.

17:35BertramI think that's manageable for us, for our budget.

17:39HostActually, when you were talking about going away and trying out stuff, because last time I interviewed Tiger Cup, they had a similar story. So they were not feeling it, how it was going, the band, and they decided to, okay, let's kind of quit it. Not quit it, but pause. So what they did, they each went into their own projects, played what they wanted to play, froggy stuff, I don't know, psychedelic jazz.

18:09HostExactly a cup of tea. And then they got their kicks, you know, they got what they wanted, and then it cleared in their head what the original band was about. And it was easier for them to go back, because they already had, like, they know what they want. In other bands, they know what they want in this band. And bam, they have a completely, like, feels more different sound. I mean, they're more confident about who they are at the moment. Yeah. So, highly possible that it will happen to you. So, now I start, I'm not so pessimistic, just, like, it's real time, I'm just thinking about it. It might, it's highly possible that you will return more confidence regarding the sound of the Parasol Caravan.

18:55RichardMaybe, yeah, but as I said, I wouldn't be too sure that we actually do return.

19:00HostYou're fucking killing me.

19:04HostHave you discussed it, like, properly? I'm not sure.

19:07RichardYeah, we did. Actually, officially, internally, in the band.

19:12HostWhere's the fucking press release? Did you do the press release?

19:15BertramYeah, we did the press release, everything, we sent it out.

19:21HostThat's fun, that's fun. All right, so what are your plans for this year?

19:25BertramYeah, to be honest, at the moment, we just really want to enjoy the last three shows that we're going to play, and yesterday, we had, actually, the first one in Salzburg, and it's just so great to meet all the people who supported you over the last 14 years, and, yeah, basically, there are so many people who, yeah, who are just following us from city to city, and now you meet them again, and, yeah, it's just really, really fun to talk with all the fans and friends and everybody about old stories, and be able to share a beer with them after the show, and actually, it's the, so far, it's the best tour we ever did so far, but it's always the stuff, and, yeah, and that's a good thing, because it would be really sad if we were saying, hey, we're quitting this thing, and nobody's going to show up, because there was like, yeah, fuck this band, they didn't release anything new in the last three years, because, basically, that's it. No, but it's really, really fun to meet all those people and see familiar faces in the crowds, and it's going to be emotional for us as well. I mean, tonight, we're going to play here in the arena. It's almost sold out, sold out, and, yeah, a lot of friends from us are living here. I'm living here in the city, part, actually, all of us lived here, and we have a lot of friends here. It's going to be a big party. We just want to celebrate our songs. We rehearsed all of our old tunes that we didn't play for 10 years.

20:57RichardNot all, but the important ones.

21:00BertramYeah, it's just fun, and it's going to be a great, great party, and afterwards, yeah, we just take a well-deserved break, and...

21:08HostI think you're doing, like, the big keys, for example. The farewell tour number one, then the farewell tour number two, three, four, and five. We discussed it. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, they said the same thing.

21:19BertramSo, actually, the plan is from going to, from underground clubs to stadium shows in the next step.

21:28HostSo, I'm pretty sure you can do it. With this strategy, it's possible. So, what you're going to do, you both do, because I can't ask other people independently now, after the band is done, what's your plans? Can we, like, follow you and stuff? Because now we need to follow you independent, I guess.

21:49BertramThere's no musical projects. I mean, I do have another band as well, but it's also a band that's not playing live. It's called Holm. Yeah, I really like that band. It's a little, it's not so rock and roll focused, but it's more melodic and stuff. Yeah, a little folky, a little psychedelic. Sometimes a little bit more rock. Yeah, it's just, just really great music. But it's also music that we're writing in different cities apart from each other. So, it's not a project that's going to be, yeah, the next big live thing. At least not.

22:24?At least for now.

22:26BertramSo, yeah, but apart from that, I'm still continuing doing music, working with other musicians and bands. That's it so far.

22:33HostAnd you're going to be occupied with the label, with the other artists and stuff. Yeah. It's a lot of work.

22:38BertramYeah, it is. Yeah, because I'm doing really a lot of booking for, actually, yeah, I'm mainly a booker for other bands. So, there's no turning back from music for me. There was, it's, it will always be the biggest part of my life. Yeah.

22:55HostI don't actually have any real plans. I got a neighbor who's a really, really good blues guitarist. So, I kind of play with the thought to look into that kind of genre.

23:09RichardI mean, I can play a simple blues, of course, but he's, he's really good. So, I think I can, could learn something from him, but it's not like we're starting a band right now or something.

23:20HostSo, it's, it seems like that you really want to like make a pause with like a, yeah, I don't want to say like music also, you know, but in a way just like take it relaxing.

23:30RichardYeah, focus on family because my second child was born in June. Congrats. It's not the time to tour extensively.

23:41HostWell, I mean, we all understand. It's just, I'm such a bad researcher. That's why I'm so surprised.

23:47RichardIf we were professionals then, okay, but we don't make any money with this band.

23:54BertramI mean, it was never about the money. You don't play in a band for 14 years and continue releasing songs if it's about the money. That's always, I think being in a band is just the greatest pleasure that you can have musical wise, especially if you're just playing with your best friends and be on tour with them.

24:16RichardEspecially if you don't have to do it for the money.

24:19?Yeah.

24:20HostIf we would be professional, there's much higher pressure behind it. We are, we're just having fun evenings. All right, guys. I don't want to bother you. You're going to play a show in half an hour, like an hour or something like this. So, thank you very much for your music. I'm not saying like goodbye as like you're dead or something like this. I'm pretty sure it's still possible that you will return. And maybe not in this band, but maybe in other bands and other projects as musical and stuff, but at least, I mean, people would like to hear that.

24:52HostYeah. But thank you very much for what you did.

24:57HostThe music that we have is already really good and we'll have it forever, hopefully. So that's awesome. And I wish you from all the fans to you all the best and with all your like beginnings and stuff. And have a nice journey.

25:15?Yeah.

25:16BertramThank you very much. It was a pleasure.

25:17?Yeah. Thank you.

25:19HostIn the end, which song would you put at the end of this episode, the Parasol Caravan song? It's a good introduction to your band.

30:22HostAnd thank you, dear listener, for staying till the end. Don't forget to follow this podcast if you dig it. Rate the show on Spotify and Apple.

30:32?Apple Podcasts.

30:33HostMore stuff to come. Until next time. Bye.