Sun Caged, a must try!!

INTERVIEW WITH JOOST VAN DE BROEK (ex-Sun Caged, After Forever and Ayreon on stage)

From what age you became interested in music and when it got serious?

“I’ve always been very interested in music, I can’t remember not enjoying and practising music. I’ve playing keyboards since I was 10 years old.”

Can you give some good memories about your time in Sun Caged?

“Sun Caged was my first ‘fulltime’ band, in which I learned a lot and got a lot of experience.

One of the coolest things we did was playing a support of Queensryche in the Heineken Musichall. Also the CD I produced for and with Sun Caged was great, the whole recording and mixing process, with finally a great result!”

What equipment do you use and what sounds do you prefer?

“Clavia Nordlead 3, Korg Triton, Yamaha P-80 and 90, Roland Juno Alfa 2,

Roland AX-1 en AX-7 shouderkeyboards, microKORG, Yamaha A4000 sampler, Ultimate 'Aphex silver' Stands, Sennheiser EW 300 IEM G2 Wireless Monitoring System,  UltraDI pro's Behringer. I really like the fattest and weirdest analogsounds…actually beyond analog boundaries. Also I enjoy playing more common sounds like Hammond, piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hohner D7 clavinet very much!”

How did you get involved in the Ayreon project?

“I heard from Marcel Coenen (Sun Caged) that Arjen Lucassen was looking for a keyboardplayer for his Star One tour. I called him up and we arranged a meeting. Everything went very well and there was a click between us immediately. We began rehearsing all the songs Arjen wanted to play live personally, later we rehearsed 4 times with the band alone and a couple of days with singers. The Star One tour was great, one of the best experiences a had in my life till now. After the tour Arjen and I stayed in touch. He mixed the Sun Caged CD, on which he really did a great job and helped us out very much. When Arjen heard me playing a solospot live with Sun Caged he wanted me also on the new Ayreon, which was a great honour. Hopefully I will work together with Arjen in the future again!”

Tell me something about your cooperation with guitarplayer Anand?

“Anand is a great guitarplayer who lives in Enschede. Andre Vuurboom (ex-Sun Caged) already knew him for a couple of years and that’s how we eventually met, since Anand was looking for a keyboardplayer to work with and play live. Playing with Anand is great, he gives me a lot of space to do my own thing, thereby I learned a lot from him, since he is a very musical and various player and a great person. Unfortunately I had to stop playing with him live, since After Forever takes all my time and has my priority. Though I will work with Anand on his new upcoming record, so that’s great! What is your opinion about the current progrock situation? I think progrock and the metalscene in generous are getting bigger and

bigger, also commercial it's growing a lot and there are a lot of opportunities. The problem is, you have so much great bands, and all of them want to reach the top. The progrock scene is too small for that, but who knows in the future!!”

What are your future plans?

“Nowadays I play in After Forever, which I enjoy very much. The music is great to play, I get a lot of freedom for my own things, we play great stages and festivals, travelling a lot, etc…I’m also free to use the sounds I wanna play with and the keys I wanna play on. I use almost all the keys I’ve got, including the Nordlead 3 and shoulderkeyboards, which are great on stage!! With After Forever we’re working hard on new material right now, I’m very much involved in the writing process. It’s funny how well Sander (guitarplayer AF) and I connect to eachother in writing music…the new songs are flowing out of our musical pencils quickly !

We’re very excited about the material we’ve written so far. In march and april next year we’ll be recording the new album…so stay tuned ! Also I’m writing on a solo project now. I try to combine rock/metal with a lot of synth, soundscapes and various style-elements. It’s not my highest priority nowadays, since I’m very busy producing and playing for ‘other people’:o)

I’m very pleased with the things I’ve written and recorded so far, but I want to do everything on my own…and that takes a lot of time. More news on my solo project will follow !

This year I graduated from the conservatorium in Enschede, I did ‘Musicproduction & Keyboards’. Now I’ve started with the mastersdegree, in which I do a specialisation in rock/metal when it comes to producing, playing, arranging and writing. Also in this mastereducation I’m studying classical piano, for my technique, touché and repertoire…

it’s great to make from my hobby, my study and my job!”