Interview by Jack Williams
I have had the pleasure of seeing theNAME twice this year, the first time in support of Stream of Passion in Amsterdam and last weekend at The Female Metal Event- FemME. Today I am speaking with Hadassa, the talented lead singer of the band.
Greetings Hadassa, welcome to Femme Metal Webzine.
Hey there! Thank you, also for the nice introduction 😉
Congratulations on a wonderful show last weekend in Eindhoven, what are your thoughts about the festival?Thank you! I had a really great time! It was a lot of fun to play at FemME. Also, I really enjoyed being part of the fashion show of Ingeborg Steenhorst. I never did that before
You have such a wonderfully dynamic presence on the stage, for those new to the band, how did you get started in the Metal scene?Oh, thank you again I started singing in a rock band. One day the boys of theNAME saw me waiting for this rock band and they asked me if I was a singer. They asked me if I would like to audition and so I became the singer of theNAME. That’s how I entered the metal scene.
You also took part in the Fashion Show at the beginning of the festival, and you were excellent, have you had any modeling experience?I’m going to say thank you a lot in this interview 😉 No, I do not have modeling experience. I just admire models and I love fashion. It was an honor to be part of Ingeborg’s fashion show. She is such a great designer.
Back to the music, what or who would you consider to be your main influences for your music?It’s funny, people always ask me who my main influences are, but for me it doesn’t really work that way. I did not grow up in the metal scene, I was seduced into it by the music of theNAME. When Silas started to write new music when I just entered the band, I immediately got excited to complete the songs with lyrics and melodies. His music makes me feel all kinds of emotions and those are the core of my lyrics and melodies. I honestly feel honored to finish his songs with my words and vocal lines. I think he is very talented. I love how he combines passion with technique. Now I listen to a lot to metal and of course I have my favorites. But I really try to be myself and not get influenced too much.
Thank you I believe in authenticity. For me it’s no fun to do what already exists. That wouldn’t be me, that wouldn’t be us; that would not be theNAME. Of course there are certain style elements of metal and rock we adopted, but we try to be our own version of the ‘female fronted metal band’. To perform our music requires a great technique, but the core of our music is emotion and passion. There is no way you can honestly deliver that to the audience when you don’t bring it as your true self. It would sound like a trick. Our music comes from our hearts and apparently it makes us sound the way we do. I can’t say that it was always easy to be ‘different’. At first people didn’t really understand us. But we grew, became better versions of ourselves and our music grew along with us. Now it feels like being different becomes our strength. That feels a bit like a victory
I see theNAME has done some pretty impressive tours, any thoughts on taking it across the Atlantic or the Pacific?Oh yes please! We would love that! We want to play as much as we can, with as many great bands and artists, at the greatest festivals and in the greatest venues. I absolutely love to sing and perform.
I hear from several other artists how difficult the business of music is these days, what are your views on this?It seems extremely difficult. There are so many bands and so many easy ways to show yourself as a band nowadays. Online at least, ‘cause showing yourself by playing live is not easy at all. There are so many bands trying to convince the audience that the competition is insane. Even talent, hard work, money and good marketing can’t always get you to the top. Nowadays you need lots and lots of luck to get there.
What does the future hold for you and the band? Touring, recording, videos?Soon we’ll start writing new songs for a new album. I am very excited about that! Of course we will make some matching music videos for the new album too. And yes, I would love to tour again! Touring with Tarja was amazing We just want to play as much as we can.
In closing, any words or thoughts you’d like to share with our readers and fans of theNAME?We love to be in touch with those who are interested in theNAME. You can always find us on Facebook if you want to share something or if you have a question. Feel free to visit our shows; we would love to rock with you! Don’t forget to headbang with us while you are attending our show
Thank you so much for giving me this time, it is a great pleasure to not only have talked with you but to see you perform. Best wishes to you in the future.Thank you very much for your time and this interview! Hope we can meet sometime! Rock on, sweets! Thank you for your support!
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