We interviewed Anneke! Let's check?
This was our first interview with Anneke van Giersbergen! This exclusive interview had the participation of several people who sent their questions via our facebook page, where we chose 5 of them, and completed with a question of each Anneke van Giersbergen Brasil staff member. This is an important achievement for our page! It was made possible by the continued support of each of you. Thank you so much!
In this interview, Anneke tells us a little about her relationship with the fans, her current projects and future plans, her son, received gifts on tour and even on LGBT rights. Check it out!
Anneke Brasil: Hi Anneke!
It's a pleasure to talk with you! This is our first interview to the page! So we're very happy to be with you, the reason for everything. Thank you!
We asked for our followers to send some questions and then we selected 5 of them. The last ones are from the staff.
1) FROM: Leandro Coelho
Besides admiring your talent and voice, people in Brazil have always complimented you on your kindness with the fans. How important do you consider the relation between artists and their fans?
ANNEKE: I love connecting with people, so for me it’s very natural to be kind and respectful to everyone I meet. I never forget that the people that support you, enable you to make a living, doing what you love most in life, which is to create, sing & connect. I’m grateful for that!
2) FROM: Mariana Cotrim
What was the most touching "superation inspired on you" story a fan's ever told you and how does the fans' love feels to you?
ANNEKE: Of course it’s nice to be loved, but I always try to balance it with “real life”, because I’ve seen many people change, because they start to believe having a following makes you any different from the rest, and it doesn’t. There are many touching stories. It’s always a surprise when people share this with me, because the possible effect on others is not something you think about when you write or record new music. So whenever somebody shares his/her story I feel humbled and… surprised.
4) FROM: Rogério Vieira
Hello, Anneke! You wrote "My Boy" for your son and this is a song with a powerful message that all mothers learned the universal mother's manual (including mine, lol). Today, what your son think about of you career, he knows your songs in the solo career and The Gathering's songs?
ANNEKE: My son is very creative, but he his much more interested in drawing and writing stories. He makes lovely little cartoons. Perhaps because he has been surrounded by music all of his life, he seems less interested in becoming a musician, but this could change of course. He likes to dance and he has a good voice, but he doesn’t like to perform at all.
3) FROM: Hugo Medeiros
Arjen usually writes great musical epics which have an immersive storytelling and characters whose stories are rather touching regardless of the theme (science fiction such as "01011001" or even fantasy as we see in " Actual Fantasy"). Since you took part in the writing process, was there a particular song or character from "The Diary" that moved you? If so, which one and why? P.S.: You're AMAZING! Lots of love from Brazil!
ANNEKE: I guess I relate the most to Susanne, the female lead of the story. I admire Arjen’s ability to tell a complex story through music, but I really wanted “Love” to play an important role in our album, because it’s such an important element for me.
6) FROM: Regiane Avena [Anneke Brasil]
Hi Anneke! It is more a curiosity than a question... How do you manage so many gifts that you won during the tours in Mexico and South America? You previously reserve some space in your luggage? Comes with some extra bag? Can take everything to Netherlands? How does it work? What was the most insane gift you've ever won. (Ps. Get ready to win more gifts here)
ANNEKE: Since we travel with a lot of music equipment as well, it’s simply not possible to take everything home with me. I try to hold on to special items, but I have found a solution, so I don’t have to fly with extra suitcases with gifts: I talk to the maids in the hotel and when they have kids I ask them to take some of the presents home with them and give them to their kids. I have received so many wonderful things, people even brought home-cooked meals to the show! ;-)
8) FROM: Rodrigo Puerari [Anneke Brasil]
Anneke, 2014 was a very busy year for you. Tour with Danny Cavanagh, special show with The Gathering, the amazing trio The Sirens, partnership with Lorrainville, The Power of Love, Cellarscape and Devin Townsend. Besides The Gentle Storm, can we expect some surprises for 2015 too? Is there any plan for a new solo album this year?
ANNEKE: You are right, 2014 has been very busy and somehow many things happened around the same time. It was fun, but I’ve made the decision to focus on The Gentle Storm as much as possible this year. It’s a really important album for me and I want to try to put all my energy in this project for the most part of 2015!
7) FROM: Vilmar Michereff Junior [Anneke Brasil]
We know you have many gay fans worldwide. You come from a country where the law is well advanced on gender equality, equal marriage, homophobia criminalization and legalization about gender identity while here in Brazil these things have a lot to improve. For you, how important is the achievement of LGBT public spaces and how you see the fact that actually there are so many gays and lesbians as rock lovers besides the pop?
ANNEKE: You are right, in The Netherlands LGBT rights are very progressive and I’m very proud of the fact the we were the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage. It also means it’s a very normal thing for me and most Dutch people, but traveling the world made me realise there’s still a long way to go and that worries me of course.
5) FROM: Fernanda Barone
The Sirens is an awesome project for the fans of female-fronted bands, and it makes the project even more interesting by seeing how the sirens' stories are similar: you three were part of key bands in the metal scene, left the bands for any reason and followed a solo career for a while. All of you are moms and travel the world. How is it to work with strong women who understand everything you went through and share many experiences?
ANNEKE: It’s a whole new experience for me to be surrounded by women, because for many years I was the only female in a band and most of the time the only female on a tour as well. In my solo band & crew I like to hire women, but not because I’m so into girl-talk. The Sirens’ singers do have a similar background, so it’s really special to tour with women that have a lot of the same experiences as you. You don’t have to explain how it feels to be away from your kid etc.
Anneke Brasil: We are looking forward to see you on stage! Will be a unique opportunity! You are always amazing, Kari never came to Brazil and Liv has not been so frequent in Brazilian territory, so we're counting the days to see you all together. You can leave a message for people that follows the fan page? Thank you for your time and interview. We will be in all gigs, so see you soon on the road!!
ANNEKE: Thank you so much for your support and lovely questions. I hope to see you all soon!! XxX Anneke
