Summery of interviews with all Mad Curry members, Summer of 2004. Interviews & photos: Herman Permentier

GIORGIO CHITSCHENKO / JOOST GEERAERTS: Sax

DANNY ROUSSEAU: Organ

EDDY KANE / VERDONCK: Drums

JEAN ANDORE / VANDOOREN: Bass

VIONA WESTRA: Vocals

*Did you have a professional education & who influenced you?

VIONA WESTRA (vocals): 10 years piano and many years in a choir where I learned to sing. I got jazz influences from my father, he was a captain, and brought jazz records from all over the world. My mother played classical music, but after I bought my first Beatles record I started to listen also to rock & blues. Later latin music, Astrud Gilberto, Ella Fitzgerald.

EDDY VERDONCK (drums): I always wanted to play drums and I taught myself.

JEAN VANDOOREN (bass): I also taught myself. I came from a poor family and did many jobs to save money for a bass guitar.

DANNY ROUSSEAU (organ): My first instrument was an accordion. When I was seven I went to music school. I’ve been to conservatoria in Brussels & Gent where I took lessons on piano, trumpet, percussion, and harmony. I first graduated in percussion. At that time I listened to Jimmy Smith who also plays a Hammond and to Wild Bill Davis

*How did you people meet each other?

GIORGIO (sax): I started with Mad Curry in Leuven, a Belgian university city. We met each other in local underground café’s where a lot of jams took place. They called Leuven at that time the ‘little Liverpool’ .

VIONA (vocals): I played in Leuven around 1966 in a blues band called the Fucking Blues. At that time blues was unpopular and at some gigs people threatened to throw tomatoes. When the blues became popular later, we had progressed to other forms of music. It became Mad Curry, a band without a guitar but with Sax & Hammond organ. Again people said: ‘what the hell is this, no guitar?’

JEAN (bass): We all gave up studying or our jobs, to become professional musicians.

* Did you discuss a lot about songs & the color of the sound?

DANNY (organ): No absolutely not. Everything happened spontaneously and we all brought our influences to the band. We made no concessions to anyone. It was not our intention to make easy music.

JEAN (bass): Eddy (drums) and I came from the popular music world & we had the advantage that we could put down a solid sound. Giorgio came from jazz, Danny could handle everything and Viona (vocals) wrote her own lyrics. The combination of these influences together gave:

‘One, two, three’ (claps in his hands) ‘A GREAT SOUND’

* Before you entered the studio did the band rehearse a lot?

EDDY (drums): The foundation and the structure (stanza/refrain) came from Danny (organ) & Giorgio (sax) and were worked out completely at rehearsals.

VIONA (vocals): Only the solos from the sax, organ or vocals were free. But in between was a structure that fixed everything together. After we had rehearsed a lot, a solo was more or less fixed, so the improvisations on stage were not too different from each other.

GIORGIO (sax): All structures were tied up properly, yes absolutely. Even the announcements between the songs at live shows. It all fitted together. You can give yourself the freedom to improvise, but you have to know on what. It was all settled, it wasn’t like: ‘we will see what happens’ no, that was impossible for what we aimed for; we had a ‘mission’

* Which instruments did you use?

GIORGIO (sax): I used a Selmer Mark VI, THE top. I still use that same instrument. It will never go away from me. As equipment, I had a Varitone, called an Octaver these days. I used special microphones especially imported from America. I still use them. Further a booster, wahwah pedal, essential modifiers only, without being extreme. I’ll never use guitar modifiers. A sax is an analogue instrument from which everything must go through a microphone. A guitar is an electronic instrument and everything goes via a pick up, technically something quite different.

DANNY (organ): A Hammond organ. I have always been interested in electronics, and built all my effect boxes & electronic gadgets by myself. On the track ‘Sound for Tomorrow’ I modified the sound of my Hammond. In ‘Jack is Away’ I used a wahwah pedal to change the sound. Transporting the heavy Hammond was a real problem. I decided to saw it in two pieces. To be honest it felt odd toppling over my expensive organ and sawing it in two. I reconnected the complicated wiring and made an aluminum frame around the two pieces. On the inner cover of the LP you can even see my organ was cut in half.

*How did the album sessions go?

EDDY (drums): Full of fright: my first time in a studio! ‘There is your place, please start’. ‘BANG’: nothing. We, the rhythm section, sat down in a corner of the studio. Milleke the bass player of The Pebbles, who was also present, encouraged us: ‘Come on try, let’s have a sound check’. After a while, we started. The recording itself was impressive. It started with only bass & drums, nothing else.

VIONA (vocals): The album was recorded at the Reward studios. We didn’t have as modern equipment as today. First the rhythm section which wasn’t simple at all, then sax and later organ. At the end I sang my part. We recorded the vocals twice and ran them together in the mix. This way we created a kind of echo. The album sounds relatively live. Quite remarkable as everything was recorded separately.

JEAN (bass): One, two, three, four, dum dum, dum, dum dum dum dum, dum. That was everything. Danny (organ player) stood there to conduct & Viona (vocals) moved her lips as if she was singing.

* How was Mad Curry as a live band?

EDDY (drums): Our goal was to be as good as possible as a live band. I know for certain that we worked very hard on that. It was the strength of Giorgio (sax): 1,2 – 1,2,3 we started together & arrived together at the end. It is very clear we worked on Mad Curry. You have to be certain of yourself, have routine & feel blindly where other band members are aiming. One look to each other: YES here it comes. That’s the result of countless rehearsals & experience.

VIONA (vocals): Mad Curry live? YES, that was it. Although we had no lightshow or stage act. You could see we were inspired & didn’t play just for money. We had a faithful group of listeners. Those made playing live an enormous celebration. On stage we could stretch the songs & play extended solos.

* Most hilarious Mad Curry moment?

EDDY (drums): Amsterdam. We played there, did our best and after each number we expected applause (as a musician you get a boost from applause; you can say YES! and then you’re off). But in the Paradiso, Amsterdam that didn’t happen at all. We all looked dismayed at each other: ‘this is NOT O.K.’. After the gig was over the manager of the Paradiso came to our dressing room and said: ‘hey, congratulations that was delicious man!’ we said ‘how can you say that, the public didn’t respond at all?’ ‘Oh’ he said ‘don’t mind them, they are all lying stoned on the ground and that’s a sign it was a very good concert.’

JEAN (bass): Here is another amusing Paradiso anecdote: Eddy’s mother was always anxious about him. Every time we played a live gig she prepared some sandwiches for Eddy and wrapped them in silver paper. When we arrived in Paradiso the organizers said to each other: ‘Hey boys we shall have a great party tonight, did you see those musicians from Belgium; they brought a BIG packet full of weed along! ’

Another one: Each year a big student ball took place in Knokke (a famous Belgian coast city). At this bourgeois event everybody wore a dinner jacket. As roady we had Wilfried Hendrickx (who’s now a famous writer and journalist in Belgium), he walked around in a priest’s robe while we wore jeans. It took a lot of time before we could explain at the entrance that we had been invited to play. Can you imagine us, a rock band in hippie gear, one in a priest’s robe and the public seated in evening dress at tables eating dinner! But after all we played and even got paid

* Mad Curry highlight?

GIORGIO (sax): That we didn’t realize how terribly well we played. We didn’t have any idea what we meant back then. That’s the highlight for me, that’s super.

VIONA (vocals): The album. I was so unbelievable happy with it. It sounded like we played on stage. This we could be proud of and not feel ashamed about. Despite the fact that it was recorded with a very tight budget in little time. We had something in our hands about which we could say ‘Look, we never never never have to feel ashamed about this; this will remain good for years. And yes I’m still proud about the album. It can stand next to (points to her record collection in her living room to records by Joni Mitchell, Astrid Gilberto, Santana, etc...

* Do you remember a special gig?

GIORGIO (sax): Yes, the very first Mad Curry gig at the Arenahal in Antwerp. Louis De Vries our manager organized it. It was really something. Such a hall for our first live performance. If you compare it to today’s standards you can say we held our premiere in the Sportpaleis hall in Antwerp with a capacity of 17.000 people. Our manager who always did a great job for us got a sponsor deal from Faylon stage equipment. Behind our backs was a WALL of boxes. Who could accomplish anything like that, back then? It was mega. I’m still impressed by that gig today.

* In what way did the band evolve and what was the reason for the split?

VIONA (vocals): The fact we didn’t play enough live gigs to make a living, was hard to bear. Everybody had given up their jobs and our expectations were high. It remained a financial disaster, THAT pressure was horrible. We really liked each other. No, our consternation was: we cannot keep this thing together financially. Yet, we never considered going more commercial.

DANNY (organ): If I remember rightly, Mad Curry bled to death due to lack of live gigs. We didn’t evolve anymore. Viona, Giorgio and I went to our manager’s office to tell the news of our split. He reacted furiously. To be honest: we didn’t give a damn. We certainly didn’t leave each other in quarrel.

* How do you look back now on Mad Curry after 33 years?

EDDY (drums): Positively. It was a fantastic experience. The music we played would have been more successful if we had only arrived at the scene several years later. Our music was too ripe for that time, to new and to exclusive. We didn’t have a guitarist; a band without a guitar? Impossible back then.

JEAN (bass): Mad Curry was a good experience and a good school. Not only on musical levels, but also on human level.

DANNY (organ): It was a positive period. Everything evolves in a human life and it makes no sense to regret something.

VIONA (vocals): Oh very positively, yes. I never ever had a moment of regret about what we have done. If someone should ask me: do you still dare to play that Mad Curry album? I shall immediately answer: ‘Listen to this record; you can learn a lesson from it’. Truly, it was a great period.

GIORGIO (sax): I didn’t think that much about Mad Curry after the split. But it was certainly a good way to play music.

* What have you done after Mad Curry & what are you doing now?

Excerpt from History text at: http://www.madcurry.be/history.htm

Viona Westra (vocals) wrote some songs with Danny Rousseau but they stayed unreleased. She became active in several bands like the folk-oriented Stainless steel, Sonny Zandueta, Milkshake banana and jazz solo projects. Later she worked for national Belgium TV and as presenter for the local Leuven TV station, journalist and does music for theatre and several social projects for third world aid. She sings now in the Viona Westra trio. http://www.vermeylenfonds.be/indekijker/Eldiadelaluz.htm

Jean Andore (bass) and Eddy Kane (drums) played in together in Louisette a band with Raymond Van het Groenewoud. They recorded Maria, Maria. Several bands followed after Louisette like: Raymond van het Groenewoud, Split, Kris De Bruyne, Luk Tegenbo’s Smartlappen ensemble. After being out of music for 20 years they played together again in the blues band Kat’s Rollers. Only Jean Vandooren still plays in this band now. He works for an insurance company.

Eddy Kane (drums) After Louisette, Raymond van het Groenewoud, Split, Kris De Bruyne, Steve Turksin band, Kat’s Rollers & now Indigo Ratz. Eddy writes his own songs now for Indigo Ratz a funky jazz-rock band. They have recorded a demotape in October 2004 in a professional studio. http://www.indigoratz.be/ He works in a building construction firm.

Danny Rousseau (organ) is still a professional musician. He writes arrangements for well known Flemish artists like Nicole & Hugo, Marc Dex, Jacques Raymond, Lily Castel, Katrien Gallaz. He plays live with New sound and works together with Eddy Kane on his demos for Indigo Ratz.

Giorgio Chitschenko (sax) recorded an album in the 70’s with Shampoo, also a jazzy rock band. On their album ‘Volume 1’ a Mad Curry track ‘Music, the reason of our happiness’ reappeared as ‘Some reason’. He played with Hearts of soul & Dreamexpress. With this band he played in 1977 at the Eurovision song contest. They had a lot of success & played all over Europe. Later he played sax on a second demo CD from Indigo Ratz, a band with Mad Curry drummer Eddy Kane. These days he’s working on jazzy, funky, bluesy & warm project he started 7 years ago. Professionally he works now as a bus driver.

No photo available

* Mad curry, one more time?

EDDY (drums): I tell you: if all the members of Mad Curry would agree to come together again and play a few gigs for fun, that would be fantastic; I really mean it! With the skills we have now? We are all wiser and became better musicians.

JEAN (bass): Now a live gig and we have come full circle!

VIONA (vocals): Me? I would be the last to say no. The moment those guys call me and say: Are you interested to play together again? YES I still feel young enough, we are all wiser now.

GIORGIO (sax): No, not for me. I don’t know…… well maybe,…….. I keep it under consideration!

*TO BE CONTINUED??????

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