The Rock'N'Roll Life of Our Amigos: Go Back To The Zoo

Read the story of our new friends — Cas, Bram, Teun, Lars and Remy. What started with a Fisheye 2 and a Ringflash, ended up with something completely different. These lads call themselves “Go Back To The Zoo” and have once again proved they live a true Rock’nRoll life. Why? Check out this interview + pictures and find out for yourself.

Name Go Back To The Zoo (Cas, Bram, Teun, Lars and manager Remy)
City: Amsterdam
Country: Nederland

Tell us a bit about yourself. What do you do for living?
We are Cas, Bram, Teun, Lars and Remy from Go Back To The Zoo. We write pop-rock songs with British influence and without complicated or noodling-effects. Just two guitars, a bass and drums.

Your Lomography adventure started right before your USA trip to the SXSW festival. Could you tell us something about your Lomography experience?

Cas – Well, I recently noticed that my Lomography experience started a long time ago. I remember my girlfriend Marian taking a picture of me with a POP9 at our very first date. But keeping that aside, we really loved to shoot with Lomography cameras. Mainly because of the surprise element. You never know what the picture will look like. And the Fisheye 2 boosted up this element even more. You easily start experimenting with double exposures. This worked out pretty well on a picture where I’m wearing a wig. It turned out into a pretty weird but cool picture.

Lars – In the USA, it was always a true battle who was allowed to take the camera, because it’s such a great accessory to have hanging around your neck.

Could you explain us what happened in the USA? Who was the last person that saw the camera?

Cas – You are probably familiar with this idea of keeping stuff on the safest place, right, so you will never lose them…and then, you still lose them. That’s exactly what happened. It all started on this cowboy event where we went to down to hit our penny. After we left, I instantly realized that we left the Fisheye 2 on top of that penny device. Fortunately, it was still there when we got back.

But then, just a bit later, it actually happened that we lost it. In our rental car, we had this tiny glove box in between the two front chairs. We collectively decided that was the best place to keep the camera. But when the trip was over and we handed in our car, nobody thought of grabbing the camera. That was pretty sad. Camera gone, films gone, the end of our Lomography adventure.

But how do you take care of your stuff in general then?

Cas – Well that’s our problem, or maybe it’s not even our problem. We are not really attached to things. As for guitars, it’s a different story, because we’ve got other people taking care of them. But Bram and Teun lose their keys and phones easily on a weekly base. And from the start, it was very unclear who was responsible for the camera. So yes, perhaps we should have given it to Remy…

Could you explain us what’s the worst feature of the band?

Lars – Haha, I have to admit we are indeed pretty chaotic. For example with administration and saving tracks. Our hard drive is one big mess. After we record a song, each one of us changes the file name all the time and this way we are never able to find it back again.

Who is the most dominant individual in the band?

Lars – Actually nobody. Everyone is equally dominant, and that is the power of the band. If someone jumps up, the others will pull him back down. Finally, we try to convince each other to make a certain decision and then we quickly agree collectively. Whatever we do, it always succeeds. But we do have to deal with heavy discussions beforehand though. The ultimate idea is that we all want the same.

Cas – Actually, it always comes down to conformity. I don’t join discussions about what beer we should have in our dressing room. It should not be Dommelsch, that’s all. But it’s different when it comes to making music. We can argue for days about a stupid little detail. And eventually, the very first thing we had in mind will always be the coolest—all because that one was natural and spontaneous.

If you’d give your photo selection a soundtrack, what would it be? 3 songs & artists please

Rolling Stones – Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’
Smith Westerns – Weekend
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – Home

Could you describe a normal day in the life of Go Back To The Zoo?

Lars – A day like today starts with waking up and do boring stuff. Like picking up bass amplifiers, drive around with our bus through the Vondelpark and get busted by the police. That kind of simple but hilarious things happen all day long. But besides that, we are constantly busy with music. We make music in the studio or visit radio and television stations for promotional purposes. In the evenings, we drink obviously, and that goes wrong every once in a while. But hey, that’s the rock ‘n’ roll life, right? We also like to watch other bands play. We recently saw Eels in Paradiso and the Dutch bands Mozes And The Race Track and Alamo Firstborn.

What about heading international?

Cas – Obviously, Germany is the closest country for us to go to and it’s the 3rd biggest music industry in the world, enough reason for us to head down there. This summer, we will play in a couple of German festivals and shows, but that will not be enough to break through in the German music industry. Therefore, we have to play on several locations in this huge country. Also, there isn’t just one alternative radio station like 3FM in Holland. Germany has multiple regions you’ll have to visit, each one with its own radio station. Our record Benny Blisto will be released in Germany next year.

What is your advice for future Fisheye 2 photographers?

Lars – Don’t think and just shoot a lot. And also…don’t lose it! :-).

Cas – Pay attention to light conditions and approach your object as close as possible. Make pictures when you’re wasted. That’s probably the most important thing to keep in mind. Smoke works well on photos too. It makes a picture exciting. And take your camera everywhere you go. This way, you will be able to capture moments at any time. You could simply document something that happens aside from something major, and later on realize that this side thing is even more hilarious than you thought in the beginning.

Due to the very quick disappearance of their Fisheye 2, we decided to take some pictures of the band ourselves. Also a special thanks goes to Maarten van Riel. Check out the GBTTZ gallery here!

Follow the band on Twitter, Facebook and visit their own website.

Fisheye No. 2 has a 170-degree wide angle view and stunning barrel distortion. Now with a hotshoe and multiple and long exposure capabilities, the world’s greatest compact Fisheye camera is now more amazing than you ever thought possible! Available in different colors and special designs.

written by mrmaart on 2011-07-11 #people #lomo-amigo #electric #nederland #dutch #holland #lomoamigo #nld #gbttz #lomography-gallery-store-amsterdam