Drive Like Maria Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Feb 21st 2010 2:20PM by Robin Cook
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Belgian-Dutch power trio Drive Like Maria established themselves as kindred spirits of Wolfmother, Queens of the Stone Age and Mastodon with the release of their 2009 debut, 'Elmwood.' The album includes a guest appearance from legendary singer-songwriter Janis Ian on two tracks. Guitarist Nitzan Hoffmann, drummer/vocalist Bjorn Awouters and bassist Robin Van Saaze opened for Motorhead last fall and kicked off 2010 by playing the Eurosonic Noorderslag Festival in Groningen in the Netherlands. This March they return for their third tour of the US, including a stop at SXSW.

Describe your sound.

An intergalactic wall of sound.

How did your band form?

The band was formed shortly after we met at the Wisseloord studios in the Netherlands where we were working as engineers/producers/musicians. We got bored waiting while hearing yet another lead singer complaining about the color of his microphone cable. So we started to jam and found our loathing of spoiled rock stars wasn't the only thing we had in common.

What are your musical influences?

AC/DC and ZZ Top, for the knowledge that we can still rock when we are over 50. We've had the honor to do support for both bands and believe me, they still rock! Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and John Lennon for nurturing us. The Mars Volta for their insanity. Led Zeppelin for being Led Zeppelin and Jay-Z because he's bad-ass.

How did you come up with your band name?

Legendary NASCAR driver Mario Andretti had an even more legendary big sister, Anna Maria Andretti, who was also into racing. She was known to drive fast, both on and off the tracks. There's a saying that goes, "If you want to get somewhere in time, you better drive like Maria Andretti." We are all into motorized vehicles and the adventure that comes with it, so it seemed like the perfect name for our band. Over the years the name became even more significant to us, displaying the "drive" we share on and off the stage.

What's your festival survival kit?

A box of aspirin and an umbrella.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

Depends on what you would consider crazy. We got into a bar fight over architecture, got hit by a deer, trashed the van and got asked to take part in a drug traffic organization from South America to Europe. We declined. And we got invited to shoot some AK-47's with the club owner after a show once.

What's Belgium's music scene like?

For such a small country, we have a lot of cool bands like, Millionaire, Black Box Revelation, Soulwax, Too Many DJ's and Creature with the Atom Brain.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

I, Nitzan, have my name printed on two million copies of the Scorpions' 'Unbreakable' album, on which I was an assistant engineer.

Beatles or Stones?

John Lennon.

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