Interview Two Of A Kind

    Esther Brouns

    A new week, a new interview! Today we got one for you with Esther Brouns from Two Of A Kind. 

     

    Two Of A Kind is a melodic rock band from the Netherlands, whose self-titled debut album was released by Frontiers in 2007. Fred Hendrix, better known as main songwriter and singer for the Melodic Rock masters TERRA NOVA, heads up the band. Back at the turn of the century, Fred had become more and more interested in production and songwriting, so he started looking for new and fresh talent to develop. Following several suggestions from Frontiers Records’ President and A&R Director, Serafino Perugino, Fred asked one but two female singers to join, Esther Brouns and Anita Craenmehr.

     

    After a few writing sessions, Fred submitted the plan for a new band with a great melodic rock edge in the style of BOSTON meets HEART style to Frontiers, who liked the material and signed the band in late 2005. Recording of the self-titled debut album was completed during the Summer ‘06 with Fred’s TERRA NOVA bandmates Gesuino Derosas (guitar), Hans in't Zandt (drums), and Fred's brother Ron Hendrix (keyboards) joining the proceedings.

    ''How are you doing?''

    Esther: ''Well, my favourite season (winter) is here in a few months so i’m a happy girl :-)''

     

    ''Let’s start with a little presentation. Who is Two of a Kinda and how was the band formed?''

    Esther: ''Two of a kind is: Fred Hendrix (bass guitar) Ron Hendrix (keys) Hans in ‘t Zandt (drums) Gesuino Derosas (guitar) Anita Craenmehr (vocals) and myself: Esther Brouns (vocals). The band was formed by Fred Hendrix.''

     

    ''How did you come up with the name?

    Esther: ''Now that’s a question for Fred. Good question though, ‘cause I really don’t know.''

     

    ''What band(s) / artist(s) have inspired you to become musicians?''

    Esther: ''For me it all started with ABBA and later on i begun to listen to bands like Europe, Roxette and Journey.''

     

    ''Do you have any musical training?''

    Esther: ''In my 20’s I had singing lessons. I learned a lot from that and still nowadays I use the techniques from those lessons.''

     

    ''How would you describe your music to someone who doesn’t know the band?''

    Esther: ''Classic melodic rock.''

    ''What is your favorite song from the album, and why?''

    Esther: ''That’s a hard question... If I had to name one I think it would be “It Ain’t Over”. When I hear a song for the first time I have to fall in love with the melody first. “It ain’t over” did that right away. It also has a real nice “eighties movie vibe” if you know what I mean.

     

    ''Who is the main writer in the band, or are you all equally involved in the creative process?''

    Esther: ''Fred wrote all the songs. During recording we are all free to put our own creativity in it.''

     

    ''Is there anything new on this album that makes it special? Did you do something different in some way?''

    Esther: ''Between the first album and this album lies 11 years, so if I speak for myself I became a better singer in a way that now i know what I want to put in a song. When I compare the two albums I think this album is more groovy in a way.

     

    ''Are there new themes or new sounds you wish to experiment with in the future?''

    Esther: ''Not particularly.''

     

    ''Do you have any touring plans?''

    Esther: ''Nothing is confirmed yet, but I hope we can all soon hit the stage.''

     

    ''What do you think about the way music affects people’s lives, even changing them?''

    Esther: ''That’s the power of music! Everyone loves music, isn’t that awesome! Not everyone loves the same music, but everyone loves music and that’s beautiful.''

    Outside of the business aspect, how has music affected you, personally?

    Esther: ''Well, because of music i have met my husband. So it’s safe to say that through music i hit the jackpot! (He’s not a member of Two of a kind, just so you know :-)

     

    ''How would you continue the sentence “Music is…”? ''

    Esther: ''No contest''

     

    ''Rock and metal bands generally have lengthy careers, more with more than 20 years doing this. Why do you think that is?''

    Esther: ''I think Rock and Metal bands are more in it for the music than just to be famous. Most of those bands started in a garage with one dream; making music they love, hoping that someday the whole world loves their music by not changing one little thing because a manager said so. It’s real.''

     

    ''Do you have any kind of life advice for our readers & us?''

    Esther: ''A day without laughter is a day wasted.''

     

    Thank you Eshter for this nice little interview!

     

    Read the review of Two Of A Kinds ''Rise'' here!

     

    By Tamar

    14/10/2018