BASSCULTURE ISLANDS IS A MAGAZINE FEATURING CARIBBEAN ARTISTS. WHAT IS BAND’S
CONNECTION TO THE ISLANDS?
Our two founding members, Jacob Streefkerk (guitarist) and myself, Michael Maidwell (lead
vocalist) are both from the island of St Maarten/St Martin. Jacob came to the island as a baby and
I was born there. We both left after high school to pursue our dreams and explore what the rest of
the world had to offer. Currently we live and play in The Netherlands.
HOW OFTEN AND WHERE DO U GUYS VISIT THE IN CARIBBEAN?
We tour a lot in the Dutch Caribbean. We’ve done quite a few shows on St Maarten/St Martin,
Curacao and Aruba... we’ve also played before on Anguilla, Barbados, Antigua, Statia and Bonaire.
This summer we have shows coming up in St Martin on June 14th for the St Martin Billfish
Tournament, Curacao, Zanzibar on June 22nd and a few other islands are being added as well.
IF YOU WERE TO COMPARE THE AUDIENCE AT YOUR SHOWS, WHO IS MORE ENTHUSIASTIC, EUROPEANS
OR CARIBBEAN PEOPLE? IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE?
Well... it’s always a nice mix of people and cultures at our shows whether it’s in the Caribbean or
in Europe... so we have lots of Caribbean people at our shows in Europe and lots of Europeans
and Americans at our shows in the Caribbean. I think you have to be more at the top of your game
performance-wise to get the Caribbean crowds to go completely nuts.
WHAT DO U LIKE ABOUT BOTH PLACES (EUROPE, THE CARIBBEAN) WHEN IT COMES TO THE MUSIC
BUSINESS.
I like the wild wild west style of setting things up on the islands. We can just pop into the radio
stations on very short notice, sometimes without any notice at all. We can shoot video clips on the
islands and get permits very quickly. Aside from doing all that, we can be jumping in and out of the
lovely Caribbean Sea and/or Atlantic Ocean!
WHAT IS ORANGE GROVE ABOUT? WHAT DRIVES YOU? WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS YOUR CALLING AS A
BAND?
We are here to create music tha