Ernst van Ee

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by Edwin van Hoof
Staff Writer

With their brand new classic metal CD Keeper of the Earth Highway Chile reports back with new material for the first time in over 20 years. An album which spend some time in the making and surprised with rave reviews world wide. In regards to his new epos, we spent some time with founding member Ernst van Ee, also known as the drummer of bands like Helloïse, Threnody, and many more. I congratulate him on the quality of the new disc and ask him if he was surprised at all by the raving critics.

Ernst: Actually, we were stunned! As a band we really felt good with the album, but we had to wait on the response from fans and critics. Every review is good to very good which we didn’t expect, so we’re truly happy. It’s proven there is still a market for the music of Highway Chile … and by that, I mean not only for our classic stuff.

HRH: Keeper of the Earth leans strongly towards the traditional sound of the band, especially the debut “Storybook Heroes”. Was this return to your roots a statement from the band?

Ernst: I tend to disagree with you on this. We did write a bundle of songs and riffs we all felt really good about, but we never really intended to link them to the past of Highway Chile’s debut album. A natural process perhaps…. On top, former guitar player and founding member Ben Blaauw was the one penning most of the tracks in the old days, and he’s not with the band anymore. But it’s not surprising you hear this link to the past, more people actually mentioned it. It must be running in our veins then?!

HRH: Adding “Headbangers” and “Endless Trail” from the debut album does however add up to my findings. Why did the band add the classic tunes then?

Ernst: Pure nostalgia! All of those unfamiliar with Highway Chile weren’t aware of the old tunes. Updating these songs and make them fit today’s high standards seemed the appropriate thing to do in order to let them taste the old days. “Headbangers” has been the hymn of Dutch headbangers for nearly a decade in those days, and “Endless Trail” truly gained power and expression with the addition of Stan’s great vocals. “Headbangers” sounds slightly dated you say? Hmmm… Well, I think it gained power thanks to the modern production of the CD.

HRH: Endless Trail really sound more vibrant and is emotionally packed to the max thanks to Stan’s excellent work. It made me hungry for more and I wished for another one of those emotional highlights to be featured on the CD…

Ernst: I know what you mean… and with all the reactions being this positive, we are already thinking of new songs and a new album. Sure it will be featuring another drop dead gorgeous ballad like “Endless Trail”…. Hahaha!

HRH: In the light of this, I also want to bring your cover version of Rainbow’s “Long Live Rock ‘n Roll” to the spotlights. Played in a 4/4 pace, the song didn’t quite do it for me, though it tends to grow on you with every spin. Why this song on your album?

Ernst: Again: Pure nostalgia! It just seemed fun to record a cover song for this album. We simply voted for which song to include and it was Rainbow’s “Long live Rock ‘n Roll”. Democratic indeed! Lest not forget that our vocalist Stan Verbaak is a devoted Ronnie James Dio fan, making it all more natural to begin with. Playing the song in a 4/4 was simply because we wanted it to sound more straight forward and edgy to fit the band’s sound.

HRH: The new album also introduced some new players as well. Line up changes seem to be part of the band’s history. Walk me through this… Why did Soet leave?

Ernst: After our reunion and the following tour in 2002, we didn’t do all too much. We rehearsed every once in a while, but as a band we hardly took the stage. Robert Soeterbroek was getting way to busy with some of his other projects and bands and he wanted to focus on those rather than us. When he decided to focus more on his new band instead of Highway Chile, I asked Stan whether or not he was interested in filling the slot. We had been in constant contact since Helloïse and wanted to give it a go with Highway Chile. The rest is history…

HRH: Atilla Szabo also left for business reasons, and recently bass player Edwin left to make way for another former Helloïse member Marchell Remeeus. Shine your light on that…

Ernst: Szabo had his company alongside the band and with that drawing more and more of his attention on a daily bases, he had to quite the band. He simply couldn’t combine it with playing in Highway Chile anymore. Gert Nijboer replaced him. The guy sent me a demo tape of his work a while ago, and he really won us over.

Edwin’s situation was more tragic however. A mysterious disease took a hold of him and narrowed his activities and whereabouts, very sad. Since we all believed he was able to overcome it, and with the fight he put up, we waited for a year while in the meantime Marchell filled his slot on our gigs. Unfortunately for Edwin, things haven’t gotten better which we truly regret. But with the extensive touring streak for the new CD coming up, we had to take this painful decision.

HRH: Now with Remeeus joining the ranks of Highway Chile, Helloïse instantly became the beating heart of the band with no less than three of their former members. Count to that that Ben Blaauw used to be in both bands, we as fans are looking forward to some interaction onstage as well. What can we expect Ernst!?

Ernst: What to expect from Helloïse, I don’t know… there’s some unreleased material being shelfed for some time now, so; who knows what the future might hold for fans of that band. Indeed; Helloïse once emerged from the ashes of Highway Chile, and with 3/5 of the band being present in the current line up we can’t ignore the expectations of our fans. It made us decide to enclose some of the classic tunes of Helloïse on the current set list, we simply can’t ignore our past and fans…

HRH: Now, back to the album… “Heatwave” is a bit of an oddity in HC’s resume. Social critic lyrics gripping back to the riots in L.A. in the 90’s isn’t something I expected from this metal band.

Ernst: All the lyrics are penned by Stan, whose inspirations comes from the feeling he gets from the vibe of the song. “Heatwave” being rather eclectic and hectic, brought him back to the riots and unforeseen circumstances of L.A. in the ‘90s, when everything went bad to worse in what became a warzone.

HRH: So, are there more songs which have a special meaning for you guys?

Ernst: There’s none with a specific emotional load, if you mean that. I do however have my personal favourites. I love the title track, “Run Away”, “Stealing with Pride” and “Dreaming of Heaven”, but for no specific reason. I like ‘em most because they all have a tremendous drive and being propelled by a metal groove, which is what I like most in music. Heavy, catchy… hammering away!

HRH: In my review I refer to the old Judas Priest classics like “Sin after Sin” and classic Stryper tracks which come to mind when playing the new CD. Which are your main influences in rock and what’s stirring your musical emotions up presently?

Ernst: Well, Judas Priest has always been my favourite metal band, for a long time! But I have a wide musical taste. I love so many bands… I currently listen a lot to the riff driven music of Rammstein or the energy packed Volbeat stuff.

HRH: What will the future hold for Highway Chile?

Ernst: First of all we are embarking on a long tour to promote our “Keeper of the Earth” CD. Check our website for actual tour dates (www.highwaychile.nl) and the latest news. With summer season around the corner, festival season also has us pretty occupied with gigs. We will play various European festivals and will be playing some shows with Vengeance as well. In the fall we hope to get across the border again and head out for some European cities to present them and night of Highway Chile music. And.. we’re working on new ideas and songs for an upcoming CD!

HRH: Anything to expect from Mr. van Ee himself?

Ernst: Well, we perform frequently with Half Past Midnight, a powe rock blues trio which I joined 2 years ago. We play a lot and recently released a live DVD and we’re in the midst of recording our new studio album as well. And, I’m playing in several cover bands as you might know, which also keeps me pretty occupied.

Being a drum teacher for the rest of the week I find myself in a luxurious position of being able to live from my hobby; music! I’m very fortunate to be able and live from music on a professional basis, which is pretty relaxing itself…

HRH: Any famous last words?

Ernst: Well, I want to thank you all for the interest in Highway Chile and we look forward to see you on tour. I think you all might be surprised by us!