Rockezine.com interview with Tribe After Tribe on May 08, 2002

with Robbi Rob on May 08, 2002

It has been quiet for a while around TRIBE AFTER TRIBE, but that’s going to change... Their next record ‘The Enchanted Entrance’ will be released on May 27th. Therefore we had the pleasure to talk with Robbi Robb (lead singer, multifunctional musician and mastermind behind it all). Robbi Robb spoke during our interview so highly of André Wilms who created the official Robbi Robb website that we decided to ask André if he wanted to write an intro for this interview. He thankfully accepted and this way Rockezine gives the term “by fans, for fans” a new dimension.
		Hey music fans out there, Beautevil asked me to write a short intro for the interview he did with Robbi Robb (Tribe After Tribe, Three Fish). So here it is..
		It was one hot day in the summer of 1991 when I was watching one of these annoying music channels. That special day kind of changed my life. There was this cool video of three guys dancing in the desert around a fire at nighttime. These guys sang `White Boys In The Jungle`. The lyrics and the video built such an amazing union that I just had to write down their names immediately; `Tribe After Tribe`. I went to a friend and looked for album reviews in his RockHard (a German rock magazine) issues and a couple of month’s later I finally found a pretty good one. So I rushed into a local record store and looked for the self-titled album of this band `Tribe After Tribe`. Once I found it, I checked out every single song for about 30 seconds and knew that I was listening to a musical gem. Every track was followed by another killer song. This album is still my favourite record. And I` m sure nothing will ever come close to this disc.
		6 years later, I met Robbi Robb when he was on tour in Germany with ‘Tribe After Tribe’ (his live band mates were Doug Pinnick, Richard Stuverud and Mike Hansen). We chatted a little bit about this and that and then finally I asked him whether he had a web site. Of course, he didn`t have one. It was 1997 and the internet wasn`t as big as it is now. So I offered him to start one for him. He happily agreed and now, another 5 years later, I` m writing this interview intro for this cool online magazine, being the official webmaster of Robbi Robb.
		I met a bunch of crazy people via the World Wide Web and some of them became good friends. And, as one of these buddies once said, "That`s what music is all about. It isn`t about selling millions of records or being adored by critics. Music, in its most powerful state, is a universal language that brings people together, the musicians who create it and the listeners who live it. Robbi and the people with whom he has shared music, time and a stage have done that."
		‘Tribe After Tribe’ is African rock at its best. Pounding drums, great guitar lines, killer bass lines, great vocals, passion, anger and mystery. In a few weeks (May 27th) their new album `Enchanted Entrance` will see the light of day. `Enchanted Entrance`, an album where music dives into mystic rhythms, heavy guitars, rock drums, ambient tones, dark textures, trance chants and deep groove. André Wilms
		ROBBI ROBB Robbi phoned me from sunny Los Angeles to talk about the current state of TRIBE AFTER TRIBE. The from origin South African band got his home ground for about 15 years in the United States of America. That’s why Robbi sees himself more as a citizen of the world and not as a citizen of one of the mentioned countries.
		The fact that it was silent around TRIBE AFTER TRIBE was due to two reasons. Most important was the fact that Robbi was injured during a surf accident. He broke his shoulder and, self-made man as he is, walked with that injury for about two months before he went to see a doctor. His shoulder was put back in place, but the injury proved to be more serious than he expected. It took him two years to overcome this injury and – even now – he feels the consequences of it. He can use his shoulder for about 50% right now and it made his original way of playing guitar impossible.
		The other reason for delay was the fact that the record company, which TRIBE AFTER TRIBE was signed to, was dropped by EMI and therefore deceased. It wasn’t too hard to find a new record company (it took about six months to sign a new deal). At this moment Robbi is very pleased with this new deal, because the people seem to put a great effort in promoting the band.
		THE MUSIC ‘The Enchanted Entrance’ will show that TRIBE AFTER TRIBE has evolved into a slightly other music direction. What remains are the tribal influences, but Robbi was forced, due to his injury, to approach the guitar parts differently. The result is, according to Robbi, an ambient teaser that still rocks. The traditional use of African drums results sometimes in a heavy industrial beat that supports the rest of the music. TRIBE AFTER TRIBE had to bring in some different guitar players that created a different sound as well. People who have heard the record already seem to like the album although it’s pretty different.
		The release of ‘The Enchanted Entrance’ feels as a great relief for Robbi, because you won’t miss things until it’s gone. And music was gone too long.
		Robbi creates music from a spiritual and social point of view. It has to inspire people and build bridges. He’s constantly looking for new influences. He has been busy learning different Indian and Turkish instruments. It makes you humble, because – especially – the Indian music is very complex. This way Robbi keeps the beginner’s mind that’s necessary to evolve into making better music.
		TOUR Shameful enough there’s no tour scheduled, yet. That’s a pity, because TRIBE AFTER TRIBE proved to be an exceptional live band. People who were at their shows as opener from Pearl Jam will surely remember their performance. Even the last tour (during “Pearls Before Swine” in 1997) brings up good memories. It started in Waalwijk (De Tavenu), where they did a good show but there weren’t too many people, and ended in venues for about 2000 people. The bass player at that time, Doug Pinnick (King’s X), is a possible maybe if the band will tour again.
		The fact that TRIBE AFTER TRIBE seems to be popular in Europe should keep up our good hopes to see this band alive and kicking on stage someday soon... Especially if you consider that the scene in L.A., according to Robbi, has pretty dried up. The scene seems to have stuck in a time zone. Hairy, spandex-wearing rock bands and an overflow of rap and hip-hop artists (like all over the States – B.).
Record company Atlantic once tried that and suggested a different drumbeat to create ‘the next U2’		RECORD COMPANY The current record company (Dreamcatcher Records – Suburban for the Benelux) fits the band well. Robbi states that he doesn’t want to be on a big label, but rather take a smaller one in which he keeps his freedom. Keywords are creativity and experiment. If a band like TRIBE AFTER TRIBE would lose that it would lose its credibility. Therefore Robbi still can’t live from his music making. He would however never choose for big budgets, knowing that you would make compromises if you do. Record company Atlantic once tried that and suggested a different drumbeat to create ‘the next U2’, but thankfully Robbi rejected the suggestion...
		It’s good to know that there are still some involved musicians out there. We can only hope that TRIBE AFTER TRIBE will get the opportunity to tour world-wide because I have seen them live a few times now and they left an overwhelming impression back then. It made clear why people like André Wilms became a fan of this amazing, wilful band.
ThanX to André and, of course, Robbi Robb for their contribution... More info can be found on www.robbirobb.com, which is the official website... (Beautevil )