DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Tom de Wit
Welcome to this weeks edition of Devil's Island! Every week we maroon a band or artist on the island and see what they get up to, how they cope with being all alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean. It's not your average desert island and we'll see just how each person copes with the extreme conditions.
This week when we arrived at Devil's Island we find Tom de Wit sat on the beach. The island is far from his home, so how did he end up here and how did he cope with life on Devil's Island?
Find out now...
Welcome to The Razors'e Edge and our somewhat lovely, warm desert island. Don't worry about it's name I'm sure it's not as bad as that would suggest.
So you're marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you chose one album that you couldn't live without. Which album did you each chose and why?
TDW: Considering I am on this boat with multiple personalities, we (being me times 4) grabbed a few records to accompany us on this darkest of moments. The first me grabbed Dream Theaters' Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, because we are very much aware that nothing beats a good emotional progressive metal record that deals with light topics like politics, mental health and more. Especially when on an island like this.
The second me grabbed Symphony X' Divine Wings of Tragedy, because we need something fast and energetic to help us hunt the local two headed okapi that live on this island and nothing gets that version of me quite as pumped as that album does.
Next, the third me grabbed a copy of Pain of Salvation's The Perfect Element, this is a fundamental element of our island therapy sessions in which we all sit in a circle and cry like little babies wondering what the point is of this life on this island and then proceeding to wipe our tears with the tails of the 2 meter high raccoons that occupy this island.
And finally, my fourth me grabbed a copy of Between The Buried And Me's The Great Misdirect, which is another dose of complicated energy that is well needed because we now have to run from those earlier mentioned raccoons because they did not agree with our usage of their tales for our crying session earlier.
Just behind that palm tree is a shack for each of you to stay in, with enough space for you to put up a poster on the wall of one album cover. What album cover do you each chose?
TDW: Considering that my other 3 me's died of starvation while you guys weren't looking (hate it when that happens!) I will just be by myself now. Sad as I may be, I walk towards the hut, hoping to at least be able to fall asleep. I find a big poster of Pink Floyd's Wish you were here ion the wall, realising that on this island the rules of corporate reality and the crazy shit we force ourselves in in our business life doesn't apply here. I lie down on the bed, that does not look at all like a bear, and fall asleep happily, knowing that this island will at least be free of corporate fakery.
There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to choose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?
TDW: I look at the bartender who also does not look at all like a bear with a little bowtie. I put my hands on the bar and stare him/her straight in the eyes. With a gruff tone in my voice I mumble: ...Green tea with a splash of highlands whiskey.
The bear contently makes my drink and we become good friends, talking about life on this island, how metal has enriched our lives and how it's incredibly coincidental that a bear can speak a human language, let alone one I can understand.
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
TDW: The torn shirt I am wearing shows 3 kittens with an upside down cross on their wittle heads with FALLUJAH written above it. The shirt is meant as a distraction as the animals on the island think I am either a softy or a friend. This is perfect as this both works for when I want to pet the green 6-legged bunnies that roam the plains or if I want to lure a predator into a false sense of security before I tear of it's head and use it as a ramen bowl.
You’re sat on the island thinking “I’m stuck here on this island with my bandmates for eternity”… who would you rather have been shipwrecked with?
TDW: Well, an obvious choice would be my girlfriend Janneke as we make an amazing team and I know she would rock that castaway amazon outfit vibe. However, if I had to pick a famous person to be stuck on an island with, I would probably pick Jim Carrey or Robin Williams as both of them have the ability to make a situation lighter, but also have the depth to actually have a good conversation. On the musical front I would say being stranded with Frank Zappa sounds pretty good.
There's a walkman in your pocket, on the tape inside is the recording of the one live show that stands out for you. It could be any show, from any band, anywhere in the world. What show is on that walkman?
TDW: The moment I push the play button on that walkman, I am being transported to a venue in NL called 013 in 2003. 29th of March. A night in which I would see my then favourite band EVER, Symphony X, live as the support for Stratovarius. The show was magical in that the band had little to no set props, showmanship or whatever, but they walked up on stage and just blasted their signature brand of prog-metal into the audience and left everyone in awe. 45 minutes of pure amazing musicianship, amazing singing, a setlist that went through all their former albums and just a general sense of fun that came from that stage. It was one of my first concerts and it left an impression that would stay with me for a lifetime.
You're getting desperate, you decide the only course of action is to put a message in a bottle and hope someone finds it. Your message could be to any member of any band, but should be the most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?
TDW:
"Dear Mr Devin Townsend. Please send me an army of Ziltoidians to save me from this wretched island. I know that you have the musical ability to send messages and signals that span the omniverse and you are my only hope. If sending aliens to save me from this place does not work out, a healthy serving of cheeseburgers will be appreciated as well. Greetings, TDW"
You've been stuck here for a while and food supplies are running low. There's only one thing for it... which fellow band member gets sacrificed to help the others survive?
TDW: Sorry, I couldn't hear the question because I was busy trying to roast and eat my own leg. Don't you know how hard that is to actually do? Setting a syringe in yourself is one thing, but roasting your own leg really is a sport of its own. Why didn't we get this in school!?
Finally, when the ship sank you each managed to save one person from the wreckage. That person is the one musician that has influenced your career the most, shaped your way of thinking and your outlook on life. Who did you save?
TDW: I saved mr Frank Zappa, who is chilling with me here and teaching me life lessons while we live off the land and the many idiotic creatures that inhabit this island. Frank knows many things and his idiocy combined with my completely stable mental state at this point, makes for a completely logical pairing.
Thanks for your time. We hope you get back to dry land before you're next due out on tour!
TDW: Thanks! I hope so too. Can you maybe throw me a towel and some nuts or some...
Guys...?
GUYS?
