There’s a video on YouTube of four guys backstage in a small dressing room. The acoustic guitarist plays a riff and the drummer, with only a sleigh bells and a tambourine, joins in, followed by two more guitars and a sequencer. The main vocalist stumbles on his words during a verse and the band snickers. Any band could’ve made this video. But with over 200,000 views in its first two weeks online, this one not only made Alamo Race Track an internet phenomenon but it also created international hype for their latest release, Black Cat John Brown (Minty Fresh).
“It’s really bizarre,” singer/guitarist Ralph Mulder says. “Who would’ve thought that people would watch a band in a sweaty dressing room and that it would create such an impact. Ten years ago this would’ve been unimaginable.”
Amsterdam’s Alamo Race Track formed in 2001 after their previous band, Redivider, lost its main songwriter and keyboard player. “It was our first time actually playing our instruments, and we were happy just to be playing music. But we weren’t thinking of what kind of music we wanted to play,” Mulder says. Unsatisfied with their previous project, the remaining members, David Coret (bass), Guy Bours (drums), Len Lucieer (guitar/keyboards), and Mulder, began to write their own brand of vintage-inspired music.
Listening to Black Cat John Brown, it could be assumed that Mulder has a fascination with American culture, as his lyrics reference abolitionist John Brown, actor Lee J. Cobb, and, of course, The Alamo, but he insists this is coincidental. “I wanted to connect all the songs by giving them a life aspect. The songs are about the little things I see everyday.” John Brown is based on an Australian children’s book and is the name he gave to a black cat that would sit by his window as he wrote music. Mulder finds Cobb mesmerizing, although he has yet to see The Exorcist.
The album’s nostalgic quality comes from Mulder’s influences, which range from blues to his parents’ Beatles records. The infamous YouTube video is similar to how they recorded the album. “The record is literally four guys playing in a big room. That’s how they did it on the old days,” he says. “For the most part, we did everything live in one or two takes because we wanted to keep it spontaneous. The vocals were recorded with cheap microphones. I didn’t want to end up thinking about [the songs] too much.”
Though popular in Europe, most notably France, Alamo Race Track is making an impression in America as well. They’ve played two South by Southwest Festivals, and their single “Black Cat John Brown” was featured on the television series “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“We have it in Holland,” Mulder says of the show, “but I’m not really into it. I find it difficult to watch. If anyone asks, I’ve seen the whole episode that we were on,” he says laughing.
– Kristine Capua