Introduction
Four young Dutch guys, three mind blowing albums album, and-, above all, a display of energy and power. That is Di-rect in a nutshell. It is not just another new rock-pop-skate-punk band. If you have heard their stunning singles 'Just The Way' and the powerpunky cover of The Who's 'My Generation', and have experienced their energetic live show, you will already know that Di-rect is quite extraordinary.
How it started
Rewind to October 1999, when the story of Di-rect unfolds. Fifteen-year-old drummer Jamie Westland wants to form a new band. A few weeks later, it is a done deal. Just after their first rehearsel, Jamie (drums), Spike (guitars), Bas (bass) and Tim (vocals and guitars), felt a 'click' they had never felt before: Di-rect was born! From then on, everything the four guys have set out to do breathes Di-rect. Within a few months Di-rect succeeded in making a demo with five amazing songs.
How it kicked off!
Then it really kicks off. A famous Dutch radio-DJ happens to see Di-rect play live and he, -just like everybody else who sees them perform,- is mesmerized by them. He plays a song from their demo on national radio, and the result of Di-rect's first airplay is overwhelming. There is a huge interest of record-companies and two months later Di-rect decides to sign with Dino Music/EMI.
Discover
At the end of 2001, Di-rect is ready to show the world that all the praise the band has received in the last year has been deserved; Discover is a versatile album with a lot of surprises. The staccato and daring songs deal with a variety of subjects such as love, suicide, chickens (!) and everything else that is on the guys minds.
The first success'
In February 2002 the band receives a Hitkrant award for Best Dutch Rock Act and in April they are nominated for an amazing four TMF awards. But the highlight so far must be that the band was invited to be at the prestigious Pinkpop festival, which gives them an opportunity to play for an audience of 60.000 people. Later that year they also performed at the Parkpop festival in The Hague, their hometown for more than 400.000 people visiting the festival.
Over the moon
In 2003 the success story continues, in January the debut album Discover turned gold, a few weeks later di-rect got an Edison award for best single 2002 (inside my head). In the meantime the band is busy recording their second album, Over the moon. Before the release of the second album di-rect released 2 singles Adrenaline and She. Adrenaline became a top 10 hit and She was di-rects biggest hit so far, the song reached the 2nd place in the charts. Just before the release of Over the moon, di-rect received 2 TMF awards, Best Rock and Best video (Adrenaline) . In the summer of 2003 di-rect was contracted by Pepsi, later that year the band will release in cooperation with Pepsi single called Name of the game. For this action a photo of di-rect will be on 8.000.000 Pepsi bottles
All Systems Go!
All Systems Go! is the third album o, versatile rock act Di-rect. Singer Tim Akkerman, guitarist Frans Spike van Zoest, bass player Bas van Wageningen and drummer Jamie Westland continue to improve since their high quality debut Discover from 2001 and its successor, 2003s Over The Moon. As soon as they met each other there was a unique chemistry, and their friendship has only gotten stronger. A strength that plays an important part in the energetic sound of the band.
Various musical influences can be found on All Systems Go!: from the ska-ish Web Cam Girl to the beautiful ballad Cool Without You and from the powerful punk rock song Hey Boy to the cooperation with classical pianist Wibi Soerjadi Blind For You, which features an unique combination of rock and classical music. The blend of pop and rock is also included in the mix.
Chart success
For instance the catchy anthem Hungry For Love, the first single that did very well in the Dutch charts; it peaked at number three. All Systems Go! debuted at number one in the Dutch album charts, selling twice as much as for instance, Canadian newcomer Michael Bublé and veteran rockers U2.
Having played in Italy and Indonesia amongst other places, Di-rect is now ready to take on the rest of the world. On Monday May 16th 2005 Di-rect has played at the famous Pinkpop Festival in Holland for the second time, which is one of the oldest open-air festivals in Europe. There they will prove once again that they are more than capable to present their energetic and catchy songs just as enthusiastically live on stage.
