Now you can amplify that feeling by adding sight to sound. The Dutch band has just released an unbelievably great package; a two disc DVD set with a whole concert recorded in Amsterdam. The show is expertly shot with really nice cuts, not jarring like other videos. The band has blended in some really stunning graphic art that Anneke will explain later on. The Gathering has two sides to them a sedate, moody side and a more aggressive twin. For this DVD, they elected to showcase the softer side. This is not to say that it is completely sedate and boring, however. Just the opposite. Songs like "In Motion II" start off with the gentle beginning before cranking into a ferocious ending. It's just unreal to watch Anneke stand there and allow this amazing voice to flow out with a minimum of effort.

The second disc contains a pair of interviews; A Dutch TV special with English subtitles, and an Italian TV special. There is also an entertaining piece of video and still frames that document goings-on around the tour of 2004. It was shot by the band and edited by guitarist René Rutten. There are also six videos included that feature the animated music clips that are used in the shows. Overall, it is a most impressive package.

I spoke to Anneke recently about the DVD and she spoke with such joy of being in The Gathering and was also very much looking forward to recording their new record which is due next March. Here's what she had to say:

antiMusic: Congrats on the DVD. It was an awesome way to spend a couple of hours, watching this. Why this moment in time to do a DVD?

Anneke: We had this idea for a long time but it was never the time or place or blah, blah, blah, so for some reason it was do-able now. But it's quite a production, you know and this is the first time we did the whole production from A to Z. So it was a very big job for us because you know we're a small label and office but we pulled it off. And we're quite proud. We wanted to have a DVD on our own label and this is actually one of two DVDs. We wanted to make a collection of which this is the first one. The Gathering has two sides to us. We have a softer, melancholic side and we have a rockier side and this is the mellow side. So we wanted to represent this side and put it out with some nice extras. And then next year when we go to tour with the new album, we will make more of a heavier set and then we will record the second DVD.

antiMusic: How did you go about choosing which songs to record on here?

Anneke: It's usually quite a problem to choose a set because we have a very luxurious problem. We have a lot of songs and which ones are best, and which ones will the audience like and which ones fit together. And we're a five piece band and everybody has their own opinions. So there's a lot of talking about the set list and a lot of arguing and normally we come out happy with a good set list. It's very important for us because it needs a story, you know? It needs to sit together. But it's also a matter of when you play live, it's a whole different thing than putting it on DVD. When you're at home on the couch watching the TV, it's a whole different ball game. So we made a set for live but when we mixed it in the studio and looked at the images…we ended up making a whole completely different set list for the viewer at home. It's a different build-up and we made it shorter. One of the worst things that can happen is that people get bored towards the end. Then they end off the DVD with not a verygood feeling. So there was a lot of effort put into the set list.

antiMusic: You recorded two shows in one day, is that correct? Was it hard to get psyched up for the second show because your performances look emotionally draining?

Anneke: It's a bit weird. Because you have this big euphoria bit at the end… "Thank you. Good Night" and then you go again! It's a funny, funny, weird thing plus I was a bit tired because I had a baby a few months before that. So I was still getting back on my feet. We had been rehearsing for the show…and physically, it was a tough day because when were done, you could sweep us all up because it was so hot. But some people in the audience had bought two tickets so you it was odd because you come back up on the stage and there's the same heads. So it was like a déjà vu.

And for some songs there was a big difference between the two shows because the first show you were quite psyched and a bit nervous and we played everything a bit softer and a bit tense. The first show went great. The second show we said "OK, let's see what happens." So it was much mellower than the first one. And you could actually see the difference so well between the two shows when we were in the studio and compared the two songs. Such a difference. Some songs needed to be a bit punchier and others needed to be a bit mellow so we had the perfect choice.

antiMusic: How much time was there between the shows the day of recording?

Anneke: There was 20 minutes in between. (laughs) Because we had a bit of a deadline from a curfew because there were a lot of people who wanted to come and see us and had to come by train so we had to work around train schedules so that people wouldn't have to walk out in the middle.

antiMusic: That's amazing. How was your voice at the end of all that?

Anneke: Not good (laughs). It was OK but I was totally tired.

antiMusic: The thing I first noticed about the performance was how happy you looked to be there. You were smiling from the first note. Was this because you had not played in a long time on stage or are you normally this way on stage?

Anneke: Both. We didn't play for months so that was actually the first show in months so I was happy about that. But I'm usually in my element when I'm on stage because it's such a nice thing to make music in front a bunch of people who actually like what you're doing. It's such a treat every night and such a treat to see people smile back at you. And I just love it so much. Obviously we make very serious music with some serious lyrics…sometimes not. But the best thing about it is that you combine the two things, the melancholy things about life and also the joy of being together with the guy on stage making music and having fun. And having all these people come to see you. So, you know, what more do you want?

antiMusic: Who was responsible for putting together the tour impressions? There's a nice cross section of stuff, showing the live shows, waiting for planes, hotel rooms, etc.

Anneke: We had this idea that came from ourselves. We wanted somebody to go on the 2004 tour and just shoot some stuff and he was supposed to make the edits as well. But he wasn't so good at his edit. So Rene, our guitar player, did the whole thing. Most of the images he also shot on tour just for fun, but they ended up being some of the best images. He actually pieced it together when we got home. So he gets all the credit. He did a great job because he had to go through 80 tapes of stuff. So he had really square eyes when he was finished.

antiMusic: Did you find that this is a real snapshot of life on the road?

Anneke: I think it does because it catches the back stage and the side edge. Without that it could have been all rock and roll and drinking. Because I've seen a lot of these backstage little pieces and films of bands and they put themselves in the foreground like "look at what an amazing job we do and rock and roll man", and I like to see other bands in action. It's always intriguing, you know. I mean, what do they do? How do they prepare. And we wanted to do that too. But we wanted to show what it was really like…like the waiting. And for instance Hans, our drummer, for instance, always gets sick before shows and bad skin and bags under his eyes. And that's not very glamorous. It's just the way it is. And I had a snotty nose all of the tour and when I was talking, I sounded a bit like this (muffled noise). So it's just what it is. Sometimes it's nice. Sometimes it's boring. Sometimes it's funny. Like when Frank had his birthday, it was just hilarious.

antiMusic: How and when did the band begin using the animated clips that are shown in the background?

Anneke: This is something we had wanted to do for a long time. We did it once or twice before. But we wanted to actually integrate the idea into the DVD. And there's this guy Michel, who's also from Holland. He wrote us once and said he did these clips and he just wanted to share it with us and see if we could work together. And he made such beautiful things that we invited him to do some work with us and it turned out really great. He makes wonderful, wonderful pieces. So we will do this again actually when we go to tour for the next album. We will bring him and this art on stage. So we're quite happy about that.

antiMusic: So it's been 15 years for the band and over 10 years for you. Does it seem like 10 years?

Anneke: Yeah, although it goes by quite fast of course. I've never actually done anything for 10 years of my life. (laughs) So for me, The Gathering is really a milestone throughout my life. There's such amazing things that have happened. When I joined the band 11 years ago, we were quite successful in a short period of time. So it was a real roller-coaster throughout, with ups and downs and good records and not-such-good records. I learned a lot. If I look back, I really became a wiser person.

antiMusic: Has the band progressed in the way you had envisioned or hoped whenever you joined in '94?

Anneke: The funny thing is I really never envisioned anything. Because I just joined the band that were already existing for a few years. I just thought, "Well, this is another band," because I had been in others. So I didn't really think much of it and I remember the Dad of Rene and Hans, he told me, "Look Anneke. You really have to consider this carefully if you really want to do this because this could be really big." And I said, "Sure what the heck". And he was partially right because it became bigger than I ever expected. And it became a lot longer project than I imagined. But he was funnily enough, very right because he saw that this was a nice thing…having music with female vocals and look where it all ended up.

antiMusic: What has been the highlight so far for you personally regarding the band?

Anneke: Physical highlights are like the first time playing in Mexico and these great far-away countries and that's really wonderful to see and to go through. But I have to say overall, being with the guys and learning and living and making nice music and having a lot of fun, that's really my big thing out of this. It's just nice to have such good friends to make such beautiful music that actually a lot of people like. That's the most amazing thing for me.

antiMusic: Have you felt that your band has got the required amount of attention considering the amount of female-fronted bands that have come across in the last while such as Nightwish or Lacuna Coil?

Anneke: I think so. Because I don't think there is an expected number of people who actually follow your group It's bands like Nightwish and Lacuna Coil…we're all in the same ship, you know. But I have to say, we're all over the place. We make music inspired by this and by that. The Gathering is a very distinctive sound if you want to play stuff because we can easily be in the metal section but also we can be in the progressive or alternative sections. But bands like Nightwish have made one specific side of this kind of music and they've cultivated it to a whole new level. So that's much clearer. And obviously they're much, much bigger in terms of the mass of people who listen to their music. It's such apples and oranges. But I have to say that I'm very pleased with the status we have because we're kind of not famous and we can walk the streets. But when we play, we have a full venue. I think that's kind of a funny status but very nice for us.

antiMusic: For fans like myself that are new to the band, can you give a line or two about each of the other members in the band and what they bring to the table?

Anneke: Starting with René Rutten
Rene is our guitar player and he comes up with most of the ideas along with Frank our keyboard player. He started the band with Hans his brother. He has the clearest vision of our music.

Hans Rutten
Rene's brother, our drummer. He is the rhythmic side of the band so he doesn't come up with a lot of the melodic ideas but he is very good at arranging the songs. He is also the one who can predict a lot of things like, "If we do this and this, then we might end up there and there." He's kind of the brain behind the band. So that's quite important to us.

Marjolein Kooijman
She's our newest band member. She's been in the band for a year and a half or so. Our old bass player left the band. He's got two kids and he wanted more of a family life. So we had seen Marjolein who is a very, very funny and wild girl and she's very loud and she makes jokes all the time, which is the total opposite of our old band member. So for us it's a really fresh wind through The Gathering. Apart from that, she's a very, very good musician. She plays guitar and sings as well so in the studio, we're going to milk her (laughs). So that's Marjolein. She's very young in age but also in heart. So she's all over the place. Sometimes we have to pull her by the ears to make some serious music (laughs). But it's only great that she's kind of messing the place up (laughs).

Frank Boeijen
He's the silent force behind the band. He's a very funny guy. He plays piano so he's a very melodic asset. And he writes most of the starts of the songs with Rene. He comes from a very electronic background like Orbital and Moby and those kinds of things. So he brings a whole different atmosphere to the songs, which is really wonderful for The Gathering sound. He's been there from the beginning….so yeah..he's a great guy. Very funny.

antiMusic: I know you're promoting the DVD but how far along is song development for the new record?

Anneke: Well, the nice thing about this is we're going into the studio next week and we will record for a month and we will record in a very little church near where we live so it's a small church and we're going to build it into a studio. That's very nice because I think it adds to the atmosphere. And it's a funny thing to just build a studio somewhere. We wanted to do it somewhere else than in a normal studio. So that's what's nice about it and we have a very clear idea of what songs and what kind of record it should be. Obviously a lot will change in the studio. Anyway we want to make some rock and roll again because we toured some with the semi-acoustic style and it was really wonderful. But now we're semi-acoustic-ed -out. (laughs). So we're going to make some rock again and Rene has a lot of ideas and we have a lot of songs ready and we have a lot of extra ideas that we're going to fool around with. But we have in mind a real story; a beginning and an end. We have a clear vision of what we're going to do and when we're finished, we will release it in March. Then we're going to tour ourselves senseless again.

antiMusic: Can we expect a North American tour in 2006?

Anneke: We actually start in North and South America in March and he hope to come back in Fall. So we want to do some promotional gigs in North America and in South America do some normal gigs. Then we do Europe and Holland and we hope to come back to the States and hopefully Canada. We hope to play Canada again because we only had one experience there and it was very bad. So we have to come back and make it better. We had played in Toronto. It's so big there and it's amazing to drive across the States…it's just so huge. And Canada was just so overwhelmingly…..empty (laughs). And we come from Holland which is such a small country with a lot of people. I think we're in the Top 3 of most populated countries on Earth. So for us, it was amazing to drive through Canada. It's really beautiful and everything however. And the Canadian crowd was really wonderful. We just had a bad, bad, bad venue with a bad, bad, bad club owner who treated us like s***. We had no equipment and we kind of had to kind of weld our equipment together in order for us to be able to play. It was in February and the guy made the audience stay outside for two hours and wait. That was such a bad, bad day. And we actually had to play two shows there because one other show in New York was cancelled, so we thought, "OK, we'll do two shows in Canada." But we only did the one show and then we got the hell out of there (laughs). It was such a bad, bad situation. Well, we played a kick-ass show and the audience really liked it. But people, of course, wondered why we made them wait outside for two hours in like -minus 15 degree weather. We felt so bad about it. So we have to come back to a real good venue and rock some more.

antiMusic: I was speaking to the HorrorPops recently and they were remarking that Denmark looks down on musicians and is not a very nurturing place for rock musicians. What is your home country like in this regard?

Anneke: It's a funny thing. Holland is a very industrial country in which we have a lot of rules and regulations. It's small but it's nice to live there because it's quite controlled, you know? Not a lot goes wrong in the big sense. So it's an easy country which makes the country complain a lot, for some silly reason. People are always complaining about the weather or how hard they work or whatever. So we're kind of the odd ones out, who have a great job making music and we enjoy and try to get out of this mold of complaining. Of course we have a s*** climate but Hey… If that's the only bad thing, it's not so bad. So if you say in Holland you're a singer, people say "That's great, but what do you do for a living?" Nowadays, that's not my experience so much anymore because you get older and they take you more seriously but when I was 25 or 20, I was living mostly…and I wanted to, you know. We're musicians and we make music. So sometimes there's not a lot of money but it is a job and it is a living and it is what we do. But art and culture are not highly praised over here. And when you're not in the Top 40, they don't know you. Unless you're in the underground and into alternative. But we have good crowds here.

antiMusic: Well, I won't keep you any longer. It's so nice to speak with you. Good luck with the DVD. It really is great and I also look forward to the next record.

Anneke: Why thank you. It was nice speaking with you, as well.