2. When did you form? How did you reach this line up?
We started playing together in 1994, with another band, in 1995 we started 5 days off, still with the same members. I don't think we want anyone come in between us.

3. What would cause the band to break up?
Don't know, maybe not enough time, don't wanna think about it, haha.

4. Describe your music for someone who's never heard... music?
For someone who never head music....a fast rhythm of your heart, what keeps going on, with a lot of funny noises and voices probably, but to someone who knows what music is... we play fast melodic punkrock. You can compare with bands as Randy, Satanic Surfers, Strung Out, that kind of stuff.

5. What inspired you to play the music you do?
Yeah, this ain't gonna sound original, but probably the music we listened to when we were young, 80's stuff, some hardrock-bands, Iron Maiden, bands like Beach Boys, Ramones, with our own personal touch I guess. We like to play more technical stuff, not that we started with the idea "why don't we start a technical punkrock band", we just like to play more then 3 chords, not that I think 3 chords music sucks, I love lots of bands who use 3 chords, but we just like it the other way to play .

6. What have you released so far?
We started with a demo, with some own songs, and two cover songs (Minor Threat and Operation Ivy), the first two years we released we recorded about 3 demo's, they sold very well, then we recorded a splitcd with friends of ours, in a very good studio, and in the summer of 99 we recorded the first full length, called 'ripping the field', we're also on several compilationcd's, with bands as Adhesive, Misconduct, Astream, Within reach, trigger Happy, skin Of tears.

7. How did you hook up New Horizon? How do you get on with them? If you could sign to a bigger label (either Epitaph/Fat or a major) would you?
How we hooked up, let's see, I think they know us from friends who gave them our cd and website, but there were about 5 Canadian labels interested, and we figured out what would be the best, and the answer was, New Horizon, but in Belgium we're still on Funtime records... Everything we arrange goes true e-mail, I love the invention, internet, you're so much closer, it's really no problem, the weird thing is we never met the guys from New Horizon, we are gonna see them this summer, they're gonna be our roadies on the Canadian tour, funny don't you think, but they are really nice, and funny guys! A bigger label, yeah off course we thought about that, what if, but I don't know I think you can only answer this question when they really do you an offer, and if you sign with Fat or Epitaph, things will be a lot more serious then now, but there are a lot of positive aspects about it, when you are on one of those two labels, a lot of doors will open for us, that's for sure, it would be cool if they ever contact us, that would be a sign that they like our music. There are some foggy plans for a release (7") on Bad Taste, but we'll see, it would be great, for majors, I don't like the idea of being on a major, but I don't blame other bands who are on majors, it's just not our thing!

8. How does the songwriting process work in the band? Is it one person or a democracy? Do you fight much over how a song turns out?
I write all the songs and lyrics, sometimes we hardly change the concept of the song... Sometimes we do, starting back from zero, but most of the time the song is almost finished, the bridges in the songs is something we decide with everyone, but of course, if the others don't like the song, we don't use it,

9. What inspires your lyrics? Do you consider the lyrics to be as or more important as the music?
All things can be a topic for a lyric... I got love-songs, songs about things that bothering me, around me and this world we're living in... there are messages in my lyrics, but the thing is everyone can interpret this in his own way, I got my opinion about it... so... people can always feel free to talk about a lyric... More important, I don't know, before I was singer/guitarplayer, I was only guitarplayer, so back then the music was more important then the lyrics, but the older I get the more serious I write my lyrics, one day I started thinking about it, ok our cd sells very well, and everyone reads my lyrics, that was like wow, everyone knows what's going on in my personal life, and maybe I inspire some people, so my conclusion was i better write no bullshit, and take it really serious. When I look back there are also lyrics I wrote which suck really big time, but I blame myself, that's probably the process of being younger, maybe i think the same about these lyrics in a few years, haha.

10. What was the best show/tour you've played? Who's your favourite touring partners? If you could get on any tour, what would it be?
We did some best shows, I can't name just one, last year we played on Belgium biggest (and even further) punkrockfestival with bands as No fun at all, down by law, vision, bouncing souls, liberator, skin of tears, it was an amazing party on stage, and backstage, during our show we had a 30 metres wide circlepit, could you imagine, it was like wooooooooooooooooooow what is happening. The attitude backstage was superb, everyone hang out with each other, we drunk beers with Nfaa, down by law, and a lot more. Our first show in Germany was also very crazy, we had a great reception from the people over there, they all thought we were Americans, what was really funny, circlepits, limbodances, and then the shows we play in our neighbourhood are also very crazy, Mmm let me use this question as promotion for the festival I just mentioned, This year there are bands playing like Stoned, Adhesive, Randy, undeclinable Ambuscade, Snuff, Snfu, Ignite, Voodoo glow skulls, Burning heads, venerea, it's getting bigger and bigger, I think it's almost Europe biggest Punkrockfestival!

11. What do you fight over the most? What was the worst band fight?
Actually we hardly have fights, we can hook up very well with each other, when there are problems it's about coming too late to a rehearsal, or some problems with who's driving, stuff like that, but thats also the only thing, so...

12. How do you define selling out?
Don't get that one, you mean sell outs, don't act really honest against...

13. Do you see the record as promotion for the tour or the tour as promotion for the record?
I like this one, hahah, cool question, but I think a tour is still something to promote our music, not that we should sell more, but that more people start to know our music, that's cool if you get world-wide reactions, for sure.

14. What is the nicest and meanest thing said about your band?
Best band in the world, great voice, original, great live act, love you guys, good musicians, stuff like that, the worst, most of the time they don't tell us, they tell it to others, haha, but probably things like boring music. keep it on this one, the meanest if people don't dare to say what was good and what was bad about the show or cd, criticism, is something what you can talk about !

15. Do you think the emergence of punk in the mainstream (a la Blink 182) has effected punk at a grassroots level?
I don't know, there are good things and bad things about it, I think everyones got another opinion about it. You reach a bigger audience; some doors open for more unknown bands, but you still choose for yourself how far you go I guess, but of course one of the bad thing is new people come to your show to just listen to the the # 1 hits, and that ain't cool, another bad thing is the price goes up, so what about the fans from the beginning they have to pay a bigger price, I think you know what I mean.

16. Do you see MP3 as a help or a hindrance? How important do you see the web as a tool for band promotion?
Actually, last Saturday we played with Strung Out, and we hang out together on their tour bus and stuff, and we were talking about it, for more unknown bands it's definitely a good thing, you can promote your band world-wide, spread your music to everyone who has internet, but for the bigger bands it's harder I guess, I think they do feel the effect of it. Like the Strung Out story, when the 'the elements of sonic defiance' was stolen, and someone spread it on the internet, and that's definitely not the attitude, the same with the new propagandhi, you can find it all over the web, I admit I downloaded a few songs of it, and now I bought the cd, it doesn't matter to me if you first download a cd or songs, but please do buy it when you can, everyone works hard for it!

17. Do you think people don't listen to European punk bands simply because they're not American?
Sometimes I think they do, don't ask me why some American shit bands are really famous, and there are so many great bands in Europe, better then the Americans, but there they got the money to record at the best studio's there are, sound-quality is also very important, by a lot of the people. But that's why we have to fight for, spreading European music around the world.

18. What does the future hold for 5 Days Off?
A lot of shows around this time, from March we start to do a lot of shows in Germany, France, we got a European tour (with Adhesive) and Canadian tour coming up, it's gonna be a lot of fun, sure about that. Making new song, release a new cd at the end of this year, Reaching more and more people, so anyone who's reading this, spread our name around and visit our website at http://listen.to/fivedaysoff