There seems to be a buzz in Amsterdam around a band called Rockpool Dramas, said to be reviving rock ’n’ roll. They don’t force it. It just comes naturally. With members from around the globe, they defy labels and draw from diverse perspectives to shape their sound. Fresh off their Zonneprijs win, Stan, Lautaro, Anica, and Finn share the humor, creativity, and philosophy that define their identity.
An unexpected surprise
The announcement of your win seemed to catch you off guard. What happened in that moment?
Finn: Winning was funny because I didn’t know what the host was saying. I don’t speak Dutch. Plus, I was in the bathroom!
Anica: Right, so I was in the middle of an argument with my brother when I heard the band’s name. I just assumed it was an ‘honorable mention’ or something and kept arguing. Then it hit me: ‘Oh no, wait...'
Stan: My roommate, who’s Dutch American, followed Finn to the bathroom and filmed his live reaction when we realized we’d won first place. It’s hilarious.
Lautaro: I think I was the only one on stage at the time.
Finn: Same, but I was just standing there, watching the whole thing unfold.
It feels like none of you expected to win. Why was that?
Stan: We went into it with no expectations. It’s great to know that even if just one person liked it, they thought it was good enough for us to try again. I also looked into whether any non-Dutch people had won a preliminary round before because I didn’t think a group like ours would win.
Lautaro: But actually, quite a few non-Dutch bands were already playing during Zonneprijs, like Amelie Spinks.
Competitions often come with tight set time limits. Is it challenging to create a compelling set in just twenty minutes?
Lautaro: Definitely. With only about twenty minutes, it’s like doing the beginning and ending of a full set. You’re creating a short film, essentially.
Stan: We knew we had to make it feel cohesive, so we added something more narrative-driven. Even with the time constraints, we found a way to include quiet moments, slow build-ups, and then hit hard with a rock’n’roll ending. It didn’t feel like just a random bunch of songs.
Lautaro: It’s also great practice for support slots, where you have a similar challenge to convince people you’re worth their time. It’s tough, but it’s rewarding.
From Sheffield to Amsterdam
Before Rockpool Dramas found their home in Amsterdam, Stan was a guitarist in Sheffield who had just started singing. After releasing music on streaming platforms, everything suddenly stopped. Why?
Stan: I was always in bands growing up, but I never sang. Then, in college, live music kind of disappeared for me because of the pandemic. When I moved to Amsterdam, I wanted to dive back in, so Lautaro and I started doing acoustic and folk sets.
Lautaro: Yeah, it was a duet. Like Kings of Convenience.
Stan: We’d write whole new songs for it.
Lautaro: But honestly, the strong point was always Stan’s voice. That’s such an identity thing. I’m always asking him to sing Arctic Monkeys for me, haha. His songwriting and voice really drive the whole thing forward. That’s what drew me in when we started playing together.
Stan: Eventually, we booked a gig that needed a full band and thought, why not? So, we put one together.
This major shift from a folk duo to a full-fledged rock band took a year. What was that transition like?
Lautaro: It was tough to find our footing as a rock band. Coming from this folk background, suddenly playing electric guitar with a loud drummer, it was like… what now?
Stan: There was a lot of trial and error. We’d rework some of our folk tunes for the band, but it was a gradual process. The lineup changed a lot too. It started pretty haphazardly. At first, Anica hadn’t joined yet.
Anica: I moved here two months ago and found this band before I even found an apartment. Having been in bands all my life, I’d rather sleep under a bridge than be without a band, haha. At least I’d be happy.
What about the rest of the band?
Stan: I did a dry run with Finn, just the two of us. He brought notes, which was the best thing ever. He’d actually listened to the music beforehand.
Finn: I wrote out grooves and parts I thought I’d need to remember. Then I met the rest of the band right before a show. We hadn’t even rehearsed yet, but we thought, let’s see how it goes.
Stan: That gig at Vondelpark Openluchttheater was our first time playing as a band. We performed for about 25 interested students and 350 who couldn’t care less. But during that set, I thought, this band actually sounds pretty good.
As long as it's not boring
This spontaneity seems to define the band’s approach. Building that kind of connection must require a lot of trust. How would you describe the nature of that trust?
Stan: The band is the sound of its players. Everyone brings their own style, and we never try to fight that. At some point, I’m going to do something weird. Just follow along. That’s the fun part for me. It’s organized chaos.
Anica: Honestly, we spend most of our rehearsal time doing unprepared things just to entertain ourselves. Like, the last song we play doesn’t even have a structure.
Stan: Every single time, I make up the second verse on the spot.
Lautaro: It’s kind of our philosophy. It’s rock ’n’ roll. It’s going to be okay. It’s not rocket science. Rock has room for the energy of improvised music and a bit of chaos.
In an industry where perfection is often the goal, how do you fight against the artifice and stay true to yourself?
Stan: When you’re on stage, you’re putting on a show. It’s always a performance. But the audience knows when something feels honest, even within the performance. There’s this idea from Jack White that really resonates with me: creating intentional obstacles. He’d do things like push a piano an extra step away just to make his performances harder. For us, it’s about embracing those imperfections.
Lautaro: Like this one intro that’s physically demanding, where Stan keeps pushing it.Finn: If it’s supposed to be eight bars, he’ll stretch it to sixteen. By the time we’re done, it’s like sixty-four bars.
Lautaro: And he does it on purpose, too.
There seems to be a lot of humor in your process. Does this unconventional approach carry into writing songs?
Stan: Lyrics are always interesting for me. One of the songs on our EP was inspired by watching Grown Ups 2 every week for a whole summer. Same movie, every week. I’ll usually improvise over the track a few times and then refine the lines that feel right. I kind of use a Lennon-McCartney approach, mixing real experiences with fiction.
Finn: Why not watch the first movie?
Stan: Because the second one is more abstract. But honestly, a song doesn’t need to have a deep meaning if it feels good and connects with people. Music can be funny. It doesn’t have to be serious all the time. It can be meaningful and meaningless at the same time. And hey, I got a song out of it!
Playing at Paradiso in June must feel a bit far away. How do you approach a stage that grand?
Lautaro: I’m really excited because the Main Hall is the last one on my Paradiso Bingo card. I’ve played all the others, like Tolhuistuin and the Upstairs Room.
Anica: I’m just going to invite everyone I know. I’ll even bring my brother back out.
Stan: It all comes back to the idea of artifice. You have to think about what to do with a stage that size. Do we stick to what we normally do, or adapt to make use of the bigger space? We’ve got some ideas we’re tossing around, but they might all change. Maybe balloons? Balloons would be a good thing to bring. As long as it’s not boring!
The next edition of the Zonneprijs is scheduled for December 5. Tickets and registration are now available on the website.
