In the beginning of 2019, five gentlemen with flaming musical inspiration got together and started The Principals. Weekly sessions soon became a compelling breeding ground for spicy and moody rock tunes.
By the end of 2019 the first EP –Long Before You Truly Dyed Your Hair– was released (on all streaming platforms): a collection of indie rock songs with references to artists as The Tragically Hip, Nick Cave and dEUS. The release was succesfully celebrated with a live performance on the Zeester in Nijmegen.
In 2020 The Principals were about to perform their by then extensive repertoire live on different stages, but the Corona pandemic put a halt to the plans. Circumstances resulted in a new semi-accoustic approach to play live. This worked out well. Moreover, Scared, a beautiful song from The Tragically Hip, was the first cover ever for The Principals to be recorded live. With the compliments from the Hip themselves, who shared the footage on The Tragically Hip Facebook page! Check it out here.
Early 2021 guitarist Isaac Sandoval left the band. Principal Bastiaan Nijhof then switched from the bass guitar to his old love, the guitar. The Principals were very happy to welcome bass player Nico Taminiau as a new Principal.
In the fall of 2021 the band shifted directions to recording live in The Principals new home and rehearsing space (Studio Havana at the Splendor building, Gorterplaats Nijmegen). The idea is that the energy and spontaneous interaction of playing live can be very inspiring and rewarding. The Principals hope to share some results soon!
The Corona pandemic still makes it hard to plan and keep things going. Nevertheless The Principals are looking forward to perform live on stage again as soon as possible.
The Principals:
Rutger Verhoeven – Vocals
Bastiaan Nijhof – Guitars
Joris Bovy – Guitars
Nico Taminiau – Bass guitar
Joep Beerens – Drums