New Delhi: Belgium Under-21 striker Maxime Capelle is a wellknown name back home.
Much like his hockey skills, his music is also much talked about. The young striker is a drummer with the rock bank Grizzly Garden -formed in 2007 -and is inspired by the music of bands like Muse, Ghinzu, Kings of Leon and Radiohead.
“Grizzly Garden is a band of three school friends. We are all young and we love music, so one day we decided to come up with a band. We mostly play electro rock,“ Capelle, who turned 20 on Monday , said.
“We try to follow Muse, the English rock band from Teignmouth, Devon. They are also three and they do good music. Playing drums is my hobby but hockey is my passion. We have performed at festivals in Belgium and other parts of Europe, but nothing world famous.
“We definitely want to perform at big concerts to entertain the crowd,“ said the drummer, after a training session at the National Stadium on the day . Simon Jourez is the lead vocalist of the band, and also takes care of the guitar and keyboard, while Alexandre Caillean is the bass guitarist.
Asked to choose between drums and hockey, Capelle said, “I can't actually. I play music more to relax myself.
And currently, I am focusing more on hockey and the World Cup here.“
Coach Goldberg Philippe praised the striker's drumming skills, and said: “A win over Pakistan tomorrow will be his birthday gift.” The drummer apart, the Belgium team also have a pianist and guitarist in goalkeepeer Matteo Gryspeerdt and captain Mathew Cobbaert.
Gryspeerdt entertains his team mates during tours. “When we are together during tours, and there is a piano I play.
Here at the team hotel, I did it too,” said the second-choice custodian.
“Since secondary school, I have been playing piano. I took lessons from the School Academy, Antwerp, for five years, and had to stop it as my hockey training was getting intense.
“I like to play the Blues, sometimes of the American musician Ray Charles. Blues are a structured plan of three to four chords, and you can repeat chords at different speeds. I play improvisations of Blues chords, whatever comes into my mind.” When told about his team-mates being a drummer and guitarist, the 21-year-old said, “I only discovered it recently. So, it never happened that we boys have joined up for some music. But I hope that we do it soon, may be after winning the World Cup here!”
