Interview with Jay of RBi

Written by Skin

Skin: Hi! Don't think we have to introduce us to each other (because we've been around on #nlcoders for a long time) but probably not all readers of this interview will know us (?). I will start: Skin, organiser of the demogroup Quad and the scene-site Trebel, article writer for various diskmags and Network (scene-central.com). And who are you?

Jay: Hello, i'm Jay of RBi music productions (Rave Beats international), it is a music group.

Skin: As I mentioned in the opening you are a regular on #nlcoders. How the hell does someone get the idea to get on a channel called #nlcoders?

Jay: Four and a half years ago I started in the demoscene. I was a musician in Cosmetic Defects, a three-man-group. That's kinda long ago and Internet wasn't as commonly used as now. Most demoscene stuff was on BBS's. At some stage Cosmetic Defects left the scene, the group slit up. And that's when I was asked to join Explizit, a well-known music group (at the time it had only three members). In 1996 I got on 'the net' and of course IRC! The complete Dutch scene is on #nlcoders and so am I (very often, smile). I know a lot people on #nlcoders personally and I still think it is an excellent way to spend time and talk with fellow sceners (freaky huh! haha!).

Skin: By the way, what happened to Explizit?

Jay: Most of the members didn't have any time to continue a time-intensive hobby like the scene. Some members just left and others wanted to get professional (MIDI and stuff). Haven't heard much of them...

Skin: Okay, back to #nlcoders. :) Why on #nlcoders, there are a lot of other channels? Demosceners are kinda weird in their lifestyle (a couple of times a year they travel a long way to get together with their PCs).

Jay: I like the channel a lot, most of the time there are some fellow sceners I know. At this moment I know a lot of the regular #nlcoders in person. That makes it more interesting, chatting with someone you know is more fun then with just a 'nick'. And indeed, sceners are kinda weird (so am I, smile) when they visit a demoparty and get behind a computer for so long, but I really enjoy going to parties. Since 1995 I've been visiting demoparties and it's fun to meet new sceners or people you haven't seen for a long time. Mainly I'm going to parties just for the fun of it.

Skin: Don't you think #nlcoders is filled up with non-sceners? Shouldn't it be more of a scene channel?

Jay: Well, it's nice of course to talk with some other people, but the newbies on #nlcoders should know something about the scene/demos. However, sometimes real scene discussions take place on #nlcoders, which is a good thing.

Skin: Any other channels were we can find you?

Jay: I'm very often on #trax and on #thescene.

Skin: No kinky activities on #teens or #zoosex?

Jay: Hell no! All these porn guys just wanna takeover my nick (smile). Often it's taken by some dude who likes being on sex-channels...

Skin: Noticed that (smile). Well, let's quit the IRC talk, who is Jay? How did you make up that nick?

Jay: Since I've been in the scene I have always used Jay as a handle. Never changed nick like a lot of sceners tend to do after some time. The nick is a bit like my name: Ralph Jacobs. That is maybe why a lot of people know who I am...

Skin: Let's get personal! Where do you live? Email? Phone number?

Jay: I live in Lienden, that's a small landscape near Arnhem (NL). My email address is jay.rbi@wxs.nl.

Skin: Are you currently working, at school or just irc'ing?

Jay: Currently I'm in the second class of "MBO Technische Informatica" at the Technical College Ede (NL). This school really sucks, they treat you like a small child, the teachers are boring, etc. And of course I'm very active with music, I've done drumming for four years and am currently doing some MIDI (the next thing to do is the regular tracking). And a new activity of RBi is also sucking up my free time: live acts (for parties)! Music is my life, I guess.

Skin: Any live acts from RBi on TakeOver '99?

Jay: Doing a live act all the four of us (neophite, morphine, neotraxx and me) needs a lot of practice. We wanna do a good act or no act at all...

Skin: Let's skip the serious questions and get on with some useless questions (which can be very interesting but that's another story). What's your favorite place for going out?

Jay: I go very often to "de Opera" in Arnhem (NL), which I visit with some friends (I think all the Dutch sceners know some of them, like Limb!). It's a lot of fun in Arnhem, but in the near future I want to visit a club in Amsterdam.

Skin: Sounds good! After going to TP98 we wanted to come to Arnhem sometime, think we are coming that way! Make sure you'll be there (smile).

Jay: Great! Have fun!

Skin: Multiple choice questions! Here we go! What do you like most: disco or pub?

Jay: Disco/Club (hey, I'm a music fan, so club tracks and dancing are fun). However, a pub can be fun too, depending on the situation and the people you are going out with.

Skin: Beer or Goldstrike?

Jay: Some nice cold beer (or a shot of Goldstrike, can't choose, smile).

Skin: Cocktail or pure drink?

Jay: Pure!

Skin: No favorite cocktail?

Jay: Humz, no, not a real alcoholic one, I prefer ganja (smile).

Skin: Watching soccer or watching "Jiskefet" (Dutch TV show)?

Jay: Soccer (I really hate the hooligans, but the game is nice to watch).

Skin: Watching soccer at home or in a pub?

Jay: Most of the time at home, but watching the World Championship in a pub was a lot of fun!

Skin: Think that was it, good luck with the live acts and releases at parties, till then have some fun in Arnhem!

- Skin/Quad/Trebel