From Sally Tomato Zine

Peter Visser is the guitarist of Amsterdam's Bettie Serveert. Their latest full-length is on Matador and it's called "Dust Bunnies. If you saw their appearance on MTV Oddville, he was wearing the same outfit he was wearing during the interview.

This interview is gonna be about fashion and style.

Well, you got the right guy!

Right! You look very spiffy today. Do you always dress this nice?

I try to. I normally have blonde hair. But I wrote to my girlfriend (she is here right now and she lives in Amsterdam) and I said to her, "If you fly out you can dye my hair whatever color you want to." Yesterday we were in Northampton, so we went to the pharmacy shop, cuz she brought just plain blonde stuff. She was making jokes like, "Let's paint it red, or even black!" I said, "I can go for black. What about gray?" So we finally decided it's gonna be gray, but that [color] is not for sale at all, so we thought let's try doing some of that black stuff and mix it with water, therefore it's gonna be gray. That was an hour before show time yesterday. The results was, because my hair was blonde and yellow, that if you mix yellow and black it becomes muddy green, and that's how I performed yesterday. I was ashamed, so I thought today the only thing I can do is make it totally black. But I don't know how it will return to blonde.

You don't want to keep this until it grows out?

I better do that, otherwise I'll fuck it up again.

Yeah, your hair's gonna fall out.

Then I'll be bald!

Okay, can you describe what you are wearing right now?

I'm wearing a suit. It is the kind of suit you used to wear at weddings in the 60's. And I have an orange blouse. Underneath that, a black T-shirt, and I've got what they used to call the "George Harrison Beatles" boot. And I have a watch and 40's framed pair of glasses...I was wearing another pair of glasses for the last couple of months, and those are iron and square. But with the black hair it's better to have black frames.

Do you every wear any cologne?

I did yesterday, not now...The cheaper it is, the better it is. And then you sprinkle a lot. If you use too much I always love that when you smell like shit.

Have you ever worn makeup?

Well, yes, cuz that was in the early 80's, right? With the new wave thing going on. All the guys had eyeliner on, but I took it one step too far. As they say, that was a phase.

Is that something you regret?

Ah, no regrets at all. Cuz it's fun to look back at that.

I want you to try to think in the future-what do you think is gonna be the next trend, or what would you like to see be the next trend?

The next trend is gonna be almost a compromise with the trends, cuz everything is coming back, right? We had the 70's looks, and the grunge look. Funk is back. And all the hippie shit is coming back. So the next thing will be, and I noticed that already, it's gonna be the new wave look again, cuz a lot of people are really into it. In the end it's gonna be a mixture of all that: the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's...

Well, you look like you've stepped out of the past.

Yeah, our music is old-fashioned also.

Do you wear specific clothing on stage?

Not really, a lot of different things I wear in the daytime. But when I wear a suit on stage, the jacket has to be taken off. It's so hot. And I don't wear T-shirts with a blouse cuz it's unbearable with the heat.

Is there something you can't stand seeing on someone?

Yes, especially in Holland. They have that, with the techno music and the house scene, there's a hardcore thing of that. It's called Gabber, and the fashion that goes with that, I think it's the ultraviolet and ultra green and purple working outfits, with the Nikes. And they have big chains here. But the hair! You just don't do that! It's short on top of the head and long on the back and shaven on the sides. And that looks so ugly. And it's cool if they want to wear that as long as I don't have to see it. And they are on these terrible looking scooters, little motorbikes. It just looks bad, and I don't know why they don't see that.

Well, I guess at the time you don't realize how bad you look. It's when you see pictures of yourself in the past. Do you have any tattoos?

Yes, I have one on my shoulder. It's a circle with what looks like an "H". It's the really old sign for Pisces, which is my sign. And Wisser is my last name, and that means the same...

Whose fashion sense do you admire?

Nobody at all. Sometimes you see stuff and you think, "Oh, he or she looks cool."

Is there a specific style or look you find sexy?

Not really a specific style or look, no. In my case what makes girls be really sexy has a lot to do with the first impression and the facial expression and body shape. Maybe afterwards it's the outfit...

How old were you when your mother started letting you choose your own outfits?

Well, I started to try my own outfits when I was about 12 years old, but I was only allowed to when I left the house which was at 18 years old. My mom and I would have big fights everyday! She used to throw away stuff that I had, and I used to hide stuff that I had to wear.

What was the last piece of clothing that your girlfriend gave you?

The last thing was a ring. She has the same ring, so it's the bond of love that we have.

What is the beauty tip that you want to give to the readers?

Don't try to copy your idols. You can come up with something yourself.