maandag 24 december 2012

Les Amices 'Live On Air', Friday December 7th 2012.

Les Amices (Zoetermeer/Hilversum), live on air.
Recorded: December 7th 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Where I Live/Rained On/Gloomy Feeling/Rained On.

Note: Former ‘Bad Wurm’-guitarist Lennart Arends and keyboardist Jan Willem van Noort reünited after doing a decade of different things, to write 70’s Rock and Blues influenced music. To get their debut-album to a wider audience, they dropped by the studio with guest vocalist Annelies Hilgersom, for a chat and some neat live-tracks.

vrijdag 30 november 2012

Lame Art 'In Session', Thursday November 3rd 2000.

Lame Art (Gouda, Waddinxveen), 4 track recorded.
November 3rd 2000t, ‘Plug Unit’, Reeuwijk.
Tracks: Got A Ticket To Ride?/Slow Dancing/Opened Or Closed/Your Song

Note: Being hugely inspired by Radiohead’s ‘Kid A’ and singer Michiel going to Art School, the band evolved throughout the year and was ready to make another EP. This session was used as pre-production and finetuning. Some tracks appeared on a promo CDR, called ‘4 Tracks’, used for getting gigs.

Scent Of Incense 'In Session', Friday October 20th 2000.

Scent Of Incense (Gouda), 4 track recorded.
October 20th 2000, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2’ Gouda.
Tracks: Addition/Servant/Suits Us/The Blue Bell

Note: Afternoon session, recorded on 4-track due to the fact the bassplayer couldn’t make it in the liveshow. The drummer was playing acoustic guitar for the occasion, leaving singer Jessica focusing on her singing completely.. Despite some minor tensions, all went great, airing two brand new tracks for the first time.

zondag 25 november 2012

Nancy Brick 'Live On Air', Friday October 5th 2012.

Nancy Brick (Delft/Gouda), live on air.
Recorded: October 5th 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Pirate’s Ocean/Turner.

Note: 13 months after they kicked off their livingroom-tour in my show, they decided it was the most natural thing to officially do the radio-presentation of their debut-album ‘Nancy Brick’ in my show as well. Flattered as hell, I simply couldn't decline ofcourse. The chat was great and listening to some tracks for the first time amazing. Inbetween, they also played two tracks live, which really made the day!

Wolf In Loveland 'In Session', Saturday September 8th 2012.

Wolf In Loveland (Rotterdam), \In Session\.
Recorded: September 8th 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Nothing At All/Tattoos/Corners Of A Band.

Note: knowing singer Jan Minnaart from his previous band (Middelburg based ‘Jay Minor & The Early Birds’, featuring the son of one of my cousins on bass), I discovered he started a new project, while mailing with his bass-player, ex ‘Handsome Poets’ bassman Ruben Trouborst. As Jan was schedulewd to play a small acoustic set in a beautifull chapel in town, I invited him to drop by the studio for a chat and some acoustic songs. Taking along Merel (voice) and Bas (guitar/voice), we had a great chat, intersphered with some beautifully arranged songs. Truly amazing! The recording was aired November 2nd.

zondag 26 augustus 2012

Snoeshaen, 'Live On Air', Friday August 24th 2012.

Snoeshaen (Moordrecht/Gouda/Haastrecht), live on air.
Recorded: August 24th 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Nothing Real/Bliss Or Oblivion/Az Sek Nam Pravo Vrati/What We Are/Shades Of Blue.

Note: when success didn’t come for Bluesrockers ‘Darling Rooster’, the singer initially pulled the plug. But it kept on itching, so they reunited, varying from an acoustic three-piece to a full blown 6-headed band. To celebrate the upcoming pregnancy-leave from new addition Saskia, they invited themselves to the show for a chat and 5 beautifull acoustic tracks. No need to tell thew studio was stuffed with 6 musicians, a keyboard, two acoustic guitars, an electric bass, a Cajun and a small amp inbetween scattered mikes. But as they “still can be hilarious”, we’ve had a great time.

Out Alive, 'Live On Air' Friday June 29th 2012.

Out Alive (Zoetermeer/The Hague), live on air.
Recorded: June 29th 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Start Again/Out Of My Head/Being Lost.

Note: Winner of the 2012 edition of ‘Grote Prijs van het Groene Hart’ contest, co-organized by ‘Plug Unit’, so therefor invited to appear in a ‘Doorgeplugd’ episode. Young enthousiastic band, who know what they want. Played three nice acoustic tracks, with powerfull vocals. Slightly chaotic technical lay-out, as the band came in the studio after kickoff, due to traffic jams and parking at the outer end of center.

zaterdag 11 augustus 2012

Oskoed Slotters 'Live On Air', Friday June 22nd 2012.

Oskoed Slotters (Moordrecht/Gouda), live on air.
Recorded: June 22nd 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Go To Rehab/Unfair/This Girl.

Note: Grandly chaotic Punkrockband with members of bands like ‘John Swallah’, ‘The Mondegreens’ and ‘Sabotage’ (all the same people incidentally), telling more about their freshly released EP. They also played some kind of ‘Campfire Punk’-set in a slightly chaotic show.

Johnny Dowd (USA) 'In Session', Sunday May 6th 2012.

Johnny Dowd (USA), In Session.
Recorded: May 6th 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2’ Gouda.
Tracks: Emily-Merryl/Drunk/Betty/Candy.

. US Alternative Si-So Johnny Dowd entered the studio late afternoon with a minimalistic set of guitar, keyboard, kick, snare and vocal, to do a session and an interview, while touring his latest 2012 album ‘No Regrets’. All played over a single amp, the atrmosphere was slightly tensed at first, but in the end both the session and the interview were great. 'Drunk' was jokingly dedicated to the people of Gouda, as beer goes so well with cheese. After wrapping up, we went for a spicy meal at the local Indian restaurant, to chat some more. Great people!

Blind Justice 'In Session', Sunday April 29th 2012.

Blind Justice (Moordrecht/Rotterdam/Woerden), In Session.
Recorded: April 29th 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2’ Gouda.
Tracks: Second Me/Breathe/Stuck In My Mind/Brainless///?

. Because annual pre-‘Queensday’ musicnight had one of it’s worst line-ups ever, I decided to cause some better digestible mayhem myself and invited Metal-veterans ‘Blind Justice’ in for a session and an interview. Despite the recorder necessary to do the session being taken by a ‘collegue’, the session started withy the usual warming up. During this trhe band encountered monitoring problems and decided to do backing tracks only. They did 8 tracks in 23 takes and the best ones were processed for additional vocal overdubs. Which were done in the Singer’s studio between May 4-10, resulting in a neat collection of session tracks/pre-productions.

Klerkx & The Secret 'Live On Air', April 20th 2012.

Klerkx & The Secret (Amsterdam), live on air.
Recorded: April 20th 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Island/Final Desire/21 Seasons.

Note: to promote his album ‘Final Desire’, released the day before at ‘Paradiso’ Amsterdam, ‘Moke’-drummer Rob Klerkx dropped into the program with Jaromir Fernig and Herman Wilken, all on guitars, after partly defeating evening traffic. Despite coming in the studio halfway the show, we had a great interview and the trio did three great new tracks live.

Malignity 'Live On Air', Friday March 30th 2012

Malignity (Woerden/Utrecht), live on air.
Recorded: March 30th 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: The Promise.

Note: Deathmetalband, recording at ‘Doorgeplugd’-partner ‘Plug Unit’ from Reeuwijk, dropped by for a chat and a spin of their new EP ‘The Promise’. As an extra bonus, they played an acoustic grunted version of the title track. Never done before, but grandly executed!

Zanggroep Nieuwe Gouwe 'Live On Air', Friday March 23rd 2012

Zanggroep Nieuwe Gouwe (Gouda), live on air.
Recorded: March 23rd 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Because/Because (Retuned)/Hallelujah.

Note: Vocal group which includes half ‘Darling Rooster’, the vocalist of ‘Dark Remains’ and a rapper, squeezed themselves in shrunken shape into the studio for an interview and some livetracks. Despite having good results few days before, their first attempt on ‘Because’ didn’t land too well, so they tried a second, shorter go after that. Concludinbg a nice and animated interview, they had their go on Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, with much better results.

zondag 19 februari 2012

Zanggroep Nieuwe Gouwe 'In Session', Monday November 21st 2011.

Zanggroep Nieuwe Gouwe (Gouda), In Session.
Recorded: November 21st 2011, ‘rehearsal hall.
Tracks: Paint It Black (TK 1-2)/ I Will Follow Him (TK 1-2)/Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These) (TK 1-3)/Gabriëlla (TK 1-2)/The Lion Sleeps Tonight (TK 1-5)

. My first ever recording of a vocal group. As this choir prefers to be named a vocal group, I decided to record them in a less conventional way, I was having in my head for years. Instead of using two overall mikes, I put 4 mikes directly in front of pairs of choir members, recording their voices more direct. This made a far more direct sound, with sharper stereo panning possible, increasing the overall impact hugely. A great sound. Several versions of songs were recorded, deeming the last versions to be the best. ‘Gabriëlla’ however didn’t work, as both the guitar was too prominent in take 1 (Becoming out of reach of the mikes in Take 2, when the guitarist moved to the back of the rehearsal space) and some essential voices were not present, to complete the sound. ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ crashed, as there were some problems with keeping the rhythm tight.
The rehearsal room was a huge hall in the industrial area, with a big spinning fan on the ceiling as climate control. As it buzzed throughout the recording, I asked wether it could be switched off. Thev attempt didn’t work, as the fan kept spinning and buzzing and at the same time cooled down the hall. As it was a rainy November night, everybode wore coats near the end of the session.

Shoshin (UK) 'In Session', Thursday September 15th 2011.

Shoshin (Manchester), In Session.
Recorded: September 15th 2011, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Soundcheck/SWKP (Tk 1-2)/Surrounded (Tk 1-2)/Big Bang/English Rainstorms (Tk 1-2).

The day before this session I decided to leave the subway froim work earlier and strolled through the center of Rotterdam, when I heard a band play live. Hearing familiair structures, I said to myself: ‘Sounds like Shoshin’, a Mancurian band I met early 2011 for an interview. Arriving at the scene, it WAS the band, playing one of their infamous Guerilla gigs. I sat down, watching and listening and when the set was over, I asked them wether they would do a session the next day. Which happened! To achieve the dub-like vocal sound, singer Pete brought his own device, which gradually increased in volume, while heating up throughout the session. Which was a nice one.

Mark Lotterman, 'Live On Air' February 17th 2012.

Mark Lotterman (Rotterdam), live on air.
Recorded: February 17th 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Untill The End Of Days/November/Nearly 25.

Note: Inbetween recording and mixing his third album, Mark and guitarist Sasha Ivantic visited the studio for a chat and three great, jazzy songs. Relaxed guys giving a relaxed interview, playing relaxed songs. What else do you need after a busy week! Despite Mark being slightly taken by flu.

Joe Madman & The Sidewalkers, 'Live On Air' January 13th 2012.

Joe Madman & The Sidewalkers (Alphen a/d Rijn), live on air.
Recorded: January 13th 2012, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Golddiggin’Woman/Laying My Burden Down/Gloria-Roadtripper-Sweet Home Alabama.

Note: Youing Garage R’n’R inspired Blues band, having their maiden voyage on radio. Eager to play a long, acoustic set, I annoyed them with questions inbetween. Last song was cut short, as we ran out of broadcasting time. Which wasn’t easy to signal to a singer/guitarist playing so intense, he closed his eyes and shut out the world completely! But somehow we managed just in time.

Anouk Abels, 'Live On Air' December 23rd 2011.

Anouk Abels (Gouda/Utrecht), live on air.
Recorded: December 23rd 2011, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Give/Moritz/Mermaids/Fall.

Note: Former singer with local punkrock outfit ‘The Mondegreens’, started her own Si-So career, after finishing her study on English literature. With basic guitarlines, she sang her poetic, literature-inspired songs, inbetween chatting. This was an impromptu interview and set, as the originally planned interview was unavailable at that moment, due to a computer crash at home. No data loss fortunately and with this show, everything went ahead anyway.

John Swallah, 'Live On Air' December 9th 2011.

John Swallah (Gouda/Moordrecht/Den Haag), live on air.
Recorded: December 9th 2011, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Sail Away/Loudmouth/Rise

Note: Band consisting of (former) members of local bands like Nhoa, The Mondegreens and Sabotage. First interview and an acoustic set, to let the world know who they are and what they are about. Loud vocals and very dynamic solguitar playing, combined with tiredness made this not the best mixed set however. Damn!

John Swallah, 'Live On Air' December 9th 2011.

John Swallah (Gouda/Moordrecht/Den Haag), live on air.
Recorded: December 9th 2011, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Sail Away/Loudmouth/Rise

Note: Band consisting of (former) members of local bands like Nhoa, The Mondegreens and Sabotage. First interview and an acoustic set, to let the world know who they are and what they are about. Loud vocals and very dynamic solguitar playing, combined with tiredness made this not the best mixed set however. Damn!

Yoshimi!, 'Live On Air' December 2nd 2011..

Yoshimi! (Rotterdam), live on air.
Recorded: December 2nd 2011, ‘Gouwestad Radio Studio 2.
Tracks: Het Simpele Lied/De Eerste En De Laatste-Messed Up/Hope

Note: Inbetween 2(!) releaseparties for his Dutch language third CD ‘Sowieso’ Niek and his bgrother visited the studio for a second liveset and interview. Which was one of the more amazing, amusing and interesting ones. During the last song, they went completely loose on the more dynamic parts, resulting in stressed collegues, who tried to record a program in the adjacent studio. Which didn’t work with a kick and snare beaten to their limits.