The Wonderful World of Freek Kinkelaar

BYE BYE!

2011-01-20T07:07:00.000-08:00

THIS IS MY LAST POST ON THIS WONDERFUL WORLD SITE - A NEW SITE HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED THAT HAS THE NEWS BLOGS COMBINED WITH ALL INFO ON THE OLD SITE FREEK KINKELAAR.NL.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ME - PROVIDING YOU WOULD WANT THAT, CAN BE FOUND ON THE NEW WONDERFUL WORLD OF FREEK KINKELAAR SITE.

THIS SITE IS LOCATED AT http://www.freekkinkelaar.nl/

PLEASE POINT YOUR BROWSERS ACCORDINGLY.

THANKS FOR YOUR VISITS - HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE RIDE. BYE BYE!

Verne Langdon (1941 - 2011)

2011-01-05T23:33:00.000-08:00

Last night I received the horrible news that Verne Langdon had died. Verne (born 15 September 1941, Oakland California) was not only a very well known cult monster mask maker, he was also the creator of the legendary LP "An Evening With Boris Karloff" and produced over 30 albums (including his own) in his long career. But, most of all, Verne was my friend. Even though we never met in person, we exchanged long letters and e-mails very frequently. I met Verne via the website he built in honor of his close friend Korla Pandit, the turbanned organist. Verne had taken organ courses with Korla and the two struck up a life-long friendship. Since I was most interested in Korla Pandit both as a person and as a musician, I contacted Verne. We became close cross-Atlantic friends. Quite a few years ago, Verne handed over the Korla website to me, which touched me deeply as I knew well how much he cared for the site he had built in honor of his friend. Verne also sent me Korla-related documents and recordings over the years. We last corresponded two weeks ago and when I mailed him last week, he took longer than usual to reply. Yesterday I received the news he had passed away "in his sleep, with a smile on his face". Verne died, a mere 69 years old, on 1 January 2011. Sleep well Verne...

The picture of Korla and Verne was taken in 1968 and is one of Verne's favorites.

In his own words, written down when his friend Korla died:

"You and the night are gone, but the melody lingers on"

A hard days night

2010-12-12T23:48:00.000-08:00

It wasn't really.... Last Sunday we spent some time in Erik and Petra's sound studio to work on the new Beequeen album Port Out Starboard Home. As there was a lot of earth hum on my guitar in Giant's Hill, we re-recorded that one. We also re-did the vocals on Patience and the vocal middle bit of Giant's Hill. And, since we were on a roll, we re-recorded the vocals to Port Out Starboard Home as well for good measure. Even though the physical temperature was challenging, the mental temperature was warm and cosey. Three nice shots from that afternoon; I like the one where Erik holds the Ancient Light of Magic in his hands. That helped a lot. We worked well and hard, leaving enough time to look at Erik's collection of guitars. Enviously. Obviously.

Dar who?

2010-11-30T07:15:00.000-08:00

In the mid-80's I was an ambitious angry young artist, studying the arts and all geared up to save the world with my conceptual art - whether the world was ready for it or not. Ah, I remember it well... With my compadre in art, Rob Woesthoff, we formed a new art-group called Nivo Stilo and spent hours/days discussing art and producing the Nivo Stilo art magazine, which we filled with poems and articles and manifestos and drawings and and and (all under different names of course - to give the impression we were a real Movement). Rob was R. Incultejardin and I was Flynn Besoin (Flynn from Errol Flynn and Besoin was, very dada, randomly selected from a dictionary). Rob and I were very enthusiastic about this project. In fact so much, that we even decided to form a band. The band name was Dar Pomorza (Polish for "gift of Pomorza", the name of a boat, Pomorza being a Polish town) and we played guitars (badly), synthesizer (borrowed from the art academy) and sang out of tune. We even produced a tape, a C60 TDK tape called The Dar Pomorza on TDK. One side featured spoken word, the other side featured a couple of our songs, recorded in our rehearsal room in Arnhem. When you are a band, you need to perform to spread the message to the People. Oddly enough, we were asked to play live in Willemeen in Arnhem, when someone from Willemeen heard us rehearse. We were programmed for 28 January 1987 with two local speed metal bands. It was truly a frightening night; our paltry equipment (one guitar, said synthesizer and a rhythm box) was nothing compared to the shiny drumkit, Fender guitars and huge Marshall amps of the speed metal bands. The show itself was something I will never forget; we nearly got killed by the audience, who didn't dig our loverly tunes at all. That's me in the background, playing Rob's guitar and looking desperate. Rob is steady as ever, playing the synthesizer with one finger. Flash forward to 2010. Having lost contact with Rob and haven't spoken to him in over 20 years, he recently sent me an e-mail out of the blue! We met up in a local restaurant and had a truly great evening discussing Dar Pomorza and Nivo Stilo. We looked at old magazins, the old tapes and pondered at how old we had become over ancient photos made at Willemeen at that memorable gig in 1987. I've enclosed one example here. The quality is not that good, but then again, neither were we. It is a testament of what we tried to achieve on that unfriendly stage. It didn't work of course, but what a great time to look back on! Rob is still involved in art and has a great site where you can buy his work http://www.robwoesthoff.nl/

Swans

2010-11-24T23:53:00.000-08:00

Dear reader, last night I went to see Swans live at the Tivoli club in Utrecht. I saw Swans live before, in the late 90s, just after they had released the brilliant 2 CD Soundtracks For The Blind, which considerably brightened up the dark ages of the history of music. Anyways, before I went in, there were warning signs that the volume that evening would be Loud. Extremely Loud. Luckily I had brought my professional earplugs, so no morning-after peep for me. The set was loud, slow, heavy and classic Swans. Here are some images I took. I like the green one of Michael Gira, but also the one where the bass player and guitarist re-tune (which they had to do after each song, because of their string-abuse). A lovely evening that ended with me buying a souvenir double CD and dashing off to catch the train back to Nijmegen. The dashing proved to be premature, as there remained plenty of time to fetch a cup of Chai Latte at Utrecht's Starbucks. Bloody expensive at 4 Euros (for a size "tall", which means "small" but they can't spell at Starbucks), but hey, that is rock and roll.

A few pointers...

2010-11-23T02:56:00.000-08:00

As Frans rightfully suggested, I should offer our audience some pointers for their browsers.

Are you comfy? Ready? Here we go!

Two nice movies on You Tube can be located at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPzXn6AHpBk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC-gNiyVo58

And while you're at it, why not download the whole set in, alas, abnominal sound quality at:
www.beequeenarchives.blogspot.com

The Polish Tour

2010-11-23T01:08:00.000-08:00

So Beequeen was invited to play the Wroclaw Industrial music festival in Poland. And we gratefully accepted! We sent quite some time putting a good set list together and rehearsing till we all felt it sounded fine. We then packed our meager equipment and flew to Krakow, where we were awaited by our driver, who drove us in his Karma-proteced van in 3 mad hours to Wroclaw. He was a good driver and we arrived safe at our hostel. We strolled around Wroclaw, enjoyed traditional Polish food (takeaway pizza) and had a great evening. The following day I bought new shoes and did the soundcheck at 16.00 hours. Again, everything sounded fine. We enjoyed some hurried dinner and later that evening we played as second band our 45 minute set to around 150 people in the old dining hall of a 14th century monastry. Later that evening, the hall filled up to around 400 people, all dressed to a tee for the evening. The organization was perfect and very professional. The Polish people were extremely friendly and willing to help us out with even minor quests. The set went really well, the audience seemed to enjoy themselves with lots of heads bopping to our tempting rhythms. At 01.00 o'clock we went back to the hostel and enjoyed a few hours of sleep, as Miranda (who came along for the ride), Olga and me had to get up at 05.30 hours for our journey back to Krakow airport. Frans, being the true trooper he is, had some hours more to sleep. Later that day he went to Germany and Scandinavia for more live shows. This very brief tour of Poland was truly a wonderful experience. The atmosphere in the band was great and we all had a loverly time! Marcin Pflanz took some amazing pictures of all bands at the festival and I've taken the liberty to include three shots here. A few days after the event, movies turned up on YouTube. So far, two Beequeen movies have been posted. Both of these include The Lord Is My Shepherd; trust the audience to film me making my only guitar mistake of the evening and put it on the internet!

You and me and Sinterklaas makes three

2010-11-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was aked to join the UNA orchestra in Kekerdom as a guitarist. The UNA orchestra is actually a very old orchestra, over 100 years old, who used to play traditional music, but now focusses on big band, jazz and even film music. They needed a guitarist for the annual live show on October 23. I joined on a very short basis: with only 3 rehearsals to learn 21 songs! In the end, I managed to squeeze out 11 and I must have done something right as they asked me to become a permanent member after the show. It was hard work as I don't read sheet music and everybody else in the orchestra does (they must have been quite desperate). The evening was great, and slightly surreal, fun. Around 80 people were present. We had a 16 year old girl singer on a few tunes and a dancing couple who demonstrated the Rhumba and Mambo. The town vicar was present as well (in full ornate). So now it's every Tuesday night off to Kekerdom for me, trying to work out complex chord schedules, tempo changes and wondering what the hell all those funny symbols mean on the sheet music. Great fun! As there are no images of the night yet, I thought this nice image of Sinterklaas would to. After all, it is the season...

Fame, fame fatal fame

2010-08-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

Local television station Nijmegen 1, a station I readily confess to not knowing even existed, will be filming a documentary on Frans de Waard. And rightfully so. In order not to show the identical live image of Frans behind his laptop too much, it was decided to include some Beequeen as well. On Friday 20 August 2010 Olga, Frans and myself performed three songs (Breathe, It's A Fine Day and The Honeythief) live in the Extrapool Geluidwerkplaats. Bits and pieces will be included in the upcoming documentary, about which more information can be found at http://www.nijmegen1.nl/. Unfamiliar with being filmed, it was quite a fun experience. Even more fun was the fact that we played the songs really well. Aural evidence of the fact can be found at http://www.beequeenarchives.blogspot.com/ where you can download the full set. The arty image shown here was photographed straight from the camera. A fun way to spent an afternoon!

THE MAGIC HAS ARRIVED!

2010-08-17T05:05:00.000-07:00

I am very proud indeed to announce the release of CRITICAL MAGIC, the brand new cassette by TAPAJAWA on Beam Ends records!

TAPAJAWA is in fact guitarist extraordinaire Barry Gray, who used to play guitar in The Legenday Pink Dots in the 80s, where, due to his amazing guitar skills, he was known as Stret Majest. On CRITICAL MAGIC, Barry offers 9 blistering new recordings featuring him using drum programs, bassguitar, guitars and his own fierce vocals, giving the music a nervous edge. the cassette was released in an edition of 50 copies only. The cassette is professionally made and features an on-body print and full colour artwork.

A copy can be yours for 15 Euros (or the equivalent in most valid currencies on this planet) including worldwide postage. To order, simply send a friendly e-mail to me at info@beequeen.nl and it will be my priviledge to send you a copy of this blistering manifesto.

Maria Roepaan

2010-05-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

Two pictures of the recent Beequeen live show at Maria Roepaan in the nearby town of Ottersum. And what a lovely day it was! Not only is Maria Roepaan a beautiful location (in fact, it's an old monastry), it was also gorgeous weather and quite a few friends took the efford to travel to Ottersum to see us perform, which was much appreciated. We had actually rehearsed for this show quite a bit - it featured some older songs (Sad Sheep, The Honeythief), some newer (Port Out Starboard Home, Patience), some borrowed (Jane's It's A Fine Day) and none blue. Beequeen was on first and played a 45 minute set that wasn't exactly free of mistakes, but full enough of good notes, minor chords and fine vocal work by Olga. In short, a very rewarding set. Shame about the mistakes in Patience, but you can't win them all! In the end, we were all quite pleased with our performance. Also performing that day at Maria Roepaan was Stahlkwartett, who played Bach and Bjork on four home-made-of-metal-sheets-then-bowed instruments. Slow bow - very impressive! Third on the list was Use of Ashes, who perhaps struggled on stage, but put on a good show nevertheless. The atmosphere they manage to create is always highly tense yet fragile. Final performance was by Frans de Waard, Roel Meelkop and a host of others in the specially designed soundlab in the basement of Maria Roepaan. They played a good improvised set using both laptops as acoustic gadgets. In all, a great day with good friends and amazing music. The whole Beequeen concert can be downloaded for nada via our Music For The Head Ballet site. Two brief films of It's A Fine Day and The Honeythief, made by Miranda, can be found on YouTube. Someone stated we looked like a band from Twin Peaks. I quite like that description! The next Beequeen show is planned after the summer in the Lux Theatre in Nijmegen. A date is yet to be set. The evening will be with Legendary Pink Dots and Use of Ashes. Hopefully it will be as special as our day in Maria Roepaan. Thanks to Huub for organizing the lot!

One step beyond!

2010-05-17T05:34:00.000-07:00

The first single I ever bought was Tarzan's Nuts by Madness. This was in 1980, now 30 years ago. I actually wanted to buy Embarrassment, but once in the shop, couldn't remember the title of the single. It was just as well, as the b-side to Tarzan was the wonderful Nightboat To Cairo. I still have that single in my collection. The first album I bought was also by Madness; it was their second album called Absolutely. I was so much of an über-fan in 1980, that I even joined the fanclub. Strangely enough, this folded the day I joined. Coincidentally the same happened when I joined the Adam and the Ants and Alice Cooper fanclub. Folded the day I joined. Strange. Anyways, ska was a wonderfully upbeat way to spend a downbeat decade. I loved The Specials, The Beat, The Selecter and Bad Manners, but most of all Madness. They were so utterly zany British. I loved that. Oddly enough I never saw them live in the 80's. To correct that awful omission in my live career, I bought a ticket for their show last weekend in Amsterdam. And what fun we had! I was right up front, in the middle of this uncontrolled mob, jumping, dancing and singing and pushing and shoving like hell. I've got the bruises to show for it! They played a lot of older tunes as well as some ditties from their latest venture The Liberty Of Norton Filgate. The boys clearly enjoyed themselves on the stage as well; they were slightly older, balder and fatter (like most of the audience), but having a lot of fun. All images I took at the concert are blurred due to the dancing, but this one, taken from a distance, is quite nice. The following day, the "day after", I played all my Madness albums again. Always a sign of a wonderful evening.

And then there were.... three!

2010-04-27T04:37:00.000-07:00

Goodbye to the fabulous four and welcome the tremendous three! Last night The Residents played Nijmegen as a threesome. Not sure what to expect after the Bunny Hop shows from last year (which in retrospect were a tad disappointing) I was looking forward to this show with some anticipation. So three there were last night as "Carlos discovered after 40 years the rock and roll lifestyle was not for him and returned to Mexico". There was no theme connected to this show, just "playing some songs and telling some stories". Well, The Residents are amazingly good in telling stories, ya all know that. The music was great too; bombastic, chaotic, intimate, loads of distorted guitar (courtesy of Otto, the man who can restring a guitar in 15 seconds flat - and proved it three times!) and of course Homer's typical voice. A beautiful evening. Great song. Hell, there was even a reprise for Death In Barstow. Two shots from my mobile phone. They're pretty good eh? Just like the show!

A race well run

2010-04-21T02:21:00.000-07:00

Last night Beequeen rehearsed for the upcoming live show in Ottersum. During rehearsals Frans suggested a name for my new guitar (see previous blog post). Seeing the scratch plate has a lightning bolt and the letter A, he suggested it was an AC/DC guitar and I should call it “Rosie”. As I like the idea of a black and white guitar called Rosie, Rosie it is then.

I would like to thank Stuart Goddard for his suggestion of the name “Prince Charming”, Vincent Furnier for suggesting “Balls” and of course Paul McCartney who sent in “Yoko”. Thank you all!

More branches from the Bee Tree

2010-04-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

On Sunday 23 May 2010 Beequeen will perform a live show at Maria Roepaan in Ottersum.

At this 45 minute show we will play some songs from our new CD “Port Out Starboard Home” as well as some older tunes. Olga will be there as well to provide vocals and looks.

The show will be for the K@R art project.

BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!

Time: around 13.00 hours
Ticket entrance: 5 Euro
For details concerning address and program for this day:
http://roepaen.nl/kunsten/agenda/
http://www.cultureelpodium.nl/nl/contact/

Oh no....

2010-04-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

….not another one!

In my endless (or so it seems) quest for the perfect guitar, we have entered another phase. Two months ago I bought a Fender Jaguar, because it had a wonderfully small neck (well suited for my modest hands), a floating tremolo and, well, because it looked really cool. The Jaguar and I have spent the last two months trying to get to a working relationship. I’m afraid to say we both failed. Somehow it just didn’t work out. The Fender Jaguar is a beautiful guitar but the construction is filled with flaws (which I won’t bother you with, but concern the floating bridge and floating tremolo) and the tone is quite sharp. Sometimes, things just don’t work out in a relationship.

Meanwhile, I fell in love with another guitar - the Eastwood Airline Tuxedo. This time, I took the efford of actually testing it in a shop for two hours before a decision was reached. And a positive decision was reached. However, these guitars do not exactly come cheap at 750 Euros. To make a long story slightly shorter; I sold the adulterous Fender and pre-ordered an Airline Tuxedo via the web at a discount price of 650 Euros. Just before this guitar was dispatched, a hunch (a premonition if you like) told me to have a look at Marktplaats; a second hand site based in the Netherlands. And there she was: a beauty of an Airline Tuxedo, like new, with a Bigsby tremolo added to it (normally these alone would set you back 100 Euro) for sale in Bemmel, a little town very close to Nijmegen. So Miranda and I took the bus, drove to Bemmel and bought the guitar at 450 Euro. We had ice cream in Bemmel (it was a wonderful evening) and got home again happy as peaches. The Airline Tuxedo doesn’t have a name yet, but I award one Brunnen “Swoon” CD to the person who sends in the best suggestion.

Guitar-mania

2009-12-29T01:10:00.001-08:00

I like guitars. I really do. In fact, I have a rather pleasing collection of guitars, which I won't bother you with, but which consists of a Washburn Falcon guitar (the same model as played by Barry Gray of the Legendary Pink Dots, but that just might be a coincidence), a Gretsch semi-acoustic guitar, a Washburn silver-stringed Jumbo acoustic and a Fender Butterscotch Precision bass. Recently I bought a new guitar to add to the collection. It's a nylon-stringed acoustic guitar, handmade in the late 60s/very early 70s in Germany by guitar-builder Armin Gropp (I kid you not). The Gropp Brothers are still in business and can be located at http://www.gropp-gitarren.de/ The one I bought has a lovely deep resonating sound and plays like a dream (the guitar, not one of the brothers). I bought the guitar off Enrico Beretta who, unlike his name suggests, is a Dutch singer-songwriter and a very friendly guy. Check him out at http://www.enricoberretta.nl/. I haven't got a picture of the new guitar yet, so I figured you might like the image now added, which is a very nice picture of Wang Yameng and Su Meng (perhaps slightly better known at Duo Meme & Yaya), who, like me, play Gropp guitars. I wish I could refer to a webpage for them, but unfortunately I cannot find it. Oh well, they certainly look great. Almost as great as that other duo The Peanuts. Now, they really rocked. You can see them at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Peanuts The new guitar has already been used on a recording. I have recorded a track for Frank Antonie's upcoming poetry project on which you can hear me playing the guitar. To be entirely honest, you can hear me stroking the body of the new guitar on this particular track, which gives a really weird wooshing sound. As said, a great guitar!

Vive la Dutch!

2009-12-29T00:46:00.000-08:00

Surprieze – Zeer Oude Klanken en Heel Nieuwe Geluiden
Private release LP 1973

This curiously-titled record (Very Old Tones and Very New Sounds) is high on many want lists of psych collectors. For many years few collectors had actually heard the music, since only very few copies survived the mist of times and, as you will read, the hands of its creator. In the early 70's guitarist/harmonica player Eddie van der Meer left his blues-based band Slack Gang to create the music, which he so clearly heard in his head. Recorded live over a two year period in various bedrooms and youth clubs without any overdubs, the album was privately released in 1973. As soon as the needle is put into the grooves you know you're in for something truly special. Van der Meer plays an utterly unique combination of rambling spontaneous Delta-blues with avant-garde influences using a 3-string guitar. One moment this guitar wails à la Hendrix (albeit one with a Dutch accent) the next moment it almost whispers in a classical, violin and guitar duet. Van der Meer's often improvised vocals are high pitched and meandering and at times it's hard to make out the words. There's experimentation with echo, delays and raga-type droning. In short, and in lack of a better term, this could be qualified as "outsider music" and, as such, is highly valued today. In 1973 however, Van der Meer's proud album fell on stony ground. Even though later reviews were not that bad, the first review to appear (in Aloha, the leading Dutch music magazines no less) was absolutely devastating. Referring to the album as "round and black with a hole in the middle, which is the only positive thing about it" and "an insult to the listener", the review made Van der Meer lose all enthusiasm and confidence about his record. As a result he cycled to the Scheveningen beach (a distance of no less than 70 miles!) with his saddle bags stuffed with copies of the album and threw them into the North sea! Copies of the album have survived in private collections and after many years, when interest in private pressings grew, the album resurfaced. Some 10 years ago Dutch reissue label Grey Past re-released the album, which, this time, gained raving reviews from all over the world. These days Van der Meer is still around and even though he is a very withdrawn and private person, he must feel some vindication about the prices (and praise) his album now fetches. Created by a free spirited mind, this album is an emotional rollercoaster, strange but, more importantly, utterly beautiful. Originals are almost impossible to find (even in The Netherlands), so you can imagine my joy when I found one at the recent record fair in Utrecht. In very small wording, in the corner of the back sleeve, it is signed by Eddie van der Meer himself to his "kind neighbors". A touching gesture on a beautiful record.

Vive les Americains!

2009-11-26T06:31:00.000-08:00

Peter Peter Ivers Band – Terminal Love
Warner Brothers BS 2804, LP 1974

You could be excused for thinking I have a tendency towards albums by pretty maidens. And I do. However, to readdress the balance, here's a quirky record that I quite like by a man. When this album was recommended by a friend in Japan, I was a bit skeptical. Terminal Love, filled with songs titled My Grandmother's Funeral, Oo Girl, Holding the Cobra and Felladaddio might sound unusually corny to say the least, but then again Peter Ivers was never quite usual. Born in 1946 Ivers studied classical languages, but ended up in music business. In 1969 he released the remarkable album Knights of the Blue Communion (also featuring Yolande Bavan) on Epic records. The music on this album was used for the theatre play Jesus, A Passion Play For Americans, which was, in turn, the inspiration for Jesus Christ Superstar. Despite the massive success of JCS, the Knights LP album faded into obscurity. Ivers recorded a second album for Epic (Take It Out On Me), which was shelved. Being close friends to Douglas Kenney (founder of National Lampoon) and John Belushi, Ivers was introduced to David Lynch for whom he wrote In Heaven (The Lady In The Radiator), the theme song from the infamous, but utterly amazing Eraserhead movie. In 1981 Ivers became active in radio, where his manic presentation of the Night Flight programme became the stuff of legends. However, his career came to a tragic end in 1983 when Ivers was found bludgeoned to death in his LA apartment. His death still remains a mystery, which inspired the book In Heaven Everything Is Fine. His musical legacy is well worth a re-visitation and with the recent release of all his records on CD this is easily possible. Terminal Love is certainly one of the weirdest "normal" records ever. Upon first listen you may wonder about the weird, nasal singing or the strange quirky instrumentation that seems decisively normal. Repeated listening sessions however, will reveal a strangeness about this album, that is hard to define, but puts a smile on your face. Copies are not that hard to locate and very soon you will find yourself humming his tunes and wondering what the hell Warner Brothers were thinking when they released Terminal Love.

Annika! (the sequel)

2009-11-17T04:30:00.000-08:00

Annika did not disappoint.

Annika!

2009-11-13T01:31:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I bought a double DVD of the original 70's Pippi Longstocking series (Pippi's full name, fact fans, is Pippilotta Viktualia Rullgardina Krusmynta Efraimsdotter Långstrump). Last night we watched the first episode, in which Pippi discovers a new word "Spunk" and spends the entire episode trying to find out what a "spunk" is. When Pippi, Tommie and Annika determine that it is not a dangerous animal or some sort of candy, Pippi develops a serious case of "spunk" and has to be taken to a doctor. The doctor examines Pippi, but luckily finds no evidence for "spunk". Pippi offers to pay for the consultation, but the kind doctor (70's haircut and glasses) assures her "spunk-consultations" are free. After 25 minutes of wonderful television they discover a beetle that turns out to be a "spunk". The End. I wonder if this was ever broadcast in the UK where "spunk" has an altogether different and less innocent meaning! As an aside: when I was Pippi's age and the TV series was shown on Dutch television I had a serious crush on Annika. Curious about what happened to her I spent some time on the internet (source of all knowledge these days). Annika was played by Maria Persson. After the Pippi TV-series she studied at the School of Theatre, but found it hard to find work as people related to her as the Annika character. She married a Spaniard and opened a bar in Mallorca (this part is a bit of a let down I have to say). She got divorced and now works with the elderly. A fascinating and slightly tragic interview with her and Tommie, albeit in German, can be located at http://efraimstochter.de/tommi_und_annika/euch_kennen_wir_doch.shtml
The picture shows Maria at 51, and I have to admit, she still looks good. Incidentally, the DVD, for which I paid 1,25 Euros, also includes the classic movie Pippi at Taka Tuka Land, in which she saves her father from evil pirates - I can't wait to see Annika in action against pirates!

Wander box set ready for shipping!

2009-10-27T06:49:00.000-07:00

Beam Ends records is proud to announce the release of the latest release by Wander (Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar of Beequeen). Like all previous albums, and, indeed, all tracks by Wander this is entitled WANDER.

We have done our best to make this new Wander album a special one. WANDER consists of the following: a clear vinyl (so NOT a lathe cut) hand-pressed album, which plays from the label to the rim (instead of the other way around), presented in back paper insert with Wander "band" shirt in a hand-made blue boxset (made by the same company that produced the boxes for Raymond Dijkstra's De Gelofte and De Gedachte albums and the recent Flawed Existence box by Nurse With Wound). Of this set only 10 (ten) copies were produced, signed and numbered by the makers. The album features two tracks of beautiful drone ambience.

The price of this set is 100 Euros, excluding shipping to your location. Even though we realize this is a lot of money, we do feel this is worth the package. With 2 copies in our archives and 4 already sold, this leaves 4 copies for sale. This is surely the most luxurious and most limited release ever by Beam Ends.

You can order your copy via info@beequeen.nl

Vive la Japan!

2009-10-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

Ike Reiko – Kokotsu No Sekai
Teichiku records SL 1375, 1970 (with poster)

At times I like to indulge in all things saucy, and it's hard to get more saucy than with this wonderfully bizarre album by Japanese actress Ike Reiko. In the late 60's/early 70's Japanese cinema knew a blooming "pink violence" scene. Many actresses indulged themselves in these soft-sex action films, where women were typecast as fighting machines who could (and would) kill a 1000 men with a blink of their sword (whilst being in the nude of course). Reiko was one of the most beloved actresses in this genre and features in quite a few movies. She was popular, not only because of her acting talents, but also for her rather prominent bust, which would be on display in her movies whenever possible. Born in 1953, she made her debut in the world of fleshy films at the tender age of 16, which caused quite a stir in her traditionalist home country. In the early 70's many of the "pink" actresses also recorded music. Most of their albums and singles are beautifully packed and feature salivating covers. There is even a name for this interesting sub-genre; iroke koyokyoku. Top of a long list of these almost surrealistic albums created in this genre is Reiko's Kokotsu No Sekai. Sexier than any Gainsbough album, Reiko moans, whispers, shouts and coos over an orchestral backing, resulting in one of the most pleasingly bizarre records in mankind. The 500 copies that were pressed up now belong to the most valuable albums to have ever come out of Japan. Featuring a striking gatefold cover and a gorgeous fold out poster of Reiko, the price may sound a little steep, but copies are as rare as Reiko being fully clothed throughout a movie. In the 90's Japanese specialist label Tiliqua records released a beautiful replica of the album. The demand for this re-release has been so high that even copies of the CD release (3500 copies in total) are now fetching prices in excess of 100 Pound. Yummie!

Vive la France!

2009-10-15T04:18:00.001-07:00

I have got a fetish for vinyl. This may come as a surprise to some (though, without doubt, not to many), but I admit - I'm guilty of this deviant pleasure. Not only have I got a large collection of vinyl at home, which I listen to every day, I also love vinyl as an object. I know, it's questionable, but mostly harmless. Over the past couple of years I have been writing about records as objects for UK music magazine Record Collector. In order to widen my audience (a bit), I've decided to add one or two of these short pieces on this blog in the sincere hope you will enjoy them and maybe you might even be enticed enough to run out and spend some of your well earned cash on......

The Girl In The Bikini
Poplar PLP 33-1002, LP 1952

Even though the bikini has been known since the ancient Greeks, Louis Reard and Jaques Heim claimed the invention of the famous two-piece of swimwear in Paris in 1946. The name bikini was chosen because they rightfully thought the effect of their scant piece of textile on both men as women would be as big as an atomic explosion (nuclear tests were executed on the Bikini atoll at the time). There was a lot of adversity towards the bikini in those conservative post-WWII days, even resulting in the banning of the bikini from the 1951 Miss World elections. However, one year later Brigitte Bardot (Europe's foremost sex kitten) played her first major role in Willy Rozier's black/white beach flick Manini, La Fille Sans Voile (Manini, The Woman Without A Veil). The movie hardly contained any storyline, but it did feature the 18-year-old Bardot running around in a bikini most of the time. The effect was indeed like an atomic explosion! The movie (and Bardot) made the bikini popular almost overnight and Bardot even gained the nickname The Bikini Girl. Appropriately retitled The Girl In The Bikini the movie was released in the USA. In the UK the movie was known as The Lighthouse-Keeper's Daughter. Strangely enough, the soundtrack album, containing a fine score by Jean Yatove, was only released in the USA. But more important than the music, the album featured a gorgeous-looking bikini-clad Bardot on the front cover, with even more stills from the movie on the back cover. The record is one of the rarest soundtracks ever and is in great demand, not only by Bardot- or soundtrack-affectionados, but also by those who appreciate that tiny piece of swimwear so rightfully named "bikini". Copies of the original pressing can easily fetch 300+ USD. For those with tighter pockets, but likewise interests, the album has recently been released (in its original cover but with marginal sound quality) on CD by El records. The music you ask? Gorgeous and lush orchestral music with washes of sea and strange sub-sea sounds added for effect, some vocal tracks and (the only drawback) one of those typical French can-can songs. Skip that one, and you'll have a wonderful evening with Brigitte.

And another thing...

2009-10-06T00:17:00.000-07:00

I had two of the most curious dreams last night; during the first dream I dreamt I was singing Lou Reed's Lady Day (from the outrageously brilliant album Berlin) out loud in my sleep! I still have to check with Miranda to find out if I actually did. The other dream was even better; in this dream I was abducted by friends in a car and driven to a surprise party. This party was held in what appeared to be an abandoned subway vegetable market. Here three stages were set; one with four cello's, one with a grand piano and one with a stereo set. The idea was that I could use each stage and perform with friends during the evening. Everyone was invited beforehand to bring cassettes to play. Frans was present as well. He brought a copy of the Sex and Bestiality tape to liven up the proceedings. Hahaha! What a great dream! As a result of all this turmoil I just had to play April Stevens' Tame Me Tiger CD this morning. Her soothing voice calmed me back into normality.

And another thing: the first random image of Wander does not work (see previous blog). Damn! So I have taken the second random image. If you think this one is bad, you should google the first one.

Oh dear!

2009-10-05T05:44:00.000-07:00

Oh dear indeed!

I'm flogging myself with a wet noodle. I admit, I'm guilty. Guilty of not blogging enough and thus depriving you of essential information such as the new Wander LP box set and other possibly interesting tidbits of information.

So, in a pathetic attempt to make up for me neglecting my fans I'm flogging the night away. Meanwhile, with my free hand, I'm typing up this information. Here goes….

1. Wander – Wander LP box set in an edition of 10 numbered and signed copies
Highly luxurious release on Beam Ends records. This handmade box (made by the same company that manufactured the Raymond Dijkstra velvet boxes for his albums De Gelofte and De Gedachte) contains a hand pressed clear vinyl album, that plays the music from the inside out. Two long tracks of beautiful ambience. The box also contains a Wander band T-shirt to proudly wear on your nights out. Needless to say, we are very proud of this release. A grand total of 10 copies were made, 2 of which are for our personal archives. This leaves 8 copies on the open market. If you're interested in reserving your copy, please send an e-mail to info@beequeen.nl. We're expecting to be able to ship in 2 weeks.

2. Wander – Wander CD in card sleeve
The fruits of our very interesting session are finally available on Divine Frequency. Copies are 10 Euros each, which is a snip considering the great music and sleeve. Send your mails to the usual address, marked "I know good music when I see it".

3. Beequeen – Ownliness CD re-release
Finally available are the new copies of Ownliness. Those in the know will probably already be proud owner of a copy. Those who don't own a copy, can purchase one directly from us at 10 Euros. The enigmatic cover is still in place of course. Send your mails to the usual address , marked "I know a good cover when I hear one".

4. Raymond Dijkstra – De Nacht LP release
Beam Ends records will release a vinyl album by Raymond Dijkstra in the not-too-distant future. The vinyl LP will be hand painted and comes in a hand painted heavy carton gatefold cover. The edition is limited to only 10 numbered copies. Even though most copies have been reserved, there might still be a copy waiting for you. The price of a copy of this unique release is 100 Euros. You know where to send your mails……

That might be it for now. Frans, Olga and I are working very hard on the new Beequeen album. It looks like the recording part will be finished pretty soon now. The mixing part will then commence. Exiting times! Since this is a bit of a Wander-mail and we don't have any Wander images, I took the liberty to Google "Wander" and reproduce the first image that I found.

Oh, and a final bit of news: Frans de Waard has a lovely new blog out here in cyberspace about 25 years of Korm Plastics. Since I hold KP and all the work that Frans spends on this in high esteem, I would urge you all to have a peek at this blog, where, no doubt, I will make the occasional interlectual insert as well. The blog can be found here: http://kapottemuziek.blogspot.com/

To the upperdestdate of the update

2009-07-17T04:11:00.000-07:00

You would be excused for thinking not much has happened last couple of weeks. But just because it's not on a blog, doesn't mean it didn't happen (the same goes for that other strange phenomenon: Twitter). So here's an update on what actually did happen:

1. The Nurse With Wound CDs arrived. Hooray! Turns out the release actually features three CD's in a nice plastic package. I've got one for the archive and one for sale. So the first one to send me a nice e-mail at info@beequeen.nl and confirm they want it for the measely 20 Euros I'm asking, has got him/herself a deal. Pretty fair I'd say.

2. We're still waiting for the shipment of Ownliness CD's that should have arrived by now to be honest.

3. Divine Frequency will soon be mailing us our copies of the new Wander CD entitled... you guessed it, Wander. This one is actually quite good; I'm really proud of the recordings. A good and inspired session. The cover has also turned out great.

4. Between recordings bits and pieces for the upcoming Beequeen CD (entitled Port Out Starboard Home), we worked on a Wander track. It turned out we both liked the track so much than, rather to give it away for a compilation CDR, we want to put it out ourselves. So what we did was record a second track for the B-side (equally good) and decided to make an LP out of it. The LP will be limited to 10 copies on clear vinyl in a nice packaging. Expect a release in a few weeks. No prizes for guessing the title though.

That's it for now.
And remember, you've heard it here first!

Ownliness brought back to life

2009-05-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

In 2002 Frans and I recorded Ownliness. It was the first album where we broadened our musical horizon. The idea was to create music that was less based upon drones or ambient pieces, but allowed us to use our "pop-sensibility". The result was Ownliness. The title was an idea of Raymond Steeg who suggested Only Ness, which I misheard. I though he'd said Ownliness, which I thought was a perfect title. The album has a very nice special atmosphere even though some songs were not as developed as they could have been. Still, My Wicked Wicked Ways, Beam Ends and the title track remain firm Beequeen favorites. The 500 original copies on Infraction records are long sold out, so we're pleased to announce that Infraction has pressed up another 1000. Lovers of beautiful women amongst us will be pleased to note that the cover has remained the same. I am very pleased that this album is available once again and would advise anyone who hasn't got it yet, to go out and buy a copy.

A wonderful evening!

2009-03-31T04:08:00.000-07:00

On Friday 27 March 2009 the Extrapool club in Nijmegen staged another one of their "Audiotoop" evenings. The idea of Audiotoop is that artists from various disciplines create a radio play especially composed for the evening of the performance. This Audiotoop saw a performance of Edward Ka-spel and Silverman (of the Legendary Pink Dots) who staged 4 spoken word pieces with added soundscapes created by Silverman (with some additional scaping by Edward). Their performance was very exiting and much anticipated by me as this is something they normally don't do. The anticipation was justified; their performance was wonderful in every respect, the storylines, the music, even the small "performance" acts by Silverman. In all, very refreshing and great. After their performance ASRA was next; a collaboration between Timo van Luyk and Raymond Dijkstra. I was really looking forward to this set as I have a soft spot for both musicians' music. All albums by Raymond Dijkstra are highly recommended. Their stage set was scattered with loose small acoustic instruments, a piano and a tuba. Together they created the best live set I have heard in a long long time. Beautiful, spacious music with respect for all individual sounds and both performers. The audience was rightfully captured by the music; their respectful silence was impressive. After ASRA's set, there was a "jamsession" featuring all musicians, which was like most jamsessions; more of the same (so a very fine performance), only not as good as their individual performances. Audiotoop proved to be a very special evening. That night I met many friends, made a new one and shook hands with the brilliant Idea Fire Company-main man, Mr. Scott Faust who, as a true diva, made his grand entrance after Edward and Silverman had already started playing, and almost fell over Silverman's keyboard!

One little question...

2009-03-19T05:52:00.000-07:00

Recently I received an invitation for "One little question", an internet initiative from Csoma Emoke where several artists are asked the same questions. It wasn't one little question though, it is more like 34 little questions. For those who never visit the internet, but stick to my blog only, here are my replies. Yet another truth from Wisdom City…

1. Is life an inspiration to make music or is music inspiration to live?
I'm very passionate about life. Music is part of life, so I'm quite passionate about both.

2. What would you do if there wouldn't be music, starting with tomorrow?
Write a good book.

3. What if you had to produce in a different music genre? What would that be?
Perhaps form a folk duo with Olga Wallis and sing acoustic songs about bearded dwarfs.

4. The beauty of silence or the chaos of noises?
The beauty of silence. I shredded my noise coat a long time ago.

5. What's your favourite album ever?
Impossible to say. I have many musical favorites.

6. And your favorite album cover?
Again, very difficult to pick one, but I have a weak spot for Dirk Wears White Sox by Adam and the Ants. Classy image, great font. The music is pretty good too.

7. Is there some music you like - but ashamed to admit it?
There is no music to be ashamed of.

8. If you could be a rock star, who would you be?
Paris Hilton.

9. Do you have a role model?
Not a person. Human values are a "role model" by which I try to live my life.

10. Who would you like to meet the most?
Paris Hilton? That would make for superior conversation on my side for a change...

11. What are your favorite movies?
Ghost World, West Side Story, Midnight Cowboy, Mulholland Drive, The Adventures of Robin Hood and TV series like Twin Peaks, Inspector Morse/Lewis, The Avengers TV series, The Prisoner.

12. If you had to direct your own movie, how would it look like?
Either some surrealistic film noir in reverse or a spectacular Technicolor extravaganza.

13. Who's your favorite writer or poet?
At the moment it's Murakami. His book The Windup Bird Chronicle is extraordinarily beautiful. Perhaps I'd love to make a film (including the soundtrack) of that one.

14. What's your favorite food?
Indian.

15. Do you prefer cooking or eating?
Both.

16. Name three things you love the most about women.
The fact that they think/act different to men and the fact they look better than men.

17. And three things you hate about them.
There is nothing I hate about women.

18. Which language would you like to speak most and why?
French. Classic and historical language that sounds beautiful. I hate Italian; all those whining sounds.

19. How would you describe yourself in 5 words?
Friendly, only slightly neurotic.

20. What are your vices?
Buying too many records for too much money.

21. What is the most unusual comment anyone has ever made about you?
Cue American drawl: "so your name is REALLY Freak? Hahahahaha!". So sad.

22. What was the nicest thing somebody ever did to you?
Book me a surprise holiday in Antwerp.

23. The best moment in your life?
Is yet to come. I'm a born optimist.

24. What does beauty mean to you?
Beauty is the most important thing in life.

25. What would you do today if the world would end tomorrow?
I wouldn't mind that at all. I am happy with the life I have lived.

26. Which places you love the most?
Brighton, United Kingdom and my bed.

27. Who's your favorite superhero and why?
Mrs. Peel. No need to explain.

28. What's your favorite flavour?
The smell of a summer's day.

29. Three things you could never get rid of?
My guitar and my wife. In reverse order of course.

30. Your three favorite websites?
I like visiting Ebay for buying records.

32. What's your most favorite picture you made?
Please see my website at www.freekkinkelaar.nl One of the funniest pictures is on there, but it's not me, it's the Beatle-image.

33. What is the question you always would have liked to be asked but nobody ever did?
Would you like to have some heavy rumpty-pumpty with me in the back alley? Which, being married, I would have to decline.

34. (ask it yourself and answer!)
Yes.

Freek With Wound

2009-03-17T02:28:00.001-07:00

Well, well – surprise, surprise! In the category "things I know nothing about, but happen all the same" is the release of the new Nurse With Wound album entitled The Surveillance Lounge, which will be out in a couple of weeks. This album, no doubt another highlight in the Nurse-canon, will feature the sampled voices of Miranda and me. We recorded a lot of silly children's verse and songs a few months ago for Andrew Liles, which were consequently used on one of his albums in his Black Series CD's. More bits of that session are now apparently used on the new Nurse album, which is a great thing as I always fancied being one of the Nurses with Wounds. As usual, I was informed after the act, which in this case is fine with me. However, if you read this and you are a member of Coldplay or Radiohead and you intend to use our vocals on upcoming albums (which in a sense would improve the quality of said albums), you have no permission.

Small anthem

2009-02-16T04:44:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite labels (in fact, my ONLY favorite CDR-label) is MOLL run by Frans de Waard. Favorite because it has an impressive list of artists and some great music, the packaging is professionally printed and they are true value for money. New in the series is this one "Atem". We did this track a long time ago for a compilation entitled Guru Means Slayer Of Darkness (a title I never quite figured out) on Manifold records in 1996. Since the compilation itself is long-deleted and we really liked Atem, we have decided to re-release it as a stand-alone thing. And, listening to it last night, it really works as such. Twenty-one gorgeous minutes of low grumbling sound - I really love this one! Copies are available via MOLL, but why not buy yours directly from me? Sounds fair to me. If you wonder who made the wonderful cover photograph, well, I won't spoil the fun but his name starts with an F.

Surprise, surprise!

2009-02-13T02:17:00.000-08:00

It came as a surprise to receive 6 copies of the recently released DVD Colorfield Variations. At first I thought it was a BBC documentary about those swinging sixties, but much to my amazement this is in fact a brandnew thingie featuring Beequeen (hence the 6 free copies). Nobody tells me anything these days! The DVD features a lot of great music by the likes of Steve Roden, Stephan Mathieu and Chris and Cosey all accompanied by video images. Beequeen has the track Six Inside with a nice, grainy video by Sue Costabile. If this sounds familiar, you're right; the same thing was in fact previously released as Trybid - Installation Soundtracks on BLRR in 2003. Oh well. It does look nice. In fact, a lot nicer than the original. So, I've got 6 copies; 2 will be entered into the ever-expanding Beequeen archive and 4 are up for sale. At 10 Euros each a snip I'd say. Contact me if you're interested. Meanwhile, watch this space. Before you can say "What?!", there might be releases of Beequeen - Live at Woodstock and Beequeen - The Funhouse Sessions we know nothing about.

Swoon CD release!

2008-12-22T06:12:00.001-08:00

Good news: on 20 December 2008 the SWOON CD was released by Beta Lactam-Ring records in the USA! The album is now available via their website, but why not please the artist and buy your copy straight from me? Just send an e-mail to info@beequeen.nl and, as soon as my box of copies arrive, you will be able to hum along to the lovely songs that make up SWOON. The reissue contains the full original album. Well, to be honest, not completely full as one track – the truly horrible and very pre-puberal Lonely Eyes – is missing. Be happy. If you do want to hear that one, you would have to track down an original vinyl copy, but don't tell me I didn't warn you. Lonely Eyes is compensated by a smattering of nice bonus songs, including a previously unreleased track from the original sessions that didn't make it on the album, two tracks from the Honey Button EP and an unreleased track from 1993, which I had forgotten all about. Add to this a nice package with a nice image of me and some scene-setting words and you have a pretty cool release. I think. Why not buy a copy and decide yourself?

Requiem

2008-12-22T06:10:00.000-08:00

On 22 November 2008 An van Wel ("Tante An") died. She lived in our household for over 14 years. She died at the respectable age of 91 years, just one week prior to her 92nd birthday. She was a remarkable person: honest (even though she was notorious for cheating at Monopoly), caring and with a strong love for her family and the place where she was born (Terneuzen in The Netherlands). She worked for many years as counselor in the "Raad voor de Kinderbescherming" (the board for the protection of children) and, as such, was responsible for adoptations. She was present at my birth, I was present at her death. The day she died was the first day with snow we had in The Netherlands. I miss her dearly but, at the same time am happy that she is now "home with her father and mother", as she so dearly wished. She has had a full life, which has now gone full circle.

Drive my car

2008-12-18T04:36:00.000-08:00

There is no such thing as "news". So we'll add a bit of old news (I love the fact that this contradiction is frequently used in print) here. A while ago Beequeen was informed that their track Buzbag Drive (from the album The Body Shop) was shortlisted for a new European AUDI car campaign. The track was planned for inclusion up to the very last minute when the director chose a neutral piece of classical piano music. Boring. Now you know why the automobile industry is fighting for its survival. It would be nice to think that with the right music AUDI would have been the only automobile industry still thriving today. However, it is a shame that Frans and I will now have to live without our complimentary copy of the new AUDI car. Frans' one of course being for polishing and washing only as he doesn't have a drivers license.

Swoon CD planned for November 2008

2008-11-19T04:56:00.000-08:00

Er, that's it really: the re-release of 1993's Brunnen LP Swoon has been planned for November 2008. This is the first of a series of four re-releases (Swoon, Lure, Goodbye and Tippoo's Tiger), which will be released on Beta Lactam-Ring Records in the US of A. All albums have been remastered from the original tapes and sound better than the originals vinyl pressings (especially Swoon sounds quite a lot better). All albums now feature bonus material and a little personal story as "scene setter". Swoon is the first one to be released. The other ones will follow during 2009. Order your copies via BLRR or, better still, via me at info@beequeen.nl

For the love of God!

2008-11-19T04:48:00.000-08:00

The last two days were leisurely spent in Amsterdam, that Sodom and Gomorrah full of drunken tourists visiting coffee shops. Luckily, there are fun things to do in Amsterdam as well; last Monday Miranda and I went to see the Scapino ballet's "Wonderland" performance at the Stadsschouwburg. And a wonderful evening it was. The ballet featured eight different dances by various choreographers who gave an amazing performance. The following day we went to see "For the love of God" ( the diamond skull by art's current bad boy Damien Hirst) at the Rijksmuseum. Luckily I'm not tormented by the perpetual "is it art or isn't it?". Beuys solved that one with the credo "every man is an artist". The question "do I think it's good or bad?" is far more interesting. And to be honest, that question has been keeping me busy for the past few days. The skull-hype is perfect, nothing wrong with that. Hypes are everyday stuff these days and the world of the arts is full of them. The platinum cast of the skull (it's not a real skull, it's a replica featuring human teeth) has been augmented with 8,601 diamonds and one large pear shaped 54,4 carat diamond on its forehead. Just that you know. Like most skulls it appears to laugh at us. A friendly skull therefore. A skull smaller than expected too. I didn't find it that amazing in form and presentation, but I readily admit I'm impressed by what this piece manages to achieve. Only time will tell if it is a timeless masterpiece, worthy of being in the same museum as Vermeer's Kitchen Maid, which, incidentally, moved me more when I saw it again than the skull did. As an aside: I love the story how the title of the skull object came to be. I always figured it had some sort of deep meaning, but picture a somewhat sloppy Eastenders-like kitchen. At the table are Damien Hirst and his mother sharing a mother-and-son moment embellished with a cup of tea. Damien: "Mum, I've been thinking about decorating a human skull with a shitload of diamonds and sell it for millions of pounds to some poor fucker who thinks it's the best thing ever". Damien's mum: "Damien, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, why don't you get yourself a decent job like your brother Glenn who drives busses in Croydon. Oh, and mind your fucking language!". That is what it's all about. Genius.

The Residents

2008-11-13T03:01:00.000-08:00

Reading Frans’ blog about Peter Hook (http://fransdewaard.blogspot.com/2008/11/doubts-even-here.html) gave me a sense of dejavu. I was supposed to be present at this concert as well, meet Peter and have him sign my copy of Love Will Tear Us Apart (one of the few Joy Division songs I actually like), but seeing it was also my wife’s birthday, choices had to be made. Anyways, a few days later I went to see The Residents in Nijmegen, who are currently touring their recent Bunny Boy album. The Residents were brilliant! Perhaps a bit lean on the story side (which missed a much anticipated climax), but full marks for presentation (much like my school reports). After the show I had the great pleasure of meeting one of my all-time heroes, the vocalist of the Residents Mr. Homer Flynn. Like Frans and Peter Hook, I presented Homer a copy of the Beequeen CD Sandancing. He looked at it, smiled politely, thanked me and we exchanged some pleasantries, then we shook hands. A historic moment. Wether the CD, like Frans’ CD given to Peter Hook, is currently at the bottom of the canal is unknown. I like to think Homer is in the tourbus right now bobbing his head to The Honeythief and kicking himself for not asking my autograph.

My first blog

2008-11-13T02:58:00.000-08:00

Blog. Never heard of the word until Frans de Waard (my partner-in-crime in Beequeen) told me he had one. I thought it was a rare disease. Anyways, here it is. My first blog and my first post. If all goes well, I will be posting here regularly with all sorts of titbits you don't really want to know, but maybe I can entice you to read them anyways. OK. Enough of this introducing. Now read on dot dot dot.