The Newest & Tackiest Addition to my Paint-By-Numbers Gallery

1 Euro at the Secondhand Market in Rotterdam. Nice addition to the Paint-By-Numbers Gallery!

More Fun Than You Can Shake A Stick At!

I originally made these 'Shakin' Sticks' during a Musical Instrument Construction Workshop for kids. I thought they were so damn cute and had such a great sound that i just had to make some for 'The Jumping Flea Market'. (Plus, you have to do something with all those damn beer caps!)

On each of these sticks is an inscription which says: "More Fun Than You Can Shake A Stick At!" And you know, you're probably just not having as much fun as you could do with a stick to shake!

Ukulele Jamboree No.6 Videos!

Okay, i know these videos are crappy quality. But, the content is so damn good you hardly notice! Here is the "Beast from the East" doing a really cool song which i wish i knew the title of. To see all of the video from the Ukulele Jamboree go to our new UkeTube Channel! And you really must take a look, you just can't miss The Beasts' version of The Lambada on nose flute, or Pieter Popsters version of "I Want You" not to mention Yvonne's "Psycho Killer". To read more about the evening scroll down to the previous post. But first, Here is The Beast, GO!

Ukulele Jamboree No.6 Review

My flame, Marko & I (aka 'The Uke Box') host a Monthly Ukulele Jamboree in Rotterdam Noord at Café de Bel. The 6th edition was on March the 14th and it was absolutely mad! It was an extra special edition featuring Bram Willems, "The Beast from the East".

It was the Beasts birthday and Good Golly, what a party! He did some of his own classic tunes such as "Oh, Cheriel" and "Rukkie in Mijn Truckie in Kentucky" as well as some great covers like "Zij Gelooft In Mij" and "The Lambada" which he played with the help of a nose flute! Dude had the audience in an absolute uproar!
And, Brams LadyFriend had the audience in an uproar herself! Look at the lovely Anastasia with the gorgeous cakes she made with ukulele chords on them. Isn't she adorable! And man those cakes were some kind of yummmy...lemon. I love lemon sweets!
We even got to perform "Diep In Mijn Hart" together with "The Beast", a special request for Miss Anastasia and her parents. Look at Marko's cute little Toy Accordeon!
Before the "Beast" took the stage we had two great acts to warm up the crowd. First of all, Yvonne. It's become a kind of tradition that Yvonne opens up for us. Our good luck charm if you will. She got the crowd going with "Psycho Killer"!

Then came the great "Pieter, something-for-the-ladies, Popster"! He did a super set with such songs as "Delilah" from Tom Jones & my favorite "I Want You" by Elvis Costello.
We always start the Ukulele Jamborees with a Ukulele Intervention. This is a ukulele workshop for aspiring ukulele players. We had so many participants that we actually ran out of ukuleles...and we have a hell of a lot of ukuleles! There were quite a lot of new folks there so we taught them two Jamboree classics, "Jambalaya" and "Brandend Zand".
Click on the photos to ZOOM!




We always give something away at the Ukulele Jamborees. On this night we gave away a really cool Turtle Ukulele. (Look there is an eye in it!) And the lucky winner? ED! Congrats Ed, nothing left to do but learn a few chords buddy! Ah, look how cute!


Well, it was one Hell of a Ukulele Night! Many many thanks to Everyone from Café de Bel, the Ukulele Intervention Participants, The Performers & The Audience. You guys are the greatest! Oh, and Stay Tuned for Video's!

For the Environmentally Conscious Musician...

Guitar Picks made from old credit cards at The Jumping Flea Market!

Distracted by a handfull of fur with an attitude.

You know how it goes. You're reaaally busy and then, exactly at the most insane moment, something unusual happens that completely screws you all up? Well,...

This little fella had been hiding in various basements & scatting around the Zaagmolenstraat where i live for about 3 days and crying bloody murder. Many people had tried to grab him but to no avail till, last Monday. We were on our way to do a Ukulele Workshop for Seniors and suddenly he came out and i was able to grab him. Of course this meant 3 days of dealing with the cute little trouble maker. (I rescue the little dude and then he pulls a bad attitude on me. Click on the photo to enlarge and fully experience the bad ass kitty attitude) He's now safe and awaiting a new home which i was assured he would soon find. All is well that ends well, right?

Well not exactly. It's the strangest thing. When i grabbed him up and brought him into the house with him against my chest, i instantly got a terrible pain in my throat. I could hardly swallow suddenly. My only guess is that he had been under those damp houses so long and was breathing out lots of mildew and mold or something. Anyway, i'm still trying to get over it. Lots of posting to catch up on...The Workshops are going wonderfully & The Ukulele Jamboree was absolutely mad. Sure hope i got some decent video's on my crappy camera. Hopefully we'll find out soon. Stay Tuned!

Ukulele Jamboree No.6...

...at Café de Bel, Gerard Scholtenstraat 61b, 3035SE Rotterdam.
With a very special performance by Bram, "The Beast from the East!" and support acts 'The Uke Box' & 'Pieter Popster'. Performances begin at 10pm but first at 8:30pm, The Ukulele Interventie, a ukulele workshop for aspiring ukulele players. Ukulele Rental, 2euros.
Click on the image to zoom.

I think i'll build another one...

I am so pleased with my first cigarbox ukulele that i must make another one. I've already accumalated some of the basic materials to make it. The Cigarbox i'm going to use has a cool story. There's a really nifty music store (my favorite) in Rotterdam called "Japies Akkordeon Paleis". Japie is a cigar smoker so i scored one of his old boxes. It'll surely be a very musical box!

The tuners were given to me by Mr. Walters, a violin builder here in town. He had a huge crate full of old ones and was nice enough to let me have a few for my project.

And the beautiful piece of wood? I have no idea where it came from. It was leaning against the wall in my studio. It's gorgeous, looks like mahogany.

I still need a bridge, a string guard and frets. I really want to make my frets from wood. I love the way that looks. I'm wondering if bamboo can be stained dark? Or maybe there is something else i could use? (These are the things that keep me awake at night)

A Secret Place Of One's Own

I have this little place. It's in an attic. At some time, i'm guessing during the 1950's, this place was ingeniously converted into a sort of miniature living quarters. Although it's tiny, it's the most practical & cozy place i've ever been in. It gives me the same beautiful feeling that i had as a child when climbing into a treehouse. The windows on one side look out upon the slanted old tiled roof of the next house and the sky. When it rains, water comes gushing down the tiles, and it's mesmerizing. Very few people know about this little place of mine. It's not very easy to get to...
So let's just say that you actually make it up the stairs. You reach the landing. On the right, a very pink room with a chocolate floor. I once slept here. Now it houses my stage clothes, a Paint-By-Numbers Gallery, my great-grandmother Cobys' birdhouse & a small collection of erotic books.



I know, Pink!? I'm not usually the pink type. It's a strange thing. At the time i just decided that this room had to be pink. Afterwards i realized that this is the exact same color of the walls of the bedroom my mom & i shared at my grandparents house when i was little. The same goes for the unusual turqois color of my kitchenette. I didn't plan it that way, but this memory was somehow guiding my color choices...

In the kitchenette, a classic old-dutch sink, black & white tiles with a stone counter. Click on the photographs for a larger image.







But i've gotten ahead of myself. Before you get to the kitchenette, you enter the room left of the landing through a door with a chalkboard & bulletin board made of wine corks.

Right behind it are shelves full with nifty stuff like my 'Vincent Van Gogh Action Figure' given to me by my great buddy, Marlin Seal. The doll has two heads, a normal one and one with his head in a bandage and his ear cut off! On the wall, the pencil sharpener that hung in my Grandpa's shop for years.





Here, my little office. And yes, it was pretty damn difficult getting that desk up those stairs.
Did you notice that unusual little table across from my desk? It's a really old opticians table with a cast iron foot & wheels. It's incredibly practical. The round disk under the table turns to raise the table another two feet or so. Found this wonderful piece at the charity shop for 25euros. Practically everything in the room is a Flea Market or Charity Shop treasure.



And now for the cozy part! Holland is a chilly place so this room kind of revolves around this beautiful gas heater. It's the Cadillac of heating! This sucker is heavy as hell by the way. Took three guys to get this monster up two flights of death stairs....cursing and sweating all the way up.





And then there is the nook. Everyone should have a nook. This is where i read, draw, dream, stare at the stars, listen to the BBC4 or Radio Dismuke and everything is good with the world...or at least my world for the time. So, that was the tour of my favorite cozy place. I'm sure i'm the only one that would think it's so special. It leaks, it is cold, the stairs will surely kill me one day but i love it so.