I'm one half of the duo, The Uke Box together with Marko van der Horst. I sing, play the Ukulele, have gotten pretty handy at the Singing Saw, and i'm a bad ass on the Washtub Bass : ). We perform internationally, host 'The Ukulele Jamboree' in Rotterdam and are the founders of 'The Big Damn Ukulele Band'
Music is also the greatest inspiration for my other art & craft passions such as Cigarbox Instrument Construction, Graphic Design, Painting and All-Round Tinkering.
This blog is my little showroom where i display my work and present various projects with personal items of interest thrown in between. I hope you enjoy your visit. If you like what you are reading, seeing and/or hearing here and are interested in employing my talents or just have something to share, i would love to hear from you.
Was the Ukulele Jamboree, presented by myself and Marko van der Horst, a humdinger of a party? Oh HELL YES!!! The ROTABS was a fantastic venue and we packed the house. More than one hundred ukulele enthousiasts came from every corner of Holland and beyond... Italy, Belgium, Austria, France. Really amazing.
Many thanks to:
Yan Yalego from Marseille for his incredible performance, Jurgen Dorrenboom for the super cool 'Party Crasher' review in the entertainment magazine 'NL10' (see below), Paul Posse from ROTABS for being such a swell host, Alexandra Petschar for running The Jumping Flea Market, John for keeping everyone safe, Rene Verberne and Pieter van den Berg for filming the event, The Open Mic performers: Jyoti,Ukulelezaza, Alexandra, Mees, Thako and the super cool Italian dude who's name i unfortunately don't know (see dude holding the accoordeon in the photo below) and especially to all of the audience members and participants in the Ukulele Intervention. Y'all are great fun and we appreciate all of you tremendously!
Scariest Damn Ukulele's Ever...
"The Nightmare Before Christmas Ukulele' built by Dave Talsma with beautifully quilted case by SuzieQ from Michigan, 'Day of the Dead Ukulele' by David Lozeau, Haunted Hula Figurine by 'Wormwood Hollow", and a 'Jack-O-Lantern' Ukulele by Singer
On Friday the 22nd of October
between 7:30 & 9:00pm
‘The Uke Box’
will be playing at the amazing public artwork Grrr Jamming Squeak
Coolsingel 63
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Admission: FREE!
GRRR JAMMING SQUEAK is a completely equipped music- and recording studio where music is made, arranged and improvised with animal sounds.
In the studio there are also lovely lounging areas where you can relax while you listen to the music.
Come by and enjoy!
WOOF!
I had a the greatest dream. I was Lemmy's secretary. Yes, Lemmy, from Motorhead. Well, Lemmy had some big plans. He was getting ready to spend some time atop a mountain to figure out some earth changing idea he had...something involving recycling. Anyway, he wanted me to take some notes (this is where it gets good) so i pulled out a Moleskine notebook.
At the sight of my notebook, Lemmy lost his mind. He wasn't having any of that pussy-ass Moleskine crap. He insisted that i take notes in a Big Chief Tablet which he quickly acquired for me from the large supply he had in his back room. So i took notes in a Big Chief and life was good. And that was it. Isn't that cool?!! I hadn't thought of Big Chief Tablets in years. I have no idea where this all came from but i've felt really close to Lemmy ever since and a little bit of an asshole everytime i pull out my Moleskine. And, i really want a Big Chief Tablet.
The Ukulele Jamboree, which my partner Marko and I host, was amazing this past saturday. The venue at ROTABS worked really wonderfully and our star Yan Yalego from Marseille was AMAZING! We're still awaiting video footage and photographs from the evening but here he is at the Worthing Festival with Marko and Rene. A bit of a long introduction but be sure to catch his 'mouth trumpet' solo around 2:50... It's WOWZEE!
"I wouldn't give you two cents for all your fancy rules if behind them they didn't have a little bit of plain ordinary every day kindness and a little bit of lookin' out for the other fella too."
-Mr. Smith (Goes To Washington)
The Wukulele Festival (Ukulele Festival of Worthing) was this weekend and i was supposed to play there but...i never made it. It's a LONG story which i'll try to spare you but it began when the border patrol woman asked, "where are you going and why" and we told them, "We're going to play at a ukulele festival." Then looking at my passport she said, 'hmm, your American'... (this is where the problem started) "Pull over."
Anway, after fingerprinting, isolation room and interrogation... I was escorted from the terminal by the french police. Apparently, Illegal ukulele playing without a work permit is a one big fucking deal (possibly resulting in a 10,000 pound fine i was told) and strictly dealt with by the border patrol. Marko put me on a train in Belgium towards Rotterdam and then he went back to the Ferry and traveled to Worthing where he could still conduct the workshops and market even though our performance of course was cancelled. After a standing-room-only ride on the train from Antwerp i finally reached Rotterdam a bit stunned. I could say a lot about this incident but i'll keep it short. What i will say is that it was way over the top, unnecessary and a bit disturbing.
But, instead of dwelling on it... (I like to walk light in my shoes instead of trudging on their soles like one is apt to do after such a thing, i try to avoid that) Saturday morning, as a sort of anti venom, i watched two classic Frank Capra movies. And so i will conclude with these two amazing scenes...
from 'Mr. Smith Goes To Washington'
The term Outsider Art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for Art Brut (which literally translates as "Raw Art" or "Rough Art"), a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane asylum inmates.
While Dubuffet's term is quite specific, the English term "Outsider Art" is often applied more broadly, to include certain self-taught or Naïve art makers who were never institutionalized. Typically, those labeled as Outsider Artists have little or no contact with the institutions of the mainstream art world; in many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Much Outsider Art illustrates extreme mental states, unconventional ideas, or elaborate fantasy worlds.
Fishes For Atticus
Click with your mouse to feed them...they're very hungry!
“When I am in a painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc, because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.”
click & paint...click again to paint with a new color! Oh, and don't forget to chain smoke, drink heavily and fly into a rage while your doing it. Otherwise, it doesn't count!
