BasBass

Hey y'all! I'm a Dutch bass player born when Jimi visited London first. Starting out with Queen, ACDC and VanHalen, soon discovering tons of hard rock and metal (which was brand new!) bands, I began volunteering at a local rock stage when I was fourteen, this is where I learned the ropes, from booking negotiations to designing and printing posters that I hang around town, to fill the place. This got easier after I brought in some good looking, rock loving girls. My elder brother had a punkrock band, Vömit, and I tried to make his acoustic guitar electric which didn't work so I bought someones home built electric guitar, built a couple myself, but learned already that it's easier to borrow a cheap guitar from a friend, which I did at age 18. I took blues guitar lessons at a music school for half a year, and some time later found a bass guitarist that I think is a great player, Walter Latupeirissa. He played with Dana Fuchs, Walter Trout, Snowy White and the likes. After I asked him if he wanted to teach me, he had to think for a while but called me and accepted me as his first student. These lessons were set up to teach me the feel. He worked on my fingering and timing and I'm still grateful for his energy. I started playing in bands around this time, and found out that I could fit in, even with my fretless first borrowed bass, an Egmond (obscure Dutch brand). When I moved to Amsterdam I found a live music bar, the Waterhole. There were good musicians leading jam sessions, and after some earwashing I was accepted in that scene. One of the bassplayers, Jeroen van Niele (Livingbluesxperience, rolling beat machine), I had asked to inform me if he would find a California hippie chick that plays music. In the warehouse of Rounder Records, where I was practicing with a Dutch band, I got his phone call telling me about Ilene, who I really should meet, she met my criteria. So I went to see her and we clicked, started living together and formed a band: the Freewheelers Cello Band, http://www.thefreewheelers.nl with which we've done thousands of gigs in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain and America. We're currently living on a big boat in the California delta near Stockton, doing blues cruises and shows all over the Central Valley. My playing style is rock oriented, with blues influence. I would say Jack Bruce is my greatest example, followed by Jaco, Geddy and Lemmy.