200 Years Dutch kingdom event

200 Years Dutch kingdom event

26th September How cool is this! I had been invited by my good friend and master drummer Lucas van Merwijk to participate in a composition he wrote for the celebration event of 200 years of Dutch Kingdom. The composition had to be played with 25 drummers. Now what is really cool is that I invited a former student of mine to also join us and she on her turn invited one of her students, so there we were, three generations of drummers studying the piece toghether and getting ready to perform for the Dutch king and queen on live TV. I guided a group of 5 young drummers, two where only 15 years old! I cant descripe how proud I am of my little group of drummers, how hard they studied on this complex piece and how they nailed it! The performance was set on a schaffolding built over the famous Magere Brug in the centre of Amsterdam. Together with many famous Dutch artists we were a part of this huge production and I must add that I’m honoured to have had been part of it, thanks to Lucas and all the other drumming friends. Click this LINK to see the...
Drums United Germany tour 24-27 Apr. 2013

Drums United Germany tour 24-27 Apr. 2013

Being on the road with Drums United again, was some I’ve been looking forward to do again, as we haven’t toured for a while. We had to drive all the way to the South of Germany, a few km’s from the Swiss border. Bulu and I left Luca’s place at about 11:00 to pick up our light tech along the road and then drive for another 8 hours before arriving at the hotel in Reutlingen. After checking in, all e had to do was follow Bulu to lead us to a Chinese restaurant. How he does it, we don’t know, I’m not sure he even knows himself, but he always manages to find a Chinese restaurant near the venue! The next day after my morning jog, breakfast and some chilling out, we were off to the theater, which turned out to be a club with a very small stage. Some improvisation was needed to fit all the instruments and still leave some space for the musicians to move around. The show was good, not to many people in the audience, but as usual they were very enthusiastic and an overwhelming applause on the final song made the musicians return for an encore twice. Something I haven’t experienced with this band before. The next day, we had another two hour drive to Waldshut-Tiengen, which was even further South, close to Basel, Switzerland. It was quite a big hall, also used as a sporting facility, so there was no lighting ar audio equipment available. This had to come all the way from Holland which gave us a lot of stress as...

Drums United Luxemburg 10-6-2012

Again a show with master drummer Lucas van Merwijk and his band Drums United. This time it was off to Luxemburg. It has been a while since I toured with them as stagehand, so I was looking forward to hanging out with the guys once again. Bulu and I went ahead in the van as usual and had a great time talking about our passion, music, studio’s and sound techniques. As usual the audience were treated with a show that takes them across the world of percussion in such an energetic way that only these musicians can provide. Man it’s great to be part of this!Again a show with master drummer Lucas van Merwijk and his band Drums United. This time it was off to Luxemburg. It has been a while since I toured with them as stagehand, so I was looking forward to hanging out with the guys once again. Bulu and I went ahead in the van as usual and had a great time talking about our passion, music, studio’s and sound techniques. As usual the audience were treated with a show that takes them across the world of percussion in such an energetic way that only these musicians can provide. Man it’s great to be part of...

Drums United with Misirli Ahmed

April 27 and 28 Two Drums United concerts in a row! Lucas invited a guest, Misirli Ahmed from Instanbul, Turkey. This man is a true master on darbuka, a percussion instrument from the Middle East, mainly Egypt, but also this instrument is used as widely as from Turkey to Iran. Anyway the tecniques this man uses on this instrument is like magic! It’s not often that one sees this speed and still the groove stays, but Misirli Ahmed has it all! I could advise you to check this YouTube fragment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqb2cySEpZk Of course combined with the other great musicians in Drums United, it turned out to be a mind blowing concert on both evenings. On Friday Niti Ranjan Biswas was representing the Eastern instruments and on Saturday Afra Mussawisade took on the stage. It was hard work, but worth every minute hanging out with the guys again. There’s always lots of humor and excellent craftsmanship. What more could you wish for, especially when you have your camera ready to capture the moment… April 27 and 28 Two Drums United concerts in a row! Lucas invited a guest, Misirli Ahmed from Instanbul, Turkey. This man is a true master on darbuka, a percussion instrument from the Middle East, mainly Egypt, but also this instrument is used as widely as from Turkey to Iran. Anyway the tecniques this man uses on this instrument is like magic! It’s not often that one sees this speed and still the groove stays, but Misirli Ahmed has it all! I could advise you to check this YouTube fragment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqb2cySEpZk Of course combined with the other...

Drums United

Saturday 21st April It’s been a while since I joined Drums United as a stage tech for a concert in the Netherlands. Due to tax raises and funding cuts in the theatres, the budget for these kind of productions became minimal, so Tam Tam productions had to find other ways to have the stage built. In the other European countries I’m still the one to do the job, in Holland they are forced to use interns to do it. Well now there was no one available, so I was called in again. I must say I really missed the “family”. It was really nice hanging out with the guys again. Off course building the stage and breaking it down after the show is no ride in the park. It’s hard work, but worth it as the show always stands for quality and the audience just loves it. It was also nice driving there with my friend and sountech Bulu who is also a great percussionist. We had a lot to talk and laugh about. Of course you are always home late, as for me I was home at 1:30 at night with a tired, but fullfilling feeling. So good to be in the music scene in different disciplines and people from all over the world. I feel blessed… During the show I have plenty of time to take photo’s and also I have the privelage to go backstage and take pictures from behond the stage, this can result in some exclusive pics. In the near future there will be a lot of pictures displayed on my shop:robtix@sjootz.nl. Feel free...

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