Marc
At the age of 10 I got my first acoustic guitar. At secondary
school I gave it away and bought my first electric guitar. I
customized my record player for amplification. The first records
I bought were Wang Dang Doodle by Livin' Blues and the Who's
Live At Leeds.
In the autumn of 1971 I played my very first gig with my very
first band. We rehearsed and regularly performed at De Boerderij
in Geleen.
I borrowed an Egmond bass from a friend. In '72 I went from
playing the guitar to playing the bass. In '73 I bought my first
Fender, a red Musicmaster Bass. Later on I traded this guitar
for a second hand Fender Precision Bass.
In the mid 70's I was part of a trio. We composed our own
material. On and off I played guitar or bass, together with
a piano player and a drummer. We were also part of a nine-piece
folk band. With this band we managed to do a gig at the well
known Donkiesjot in Sittard.
During the late 70's I played in several bands in The Netherlands
and abroad. Mostly blues-rock and Top 40 covers. With one of
the blues-rock bands we warmed up for Livin' Blues. With the
Top 40 band I earned my very own money. We did a tour of British
and American army bases in Germany.
Although I pulled the plug of my bass at the start of the
80's. I never really stopped playing. I was just not part of
a band.
At the end of the 90's I joined a band with a female vocalist.
Me on guitar. We played material by the likes of Kate Bush,
Heather Nova, Sinéad O'Connor and Vaya Con Dios. I played in
numerous other bands but gig opportunities were scarce.
Eventually I met and old friend from school, with whom I had
been in a band in the 70's. He earned his money as a professional
musician. So, back to bass it was. We played "World Music".
We performed regularly and frequently in the strangest places.
After this experience I knew what my mission would be:
To play blues rock and to perform frequently! This meant being
on the lookout for 'soulmates'. Guys whose mission was to ROCK
ON!
In the meantime I have been playing with Beale Street since
2004. We've done lots of gigs, have had loads of fun. Good music.
We've passed the 125-gig-mark.
Hardware
- Bass guitars: exclusively 4-strings, no batteries
- Amplification: valves only & 15" speakers
- Effects: none
