Schotje's Audio Archives

As soon as we leave the city where I work. Zwolle, we drive through rural country with a lot of farms and meadows. In the old days there were a lot of cows grazing in the grass. This spring I’ve counted the cows and I didn’t see more then four… Four cows during a thirty kilometer drive! What happened to OUR cows. Where do the farmers hide them? And for what purpose? I’ve seen more swans then cows. It used to be the pride of Holland. Beautiful and healthy black & white cows. They’ve all disappeared! Dear farmers, we want our cows back!

Long live the cows!!! <!– WriteFlash('’); //–>

My all-time favourite “Herman van Veen” song, but this time in an english version…

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In the early seventies most folk music was played on the traditional acoustic instruments. Farmer’s Union, together with another dutch folk band Fungus, decided to go electric…

Both Fungus and Farmer’s Union were orientated on english folkbands like Pentangle and Fairport Convention. Their songs were a mix of own compositions and traditional’s like the featured “Omie Wise”. Fungus asked Sido Martens to join them and they switched from english to dutch songs and became highly succesful with folksongs like “Kaapren varen“. Farmer’s Union split up and emerged in “Irolt” and solo careers for Pete Cox, Liedwien Schaper and later on also Sido Martens.

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One of my favorite (dutch language) albums is an album made by Hans Zilver. He combined the text of dutch poems with some wonderful music. The song I love most is called “Voor de verre prinses” and it has the lyrics of J.J. Slauerhoff (1898 – 1936).

Voor de verre prinses

Wij komen nooit meer saam:
De wereld drong zich tusschenbeide.
Soms staan wij beiden ‘s nachts aan ‘t raam,
Maar andre sterren zien we in andre tijden.

Uw land is zoo ver van mijn land verwijderd:
Van licht tot verste duisternis – dat ik
Op vleuglen van verlangen rustloos reizend,
U zou begroeten met mijn stervenssnik.

Maar als het waar is dat door groote droomen
Het zwaarst verlangen over wordt gebracht
Tot op de verste ster: dan zal ik komen,
Dan zal ik komen, iedren nacht.

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Cristina Branca also used the lyrics for a beautiful Fado version: A una princesa distante.<!– WriteFlash('’); //–>

A uma princesa distante

(J.Slauerhoff – Custódio Castelo)

Jamais voltaremos a ver-nos,
Entre nós dois há um mundo pelo meio.
Por vezes, de noite, à janela nos detemos
Mas são outras as estrelas que vemos…
Doutros tempos o enleio.

É tão longínquo o vosso país do meu:
Como a luz da mais funda escuridão – tão distante –
Que viajando sem parar nas asas do desejo, eu
Vos saudaria num suspiro agonizante.

Porém, se for verdade,
Que sonhando o impossível,
Se leva o maior dos anseios
À estrela mais intangível:
Então eu voltarei,
Voltarei todas as noites…
De saudade.

English Translation of the poem
(thanks to Branko)

Now we will never meet again;
The world shouldered itself between us.
Sometimes at night we both look out the window,
But different stars we see in different times.

Your land is so far removed from mine:
From light to farthest darkness—that I
Travelling restlessly on wings of desire,
Would greet you with my dying breath.

But if it is true that the strongest desire
Is carried to the farthest star by great dreams:
Then I will come,
Then I will come, every night.

Back in 1986 I recorded a program called “Bluessurvivors”. It was broadcasted by a German TV station called WDR and the host of the show was a favorite bluesman of mine in those days: Nick Gravenites. Also footage of legendary “Quicksilver” guitarist John Cipollina and original bluesman John Lee Hooker playing some mean guitar. But the song that really struck me was the Willie Murphy song. It swings like hell, and the complete horn-section disappeared in the public… Willie Murphy is most prominently known for leading Willie and the Bees, a classic, swaggering, horn-heavy outfit that regaled sweaty hordes on the Midwest bar circuit with smoking R&B, jazz, blues, and rock throughout the 1970s and early ’80s. More than 25 years old it still is worth looking at. Unfortunately the audio has lost a lot of it’s quality but i hope you will like it anyway; dance away!

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Willie Murphy and the Bees

In 1991 psychedelic gitarist Henry Kaiser and folk musician David Lindley visited the island Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, about 250 miles off the eastcoast of Afrika. Parted from the mainland 160 million years ago. The majority of the people is very poor but nature has an overwhelming richness of unique animals and tree sorts… In culture and language influences of three contignents melt together.

Within two weeks of recording time there was enough material to fill five albums. I’ve bought the first two volumes of “A World out of Time” and now, nearly twenty years later, i have a chance to see my favorite band of these two albums live in concert…

it’s Sammy’s Band, or in madagascarian words: Tarika Sammy, and they come to play at the Parkgebouw in Rijssen. I’ve bought immediately a ticket and will visit the concert on 21 april, armed with my photocam and audio-recording device, looking forward to it! To get in the mood you can listen to my favorite song of them on A World Out of Time 1: “Hana“

It doesn’t happen that much but in the eigties, or was it the nineties, dutch tv did a program on the Grateful Dead. Rapido was broadcasted by the VARA and lasted two seasons (?) The item is only seven minutes long…

Just once in a while there is such a special moment. Driving to, or from work, and listening to the radio… A song grabs your attention, might even get goosebumbs on your arm. Now look around for a piece of paper and a pencil so you can write down the title of the song or the performer. And damn those DJ’s who never mention the songtitle just when you need it so hard.

This week it happened two times. With the first song I did’n get any specifics. With the second song I managed to write down the title: “I could even grow a moustache for you” Very original and powerful song. First thought was that this was music from an original black american bluesman. Once at home immediately got the laptop and looked for the song on Amazon and Google. Couldn’t find it but ended up with this link … <!– WriteFlash('’); //–>

During the search for the Daniel Norgren song I stumbled upon Villa VPRO and found the lost first song! Cover of the record and the lyrics look a bit depressive but the music of “I don’t Feel it anymore” is so beautiful in its simplicity!

Let’s go to the attick, or to the cellar, maybe even to the barn. Just walk to the place where that old record collection of yours is tucked away… Now look around, there just might be a album cover that is perfect for a “Sleeveface” picture! Offcourse we tried it ourselves. Janneke has used the cover of a “Mott the Hoople” album and me, myself and I used the cover of Mick Farren’s solo album: “Vampires stole my lunch money”

Link to: Sleeveface

OK, not even one Grateful Dead song, no “In memory of Elizabeth Reed”, but what a concert! Warren Haynes and his gang came all the way to my hometown for this concert. Two sets, a drum solo and two encores did make this a special concert.

The volume was sometimes a little bit too high for a small club like De Lantaarn, especially on the heavy songs like I’m A Ram and Thorazine Shuffle but a solid base of driven bass/drum gave guitarist Warren Haynes and the Hohner keyboard player the chance for some beautiful improvisations….

Compliments for “De Lantaarn”. It’s just three weeks ago that guitar legend Peter Green visited this club, and now we’ve seen this powerhouse band Gov’t Mule! SOULSHINE!!!

Five YouTube video-clips were made with Janneke’s Kodak photocamera and the audio was recorded with a Zoom H2 Audio recorder.

1.) Rocking Horse 2.) Bus Stop 3.) Since I’ve been loving you 4.) Drum Solo 5.) Gonna send you back to Georgia.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries%3Flist%3DPL324A2662EC3A55BC%26hl%3Dnl_NL

Tim Hardin – If I Knew

Tim Hardin is well known for gems like “If I were a carpenter” and “Hang on to a dream” but now it’s time to relax, get comfortable on the sofa, turn up the volume and listen to this song. What a voice and what an emotion! “I believe, I believe I could hold back my crying” but that’s hard to do with this music…

I don’t wanna know (John Martyn)

From the VHS archives of schotje himself. A beautiful song of the late great John Martyn performed by Richie Havens & Band. Amazing, how this man can make songs of other artists his own. This live video-clip is from the “Ohne Filter” german TV broadcast, 1987.

On a rainy night in October 2009 on the bicycle to the concert of Mr. Peter Green and his band in the local club De Lantaarn in Hellendoorn, NL. At 20.15 hours there was already a large group of older young people waiting for the entrance. The doors opened at 20.30 and first thing to do was to buy some coins for that tasty Hertog Jan beer. In the mean time the roady was preparing mr. green’s guitars.

It was a fine concert! It’s a good thing to see Peter Green back in concert after such a long period of up’s and down’s. Lyrics were read from the paper but the guitar playing was very good. This man still shoot arrows right at the heart. The rhythm guitarist tried to get some stories from the old days but Mr. Green was focused on the music and not in the mood for small talk…

The band came back for one encore: ‘Black Magic Woman’ and then the party was over. The roadies had to pack the equipment in the black van for a next concert at the ‘Bosuil’. And schotje has already bought a ticket for the next concert in de Lantaarn: Govn’t Mule!

You Tube movies of this concert were filmed with my daughter’s Kodak 10 Megapixel camera and a Zoom H2 Microphone was used for the audio.

1.) Albatross 2.) Dark end of the street 3.) Black Magic Woman.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries%3Flist%3DPLF3D7FFA8BAAA40AB%26hl%3Dnl_NL

After nearly 40 years of collecting vinyl albums, rock books and magazines, it’s about time Schotje get’s his own music blog. The music and articles posted here won’t be for everyone’s taste. in fact, it’s quite possible that only few people will appreciate the strange sounds that will be posted here… That’s okay. Music is love!