Guitar All Night Long: Duycker, Hoofddorp, Netherlands, 21 January 2017
Edwin Roosjen
When I read the title Guitar All Night Long it immediately grabbed my attention. The advert continued with "Duycker and Headway present an evening for progressive rock/guitar music". Ah, well, that must be addressed to me then. It was truly a home match because Duycker is in my residence. Just a five-minutes bus ride!
I had no idea what to expect. Guitar clinic? Master class? A progressive rock concert by someone who usually plays reggae? I just went in very open-minded. With a title Guitar All Night Long, what can go wrong?!
The first two clinics took place on a small stage in the venue. People attending were at the same height as the performer. It made it very informal, the situation was created so you could easily ask questions and interact with the guitar player.
Axe Hessel
Axe Hessel
First up was Axe Hessel, a guitar teacher at the music school just next to Duycker. He immediately told he was a bit the odd one out. He was not going to talk about playing fast or other extraordinary guitar technics. Instead, he focused mainly on the instrument itself and on songwriting/creativity.
He showed his guitar that was built by J.H.Geerdink, who was present this evening with a few guitars he built himself. It was interesting to hear Axe tell about his approach to guitar playing and music writing. He told how his sessions worked when he was writing music with other people, working with a laptop, and the fact that when he finally has all his stuff set up and is ready to play, that some other people have already lost their moment of inspiration. Axe considers himself a team player, and that means dealing with those circumstances.
He played a couple of tunes, mainly improvisation, with support by his laptop. He already stated the sounds were not completely to his liking. He knows how to use music software, but he clearly likes it better to play with real people.
Marc Meesters
Marc Meesters
The second guitar clinic was by Marc Meesters. He plays in a couple of bands, Lesoir, Fallen One, Scarescone, Faith Healer, and the tribute band Gunz 'N Roses. He is now also working on a project with Dennis Leeflang, and if I heard him correctly there will be a guest appearance by Bumblefoot.
I had never heard of Bumblefoot. I had heard of another guitarist with a similar name Buckethead, and to my surprise I learnt that Bumblefoot had replaced Buckethead in Guns N' Roses. Somehow I missed all about Bumblefoot, but for sure I will be checking out some of his music now.
Marc Meesters did more playing than talking, but he was open for questions. He plays Vigier guitars and he explained why. His guitars have a flat neck so they are easier to play. It also means that other "normal" guitars with a curved neck are harder for him to play. Amongst other guitar players who play Vigier guitars are of course Bumblefoot and Buckethead but also Guthrie Govan and Geezer Butler.
Marc Meesters
Meesters also mentioned Shawn Lane as an inspiration. The easy playing flat necked Vigier was pleasant for Shawn because at the end of his life he had pain and stiffness in his joints due to illness. A grabbing story. More music to check out.
Marc used a tablet to control a background of music. He clearly had more experience with programming music on a computer, and had created some nice background tracks where he could show his guitar skills. He played some instrumental songs he composed himself. Heavy guitar orientated rock, technical stuff and fitting for a guitar clinic. He also had another guitar, also Vigier but this time fretless, and with an impressive sound.
Marc did more playing and less talking, but during his talks he explained enough about where he got his inspiration. I heard some new interesting stuff to check out, more homework. During his playing he sure showed his skills, if he is playing with some of his bands in your vicinity be sure to check him out.
Mattias Ia Eklundh
It was time for the masterclass by Mattias Ia Eklundh from Sweden. He plays with the band Freak Kitchen but is also part of many other projects. He is also known for his masterclasses and his Freak Guitar Camp, two weeks in the woods of Sweden playing guitar and talking about music. That sounds like a great experience.
Within ten minutes he already talked more and played more than the two guitar players before him. He was on the main stage on a chair with besides him a chair for his mobile phone through which he controlled the background music. So we started out with a laptop, then a tablet, and now a mobile phone. A bit strange, but I must say the sound was superb.
Mattias Ia Eklundh
This is a big compliment for the sound technicians in Duycker. The sound was excellent, which at Duycker is common. Mattias made some jokes about the amplifier. He played on a huge Marshall amplifier that would make any guitar player jealous. He usually plays Laney amplifiers so the great Marshall amp was topic of many jokes.
Mattias brought an eight-string guitar build by Caparison. The guitar had true temperament frets, the frets were not straight but curvy. It makes each note along the neck of the guitar more accurate. There are some interesting websites about true temperament frets and I advise guitar players to check them out, very interesting approach to really get your guitar sounding perfect.
Mattias plays some great guitar, but he is also one hell of a talker. The words came out of his mouth as easy as notes from his guitar. Constantly joking around about anything, his freshly washed hair, Nick and Simon, Indian food and of course the "terrible" Marshall amplifier.
Mattias Ia Eklundh
Indian music is a big inspiration to Mattias. He explained the theory about the complex rhythms in math-rock and art-metal. He used an approach he learned in India, and he started clapping and making rhythm sounds even with his mouth on his guitar. And then we were all clapping and yelling "Dah", "Tji Bah Dah" or something sounding like that. During one of his performances during his guitar piece he sang the rhythm sounds that he used to compose the complex music. He told us it was not difficult at all, but during a clapping session he pointed some persons that were clearly losing track of time. He explained that losing track of time is the worst that can happen. You may lose the rhythm but never lose the time.
Mattias is very inspiring and a very funny guy. He was easy to approach, people could play his guitar, you could try out his eight string monster with the awkward frets. It was an experience I will never forget.
Junk Dilemma's Tvan van Gerven
Junk Dilemma
When updating the article for the new layout, the band Junk Dilemma no longer seems to exist or at least not with an active online presence. The above links are for Tvan van Gerven, but it has to said there is a Junk Dilemma album available from Van Gerven's Bandcamp page.
Last on the list was a concert by Junk Dilemma. After some googling I discovered that Junk Dilemma is a project by Dutch guitar player Twan van Gerven. He is known for playing with Beef!, a Dutch reggae band, and Kenny B, a well known Dutch reggae singer.
I read this before the show and I really wondered what he was going to play on progressive rock guitar night. I really like the band Beef! though. Their music is mainly reggae which is usually not my cup of tea, but for some reason I just like their music.
Twan van Gerven explained that a couple of years ago he tried to make an instrumental album, but he could not find a record company that wanted to publish his music. The Beef! record company was of course not interested, since they were doing reggae. Twan recorded his music and put in on iTunes. The music is a jazz/rock fusion, and influences by Zappa can surely be found.
Junk Dilemma
Because it was a guitar evening, Twan explained something about his guitar and about the origin of his music. The first three performers of the evening had digital equipment to support their performance, but Twan had a whole band behind him, and in front of him a huge array of analogue effects. It takes some more effort to get the sound you want, but these analogue effects sure sound a lot better than the digital equipment.
He had to tune his guitar regularly, almost after every song. It gave him the opportunity to talk a bit about his music. Not as much as during the clinics, but it was nice to hear some background about the music. The atmosphere was very relaxed, lots of interaction with the audience. Some of them might have been family or former band members, but it gave the concert a very relaxed atmosphere.
Conclusion
I did not know what to expect and I had a great evening! Hearing good music and discussing guitar playing in a very relaxed atmosphere. The two clinics were very interesting and the masterclass by Mattias Ia Eklundh was as interesting as it was hilarious. What a guy, very fun to watch and very interesting insight in his music. Junk Dilemma had a tough job because everyone was overwhelmed by Mattias, but Twan van Gerven and band succeeded in making it a remarkable evening. Duycker organized a very interesting evening and as always the sound was perfect.
