Stuurbaard Bakkebaard

I The music

1) Filthy pop
2) Far from perfect
3) Never smooth. Rough around the edges
4) Throw a groove in here and there, albeit a strange one
5) Comparisons? Difficult to find - Tom Wait’s great grandfather perhaps? Or a long lost
cousin of Tom Barman? An estranged in-law of G-Love?
6) Theme? Line? Concept? Idea?
7) Aaaaah!
8) Impulsive but no ‘noodling’ - that’s for jazz sycophants. And no ‘improvisation’
– that’s for conservatorium students.
9) In your face, rugged but intelligent (just)
10)Atmosphere? Nightclub. One of those sleazy red-light district arrangements.
The bar man has a missing front-tooth and the door guy has only got three fingers
on his left hand.

II The hard facts

1996: Stuurbaard Bakkebaard – or rather, the as-yet nameless duo of Onno Kortland and Timo van Veen play at weddings, parties, anywhere. Did they have a repertoire for that kind of work? No – they just made shit up-on the spot.

1997: Drummer Marc Koppen joins. This ain’t a duo anymore – apparently it’s a band. More party gigs, weddings and even a funeral performance follows.

1998: Stuurbaard Bakkebaard manage to bring a concert audience in Weert (the Netherlands) to a state of ecstasy. And this had absolutely nothing to do with the old black & white 70’s porn films that were being projected behind them during their gig.

1999: The band goes abroad. Paris actually. They have tour t-shirts printed for this single show ‘European Tour’. Cafe boss wants them to play longer than the 30 minutes worth of material they have so they play the set 3 times. Everybody happy.

2000: Stuurbaard Bakkebaard appears on the scene in the Dutch club circuit (and under it). Learning the hard way, they discover that there’s no credit in door deals when only 4 people pay to get in. The cost of parking the band van is often more than what they earn but they soldier on courageously... everybody still happy.

2001: They get to play some support shows for De Kift (legendary Dutch alt pop/theatre group). And the gigs start coming – 75 in one year. The debut album gets recorded and they organise a cd-presentation gig. Problems with manufacturing plant reduce the evening to a “CD – cover presentation” gig, but never mind... everybody very happy as always.

2002: The CD itself is finally ready and Stuurbaard Bakkebaard re-presents the debut album at a release party in De Brakke Grond Theatre in Amsterdam. It’s all DIY at this stage but Munich Records very quickly step in to take some of the weight off their
shoulders. The gig goes off! Onno gets a nose bleed during a trumpet solo. Its all happening now. Offers to play at the most prestigious festivals in the Netherlands start rolling in: Noorderslag, Motel Mozaïque, Crossing Border, Lowlands, Oerol. Ecstasy!

2003: Stuurbaard Bakkebaard record & mix their 2nd album ‘Mercedes’ in six long, long days. The live- feel of the band is central here with the majority of the songs on the album being conjured up on the spot during the sessions. An extensive tour of the club
circuit follows. They fill the Melkweg (Amsterdam), Ekko (Utrecht) and sell out Rotown (Rotterdam). They also return to the Oerol festival, open for Johnny Dowd in AB in Brussels and play the prestigious De Nachten festival in Antwerp.

2004: The band is asked to do support shows for the enormously popular Kaizers Orchestra and gets programmed on the Gentse Feesten and the Dour-festival in Belgium. In the fall they head off to South Africa where they play festivals, full rooms, empty rooms, bus-stops and a township gig – somehow finding time to prepare for their 3rd album ‘Whistle Dixie’ as well.

2005: ‘Whistle Dixie’ gets released in May. Stuurbaard Bakkebaard do the support shows in the Netherlands for the G-Love & Special Sauce tour and get invited to appear at the Popup Musikmesse in Leipzig (Germany). The Queen’s been at it for 25 years in Holland. It’s May the 1st and it’s 28,5 degrees. Not a bad year so far.

III The experts

“Stuurbaard Bakkebaard really were the surprise of the evening. The trio combined elements of blues, rock-n-roll and chanson, throwing a handful of strange sounds in here and there and delivering it all with lovely sort of messiness.”
(Algemeen Dagblad about Stuurbaard Bakkebaard at the Noorderslag Festival)

“It has taken Stuurbaard Bakkebaard just 6 days to concoct a wonderful brew of intense, organic sounding music”
(de Volkskrant about the album Mercedes)

“...the entire album is adventurously and passionately played. The instrumentation is down-home but it doesn’t let you go once you’ve heard it.”
(de Volkskrant about the debut album Chuck)

“I was privileged to witness Holland’s Stuurbaard Bakkebaard, one of the most innovative and eclectic bands I have yet seen.”
(South African newspaper The Star)

“The result is a grimy sound akin to what we’ve heard in the music of people like Captain Beefheart, Tom Waits and blues-rapper G. Love... a thoroughly unique album.”
(Het Parool about the debut album Chuck)

“The recipe for a Stuurbaard Bakkebaard CD is as simple as it is genius. Every attempt at copying these guys is doomed to failure.”
(Music Magazine Fret about Mercedes...)

“Sweet, loud and danceable but never at the same time. Calexico meets Zita Swoon, but then in an incomparable Stuurbaard Bakkebaard style that defies categorizing.”
(...and a live review)

“Stuurbaard Bakkebaard grooves, side swipes, sweats and evokes tears with a lived-through mix of estranged, crazy and tragic
songs...”
(Music Magazine LiveXS)

“the most bizarre band of the Noorderslag festival by miles. And not just in terms of
theatrics – purely on vocal and musical performance as well.”
(OOR Music magazine)

In 2006, "Whistle Dixie" has been released in GAS-area and the band has toured Germany, Austria and Switzerland succesfully. They have also played their first French gig at Transmusicales de Rennes, which has been live broadcasted by several EBU-partners. In 2007, they will play some special shows with BEUKORKEST, a 15-piece musical ensemble with a huge collage of instruments, genres, instruments and vocalists, featuring Dutch artists like Rik van Iersel, André Manuel and Def P, as well as Johnny Dowd and Bart Maris (dEUS, Zita Swoon). We also expect a new studio-album, due to release in fall.

Photo: Martijn Zuidweg

www.myspace.com/stuurbaardbakkebaard