What if Steinbeck and Kerouac were drinking buddies? What if Lou Reed and Jacques Brel wrote songs together? What if the pop genius of the Beatles met the social activism of Woody Guthrie?
My first guitar was a Yamaha nylon string my parents bought me. I remember just plucking the open strings, marvelling at the vibrations .
Then came my first electric guitar, a Hondo, and my first band, the Dogz, Belgian punk at its finest.
Bands like The wicked witch is Dead, and the fabulous but short-lived Psycho Sye and the Bombers. Days spent living off the dole, hanging out with friends, and listening to the Wipers, Husker Du, Government Issue, GBH, the Stooges, Joy Division, Muta Baruka, Third World...
Born in Belgium, home of the nosedip, I flew the coockoo's nest as soon as I could, landing with a thud in the mean streets of New York City.
Became a squatter in the Lower East Side. I lived in the infamous 13th street squats. Future moviestar Rosario Dawson grew up in a squat across the street.
Worked as a recycler, day laborer, sculptor assistant, construction worker, mover, sold books on Astor Place, played music in the subway, etc etc
Took a Greyhound bus down south to escape freezing New york winters, hobo'ing through Atlanta, Mobile, the Florida panhandle, Austin, but spent most of my time in New Orleans, eking out a living as street musician.
Released my first cassette, Songs from Planet B, a lo fi mix of surf, sci fi and lounge. Played in clubs all over the Lower East side in a variety of bands and musical styles, with names like Railroad Jerk, the East Side Bandits, Gunshot Head and Lake.
Got evicted with fellow squatters by an army of cops in riot gear in a three hour long stand off. Married beautiful wife Victoria and raised a son Joshua. Released an EP of Christmas songs called Christmas Day. Played guitar with punk-lounge outfit Piker Ryan's Folly with whom I released an EP Lowlife and a live CD Bowery Blues, recorded live at famous CBGB's
Left NYC for New Orleans, to escape the two headed monster of gentrification and mayor Adolph Giuliani ( don't vote for him!) Before leaving recorded my first full length, A Man...A Mood...A Guitar.
Recorded an EP with Tremoflex9000, with whom a full length CD is in the works (see below!)
In august '05 hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. The shitty levees built by the Army Corps of Engineers failed, flooding New Orleans and scattering neworleanians all over the country.
For two years I commuted betweenAustin, TX and the Big Easy untill finally settling in Austin. Working on a movie script about post-K New Orleans, tentatively called After the Storm.
Finishing up a new CD called 11.
Who knows what the future will bring?
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anyway!
