Column Gino Vannelli: The Dutchbeat

Got last year’s North Sea on my mind. They tell me hundreds were turned away at the door owing to no vacancy in the house. Not terribly bad news for those standing under the hot lights. But more than a full house and big rounds, what remains loudest and clearest to me are the few telling moments of exchange between those of us hammering out the notes and those watching and listening while the hammers were swinging.

Foisting new songs on an audience is one sure way of wearing your welcome out. Course, most audiences will offer a cup of kindness by patiently sitting through never before heard songs, usually responding with courteous taps, and mild yea’s, usually cutting off like a bad edit, three or four seconds tops. (One too many unknowns could mean early curtains) Against all advice, last year I decided to introduce four or five new tunes. Risky, according to one of the first etched-in-stone showbiz commandments, but the impulse (and L’Enfant terrible in me) was just too much to resist. Well, the short of it is, people took real interest, offering me so much needed feedback on what the Muses had recently fed me while living in the Lowlands. Just the expressions on faces were enough for me to know Calliope and Cleo had indeed been kind.

Honored I am to be invited to play North Sea again this year – still one of the best fests in the world. I look forward to hitting the stage and taking the wraps off of what I have been busy recording in Portland for the last six months. And what better than to share the spotlight with those who have traveled to the west coast and played on the new record, considered some of Holland’s finest: Bert van den Brink, Karel Boelee, Hans van Oosterhout, Theo de Jong, Erik Rutjes, Jeroen de Rijk, to name a few.  (Gonna try to keep the mystery guest under wraps till the concert) Brother Ross is working on his Dutch as well. He will fly from LA to engineer the sound.

In regards to whom to catch at the North Sea: Brad Mehldau, Bobby McFerrin, Christian McBride, Michel Camilo, are sure to take you to regions of the soul infrequently visited, but because I'll have my hands full with myself, I'll opt to just sit in the Amazon, close my eyes and dream away with Pat, Herbie and Wayne, (with snacks in between) till it's my turn.

Gino Vannelli