Billy Goodman: News

That was one colorful cast of characters backstage at the Melkweg last night. Here I was listening to stories by Paul Kantner, Gary Duncan and David Freiberg, all in a good mood. They sounded great and invited me up for the encore. I got to sing "Volunteers of America". That was a big song from my teenage years so I was pretty blown away.

My gig at the Cafe Belgique' was fun. It's a great but tiny place to play original music in the heart of Amsterdam. The Jefferson Starship and Quicksilver Messenger Service are coming to town. I know a bunch of these guys from working with them in the 80's so it's gonna be good fun seeing them again. I'll check back with more about these two classic San Francisco Bay Area bands.

I just rented an acoustic guitar for tomorrows gig at a very cool music store here in Amsterdam. He's got all the crazy European electric guitars from the 60s and 70s. A slide guitarists dream.
http://www.deplug.nl/

It's the singer, not the song.
Long live Shane MacGowan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVUZuVZWHkk

I found one of those cool Amsterdam rooms I was mentioning. This one has the music permit and would like me to play a show in November. I don't think I've ever played a pub quite so tiny before. It is really cool though. Check it out. They have a 36 0 degree viewer at this link.

http://www.cafe-belgique.nl/html/About%20Belgique.html

We got some good playing and recording done yesterday. These two young guys really listen and play very well. Check them out on their websites. I'll be getting back together with them soon and we'll go book a gig or two.

http://www.myspace.com/rasmusnissen

http://www.myspace.com/martinhiltawski

There are so many fantastic rooms for a solo artist to play here in Amsterdam. Beautiful old wooden floors, high ceilings, steeped in atmosphere. There's only one problem. You need as "live music" license. It's heartbreaking. I guess they're pretty hard to get. Nothing's easy to get in Europe. I did come across this one cool cafe that had jazz on a Sunday afternoon and the two young guys on guitar and stand up bass were really playing good. We struck up a conversation and I'll be meeting
them tomorrow afternoon for a jam session. Maybe I can play a few of my new tunes with them at the cafe this Sunday. I would like that.

It was a beautiful day today here in Amsterdam. The city really knocks me out and the weather is holding out. You won't find a better place for reading and writing. I feel good about the songs I've finished since i've been here. Last count is six.

Praise the Lord I found a darn good Indonesian take out restaurant hidden right near my house that serves food so hot it will blow your brains out and at a price that even a folk musician could handle. The things that make me happy. I've been housesitting a beautiful place on the Keizersgracht in the Jordaan district of Amsterdam. It's right around the corner from the Anne Frank House, the little girl whose love set the world on fire and humbles millions annually.
The town is so rare in so many ways that i couldn't resist taking the opportunity to stay for a while. As everyone knows, a guy could get in a lot of trouble here so I'm writing songs for a new release and enjoying the last of the autumn weather on an old Dutch bicycle. Like that's gonna work.

I'm sitting in the kitchen of my brother Jon's apartment in Amsterdam with my old friend Steve Kimock talking about our recent Germany tour. We played the six shows in the Black Forest and Bavaria and each one of them was honestly special. The fact that i forgot to arrange for hot water or internet in the traditional Black Forest hut we were staying in was also special but that's another story.
The band will never forget their trip, I guarantee that. However, we all had such a great time and the shows were all excellent situations thanks to Hajo and Moni Lorenz and Hans and Ruth Sichart, not to mention many others. Thank you all so much.

August in Philly. Just like i remember it. haha. You could say it's pretty warm out there. The work continues. I hear the boys downstairs writing a new song. I'll be flying back to Germany in a week or so. We've been back up at Steve Kimock's house recording again. Like I said, work continues but it's a mighty hot !

The Twins and I spent many hours jamming and recording with Steve Kimock last night and today. They just went back to Philly on the bus with a CD full of Steve Kimock playing their songs with them. Needless to say, it sounds pretty cool. Steve likes them a lot and recognizes their talent. We'll take a break tonight and then Steve and I will start rehearsing for the German tour tomorrow morning along with Steve's son John on drums and Trevor Exter on bass.

Dave Uosikkinen stayed with us last week to do some playing with the twins. Dave is the drummer for the Hooters and has years of hard earned experience. He played in front of 130,000 people last week in Mannheim, Germany but still managed to give the boys 100 percent of his attention. It was a real eye opener for me to see and hear them play with a stadium rock drummer. I do believe these boys got it in them.
We're all going up to Steve Kimock's tomorrow. That ought to be good. Thanks Dave !

I guess you can't have too many good songs but today we had to spend a couple of bucks and purchase the new zoom H4n digital recorder so we don't lose track. It's a really cool machine and worth checking out if you're writing songs and trying to get them recorded fast. The boys starting playing out in Philadelphia last night with a cool young drummer. I'll get back to that later with more details.
My buddy Peter Fritz came down from Bethlehem with his upright bass and we started rehearsing for some duo shows in the area. It's hot,it's muggy, it's New Jersey but the pool and the grill in the back yard are mighty.

Back in Philadelphia. I just picked up the Twins at the Newark airport and we immediately went to Vito's for the cheesesteak and the perfect slice of pizza. First things first.

I flew over to Holland last week to bring several movie cameras over to my brother Jon who is here writing a screenplay. This is one crazy place and if the sun comes out it's really going to get crazy.

Memorial Day barbecue at the Kimocks and that's good news because Frau Kimock always throws down a big spread. We'll have a rehearsal for the Germany tour later on tonight. The Twins went home to visit for a few weeks. Their demo sounds great and we're going to start on the next one as soon as they hit American soil.

We blew out of Miami a few weeks ago and are currently in Philadelphia. The Twins and I immediately went in to a recording studio upon arriving. We were very lucky to have Fran Smith of the Hooters and Steve Butler from Smash Palace record us and help us with the production of 4 original songs.
The mixing was completed yesterday and I should have the CD in my hands in a few days. What management does with this demo is not certain yet. It will either end up in the hands of a producer or record label. I'm glad that's not my part of the job. Recording was a blast. The boys are on fire and I played the drums !

What a great time we had last night.....Steve and I opened the night with a duo set and then the full band came out to play "Barbed Wire" and "Johnny Anonymous" with us. Steve's new lineup is really tight and played beautifully. I jumped onstage later in the night to play slide on "One for Brother Mike" and "Slow Down". It was just a great night all around.

It gets so humid down here, you feel like you're walking underwater. The Twins (we still haven't decided on a name yet) and I have been working hard writing, arranging, rehearsing and recording. It takes it out of you but we're exploring our possibilities while we have the time. Many good songs have been penned in the last 6 weeks.
I'll be opening for Steve Kimock at a cool venue in Fort Lauderdale on April 25th. I hear they finally have good weather in Germany. Man, that was a long winter.