Ever since my youth I have been singing and playing music. At the age of 10 I received  my first recorder and on Christmass Eve 1977 my parents gave me my first guitar. In the summertime the whole family always went camping. While my parents stayed in the caravan watching television, my girlfriend and I where playing our hearts out on the guitars. Songs of the 70's! 

In 1990 I stayed in County Kerry Kilarny where I had a job in the international Youth Hostel "Agado House". There I discovered Irish Folkmusic. While in the office of the youth hostel I found and repaired an old Spanish guitar and I met Gisela who played the violin. Almost all my friends over there liked Irish music. A very popular singer in that time was Christy Moore. I can remember being touched when I heard him sing. Every weekend we went to the pubs to listen to music and sometimes we where invited to music sessions. Together with my friends I played a lot of music,  preferably in the guest room of the youth hostel, where the acoustics where outstanding! After 7 months, when I returned to Germany with my luggage loaded with a "Christy Moore Songbook" and all the music tapes I could lay my hands on...   In 2003 I left Schleswig-Holstein and moved to The Netherlands. When I lived in Schiedam I started visiting the monthly Irish sessions. I was looking for musicians to play with and to form a band. After the first session I was asked to come back and to perform there. I told them I would love to do so! The night before the gig I was so nervous that I could not sleep...The next day I met Chris, Cees and Piet and we instantly got along very well together. The next step was that we made an appointment to rehearse together. 
In 2006 I competed during the "Vocalisten Concours" in Zierikzee and won the first prize in the catagory "Light Music". By that time we were very busy performing with the band Slán and I had to make a choice between the Irish Folkmusic and Balinese Gamelan music..... I had also been playing for two years in the orchestra of the Museum of Ethnology in Leiden!
It was a difficult choice: I like Gamelan music very much but I am in love with the sad, heartbreaking ballads and cheerful Celtic songs!
 

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