Alan The Bear

English THE JFK BAND

• The John ‘F....’ Kirkbride Band Blues is a question from the heart John Kirkbride was born in the north of Scotland in 1946, he is a true high-lander. Part of John's cultural upbringing was celtic and traditional Scottish music. John's journey through life even at a young age led him to be at that point in his life where he got the blues. In 1970, after discharge from the royal air force, John found himself flying to New York City, sleeping on the streets where he played street music and very quickly became the brilliant acoustic guitar player he is today. A 'by chance' meeting in Philadelphia led him into contact with Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie and Joan Baez, all for whom he served as a melodic and power house bass player. In 1976 John returned from the USA and settled in The Netherlands where he recorded his well-known album 'TRACKS'. 3 more albums did very well until in the early 1980s when John settled in Germany where today he is an established artist. The John ‘F...’ Kirkbride Band A meeting in a Münich bar in 1990 reintroduced him to Alan Johnson, a British session guitarist noted for his love of the fender telecaster. Alan has also gigged all over the world including an apprenticeship with some of the greatest blues legends. John and Alan went on tour in the United Kingdom twice in 1994 and now form the basis of one of Europe's finest blues bands, although the fact is that they can play anything.
• DUTCH John Kirkbride werd geboren in het noorden van Schotland in 1946, hij is een echte high-lander. Een gedeelte van John zijn culturele opvoeding bestond uit Keltische en traditionele Schotse muziek. John zijn reis door het leven leidde hem, al op een jonge leeftijd, tot op dat punt in zijn leven waar hij de blues kreeg. In 1970, na release van de koninklijke luchtmacht, vloog John naar New York City, sliep hij in de straten waar hij straatmuziek speelde en zeer snel de schitterende akoestische gitaar speler werd die hij vandaag de dag nog steeds is. Een 'toevallige' meeting in Philadelphia bracht hem in contact met Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie en Joan Baez, voor wie hij allen speelde als de melodische en power house bas speler. In 1976 keerde John terug van de USA en vestigde hij zich in Nederland waar hij zijn welgekend album 'TRACKS' heeft opgenomen. Nog 3 meer albums deden het erg goed, totdat, in begin jaren '80, John zich vestigde in Duitsland waar hij vandaag de dag een gevestigd artiest is. Een meeting in een bar in München in 1990 introduceerde hem opnieuw tot Alan Johnson, een Engelse sessie gitarist, gekend voor zijn liefde voor de fender telecaster. Alan heeft optredens gedaan over gans de wereld, inbegrepen een leercontract met enkelen van de grootste blues legenden ooit. John en Alan gingen tweemaal op tournee in Engeland in 1994 en vormen nu de basis voor één van Europa's beste blues bands, met de vermelding van het feit dat ze alles kunnen spelen.
• FRENCH ohn Kirkbride est né dans le Nord de l'Ecosse en 1946, il est un high-lander authentique. La musique celtique et traditionnelle écossaise firent partie de la formation culturelle de John. Très jeune, John fit la rencontre avec le blues. En 1970, après le renvoi de la 'royal air force', John partit pour New York City, dormant dans la rue où il joua de la musique et devint rapidement le guitariste acoustique brillant qu'il est aujourd'hui. Une rencontre fortuite à Philadelphia le fit rencontrer Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie et Joan Baez, tous ceux pour qui il fit office de joueur mélodique et de 'power house bass'. En 1976, John revint des USA et s'installa en Hollande où il enregistra son célèbre album 'TRACKS'. Trois autres albums avaient le vent en poupe au début des années 80 jusqu'au moment où John s'installa en Allemagne où il est aujourd'hui un artiste reconnu. Une rencontre dans un bar à Munich en 1990 le présenta à Alan Johnson de nouveau, un guitariste britannique connu pour son amour du fender telecaster. Alan a fait des gigs partout, jusqu'au bout du monde, comme il a travaillé aussi avec quelques-uns des plus grandes artistes du blues qui sont connus dans le monde d'aujourd'hui. John et Alan partirent en tournée au Royaume-Uni deux fois en 1994 et forment actuellement la base de l'un des plus beaux Blues Band européen, pour ne pas parler du fait qu'ils peuvent jouer tout.

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Hans Peter Brack : visit ‘diggin the blues’ Hans Peter Brack, or HP to his friends, is without doubt a gentleman. If you see the way his fingers to up and down the neck of his standup bass, you know that this Swiss/American legend, who lives in a gentle little town in the Netherlands, is one of the finest. When it comes to jazz, HP has played with many fine names. Again, we suggest you visit his website to read about this gentleman. Nick Hearn is a rugged little gypsy bloke who has performed on stage in the city of Bath, England with Hawkwind, who has performed on the streets of Brussels, who has played in places such as De Heksenketel. Nick’s whole life has been completely fitting with a life of the Blues; living on the streets. his best friend being Mr. Jack Daniels. His other cousin being Mr. Benson & Hedges. Nick has fixed cars and built things (cars, houses, ...) On top of being a brilliant blues harmonica player, he is a master tradesman and a nice bloke. Chuck Henderson has been a very dear friend for many years. He is originally from Trenton, New Jersey, but lived for many years in Münich, Germany. Chuck’s first instrument is the soprano saxophone. In 1999 he released a wonderful CD of original compositions in the modern jazz genre called ‘black issues’. On this album, playing piano, was the jazz legend Mal Waldron. Formerly of Brussels, Mal was Billie Halliday’s last piano player. In 2005 Chuck suffered a stroke and has not recovered enough to perform again. We wish him well. Gig Schedule 2006 18/10/2006 - Kid's Rhythm 'n' Blues Kaffee - Antwerpen - Belgium 20/10/2006 - The Celtic Pub - Mechelen - Belgium 2007 14/04/2007 - Private function - Leuven - Belgium 10/05/2007 - House concert - Margate - United Kingdom 02/06/2007 - North Belgium Blues Society - Rijkevorsel (Antwerpen) - Belgium 10/11/2007 - Beau de l’Air Home of the Blues - Hamme - Belgium John Kirkbride plays Lakewood acoustic guitars. He plays National resonators. And occasionally an old Fender precision bass. Alan Johnson plays electric and acoustic guitars. He plays a Gibson Les Paul Fender Stratocaster, Fender Telecaster, Washburn HB30. On acoustic guitar : - Guild Acoustic from 1972 - Yamaha 6 from circa 2000 - Yamaha 12 from circa 1976 Plus various resonators. Amplifier = VOX AC 30 Miked. Our Guests Hans Peter Brack : checkout ‘diggin the blues’. Nick Hearn plays the Blues Harp Maestro Lee Oskar & Hohner harmonica. In our communities, have you ever noticed that there are many creative people whose talent goes unnoticed. Talent can come in many different ways. For example, Philleke Caverneels, from Mechelen (Belgium), makes the greatest embroidery of various types that I have ever seen. Very shortly, some pictures and indeed some embroidery will be for sale via this website’s Shop. Mayuko Sawamura, a lady from Tokyo, who now resides in Antwerp (Belgium), is not just a master baker of cakes but also a seamstress of children’s clothing. Very shortly, you’ll see pictures of Mayuko’s work, shown on this site. Our guitarist Alan Johnson is a qualified psychologist with a postgraduate degree. He has combined both disciplines to teach guitar and bass to people who "never thought they could learn guitar". Very soon, for a small fee, we will be able to offer online guitar lessons, emailed to your home. Anne Egan, a sculpture artist, resides in the United Kingdom. Her current work plays with the grey area that was between pure (or fine) art and applied art or craft. Appropriating a variety of "craft" processes she uses context, scale and other visual prompts to raise questions about the attributes which we associate with sculpture. Check out her website http://www.anneeganart.co.uk/ Kojiro Shikama, a japanese sculptor. By using white marbles, he inspires us with a japanese sense of beauty, the unity of all existence ( the nature of Zen ). His works are also well-known in Spain and Mexico. This summer ( July 2007 ), he is coming to Belgium. The second group exhibition at the Japanese cultural center. 58 Avenue des Arts, 1000 Brussel. In our communities, have you ever noticed that there are many creative people whose talent goes unnoticed. Talent can come in many different ways. For example, Philleke Caverneels, from Mechelen (Belgium), makes the greatest embroidery of various types that I have ever seen. Very shortly, some pictures and indeed some embroidery will be for sale via this website’s Shop. Mayuko Sawamura, a lady from Tokyo, who now resides in Antwerp (Belgium), is not just a master baker of cakes but also a seamstress of children’s clothing. Very shortly, you’ll see pictures of Mayuko’s work, shown on this site. Our guitarist Alan Johnson is a qualified psychologist with a postgraduate degree. He has combined both disciplines to teach guitar and bass to people who "never thought they could learn guitar". Very soon, for a small fee, we will be able to offer online guitar lessons, emailed to your home. Anne Egan, a sculpture artist, resides in the United Kingdom. Her current work plays with the grey area that was between pure (or fine) art and applied art or craft. Appropriating a variety of "craft" processes she uses context. If you want to contact us, wherever you are in the world, and whoever you are, you can write in English, Dutch, French, German, Japanese. You can do it 24/7. And we want to hear from you ! Here is our Email address : kirkbride.johnson@gmail.com Here is our phone number : Phone : 32/487/104241 (24/7) If you would be interested in booking us for your private parties, birthday parties or company events, feel free to contact us anytime you like. We offer various combinations of our act, in different settings, whether it is a private or public one. Have you ever thought of organizing a house concert ? Do you know what they are ? Please consider sending us an E-mail if you want to know more kirkbride.johnson@gmail.com What is a house concert ? Let’s say you are 30 something years old and would love to go out but you have a young family, you don’t know many people and you’re not comfortable with hiring babysitters. So what do you do ? Do you have a front room ? Do you have an electrical power supply ? You simply invite about 10, 15 or 20 people to come round to your place for a concert. Yes that’s right, we come to you. It’s very simple to organize and it is suitable for those, for whatever reason, are not comfortable going to pubs, clubs and cafe’s. It can be a fun evening and you even earn a bit of money yourself. We can do this for our friends in the UK, Holland, Belgium, Germany._____________________________________________________________ EMAIL ALMAYUKO@GMAIL.COM