JON POUSETTE-DART IN HOLLAND

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Gijs and Anneke Zandbergen and Joep and Mariandl Verdonck, for making my wife Dawn's and my visit to Holland possible. No words to describe their big hearts and cordial hospitality. What started out on their part as an email to me here in the States, turned into an experience that surpassed my expectations, and due to them, I will now be returning in November to tour Germany, Belgium, Holland and a few other countries, concluding with a live album to be distributed in Europe. Gijs and Joep are directly responsible for this. I would not have known where to begin if they had not put in much hard work with no compensation, other than to write a piece for de Volkskrant, which will be posted shortly. I consider both of them my new found Dutch soul brothers. I loved Amsterdam and all of Holland as well as the gracious and very generous people. Their love of music will bring me back again and again. I have posted some of the pictures and articles which appeared, though there is much more than I could fit in here. I am looking forward to returning in November and hope to have more stories to tell, about the beautiful country and the people that make the Netherlands the special place that it is. Jon

Holland Radio Show Sound File

de Volkskrant 5/6/2002
Our hero,
Jon PousetteDart INTRO
The music that you like when you are twenty, lasts during your whole life. Two-Volkskrant journalists discover that, after they get accidentely into contact with a pop music-hero from their youth: Jon Pousette-Dart. They decide to invite the singer-guitarist for a tour through Holland, but organizing a tour proves to be a profession on its own.

By Joep Verdonck and Gijs Zandbergen

In front of the entrance of the Amsterdam centre for pop music De Melkweg stands a long row of teenage girls. Those girls are all coming for you, Jon.'' I wish it were true, but here nobody knows this French guy from New York.' Besides us walks an authentic hero of pop music. His name is on the posters at the door. Tonight: Jon Pousette-Dart. However. At the side hangs another poster, which almost contains the same text: Tonight: Kane (show only for invited people). The chance that the girls are coming to see the young famous Dutch Pop band, is big however. When the tall man with the guitar passes, none of the girls looks his way. There has been a time that this was different. Did not Pousette-Dart tell us confidentially that he slept with more girls than he even wanted to
remember?

A couple of months earlier the following scene took place at the offices of the Volkskrant, the Dutch nationwide newspaper. It was after midnight. The paper for the next day was ready. The work was done, End while the editors were waiting for the prints, one of them had typed the name Pousette-Dart Band on the internet. He did that just for fun, because that same afternoon he had found a box full of music albums in the attic, after someone had given him an old pick-up. In the box he had discovered four albums, made by the Pousette-Dart Band, an American rock band in the seventies. The Pousette-Dart Band was rather unknown in Holland, The record company did not think it necessary, as they were busy touring in the United States.
The editor had been a fan of the band during the seventies, as well as he had been in those years a fan of Neil Young and Jackson Browne. Those two made similar music, but less melodious and, what was more, they sang less pure and at least less happy.

The Pousette-Dart Band, what a beautiful music those guys made. Since punk made came along, not much was heard of the band. Would there something to be found of them on the internet? On the computer screen a link to a personal site appeared, where one
could read that Jon Pousette-Dart had played in programs with Little Feat, Eagles, Yes and Byrds. No small guys. Also was mentioned that the name giver of the band still performed in clubs on the eastern coast of the US. He was even working on a new CD, Sample this. One could send him an e-mail. That looked fun. Why not give it a try? Five minutes later an answer came from New York: Thanks. Glad you are listening. Take care. JPD.' The editor showed the reaction to a colleague, who said by means of a joke: Tell him, we'll get him over here to Amsterdam.' Three minutes later on the screen flickered once again: I'd love to play at
the Paradiso or The Melkweg.' And so it happened that end of April both editors (us), had become real roadies. We parked a Nissan Sunny on the parking place of The Melkweg, downtown Amsterdam. Because, after lots of telephone-calls, e-mails and letters, we had succeeded in organizing a real tour for our former hero. It had been a lot of work, but not very difficult, because Pousette-Dart is not expensive. He had never played in Europe before and realized that he could not ask high wages. The singer/songwriter decides to make it to a sort of holiday at the same time. His wife Dawn came with him and they just are guests at our houses. Organizing a pop music tour is a special profession, tells u a professional Tour operator later that week. He is right. Because actually it is a bit too quiet in The Melkweg. Pousette-Dart already gets applause during the sound check, but that comes from the members of Kane, who leave their dressing room to come and see who it is who is getting such beautiful slides out of his guitar. It looks promising, but when Kane leaves, the crowd is rather small. We don't see not any of the girls who were waiting outside. Obviously we have to wait some more time before the wild pop music life we were dreaming of, becomes reality. The manager of The Melkweg however is not unsatisfied. After he had finished the show Pousette-Dart gets the offer, that, might he ever want to record a live-CD, he'd be welcome in The Melkweg. Organizing a tour is a special profession indeed. Two days later on, in a small upper room in music-centre LVC in Leiden, only twenty people appear, among them nineteen friends, colleagues and members of our families. The only listener who turns up, uninvited, proves to be a man who heard Pousette-Dart play on the radio that morning. He thought it so nice that he decided to drive to Leiden. Fortunately, the radio work proves to be the foremost reason why the tour is so joyfully continued. With the makers of radio programs Pousette-Dart proves to be a shot in the heart of the rose. Jan-Douwe Kroeske gets him to Kink FM Radio. He is a guest for two hours with Theodore Holman in his show Studio Desmet, Radio Arrow Classic Rock interviews him and plays his music for an hour and tapes are to be made for a program called American Connection on radio 2 nationwide. Apart from that, during the week tv-producer and pop music-lover Harry de Winter drops in and invites him for a lunch, and a live hour on air spinning his favorite records as well as discussing his latest CD.. And last but not least a guy called Arthur Mentink appears. He is a professional tour-organizer, and announces that he will get back Pousette-Dart to Holland in November again, offering to pair Jon with some of the finest session players in Europe to tour with.

The reason for that is, teaches us Mentink, because one should not let a singer/songwriter play in places which are meant for the youth. Teenagers only come for celebrities, and if they are not famous, they come for other youngsters. Pousette-Dart (49) is not famous, nor young. No, if we had planned the whole tour better, Pousette-dart would have had an enthusiastic public all the time. A public consisting of people of thirty, forty, maybe even fifty years old. The reason for that is that the music you love when you are twenty, you will keep on loving when you grow older. The only thing is that you have to find those people, and they just do not come to black painted damaged youth-rooms. The only elder people who visit those places are some old baldheaded hippies with a horsetail. The days after prove that Mentink is right. On Friday night there is a gig planned in The Cotton club Arnhem, next to the place where in 1944, the bridge was one too far for the liberators. Now, it is just the right place. In The Cotton Club our dreams begin to come true: it is busy and cozy. Suddenly there are copies sold of Sample this, of which Pousette-Dart took a bunch with him, in order to finance a part of his trip by selling them. And then the law of luck gets working. That is: when finally luck appears, nothing can stop it any more. The next day there is a sudden gap in the programming of the Rhythm & Blues night in The Oosterpoort in the city of Groningen. It's a big happening which attracts every year three- till four thousand people. Pousette-Dart is asked to play in the acoustic room. We cannot sleep, or at least we sleep badly. Not Pousette-Dart. He played before for crowds, although that was long ago. Finally we experience something of the pop life we dreamt of when we invited him to

Holland. Men in jeans and T-shirts walk around, calling test one, test one, two, two, two in the microphones. And is'nt that guy overthere with the complete bald head the famous Dutsch gitaris Eelco Gelling, who once was kicked out of Golden Earring because he drank to much and used too many drugs? But now seems to be sober again? There are also bodyguard-looking persons walking around, doing nothing, that says, not to us, because we carry backstage passes around our neck. However, there is a small difference with the world of Nick Lowe, Mick Taylor (ex Rolling Stones) and Alvin Lee (Ten Years After). Our Nissan Sunny look very small compared to the trucks and vans which the famous veterans enter the artists entrance of the Oosterpoort. We don't care, because when we are inside the building, nobody sees with which car you came. In the dressing room we find a pile of drink enough to store a high school with.

In the beginning of the concert we worry a little; the acoustic room looks almost empty. But soon the public enters and does not leave till the end of the concert. Our week cannot be broken anymore. The last show, in music cafe Wim Koster, also in Groningen: it is crowded again. In the front seats even are some fans of the first hour, who came especially to Groningen for Jon. We certainly are not the only ones who think it is great and we even become a little bit sentimental. Jon Pousette-Dart, our hero, made come true what he promised. 'You know what is funny', he says. In the seventies Capitol Records spent tons of money to produce a record. There was money enough. I still notice, because they still claim I owe them 375 thousand dollars from me out of that time. But all those years they did not succeed in bringing me to Europe. And now? Internet turned the whole music world upside down.

They are completely in panic. In what they did not succeed, when business was still good, happens now with one simple e-mail. Times have really changed.'

That proves to be true when we go out eating after the show. We go to a small and simple eating cafe in the centre of Groningen. And, different to the way it used to be in the seventies, we have to pay the bill for ourselves. Within our company there is a friend, who is a high placed police-officer, That's the way things sometimes go when one gets older. On the way to the cafe Pousette-Dart finally lights the joint, which he bought right after he entered Holland. Till then he hadn't the time to enjoy it. The police-officer thinks it's funny. He teases the American musician. 'Do you realize which job I have?' Pousette-Dart. That is what I mean. The times have changed.'

IN DUTCH
op in de muziekwereld. En dankzij Bonnie Raitt, die hem een jaar of tien geleden motiveerde om zijn gitaar weer op te pakken. ,,De tijd voor goede muziek keerde weer terug", vindt de Amerikaan die zegt dat internet hem nieuwe kansen bood in de muziek. Met enige genoegdoening vertelt hij dat de grote platenjongens in Amerika hun greep op de muziekwereld verloren hebben door de populariteit van het web. ,,De men-sen zijn gewoon ziek van die voor-gekauwde muziekbusiness", vindt Pousette-Dart. ,,De meeste platen-maatschappijen keken alleen maar naar de grootste en commer-cieel meest interessante artiesten. Nu krijgen ook goede muzikanten die het verdienen een kans op suc-ces".
Dat zou kunnen, maar dan moet je nog wel goede muziek maken. Wat maakt Pousette-Dart zo bij-zonder? ,,Ik hou van echte muziek, die mensen verbindt. Muziek kan bruggen slaan. Ik heb er een paar overgestoken, maar ik heb nog een lange weg te gaan". Sample this bevat twaalf songs in de beste Amerikaanse folkpop tra-ditie. Niets nieuws op het eerste gehoor. Sfeervolle, weemoedige lovesongs die boven de middel-maat uitstijgen dankzij het mes-scherpe spel van Pousette-Dart. Bij zijn concerten in ons land zal de nadruk liggen op die nummers, want de Amerikaan treedt solo op. Niet omdat een band te duur is, maar gewoon omdat hij het liefste alleen speelt.
En waarom niet, als je na dertig jaar eindelijk de kans krijgt om naar Europa te gaan, dan mag je zelf bepalen hoe je dat doet.
Jon Pousette-Dart was een van de vele singer-songwri-ters die in de jaren zeventig tevergeefs voet aan de grond in Europa trachten te krijgen. Maar hij geeft niet op, met een uitgebreide Ne-derlandse tournee.
Door ROB CHEVALLIER

ARNHEM o Aan het einde van de jaren zeventig van de vorige eeuw bestond popmuziek vooral uit disco en standaard rock. In Amerika bijvoorbeeld, speelden veel groe-pen en singer-songwriters gewoon him eigen variant van de bekende vier akkoorden. In eigen land wer-den ze ontvangen alsof ze de popmuziek zelf uitgevonden hadden. Maar in bijvoorbeeld Europa slaag-den alleen de hele groten er in om door te breken. Zoals Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel en The Eagles om maar wat te noemen. Jon Pousette-Dart was een van de tallozen die het buiten Amerika niet redden. Met zijn eigen band maakte hij vier platen die in Ameri-ka goed verkochten. In Nederland was de Pousette-Dart Band een van die vele namen uit de Ameri-kaanse rockscene. Meer zat er niet in. ,,De platenmaatschappij wilde niet", constateert Pousette-Dart. ,,We waren bekend in Europa, maar kregen geen budget om er op te treden." Verbitterd keerde de zanger/gitarist zich rond 1980 af van de muziekbusiness. ,,De labels hielden opruiming in die tijd", blikt de Amerikaan terug. ,,Met punkbands en disco-acts was het goedkoop platen maken. Voor artiesten met lets meer in-houd was geen plaats meer." Pousette-Dart legde zich toe op een bescheiden rol als sessiemuzikant en producer.
Nu keert de singer-songwriter plot-seling terug, met een nieuwe cd en een voile concertagenda. Hoe kan dat?
Misschien omdat er weer behoefte is aan artiesten als Pousette-Dart, die op zijn eigen website omschre-ven wordt als 'niet bepaald een trendy vent'. ,,Dat beschouw ik als het beste compliment dat ik kan krijgen", zegt Pousette-Dart. ,,Dat steeds maar weer meelopen met alle grillen van de popmuziek hoeft voor mij niet. Al die artiesten zoals Moby die andermans werk samplen, dat vind ik diep triest". De titel van zijn nieuwste cd Sample this is dus cynisch bedoeld. Want juist dankzij de moderne techniek duikt Pousette-Dart weer
Messcherp spel en weemoedige lovesongs
SS1 Jon Pousette-Dart, 26 april, Ka-toenclub, Arnhem, aanvang 21.30 uur.
Ion Pousette-Dart
Archieffoto: De Geldertande

Grote onbekende sluit minitoer af in cafe van Willem
DOOR HERMAN SANDMAN
Bijna niemand hier kent de man en toch is hij erg beroemd. Noem de naam Jon Pousette-Dart aan de Amerikaanse oostkust en iedereen weet over wie het gaat. Misschien dan niet vanwege zijn gitaarspel, dan toch wel vanwege
zijn voorkomen. De singer/songwriter was te zien in tv-series en
reclamespotjes, waaronder die van Diet Coke, Texaco, Burger King en AT
&T. Dat gezicht is zondag te bewonderen in Muziekcafe Koster.

Vooral echter is Jon Pousette-Dart een veelgevraagde sessie-muzikant, producer en compo-nist van filmmuziek. Zijn eigen sound is 'down to earth'. De rocksongs worden bij voorkeur zo natuurgetrouw mogeiijk op-genomen. Of zoals hij bij het verschijnen van zijn jongste (en zevende) album 'Sample This' meldt: "Het moet voelen alsofje bij mij in de huiskamer zit te luisteren'.
Op dertienjarige leeftijd begon hij te musiceren, samen met Tony en Hunt Sales, die later met David Bowie tot Tin Machine kwamen. Op zijn inter-netsite staat dat Jon een niet al te trendy type is, ondanks meer dan twintig jaar in de muziek-business. Maar Pousette-Dart speelde met de groten der aarde: The Byrds, The Eagles, Hall & Dates, Robert Palmer, Joan Armatrading en Bonny Ri-att.
De grootste successen kenden hij en zijn gelijknamige band in de zeventiger jaren, toen vier albums werden uitgebracht bij Capital Records. Teen de mu-ziekscene overstapte van zeg maar Donna Summer naar Johnny Rotten, nam Pousette-Dart even een break. Terug in New York vergaarde hij faam als singer, slidegitarist en producer. Het acteren was een gevolg van de betrokken-heid als componist en uitvoer-der bij reclamespotjes. Dat Jon Pousette-Dart in Gro-ningen optreedt, komt omdat enkele Nederlanders hem niet vergeten zijn. Van de vier platen bij Capitol verschenen er drie in ons land. Alle uitverkocht, ondanks optredens of publiciteit. Om die redenen is zijn naam ook slechts bij intimi bekend. Twee van die intimi zijn Volks-krantjournalisten Joep Verdonck en Gijs Zandbergen. Na '11 September" Kwamen ze toevallig in contact met hun pop-

Jon Pousette-Dart, degroteonbe-kende. Behalvevoor intimi.
held. Omdat deze eind jaren ne-gentig de podia weer beklom, vorige maand 'Sample This' uit-bracht en wel eens wilde weten of zijn muziek (nog steeds) aan-slaat in de lage landen, beloof-den de journalisten hem een minitoer.
Het optreden bij Willem Koster op 28 april is het slotakkoord van een minitournee langs de Melkweg in Amsterdam, het Burgerweeshuis in Deventer, LVC in Leiden, de Katoenclub in Arnhem en De Franse Bulldog in Den Haag.
Doe overigens geen moeite in tweedehands platenzaken te speuren naar oud werk van Pousette-Dart. Volgens de berich-ten doet iemand een album van Jon nooit meer weg.