BB's TV Debut !!! by billyboy

You KNOW It’s always been about the passion with me Mel :-)

Hiya Chrissie, thanx for digging !!

Thanks Scott !
And I’ve decided… you need to just go to the bank, take out the money and get the farken jag. Listen to the devil. He’s always right in the end :-))

Hey Ulla, wazzap?
OK. The totally hilarious bits were the ones they didn’t put in the show… like when I was showing them one of our German WW II vocal mics and telling them it had Goebels’ DNA on the pop shield… somehow didn’t think they’d go for that :-)
Can’t wait to see you see my uploads… got SO much work to do.
But I’m afraid the 300+ family pics are gonna have to come first if I’m gonna keep peace with the Italians :-)))
Cheers backatcha !!
xo

OK Lee, I totally recognize you…

Do you realize how many guys had their 15 mins in heaven watching that clip??
Thanks for dropping by and dropping my jaw :-))

Next, Jan, is probably a world tour. Right after we get our first gig :-]
Don’t know about the knowledge, but the passion’s never been a problem…
Cheers for the congrats :-)

Thanks Debra, cool to see ya!!

Karina!
Ouais, on a bien évité tous les ouragans et on est arrivé sain et sauf :-))
Et toi, tu es un peu rock toi-même, non?
xo

Hiya Rene (copy/pasted that from my book of stoopid stuff I regret saying but leave as is on mutual agreement :-) !!
It’s actually kickicus butticus that you want to live in the studio… OK, we don’t have spare rooms for the mo, but you could come in your aviator gear and replace our life size Lara Croft statue in the gold record room till we get ya sorted… THAT would be kickicus butticus!!!

That’s cool Travis. We’ve actually hired someone who’s sole job it is to clean up the drool. It’s a full time job :-)
Cheers for the congrats!

Linda, I was petrified when they said they might include me in the show… they did lots of filming in the guitar area, and regardless of what you might think I’m actually shy when I got a TV camera up my face (the lens is actually a lot closer than the clip makes it seem). So when a friend told me they used some of that footage I was totally freaking out.
But in the end it was OK cause they got my good side and you can’t see the zits and stuff …
And I actually came back with 350 pictures so don’t know when I’m gonna have anything ready to post… but when I do, RB is SO gonne get forked over :-))
xo

Indeed, in my dreams…
xo,
BB

Thanx Tai !
So you think Dutch sounds great? It`s actually closer to English than most languages. Only major difference is that cussing is more expressive in English… having said that, the Dutch sound like they`re cussing all the time :-))

That guitar he was playing is actually a 12-string acoustic from which we took off the 4 lowest strings… this is called a Nashville tuning, and it makes the guitar sound more crystalline than a normal 12-string. Kinda cool, yeah?

As for the pics (ahem)… better not hold yer breath… è¿é
xo

Cheers C&M, nice to see yas!!

Barbara, you always make me feel like a million bucks when you breeze through :-)))
Actually, MY guitar… is the bass that`s standing behind the guy playing the 12-string solo at the end, the one with the US flag in flames with the doves trying to escape the flames on the metalflake blue pickguard. It`s a `63 Precision bass that would have been worth a fortune if I hadn`t changed the neck when I bought it in `71 and hadn`t had my sister paint the psycadellic stuff over the original sunburst :-(
I guess that`s why the originals are worth so much these days… cause we were stoopid enough not to realize what they`d become 50 years down the line. But who cares? It looks groovy and sounds awesome.
Kinda like you :-)
I play a more modern bass these days so leave the old boy at the studio in case anyone wants the 60`s R&B groove…
Mwaaaah backatcha!

Hiya Jenny!
It looked more natural than I thought it would look… I don`t really like being filmed. But somehow the camera seemed less obvious once they started talking with me. Guess they know that as professionals so knew how to make me feel at ease :-)
Thanks for commenting on this, it`s cool to see ya round !!

Hey thanx Celia!
Think you`d truly love it here :-))

Andrew, what you’ve got to realize is that it’s not all fun and games recording with us. It’s all about tough decisions… like am I gonna have a croissant or a couque au chocolat for breakfast? Will I have a glass of Haut Médoc with my barbecued spare ribs like the other guys, or stick with the 8% Belgian beer? Will I nail this solo with a ‘76 Les Paul Gold Top through a Marshall JTM 45/100 and a vintage Big Muff, or go single coil on the late 80’s Squier Strat through the Bassman 100 and a ZVex Fuzz Factory?? And after I’ve nailed the solo, do I work out in the gym, or go for a swim… or just lounge in the hammock in the rear garden?
And when the day’s recording is done, will I watch a DVD in my massive king size, do a session with GTA on the PS3… or have sex all night with my girlfriend?
And all those decisions repeat themselves every day for a month and a half.
Whew! You sure you wanna cut an album at ICP??
Fame is highly overreated.
If you’re not a hard-ass rock dude :-))
See ya soon!!

Thanks Philip!
That 12 string is actually an inexpensive one… so we decided to do a Nashville tuning on it by removing the 4 lowest strings. The tuning is the same as a normal 12 string, but the sound is very bright and often works beautifully in a mix to widen the dynamic. As the bass projection is not important, it can be done with a cheap guitar (so as not to worry if the neck suffers a bit from the reduced tension) and it still sounds amazing.
Thanks for stopping by and giving me a good excuse to ramble :-))

Cheers Mike!
Hope the Yanks stay hot !!!

No Paul.
Awesome is naming your kid after a revered pedal designer and an immortal guituar hero :-)))
Big congrats mate!!

Cheers Cathie, nice to see ya!!

Hiya Linda!
At least you got the bugger bit right :-)

And here’s something for you to sink yer fangs into…

Shanina, YOU are a star…
I’m more of a black hole sun…

So cool to see ya!!

They actually were great players Dick. We’ve recorded so many Dutch groups over the years and every one of them has been amazing. They take their music seriously and always seem to go the extra mile. And they’re always lots of fun to have around…
Specially the drummers. Pity they didn’t show that bit…:-))
Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers Carmen, cool to see ya!!

Raymond, you need to see the place for yourself.
Book the plane.
Make the record.
Hang the gold on yer wall :-)

Cheers Rita, think the fun’s been all mine :-)))

Travis, as most of the drool consosts of a ghastly mixture of Red Bull, vodka, coffee dregs and nicotine (and sometimes even a bit of coke :-), I’m sure we could find something lots more interesting for you. Musician’s hands get SO dirty… the boobs on our Lara Croft statue need cleaning daily…

Those guys from A are seriously missed… BUT…
Singer Jason is producing a bit now and will be bringing in some groups he`s got under his wing. And he`s also talking of getting A back together for a tour. The first song on HiFi Serious is actually the opening track when you hit our website :-)

And yeah, the reason I`m so skinny is cause I walk fast. Best way to deal with Belgian food… the musicians tend to follow it with lots of Bordeaux, a large slice of camenbert and a loud burp. That`s why they have difficulty keeping up!!

Thanks for the visit Stuart, and if you missed this one in my last journal, turn your volume to 12 and click this puppy hard…

:-))

Je vais m`en occuper ce weekend…:-)
Big bisous à toi !!
Bxo

It CAN do what that back to the future thing does… you just gotta play it hard enough!
I know what you mean about stringing the 12 strings. The Martins are easy cause the pegs are at right angles to the headstock… but we have a Rickenbacker where you string the pegs through a cut out headstock like a classical guitar and I HATE it !!
Jeeze I’m SO sorry… I forgot to clean out yer litter box…:-[ I’ve been so behind my chores since I been back.
I’ll def make it up to you. Milk treat??

What did ya have? If it`s something nice, just cough it up!

Thanks Patjila!
Did you know this show was on? I don`t know how many people watch TROS in Holland, and don`t know how well the show was advertized.
Seems it got something like a 75% rating… that might have been enough so they continue with more episodes. Hope they do as that will mean business for us :-))

I know survival can get tough…
so here`s a link to the entire show so you can take yer mind off it for 45 mins … I actually think you`ll dig it :-))
(you might have to download a small program to view, but it`s safe and it goes quick)

Thanks for clicking Josie!
It`s cool being a star on Dutch TV for a day…
but don`t intend to quit the daytime job… :-)xo

So cool you dig that track. I mean, my rock heros have definitely been confined to American and UK groups over 50 years… then along come these French guys that came along and totally grabbed my no one spot. Got 2 of their albums and can’t stop listening. LOUD! They did their first record at our studio, then for some reason defected… think they moved to Berlin… and yeah, vids distract my listening … but this one’s a total groove :-))

So yes, gonna check out yer 4 tracks later when my ears are ringing a bit less… playing bass standing next to my 350W Hartke has that effect on me. Don’t get much treble response anymore through my right ear :-))
I’ll be getting back to ya !

If it`s taken you this long to let me know, then it`s already well digested and is probably totally uninteresting anymore.
Too bad cause I could dig a bit of snitzel… could you please be a bit quicker off the mark next time?

You know that seeing you here is the only thing that`s made me happier than being a TV star?
My stoopid buckit just got filled from one drop to overflow.
Thanks Tracie, you made my week :-)
xox

Thanks so much for that Rhana!
Of course, no matter how long my `huge list of achievements’ gets… I still haven`t figured out how to chew tobacco and spit at the same time. You wouldn`t BELIEVE how sick I got trying…
xo

Cool to see you here Lina, I know that for me it`s always a rush to see someone I`ve known but never met filmed in their natural habitat…
Got any clips of you in your floating restaurant?
Actually you`ve probably upgraded to cooking 5-star dinners for Bay area royalty in their castles by now…
…Or maybe you`ve just gone and ascended to some kind of split dimension where nobody needs food anymore and stuff just goes totally bananas on its own…
So you still cookin?

Jeff, you’ve got no IDEA what we get hit in the face with every day in this place. Some days it’s less fun than groupie panties!
Being skinny often helps me escape.
You too??

Wow, you actually found this?! I took the link off my homepage only yesterday :-)
So yeah, no way I`m changin my hair, and I`m stuck with the joisey accent for the rest of my life… so glad you stuck it out long enough to see I haven`t changed a bit !
It was actually the bass player of Cheap Trick who immortalized the 12 string BASS !! 4 sets of 3 strings, it sounds like it`s playing through a mad octaver pedal. Awesome.
Thanks so much for stopping by Lousie, your support of my stuff is SO appreciated :-)))
xo!!