_______________________________________________________
I
must
have
had MUSIC in my veins
before I can remember
but
first picked up the guitar when already 16 years
old.
Not seriously yet, but
my unconditional love
for the instrument was born!
_______________________________________________________
Because
everyone wanted to be a guitarist
in the early 80's
my first real band
effort was
as a
bass player
for a local cover band called
LEDGE (1983-1984).
I really needed to hit that stage....
On the process I deeply felt
the need to be to be
a guitar
player
though....
The very first
attempt
to write my own material
as guitarist was in the late
80's with a band called
VERSAILLES
(1987-1989).
During the years that
followed a
versatility and diversity of bands
and projects
became subject to
my inexhaustible lust for musical
growth. At that time I was perhaps
not a fit for
bands like
The Boxx,
PatriarcH,
Paralysis,
Mindscape,
Random
but I ended up very nicely
making my live on stage hours in a Rock Cover
Band
called
LEGAL NOISE
(1991 - 1992).
In 1994
I
joined
and
developed
a Hard Rock
Band called
MISCHIEF
(1994-2002).
MISCHIEF
was a very promising act
on a creative musical
level.
A demo tape called Energy was released in 1995 and a CD called
VISIONS in 1998.
Both were played/recorded live in
the studio...
Different views
on the
band's ambition as well as musical direction made me ultimately leave
the band in 2002.
Late 2003 I joined
HIGHWAY CHILE.
The band, revitalized in the beginning of the new millennium,
was eager to write new material so I was brought
in.
A
brand new full length album
called
KEEPER OF THE EARTH was released worldwide through
Mausoleum Records
in 2008.
Next to
HIGHWAY CHILE
I began to
play
with the in 2006 founded high energy
Hard Rock Cover Band
HEADS DOWN
(2006-2010).
I also
started to
participate
in various other musical projects
like for
instance
DUST
(2007)
which was a
One-Off
Cover Project
initiated to support
TALISMAN (feat. Jeff Scott Soto) on their goodbye tour.
I
played in
Holland's first Metal band
PICTURE
for a year
(2010-2011)
and joined a
newly founded
Ronnie James DIO
Tribute
Band called
DEO
early 2011.
DEO was
the main live show outfit in those
days but next to DEO I also did a lot of other
musical projects like for instance
ROXX DOWN
Hard Rock Covers (2012- 2013),
AEROFORCE
ONE (2012-2013) Aerosmith Tribute
(2013),
A TRIBUTE TO
MONSTERS OF ROCK Hard Rock Covers
(2014).
I also participated in
DEATHRIDERS Anthrax songs
(2014 and 2016) with original Anthrax singer Neil
Turbin.
Some shows were done in 2016 with a Deep Purple
Tribute Band called
PURPLE SHADE
and
an Alice Cooper
Tribute
Band
called
COOPER'S NIGHTMARE.
I
also
did various
guest
appearances
with Dutch Metal Pioneers
MARTYR
(2016-2018)
and
FRIENDS
OF ROCK
(2016 and 2019).
Shows
were done
with HIGHWAY CHILE
through all these years
too but, in spite of various efforts, no new material
was brought to light.
I began to play with
a
new Ronnie James DIO
Tribute Band
THE
DUTCH DISCIPLES
in 2017
and
consequently left
DEO early
2018.
All these cover,
tribute and guest outfits made me play great live
shows but finally my creative soul brought a
brand new Prog Melodic
Project
called
AUGUST
LIFE
to life
and late
August 2018
the
debut
and concept album
NEW ETERNITY
sees the light of
day.
New
Eternity is released on vinyl through
NO DUST RECORDS early 2019.
As
of April
2019 AUGUST LIFE transforms from project to
a real band and starts to do
live shows.
May 2020 I
finally
decided to LEAVE HIGHWAY CHILE.
AUGUST LIFE releases a
Mini Album called
THE BROKEN HOURGLASS
in 2021,
mainly because live shows are on hold because of a
certain "pandemic".
Perhaps provoked by this "pandemic" and
being a BIG fan of the Oliva brothers since the very
early beginning
a
new Tribute band/project sees the light of
day by the end of 2021...
We are talking about a
Savatage Tribute
Band
called
SAVATAR.
As of June 2023 I play in the legendary
Dutch Hard Rock band
VENGEANCE to
do shows
to honor the 40th Anniversary of the band and who
knows what lies beyond...
In 2025 a new band project
starts. it's called Saïnt Hêlens and will be a
Melodic yet Heavy Rocking outfit. The plan is to
create new exciting material in 2025 that will suit
on any great festival and more.
Line up:
Ernst van Ee - Drums
Gert Nijboer - Guitars
Edwin Balogh - Vocals
Emile Marcelis - Bass
Ruud Schoof - Guitars, Keys
AUGUST LIFE
releases their brilliant second full lenght called
PASSAGE OF TIME on the 29th of August 2025.
_______________________________________________________
As my journey has
just begun... this will
be continued...
Cheers,
© 1998 -2025
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