The News Page...


what's happening with the band...


22 December 2019

As some of you may already know, John has left Buckshot after his final gig on 21 December. We want to thank John for all his input and amazing guitar work over the years. Friends for life!

Taking John's place is Han "The Gibson Killer" Ernest. After 17 years Han has returned to the band he started and we are all very pleased with him rejoining Buckshot.
Our first gig with Han will be on 13 March 2020 in Bergeijk. But we need to get practice time in :-)

On behalf of everyone in the band:
Happy holidays and a very good Christmas to all our fans and followers!

We will see you all again in 2020!
Cheers.
Ruud

 

 


11 August 2018

2017 came and went. We played some gigs, did our rehearsals like good little boys and polished our setlist. As you do.
And then 2018 came. It started off great with a memorable gig in Deurne on New Year's Day. A promising start indeed. But then disaster struck. Literally. Without going into painful detail, this was the year where Buckshot proved to be a team, a family and a band of brothers. This deeply traumatic period for Hainy and his family has made a huge impact on all of us, but we are committed to carrying on. And we shall. We're getting ourselves back into action. Motivated, inspired, stronger and more united than ever before.
And yes, some gigs are planned for August and November, so we're ready to make the rest of 2018 count. We hope you'll be there too!
Cheers.
Ruud

 

 


22 February 2016

A new year, new plans and new gigs. 2016 is going to be a very busy year for the band and we are loving it! Several gigs have already been confirmed, as far ahead as September.
We are still in the process of reworking some of our 'classics' to add the Dennis factor to them. There is also some great new stuff being added to the list.

With the recent sad losses of greats like Lemmy Kilmister, Glen Frey, Scot Weiland and David Bowie planet earth has lost some of its rock gods. All the more reason for us to carry the flame and pay our respect to these inspirational mega stars. Rest in peace Lemmy, Glen, Scott and David and we hope you'll have some great jam sessions with Jimi, John, John, John, Keith and George. Rock lives on and so do their memories!

That's it for now. Be safe, eath healthy and drink lots (of water, that is).
See you from a stage somewhere soon.
Cheers lads and lasses,
Ruud

 

 


 

3 October 2015

Well, well... Have I got news for you! Buckshot is now, again, a 5-piece band. We are proud, and I do mean PROUD, to introduce to you our newest and youngest band member: Dennis. Dennis made his debut as a special guest at Buckshot's tribute to Queen, at the Live Aid In De Kempen festival in August 2015. All of us were impressed with his skills on piano, vocals and percussion, but mostly because he seemed to fit right in. As if he had always been a member of the band... By a strange coincidence, Dennis appeared to feel exactly the same and it took exactly one phonecall to persuade him to join on a permanent basis. Rumour has it that that particular phonecall lasted no more than 5 seconds, but we have some historians looking into that as we speak. So, Buckshot are now planning to rework the setlist, to add some Dennis magic to some of the older stuff. But more importantly, we are excited about being able to include some new and different material to our setlist. Good times are ahead folks! Stay tuned, because there is more to come. Cheers everyone!

 


 

4 April 2015

Right. I can safely say that the update frequency appears to be once every 2 years. I guess that's how it works. But, this update is here for a good reason. "Oh really, why?", I hear you say. Well, Buckshot have been around for 20 years in 2015 and are celebrating that milestone. That's why.
All is well and we are working on some gigs. Some are planned, some have already been performed and some are still only early stages. But we'll keep you updated on those.

Not much else to report for the moment. Stay tuned and definitely check out our Facebook page as that is updated more frequently. These pages suffer from lack of updating. My bad.

All the best from the Buckshot camp!
Cheerio,
Ruud

 


 

12 April 2013

OK OK, so I skipped 2 years of updates. Terribly sorry about that. But we're still here.
So, let's look back on 2012 briefly and bring you up to speed:
- We did lots of gigs (proof is on the gig page)
- We worked on an acoustic set, which took us well of our comfort zone (mostly mine) but was a pleasure to do
- We worked on new material - some based on the acoustic set, but also some other surprises (proof is on the song page)

2013 has also started well with some great gigs and more already lining up nicely.
Thanks to our friend Peet, we also have indulged in setting up a Facebook account. Yes, no kidding, you can now follow us and even like us. Wow eh. So please, like us and tell your friends, parents, children, pets and local police to like us too. Eternal gratefulness will be bestowed upon you.

As always, I'm gonna leave you with a lie saying that I'll update this page more frequently than before.
But here's the truth: as long as this page is up and running, then so is Buckshot!

Rock on my friends,
Cheerio

Ruud


25 June 2011

Well, I am not going to try and find an excuse as to why there haven't been any updates on this News page. There simply is no excuse.

So, what's been going on with the band then?
As usual, we have been rehearsing hard and fruitful. The setlist is still being overhauled and updated, so that keeps us on our musical toes.
We did some really cool gigs as well, which is what keeps us alive and in touch with all of you out there. Most memorable, as far as yours truly is concerned, was the two night stint in May 2011 with the Rabo Proms in Bergeijk. Buckshot were onstage for two songs:
- Child In Time, which was rehearsed and played on special request and was performed with the Bergeijk percussion group "Echo Der Kempen" and
- I Want It All, which was given a special arrangement to suit the 'harmonie orchestra' of Bergeijk , who performed it with us and the "Kloos" choir, also from Bergeijk.

We are currently negotiating a similar, but somewhat smaller Proms performance in Giel's hometown of Liempde. That would be sometime in March 2012. Yes, we like to plan ahead!
Also in the works are gigs in October and November. More news as it follows.

In the summer (well, according to the calender it is...) we will be hibernating a little bit, because of holiday plans of the guys and some work commitments. But after the summer, there will be more Buckshot activity again.

Keep an eye on the Gigs page though - you never know when we might squeeze in the odd gig in the summer as well!

All the best and we hope to see you soon!
Cheers,
Ruud

PS: Any suggestions for our website are welcome at ruud@buckshot-rock.nl.
Thank you!


1 November 2009

Another 9 months on and I've finally found some time to update the news. Band news, that is.Woohoo! Bring it on.
Not that there is a whole lotta news, really. Gigs are few and far between, but there are some lined up.
Work on the setlist continues as usual and there are a few suprises to be found on there. And to be honest, that's about as exciting as it gets.
Well, I could of course mention the fact that with the demise of the DSB bank the band funds have been temporarily frozen as well. Which means that my new 19 piece drumset and my new Aston martin Vanquish are being put on hold. But that would not be very interesting. Although...

Anyways. 'Nuff said.
See you soon!

Ruud   


26 January 2009

Now then. Where to begin? Happy 2009!
2008 was really a quiet year, with lots of band practices but hardly any gigs. I guess we've only got ourselves to blame for that, but I do apologize for the lack of gigs.
We did manage to change practice locations twice in 2008 though, so it wasn't a totally wasted year. But that's about as exciting is it gets.

All this practicing gave us a real good chance to work on our setlist, which now includes even more of our favourite songs (Stargazer, to name but one!). We're looking forward to playing some of them live for your entertainment. And you actually have a chance to come, see and listen to us in 2009, as we've reeled in some gigs! So check out the gig list and hopefully we'll see you at one of the gigs.

More news is around the corner. Just wait and see.

Cheerio and have a good one!
Ruud


    13 November 2007

It has been 8 months to the day without any updates on this page. That's just not right for a news page, now is it? It would be if there was no news, but there is news. Quite a lot of it, actually. So, without further ado... here's some news for you:
First off, some personal stuff for those interested in what we do off stage, which is rather more frequent than on stage, I am sad to say.
As mentioned (exactly) 8 months ago, I am now living in Almere with Jackie and Tom and Lewis. We managed to get our hands on a house in the Rolling Stonesstraat. It doesn't get any more rock and roll than that, dear reader. I have looked for a Led Zeppelin street or even a Deep Purple street, but we had to settle for Rolling Stones. Jimi Hendrix street is just one block away and Elvis Presley is next door. How cool is that (if you're into Elvis)?

We have been working hard on our set list, which is still a rock cover bag of goodies. And we do keep adding interesting new old(ish) material to it.
We've been gigging quite regularly lately, which makes a nice change. We're trying to keep that up.

Last Saturday (now this is new news) I was introduced to an English guy called Adrian Jones, who lives in Leiden. Ade (as I am allowed to call him. I think...) is a great guy and a marvellously creative guitarist. He has his own band, Lie Big, which is based in England and they have recorded a fab album with all original material. To find out they are actually without a drummer, made me even more in awe of this guy's creative mind. The 'drums' on their album are just fantastic! They're all done by Ade and with some help of a few Gigabytes and  Gigahertz's of raw computer power. The man is my favourite non-drummer.
Ade is undergoing surgery today and we wish him all the best and a speedy full recovery. Rock on, Ade!

That's it for now. Don't forget to check out the gig page if you fancy hearing some old fashioned rock classics.
Cheers to all!
Ruud


  18 March 2007

Another year gone and another started, is it just me or is it really going that fast?

As the old saying goes: No News Is Good News, so I am not going to apologize for not reporting back sooner.
The band is growing stronger and stronger in our current line-up. We have done some memorable gigs over the past few months and our set list is evolving into a right feast for any rocker!
Most interesting news is the fact that our old band mate Han (The Gibson Killer) has teamed up with the Mad Cows as their lead guitarist. After a few years of concentrating on his personal life (getting married, to name but one relevant fact), he has finally returned to certain rock stardom. Knowing both Han and the Cows from the past, we are sure they are a match made in heaven and wish them all the best. Cheers guys!

On a more personal note I can break the news that I (Ruud) have decided to relocate to Almere with my lovely girlfriend Jackie and her wonderful sons Tom and Lew, starting July 2007. This does NOT mean that I am quitting the band, so rest assured or be disappointed - which ever applies to you, I will still be in Buckshot. It's just gonna take longer to get to the rehearsals!

Anyway, 'nuff said. Let's get a-rockin' and a-rollin'.
Cheerio,
Ruud


    30 August 2006

And it's time again for a well deserved update. It has been a while, so where to start? Oh, I know: let's do a "Questions and Answers". Sound good? Right on then, 'ere it goes.

(Q = the amazingly talented interviewer Quentin. A = the ever popular Answering machine)

Q: What has the band been up to these past 7 months since the last update?
A: Practice, practice, practice. But not only that. We have done some really interesting gigs as well, like our Coverdale tribute set on De Kempensessie and a memorable gig at the Harley Davidson Club in Weert.
We have also been adding new songs to our set list and deleted some other songs in the process. Basically we have ditched some of the slower and more bluesy stuff and the (musically interesting but not very Buckshot-esque) Pink Floyd songs. You could say we have re-invented the hard rocking side of Buckshot.

Q: How is John getting on?
A: In one word: brilliantly. John has turned out to be the missing link between the rough and rocking edge that our first guitarist Han used to deliver (minus the waving hair) and the more controlled and technically excellent guitar playing of our previous guitarist Jan.
The best thing though is that he has brought a really positive energy to the band. We have never had so many grins and smiles on our faces after having played a new song. Or even songs that have been part of our set for years, for that matter. They all sound fresh, upbeat, rolling and rocking (or was that the other way around?). The band never looked, sounded and felt better - and that is saying something!

Q: Any plans for gigs or even a long overdue trip to our friends in Devon (England)?
A: Yes and yes. We are making plans for some more gigs at the moment. Not confirmed yet but pretty certain are 2 gigs in November and December. The Gig page will keep you up to date.
As far as a visit to England is concerned: we are in the process of making serious plans for a short mini tour, probably early in 2007. More details on the Devon connection as they follow.

Q: Anything else that we should know about, if only to confirm or dismiss rumours?
A: Well, certainly. Here's the top 3 - in no particular order:
1- Giel and his wife are the proud parents of a baby girl named Pip
2- Ruud and Jackie are engaged to get married sometime next year
3- Giel has (finally) bought himself a stage monitor of humongous proportions - a nick name for this beast will soon be revealed...

That concludes the update for this moment. Thanks to Quentin for the prying questions.
Things are looking bright, very bright indeed. And with that bit of good news I say thee farewell. For now.

Cheers m'dears,
Ruud


    11 January 2006

Happy 2006 to all from Buckshot !

The passed year 2005 started on a happy high as our 10th Anniversary Year as Buckshot.
Unfortunately it ended somewhat less happy with the unexpected departure of our lead guitarist JJ (Jan Jansen), who announced his plans to pursue other musical horizons and left the band.
Those who have seen Buckshot live with JJ know that his shoes are indeed hard ones to fill. Jan took Buckshot in a somewhat different direction, more melodic and definitely less heavy. A change of style that was a breath of fresh air and reinvented the band, in more ways than one.
So with sadness but gratitude for all he meant to Buckshot, we now say goodbye to JJ and wish him all the best with his current and future musical adventures.

But... not long after Jan's departure, the rest of the band (the inseparable trio Ruud, Giel and Hainy) set out to find a replacement for JJ. One name had been on top of our list and to everybody's joy the guy behind the name was available to come down and have a session with the band. That first session made an impression on both parties and after a second and LOUD session we all knew that the new Buckshot had taken physical form.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the moment you have been waiting for. Buckshot proudly present their new guitar wizard:
John "De Sees" Sesink !

The boys are back in town. And they're getting ready to Rock And Roll !

Stay tuned. More news will follow. Perhaps even sooner than you think.

Cheers m'dears,
Ruud


    8 September 2005

Who are you ? That's the question.
We're still Buckshot, is the answer.
And now that that has been cleared up, where have we been these past few months ?
Well, holidays came and went, for one. We managed to do a few gigs just before our collective holiday, during which we tried out some "new" songs (new for the band, not for the listener, unless you were born after 1980 and spent most of your childhood in some cave in Afghanistan wondering what the fuzz was about those beetles from Liverpool).
The new songs take us in directions we didn't go before, more bluesy at times and definitely more melodic. I also like to think that we've improved some of the old arrangements with some more vocal harmonies.
There's also at least one new gig planned (yes, business is slow, too slow... call your local venue and have them book us !), so we're all getting into playing mode again.
And with that thought I'll leave you for now. Take care, see you on stage soon and keep rocking!
Cheers,
Ruud


5 February 2005

Woke up this morning with a wine glass in my hand...
Not really, but it sort of sums up the thing that people do when they had a good time the night before (or so I'm told). Why am I telling you this ? Not just because I did actually have a good time last night, but really because the band has been having a good time for 10 years this year !
Yes indeed, Buckshot has been playing (music, dear reader, I am referring to music) for 10 years. Shocked ? Surprised ? I certainly am ! And our tenth year together is already starting well, with gigs lined up for March and April. So it looks like a good year.
Buckshot has grown up, but is still only 10 years old. Remember when you were 10 ? Wasn't that fun ? Exactly. Ever had a proper 10 year old Scotch ? Exactly.
Celebrate with us and we'll celebrate with you.
Come and see the show.

Cheers m'dears,
Ruud


    18 September 2004

Is this thing still working ?
It's been a long time, indeed. Since the last time we spoke the band has done its summer recess thing, finished work on the demo (sort of) and has been in and out of the practice room working on some old and new stuff. With the summer out of the way - and what a lousy summer it was - we are ready for gigs, drinks and all the other things that seem like a good idea when the band is together.
I'll leave you with that thought and the fact that we are actually working on some gigs.

Be good and take care,
Ruud


    8 March 2004

Hello to all of you out there.
We are still coming down from our high after the support gig for Living Colour on Saturday ! What can I say ?
Did we play better than ever ? No.
Did we dress up funny ? No. (apart from Giel... but then again, doesn't he always wear that shirt ?)
Did we drink farrrrrrrrr too much ? No.
Did we have a good time ? Yes !
It was a very inspirational gig, at least for me. We had a great time on stage and off, seeing so many people enjoying the show. Special credit goes to the middle half of SQY, who graced us with their presence that evening. Cheers mates and thanks for coming, we appreciated it.

Another, albeit smaller, novelty is the fact that we now have our very own www.buckshot-rock.nl domain. And we have thrown in a new email address for good measure as well: info@buckshot-rock.nl. So, for all those burning questions, fan mail, hate mail, blackmail and bakmeel: you know where to send them to.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that we are recording some of our songs during band practices. Jan is in charge of the main mixing duties and is doing a fine job at it too. Sooner or later these recordings will find their way onto tape, CD or MP3. But not until we feel they represent Buckshot the way we want it to. We are already trying to get Ronnie James Dio to sing some backing vocals, Ian Paice to play a few drum fills, Jimmy Page to do some guitar overdubs and are considering Doug Wimbish for some additional bass wizardry. Ahem, one can always dream...

Anyway, better dream on a bit more and say cheerio to you all for now.
See you soon, sometime, somewhere, somehow.
Until then, take care,
Ruud


    31 January 2004

Have I wished everybody a happy New Year yet ? I didn't, did I... Well, here we go then, better late then never:
Happy New Year to all you Buckshot followers out there ! Glad you're still reading these news flashes, no matter how few there are lately.
The band has survived the turkey and red wine and Christmas puddings and we are back in the practice room. We don't get out of there much, it seems ! Apart from the odd gig we have been streamlining and adjusting the set lists and have some really interesting new additions to that list. And really, we can't wait to get out there again and play. At the moment we are working on getting some gigs going, as we all feel we have been away from the stage far too long.
So, that's the only news at the moment. Hey, better than nothing, isn't it ?

See you all soon, somewhere in a smoky pub,
Take care for now,
Cheers,
Ruud


    28 November 2003

What can I say ? About time for an update, you say ? Right, let's do that then.
First of all I want to apologize for the lack of raving news these past few months (months, is it ? Gawd, how time flies), but things have actually happened that were worth mentioning. Put it down to laziness on my part. I'm allowed, I'm the friggin' webmaster, aren't I ?
Anyway. After our little summer retreat, which didn't last 3 and a half months (honestly), we did some gigs, worked on our song list and generally had a good time. Of the gigs, the one worth mentioning most must be the SQY celebration gig. Not so much because of what we did as Buckshot, but more because of what a fabulous evening it was. It was great to see bands like Kalamazoo, Mad Cows (give me cow, anytime !) and of course SQY themselves. But most of all it was a night that I'll remember for a long time, because one of our good friends from UK-based band Contraband Six was nearly electrocuted on stage. Shocking, as we all said ! Such a shame, because the Contrabandits had come all this way from Devon to play their first-ever gig in Holland and it all ended after about 2 songs, when Lou (their lead guitarist) suddenly fell flat down on the floor ! At first we thought it was a cool stage-act, but quickly realized there was something not quite right. It all ended well and Lou is fine now, although he made a nasty tumble and hurt his ribs as he fell. On behalf of Buckshot we'd like to wish Lou a quick recovery and hope to see them back in Holland soon.
Other than that word has it that Buckshot will, finally, record some songs for posterity. I'll keep you posted.

And there you have it... news, as news should be.

See you later, lads and lasses !
Take care and cheers m'dears,
Ruud


    10 August 2003

With the band on summer retreat, there's not much news to report except for a very sad event that left us all with a sense of loss.
On the 20th of July Giel's dad, Johan, suffered a fatal cardiac arrest whilst being on holiday with his family.
I would like to quote a sentence from the obituary that says it all:
"On a beautiful day in July an even more beautiful person has left us..."
Johan was a regular visitor of Buckshot gigs whenever we played in or around Bergeijk and was a very generous and genuinely nice man. Our sympathies are with Giel and his family.

See you after the summer holidays !
Take care,
Ruud


    3 May 2003

Yawwwwn.... Is it 2003 yet ? Oh dear, Happy New Year to you all !
Waking up from hibernation, you ask ? Not really, I say.
As I stated on this 'ere page earlier, I (still the drummer) have been away to the UK for 3 months and have kept in close contact with the other guys over that period of time. Being back in Holland for me means getting back into the swing of things, which in turn means rejoining the band for "phase 3" in our career.
Whilst being away the other guys, mainly Jan en Giel, have been working their fingers to the bone to get together some acoustic renditions of classic rock songs and have even burnt a limited amount of "home grown" CD's to hand out to some of our dearest friends and fans of the band. Needless to say I got one too, yippee !

On the personal front there is news to report as well. Most notably the birth of Hainy and Ingrid's second baby, a girl named Robin. The band welcome the little Tils in our midst and hope to see her at some of our gigs in the (near ?) future :-)

Band news ? Yes we have some of that as well.
Very recently we have decided to keep Buckshot a proper 4-piece band, which means we had to part onstage company with our very good friend and trusted band mate Ramon. A decision that wasn't easy to make, but we all agreed it would be in the band's best interest. Ramon will perform with the band one more time on the 30th of May, when we will playing in Ramon's hometown of Bergeijk.

During my stay in England I was lucky enough to able to attend gigs by ContraBand Six, Deep Blue Reason and even SQY. SQY were there for their annual tour of the Southwest and I had a chance to talk to the guys... in DUTCH ! (Geweldig).
They were supported on some of their gigs by our friends from what used to be Duckshot, who now go by the name of Contraband Six. With a new drummer in the ranks and a new band name these guys have gone through, and I quote the famous Thingfish, "A Massive Improve'lence".

Anyway, been talking for far too long.
Better say cheers, m'dears !
Until the next time,
Ruud


  Time warp back to days gone by...