We're open to suggestions, comments and invitations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please respond to us anyway, maybe you want a full CD that has been released recently.

Please let me know !! Send me an e-mail.

Paul
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ We can serve you one appetizer from our latest album '1+1=3'' ( see attachment ) which has been issued August, featuring Enrico Crivellaro, Italian's best bluesguitar player.

This band was founded in 1993 by singer/guitarist Mike ‘The Kid’ Donkers and bass player Jules ‘Lord Julius’ van Brakel. Both Mike and Jules were dissatisfied with the band they were playing in and decided to get together one Sunday afternoon. Mike had a love for Texas blues, particularly Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan and Anson Funderburgh, and Jules was crazy about Ronnie Earl and Stevie Ray Vaughan. It didn’t take long for them to decide they should form a new band together. “But where are we going to find a drummer?”, Mike asked. Jules said he knew just the guy. This turned out to be Jules’s rhythm partner, Guido ‘El Guido’ Willemsen. Mike and Jules decided right there and then they would quit their bands and form a Texas Blues trio. One morning soon after that Mike literally woke up with a name for the band – Mike & the Mellotones. This was, of course, based on such names as Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble and Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets. When Mike & the Mellotones came on the Dutch blues scene, there was no other band like them. It seemed like everybody was trying to copy the Chicago blues sound and they all sported hats, shades, beards, and Gibson guitars. Along came Mike & the Mellotones with greased-back hairdos, Fender Stratocasters and sharp suits, introducng Dutch blues audiences (and soon international blues enthusiasts) to their particular brand of Texas blues. They took the blues scene by storm, often playing long sets for wild crowds. In 1996, Dutch blues label Lizard Disks signed the band and released a live debut album entitled Live Magic. During that same year, the band became friends with ‘Monster’ Mike Welch, who was then new on the scene as a 16-year-old blues sensation. They decided to work together on the second album of Mike & the Mellotones, released in 1997. During that time Guido had left the band, to be replaced by Rens ‘El Lorenzo’ Hardijzer. With Lorenzo behind the drumkit the band was able to rock out even harder, resulting in a powerful third album, Thumbs up!, released in 1999. Yet the band felt their music was becoming too much of a routine. To break this routine, they experimented with a second guitarist, a keyboard player and a harmonica player. None of it seemed to work, because as a trio the band had developed almost telepathic communication, which only resulted in Mike, Jules and Rens appreciating their tight trio sound even more. Still there was a need for change, because they felt like they were repeating themselves. Unable to find a new direction they liked, Jules then decided to leave the band in 2003, after 10 years of being an original Mellotone. However, just before that, the band released a live album entitled Wild Live Action (2002). Featured on the album are Texan guest players Mike Morgan and Gary Primich and Australian guest musician Geoff Achison. After Jules had announced his departure from the band, Mike and Rens invited two young guns to play in the band – guitar picker Ruben ‘Ruubz’ Klabbers and bassist Mike ‘The Trigger’ Sedee. As a four piece, the band changed course and focused on their classic rock and southern rock influences and changed their name to simply The Mellotones. This resulted in an album called Not The Same (2006). Unfortunately, the band was too blues for rock and too rock for blues. This left the band in a crisis. Guitarist Ruben Klabbers was replaced by Jaap ‘Skimpy Jizzle’ Lagerweij, only to be replaced by Ruben K. again. Eventually, the band decided to become a trio and rename themselves Mike & the Mellotones and go back to playing blues in 2009. The bass player at that time was still Mike Sedee and the drummer still Rens Hardijzer. Their return to their original blues and trio sound felt like coming home. The band hadn’t played blues in six years and it felt good to be doing what they knew how to do best. Mike Sedee left the band in 2011 to play guitar in a rock band called Black Bottle Riot. With his help, a replacement bass player was found – Erwin ‘Lefty Zennings’ van Gestel. But then Mike Donkers reunited with his old buddy and co-founder of Mike & the Mellotones, Jules van Brakel and Jules became the band’s bass player once again, after an 8-year absence. This was short-lived though, as Jules was also asked to play bass in Dutch blues band King Mo and opted for that band instead. Mike and Rens then asked Erwin to join the band, instead of him being the substitute bass player. Wanting to put themselves back on the map after not having released a blues album in 8 years’ time, Mike and Rens decided in mid-November 2011 to look for a studio and book a recording date. The studio became the Edgetip Studio in Arnhem and the date was January 22nd, 2012. At that time Mike and Rens had ZERO new songs – every tune had yet to be written! But by the time Jan. 22nd rolled around they were armed with 12 new tunes, two of which were cover tunes – talk about a burst of creativity! The idea came up to ask their old buddy Enrico Crivellaro, Italy’s – if not Europe’s – finest blues picker, to play on the album as well. Enrico said yes, of course, and pretty soon you’ll be holding the end result in your hands. With this new CD, Mike & the Mellotones are every bit as relevant as they were when they started out, 19 years ago, showing why they were at the forefront of a new blues movement. Since their inception in 1993, bands have come and gone, yet Mike & the Mellotones have remained a mainstay in the European blues scene for almost 20 years now. Despite their relative silence since their release of Not The Same in 2006, the band actually never broke up or quit (although, admittedly, they came pretty close at times). It’s like Glenn Frey of the Eagles once said – they just took a long vacation. But now they’re back with a vengeance! Just listen to these samples and you’ll know they’ve only gotten better through the years – like a vintage amp or guitar!
New album and new tour! Mike & the Mellotones have released a new album, which will be enitled 1 + 1 = 3. This album, the band’s sixth album, will feature Italy’s finest blues guitar player, Enrico Crivellaro. Enrico’s unique talent hasn’t gone unnoticed outside his native Italy either, since he is regularly invited by top American blues players to play along on records or even go on tour with them. Enrico and Mike & the Mellotones have been friends for years, so when the band asked him for a guest spot on their new album, Erico didn’t hesitate one bit! 2012 will also see more collaboration between Mike & the Mellotones and Enrico Crivellaro, as the band will perform with Enrico and vice versa. On top of that, Enrico will also perform in the Netherlands with his own band. So check out the gig guide and don’t miss out!
Rhythm and Blues Peer Moulin Blues Ospel Bluesrock Tegelen ( 2 maal )
Zwarte Cross ( 2 maal )
Festivals in Engeland en Ierland: National Burnley Blues Festival Exeter Bluesday Festival The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival, Colne Harvest Time Blues, Monaghan, Ireland Dartmouth Blues Festival Birmingham International Jazz Festival Dragon Blues Wrexham, Wales Bishopstock Blues Festival, Clyst St Mary Mayfest, Stevenage

 

Mike & the Mellotones are:

Mike Donkers vocals and guitar

Raymon Oostenrijk: bass

Lorenzo Hardijzer : drums

 

Info and Bookings:
Paul Jansen Mobile: