From: Noise Not Music

Lately, a friend asked me: tell me, what are elizabethan eyes? And I answered: oh, I don’t know.  Really? Yeah, really. Oh, okay. But behind every truth there lies a lie – some big, some small, but they’re always there. Or a story. On our new album Elizabethan there’s a song called ‘Don’t steal my line’, and in that song there’s the line ‘when I see your elizabethan eyes’. What I had in mind while writing that song was the movie Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The mere power of speach – a fighting couple, killing each other with words (I grew up with a fighting couple, they happened to be my parents). Yes, elizabethan eyes could also involve the infinite gaze of William Shakespeare…

And here’s a very short story. We had these plays on highschool, and I had a scene with this classmate who was so nervous at showtime that she started saying my lines – as well as her lines, of course. So I had nothing to say.

Anyhow, the Bingo trappers are very proud to present their new album Elizabethan (a co-production of Morc Records, Almost Halloween Time, Unread and Grapefruit Records – thank you again, Wim, Luigi, Chris and Simon).

You can order this  vinylalbum (with download coupon) in Europe via Morc Records (www.morctapes.com) and Almost Halloween Time (www.underwaternow.com) (handpainted sleeve!). In the U.S. via Unread (www.unread-records.com) and Grapefruit Records (www. grapefruitrecordclub.com)

Cheers!

   Oh, you can also listen to the songs on Spotify, and buy them via CD Baby.

The forthcoming show is on saturday, dec 8 in the Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam, Netherlands. We’ll bring fresh copies of Elizabethan and rock da house.

Yep, we’re back and ready to rock!

There’s a brand new album upcoming, it’s called Elizabethan and we’ll keep you informed about that. In the meantime, there’s gonna be a wonderful evening on thursday november 1 with an expo of the wonderfully painted  albumcovers of Luigi Falagario, who singlehandedly runs his notorious Almost Halloween Time-label. Of course there will be bands playing on this event: Water and the Bingo Trappers. Starting at 21.00…

The place to be is the Dokhuis Galerie, on the Plantage Doklaan 8 – 12 in Amsterdam (which is pretty close to the zoo, you know, that scary place where they keep werewolves, bats and black widow-spiders…)  

Early November 2013 we did a show in Gent, which is a beautiful town in Belgium. It rained all day, but we couldn’t care less. I mean, this wasn’t a show out in the open, we played in a warm and dark club called the  ‘Kinky Star’. Where the hell did they get that name from? I like it though, it has flavor.

While I was standing in front of the club to smoke a cigarette a car pulled over. A guy approached me, his face shiny and hot from anticipation. ‘Is this where Andre Williams is playing tonight?’ he asked me in some weird Flemish accent. I said: ‘No, the Bingo Trappers are playing here tonight.’ All I got back was a hollow stare. Then he ran back to his double-parked car. ‘Wait!’ I said. ‘I’ve heard he’s playing in the neigboring venue. So you’ve reached your destination.’ But the car had already sped away in rain and darkness. I’d never realised that ‘Bingo Trappers’ was such a scary name…

But I know Andre Williams. I mean, not personally, but somewhere back in the nineties I saw him doing a steamy show in Paradiso, Amsterdam. A brilliant performance. Hence, so much for that old bad  motherfucker.

‘Cause that night we were kinky stars.

Somewehere in that fall we made an acoustic cdr to sell after shows, just like the one in Gent. Here are two songs from ‘Seven More Furlongs’.

Straight from the airport, Loretta, Roelie and I drove with my friend Luigi along the beautiful Adriatic coast from Bari to Monopoli. On the right there was dry brown soil with very old and twisted olive trees, and on the left there was this enticing Mediterranean  scenery of rocks, beaches and, of course, the sea. It was so goddamned hot there that the first thing we wanted to do on that sunday in August was to jump into the water and stay there as long as possible. But I couldn’t find my swimming shorts anywhere when packing for this trip.

Somewhere in the old centre of Monopoli we finally found a shop that was open, and I’m not gonna show you a picture on where I’m actually wearing the green swimming shorts I found there.  Instead of that, a picture of a Bingo Trapper and Almost Halloween Time Records-boss in Alberobello, world famous home of the trulli, a congregation of very old small white houses that reminded me a bit of the Smurfs-village. And a picture of the Bingo Trappers-show in Aquaviva della Fonti, on our last evening in wonderful Puglia, and that’s a region in the south of Italy…

Oh, and I added two appropriate songs as well. ‘Solar Holiday’ (called track 6 here – my mistake), from Nine Songs of the Handsome Pouch, and a brand new acoustic version of ‘Water Boy’, originally from the Girlie Food-cassette (’96). Guess it’s a long time since you’ve heard that one…

I could almost hear Alan Wilson’s wonderful voice and the fife-and-drum borrowed flute when I drove to Morgny en Thierache some weeks ago. Bye, bye, dirty old town, I’m going up the country. In a rented Fiat 500 cabrio, I opened the roof when I passed the French border to let the sunshine in, after 5 minutes I was sweating all over. Here’s your country life… By the way, the French radio played Get Lucky from their national pride Daft Punk, and at the same moment I got this friday-noon-fever.

Girlfriend C. mentioned the Bingo Trappers-song ‘Killing Third Floors’ in her going-up-the country-inspired blog (connyspuybroek.blogspot.com), but I have to add some small corrections here. The song is called ‘Prettier’, and you can find it on our latest album Sister Planet.  Guess we’re all looking prettier with our feet on the ground.

The other song is called ‘Call me Zippy’, an outtake from SP and dedicated to our beloved dachshund Snoopy, who also loved to have her four feet on the ground. Boy, did she love the countryside. Especially water, mud and dead birds.

Well, it lasted more than two years since we took off, but our supersonic rocketship finally landed safe and sound on Sister Planet (28031962 x 51 lightyears from home) . And the good news is we will be serving delicious champagne from Bernard H. in Royal Class, Business Class and Tourist Class… While waiting for the locals to unleash us here we’ have a little party popping up. Oh, I mean a big party – sure thing. You’re endorsed with 12 new Bingo Trappers-songs to play over and over again on the little turnplayer in front of you. Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance to the radio. It’s just a manual for a safe trip…

In case you’re not on board, please notion this: you can obtain the new Bingo Trappers album Sister Planet(vinyl-only, with mp3 code) via Morc records (Gent, Belgium) or AHT-records (Bari, Italy – hand drawed sleeves!). Distribution: Clear Spot, NL.

All in dedication of my own sister planet, ruled by Loretta & Roelie. This is your captain speaking.

So, on Sunday october 21th, at 14.00 hr sharp,  mr. Simon Joyner stood waiting at my door with a suitcase and a guitarcase. I was late, and a bit hung-over from a party in West-Noord-Brabant, but he just gave me the same confident smile as 12 years earlier. That’s where friends are made for.  Well, we drank some coffee and talked, then I took a shower and a shave. I don’t know how many precipetous stairways up and down third-floor dwellings in A’dam Oud-West we took (and in the meantime Conny learned Simon to appreciate nasi goreng with some sambal on the side) but finally it was showtime in De Nieuwe Anita, and what precious (if not precipetous) moments we shared on that old basement stage… Needless to say it was a wonderful show on a young misty autumn night.  Legendary. The next morning the sun rose to make the old leaves even more crispier.

if you’d like to hear and see:

http://youtu.be/LC79cSEXu9M  (just Bingo Trappers)

or

http://youtu.be/zfVIaviFORk  (Simon & BT’s)

I’m very proud to announce that we’re gonna do a show with mr. Simon Joyner, all the way from Omaha, Nebraska. And even more so, the Bingo’s are accompanying him on a couple of songs. That’s legendary stuff, I would say. Simon is a long time friend. Don’t know exactly the first time we’ve met, but that we met is evidently so. I guess it was 1995, or make it a year later. He’s my hero, cause he co-released Bingo Trappers first vinyl-attempt Sierra Nevada (together with Dennis Callaci), and that’s another thing to be proud of. That’s right, I’m not in a humble mood today. Say it loud. Well, hardly two years later, during my USA-roadtrip in 1997, I didn’t meet Simon Joyner in the noble town of Omaha, NE . But I met his brother. Simon was off to a wedding in L.A. But he’d set up a show up for me, and there was another local band; I tend to remember that they wore all white T-shirts and had white Fender Stratocasters. Anyway, there was a bright young dude in that band whose name was Conor Oberst. And I had no guitar with me, so I borrowed one of those white Fender Stratocasters. Still don’t know if it was his white strat.

sunday october 21

venue: De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam

doors: 20.30

income: 5 eu

Nine Songs from the Handsome Pouch. Well, what can I say. Apart from the fact that I’ve got tons of time now – my job’s been cancelled, that’s what happened. Here’s your 2012. Basically. Well, let’s see what we’ve got in the pouch, so you can save  all your blessings for later. Shit happens sometimes, that’s the main lesson. How about some vlierbloesemlimonade on the side. Wow, what’s that? Generally, I’m providing you some BT-stuff we recorded in 2007-2008, and I’m still feeling raveneous about it. Yes, I really do.  The thing is, Nine Songs from… had a boastful announcement on our former website, but then the server crashed and on top of that there was also something definitely wrong with the server’s back-ups… That’s why I (and so the rest of the world) kinda lost track of these songs, nine in fact,  ready to beat all worldwide crisis with the bottom line:  it’s gotta be good… It’s an album, I’m a fan of this band.

If you’d like to order Nine Songs from the Handsome Pouch (comes with a unica textile sleeve): mail to bingotrappers@gmail.com. We’ll figure something out…