Hans Theessink plays The Healer on Thursday, The Woombye Hotel on Friday, the Bangalow Hotel on Saturday, the Forest Café at Tamborine Mountain on Sunday and the East Coast Blues & Roots Festival at the Red Devil Park, Byron Bay on March 28 and March 29.
With a career spanning some 30 years, Hans Theessink is the quintessential blues troubadour. Originally hailing from the cool climes of Denmark, this singer, songwriter and guitarist has traversed the world many times over solo, fronting his own band or collaborating on varying scales. March sees him heading south to join the stellar line-up of the East Coast Blues and Roots Music Festival over the Easter long-weekend, but happily South East Queenslanders get additional opportunities to see this eclectic artist leading up to the big event.
Primarily a blues man, Hans likes to take the twelve-bar and mix it up with some gospel, folk and country feels. He’s tackling this Australian tour without his band but promises some gutsy acoustic playing, heavily laden with some heartfelt slide and tasty harp.
As Hans explains: “I listen to lots of different kinds of music. My main influences in blues are the old folk blues guys like Leadbelly, Big Bill Broonzy, Son House. I'm fond of their emotional impact and complete one-man sound. I suppose I’ve come to blues from the folky side as opposed to the rock side.”
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“My solo guitar playing is very complete. I try to play the chords, melody lines, bass lines, percussion at the same time, while singing and occasionally playing the mouth harp. This sounds very busy but can also get real sparse. When I play with my band I have to strip it down a little to leave space. My band sound is basically acoustic. An important ingredient is the combination of guitar and vocals with tuba and percussion”
Yes you heard right—tuba. One of Hans’ main musical partners is a tuba player. Hans elaborates.
“I've been working with Jon Sass, a tuba player from New York, for nearly 15 years. He's on all my CDs (except the solo stuff). The blend of guitars, voice and tuba gives my sound a special twist that you probably won't hear otherwise.”
This Danish gypsy has released several CDs both solo and with a band, live and studio. His latest CD, released back in 1998 on his own Blue Groove label, is entitled Lifeline. The album features 14 tracks, 11 penned by Hans himself.
Hans explains the process: “I recorded at many different studios in Europe and North America. The tapes did a lot of traveling. I try to be very careful in the recording situation in order to obtain a real good sound. I have quite a few fans in hi-fi circles that really appreciate outstanding sound-quality coupled with handmade music.”
After this three-year recording hiatus, Hans is back in the studio working on a couple of new projects.
“I've just produced a tribute CD for a friend of mine that died two years ago. His name is Derroll Adams and he was a folky American banjo player that lived in Europe (Antwerp; Belgium). He influenced lots of people with his music which had a lot of depth in all it's simplicity. I got some musical friends together that were influenced by Derroll and also were his friends to do the record: apart from myself. There is Arlo Guthrie, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Donovan, Dolly Parton, Ralph McTell, Billy Connolly, Happy Traumao. The record will be released this coming August coinciding with a big concert that we will do at a festival in Denmark. The CD will be released on two labels: my own Blue Groove in Europe and Arlo Guthrie's Rising Son label in the US.”
“I've also started on my own next CD which will be more or less solo: a few guitar tuba duets and quite a bit with the female vocalists from Oakland, Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir, who sang on Lifeline too. I hope to release it this Fall.”
“The sound of the album will be more sparse than the last few CDs, mainly guitars and vocals. Also I will do quite a few of my favourite songs by some of the older blues men. We've been really careful in the recording situation to get state-of-the-art sound. We used about 10 microphones just for the guitar and voice!”
Until then we can content ourselves with experiencing the Scandinavian blues first hand.
“This is my first trip to Australia so there are always new doors to open. I'm really looking forward to the trip. Who knows, maybe I’ll find some good musicians to play on my next album!”
