GREAT CARNAVAL

De Rammen in Eindhoven

This is always a weekend (a rather long one,.. with 5 days on the road) I am looking forward to the entire year. A period one can forget everything happening around you, leaving life for what it is for a few days, no sorrows, no work-related trouble,... pure fun!

With the band we're always pretty busy these days. We're working through a total of nearly 30 performances in 5 days.... in 12 different towns and villages. The parties in the little villages are usually really special!

Unbelievable how crowded jam-packed some of the bars can get there. We played at some plced which were filled to the maximum. Especially the 7 Lantaarns in Drunen is always a pleasure to be at. Not just because the party there is organised by the Blaospepkes, but they have us finish the afternoon programme in front of a bar full of extactic people (ok,.. who already had a few beers...). The PSV party didn't quite live up to our expectations. The location had moved from the impressive stadium to a large bar complex. We were lucky to perform on the main stage, for most of the bands played all the way at the other end of the room.

Eindhoven on Sunday afternoon was a blast. Played in 5 bars. Not too crowded in most places, but a great atmosphere!! Even got to play together with our (female) friend from LOSBANDIG, a brazilian-style drum ensemble, with who we performed a few times in previous years. The joint ensemble performance in the street was a great hit that afternoon. We drew a large crowd with this unscheduled gig.

Carnaval is all over now. Our band's founders, Jaap - the sousaphone player - had his last carnaval with the band. After 30 years with the band he's closing the book. We're all very sorry about this decision, but we couldn't convince him to stay longer. Not that he's leaving us completely,... but as a musician. Obviously he will always be a RAM !

Enjoy,

HK