First guesses: Why The Netherlands refused the world’s biggest bands her largest venues (for a long time) | 6 July 2022 repost

In 1978 the Rotterdam Kuip started hosting big concerts. Its capacity was 64.000. It was brought back 47.500 in the 21st century.

It was one of those things, right under your nose, that you somehow manage to miss.
Even though the signs had been there all along.

Because why did Bon Jovi play the relatively small indoor venue Ahoy TWICE on their New Jersey Syndicate Tour, in 1988 and 1989;
When they would have sold even a 100.000 tickets in a heartbeat?
And on a bad day.

Why had I wondered, oh so very often, why me and my boyfriend visited an insane amount of hard rock festivals in the early 90s;
But hardly, any concerts by one band?

Why had the Rolling Stones played at The Netherlands most luxurious beach hotel, Kurhaus Scheveningen, in 1964?
Only to have it spin out of control in madness and mayhem by fans, and a lot of material damage.
Which should have come as a surprise, to absolutely no one.

And even!
Even;
Why did Bon Jovi’s 1995 concert in Nijmegen, fall flat on its face, after it being hastily relabeled, yet not quite fully (let alone effectively) into a  four-bill “festival”.
Whatever that means.
Suffice to say it didn’t work, and although Nijmegen 1995 does not have a recording, sources seem to agree at least for Bon Jovi, it had not worked and they had been unable to make that night’s concert “work”.
Which is saying something, because they’d been able to make concerts where they had increasingly larger objects being thrown at them, work, when in 1984 they opened for the hostile crowds of ZZ Top and Scorpions.

But somehow the “Dutch quadruple bill” trick at the Goffertpark, had caught them off-guard, and off-key.

From hosting the first concert The Rolling Stones would play outside of the United Kingdom, at the Kurhaus in 1964, which also counts as The Netherland’s first go at organizing a band concert;
To Holland’s uncontrollable urge to squeeze bands together on one bill;
Something seems rotten, in the kingdom of the Netherlands. 

And the preference can be seen to this day.
It started with the open air concert in Kralingen (Stamping Ground, 1970) but in 2022 there are still way more festivals, with tens of thousands of people, than there are open air concert locations that do one-band or one-artist concerts.

Let’s assume, that the latter habit, or preference, is a global one. A commercial one. That over the whole world, concert organizers rather go for packaging up a certain TYPE of music;
Thinking it will sell more tickets because it will attract a broader audience, than that they feel called to book for, basically the niche group of, one fanbase.

So let’s assume that part of the Dutch preference, to have at least a dozen festivals/ festival locations, but only a handful of concert locations that pass the 50.000 attendees mark?
Let’s for now, let that rest, and write it off as a global thing. Book it under capitalism, whatever.
Park it.

Let’s also, just like in statistics when you take out the numbers that vary too much from the whole, before you make an estimate;
Let’s not count that very first Rolling Stones concert.
It’s too long ago, and no one had hosted a Rolling Stones concert outside the UK, so good for the Netherlands that they made that mark in Rock n Roll history!

And now we get into how I, finally, begin to understand that there is a whole part of Dutch history missing. 
And the part is;
For the longest of times, there were no real concerts in the Netherlands.

This was the part I opened with; the thing that had been under my very nose.
And it was brought to my attention by my mother.
Because I asked her how she and my father had known how important it had been for me to go to Bon Jovi?
They had not been, at first glance, the types of parents to facilitate events like concerts at the other side of the country (in the Netherlands that is a 2.5 hour drive), on a school night.
Our family revolved around what my father wanted, then what my mother wanted, and for the children it revolved around what they thought we needed.
Not what we knew we wanted.

Our wants were not discouraged, but there was an unspoken rule that the wants were not their department. Those were our own to figure out, and as long as it didn’t interfere with school, we could do it.
But “going to” Bon Jovi on a school night (the quotation marks stand for not having a clue how to get there without them driving me!) did, interfere with school!

So then how did they, and pretty unanimously it seemed, decide it was important enough to drive me and two friends there?
When none of their policies would have led to this outcome?

And that was when I offered;
“Was it perhaps because dad would have wanted to go, in the 60s?”
And my mother replied:
“Oh no! We didn’t have concerts in the 60s!”
And that’s how this whole topic of wanting to know the history of Dutch concerts, came about!

And when I suddenly understood, why the Rolling Stones had been at Kurhaus. Strangely enough, up until that moment, I had never wondered why they had played at such an odd location.
When in hindsight, it makes total sense, because it was the first concert ever booked here.

Broad strokes, the 50s and 60s, can be divided into the mainland of Europe, which was still recovering from the war.
And Japan, United States and England, which had not been occupied. 
So for the first twenty years or so, you can pretty much see why Europe was so far behind, in having a music industry.

Rock n Roll was brought to The Netherlands by the Indonesian community.
From Wikipedia on Indorock:

“Indorock is a musical genre that originated in the 1950s in the Netherlands. It is a fusion of Indonesian and Western music, with roots in Kroncong (traditional Portuguese-Indonesian fusion music). The genre was invented by Indo repatriates in the Netherlands after Indonesian independence on August 17, 1945, and became popular especially in Germany. Indorock is one of the earliest forms of “Eurorock”.[1] Its influence on Dutch popular music was immense.”

This illustrates that The Netherlands were quite cutting edge when it came to music, just not in organizing concerts.
In conversation with someone from Germany, my impression was they had big venues for Europe’s most popular acts, over a decade sooner, than the Netherlands.

And in 1978, Feyenoord Stadion in Rotterdam, opened its doors for world famous pop artists, but only the absolute biggest names, were allowed to play there;
When rock bands were to play smaller venues or festival or multiple bill concerts, when my impression was, they had far outgrown that.
Bon Jovi late 80s could have easily, sold out Feyenoord Stadion.

In the 90s, it was as if Dutch concert organizer Mojo, did a brave attempt to SATISFY, Dutch desire to see the Rolling Stones live!

1990: 3x Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam
1995: 2x Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam, Megaland, Landgraaf (festival),  2x Goffertpark, Nijmegen, 2x Paradiso, Amsterdam
1998: Malieveld, Den Haag + 5x Amsterdam ArenA
1999: Megaland, Landgraaf (festival)+ Stadspark, Groningen

But ten years of sold out concerts in The Netherland’s biggest venues later; 
And they could still get no satisfaction!

So do I have guesses, about what happened in The Netherlands?
Hardly.

What I know is that every time I visit a concert, I am so happy with Mojo, our organizer. They seem to get better at tweaking their concerts, everytime a little more.
The chair throwing of the Kurhaus, is definitely a thing of the ancient past! 

The organization, the execution, of Dutch concerts is phenomenal.
For example: The Golden Circle is never overbooked, something I ve definitely seen happening on video footage from shows abroad.
Mojo Concerts deserves a 10 out of 10, for their work!

Yesterday they signed a contract here in Nijmegen, making Goffertpark one of their only handful 50.000 attendees, locations. For their biggest shows.
And Nijmegen tends to get all the rock concerts, so I m absolutely delighted with this deal!

But do I think money is being left on the table?
And that it’s the bands, that have suffered the most?
I do.
Suffered from whatever it is, that seemed to have gotten off on the wrong foot.

Do I know why?
Probably not.

But I do know, it could be changed.
In a heartbeat.
On a bad day.

~Suzanne
Rock Star Writer

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First guesses: Why The Netherlands refused the world’s biggest bands her largest venues (for a long time)
was written on July 6, 2002
and was initially posted on a different blog.

That was it! 

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Although band concerts seemed to have been hosted too small in The Netherlands, until latest of 80s/early 90s, they were welcome at one of Holland’s many festivals and multiple-bill concerts.
Stamping Ground (1970) was the first and probably the most legendary one: 

This Rock Star Writer blog is an element of “Rock Star” [phase 3]

Title: “Rock Star”
or “Rock Star yoga/ business/ writer”

artists: Suzanne Beenackers, little bear Puux           
art form: writing + YouTube videos
leg 1: earliest expressions, mixed work, July 2019 – March 2022
leg 2: The Void April 2022 – January 2023
leg 3: Storytelling 17 January 2023 – 

4 blogs
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3. World Between Worlds
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3 YouTube channels, all rebooted late May 2023
1. English YouTube Stories of Bon Jovi and the White Tigress
2. Nederlandse YouTube de Club, Yoga voor Generatie X (Dutch)
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Books

You can find my books The Little Mistress Who Turned Into A Baby Koala
A Boyfriend Like Jon Bongiovi
and White Tigress Yoga Workbook
at the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter

If you live in The Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, you can also order these books from me – just go to the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter
to check out which ones you want, and write me an email at s_beenackers@hotmail.com.
Payment is via PayPal or bank transfer.

 

A revelation, unprepared and overthrown. The birth of a storyteller. | Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen documentary

I knew I had to go to Hallelujah, the documentary about Leonard Cohen’s legendary song.
I knew I had-to, didn’t want-to…

It might seem quite obvious why someone who is into rock music would not get too excited about a movie about storyteller, and singer-songwriter (before the word existed) Leonard Cohen, but it was not that obvious to me because I love biopics and documentaries about musicians.

A few years ago I had enjoyed the Leonard Cohen documentary “Words of Love”, about his relationship with the Marianne from the song “So long Marianne”.
Maybe that was it; I had already seen the to me most interesting part, the love story that had lasted throughout their lives.
Marianne chose for a normal life, instead of being the on and off muse to a fickle troubadour, but the documentary proved love cannot be fooled.
The heart cannot be betrayed.

We can choose a good life, we can give our time, our love, our devotion, to a new partner who does not crush us, overwhelm us, does not overthrow us, as the word in the lyrics of Hallelujah say.
Overthrow also being the word Cohen uses to describe the austerity of the Zen monastery he will stay at for 5 years, “designed to overthrow you”.

We can turn away from those kinds of forces and do what is the right thing to do, in particular if children are involved. The price for Marianne’s life on the island of Hydra, was paid by the  son of Marianne and her first husband.
Together with all the other children of parents and families staying there.
They never got to grow up within the structured routines of a normal family life.

I think even more than out of her own need or necessity, Marianne chose a normal life to provide a better life for him.
She went back to Norway, with her son.
But his fate seems to have been determined by a trip to India with his father, Marianne’s ex-husband. A recently released documentary Little Axel, honors his story. 

Although Marianne remarried, and was happy with her new life, she and Leonard Cohen stayed in touch. It was no secret they were still very fond of each other.
A life can be adapted, but the heart chooses. Hers, had chosen.

Maybe because I believed the most important part of Leonard Cohen’s story, and the part I was interested most, had already been told in the previous documentary Words of Love, I didn’t feel like going to Hallelujah, which would only revolve around one song.
But I went, nonetheless.
Because it was unthinkable not to go.
I’m a rock star writer, and movies about music are the easiest, almost done-for-you stories to tell.
The work is already done by the maker of the film, all I have to do is to show up to watch it.

And I did, totally unprepared to be blown away by it.
Unprepared to be overthrown, by Hallelujah the documentary, like generations have been overthrown by the song.

Part of what resonated with me can be attributed to the song. To the universal principles of seeking meaning, of seeking God.
The story of a song that had a rough start of no one wanting it, then meandering for decades until a Disney movie (!), makes it so big it takes on a life of its own.

The lyrics of the version we have been hearing the past 20 years, no longer contain the original sexual references.
The Hallelujah that ultimately became the best known, most covered version is the Rufus Wainwright version of the official soundtrack album, with lyrics that were compiled by the Shrek producers.

No one expected Hallelujah to ever become this big, but now that it did, and we can see the painstaking, years-long, notebook-consuming process, it took Cohen to come to the song, crying out to God he could no longer do it because the work was just too hard, we can see it was well-deserved.
That Hallelujah was a song Cohen had to fight for, to be the one to bring it. To be the Chosen One, to sing this divine song.
A song Cohen would keep changing the lyrics from, moving out of the old testament into contemporary ones, but his lyrics always married sexuality with spirituality.

Writing Hallelujah was a process that took years, and even when we thought he had finished it, he had not finished it.
Cohen was still, writing.

To see an artist wrestle bringing forth his greatest work, I think that is what this movie is about. Not just to me, but for everybody.
But for me something far more practical and tangible came out of it.
Something hidden, in the story of how Cohen went from being a poet, to a  song-writer, to a singer, to a spiritual seeker.
He immersed himself in his relationship with God, just like he immersed himself in his relationship with women.
He lived it, he breathed it, he devoured it and it devoured him.
It overthrew him and he let himself be overthrown.

And then, he wrote.

Songs, lyrics, verses, versions. But also poems and prayers. For his 50th birthday he wrote Words of Mercy, with 50 prayers, which he offered to those in need of them but which he wrote, as he stresses, out of necessity.
Because at that time, it was the only way the words came out.

radio interview:
Leonard Cohen discusses ‘Book of Mercy’ on CKUA (1984)

And it was this necessity to write, the mixing of sexuality and spirituality, the knowing that the two are intertwined, that I recognized in myself.
And it was him defining himself as a storyteller, and letting the medium be in service of the story, that I needed to hear.
That I needed to hear, now that my own career, aged 50, needed to be restarted. And this time, I wanted to choose right.
I did not, ever again, wanted to be known for possessing a certain skill or craft and then be limited by the rules, regulations, business models and expectations tied to that skill or craft.

But it wasn’t until I saw Cohen’s struggle with God, with words, with telling the stories he knows are his to tell, and his surrender to using whatever medium was at hand;
That I understood what I had done wrong.

What I had done wrong, and had course corrected, but still-
not in the right way.
I had course corrected wrongly.
And this wrong course correct, had ultimately made me toss away something that despite 20+ years of being delusional about it, had been mine!
And that thing was y
oga.
Yoga is my craft after all.

Just absolutely not the way I thought it was for 15 years and not the way I thought it was for the last 5 years, when I desperately tried to understand it.
Course corrected it.
Wrongly….

To be frank, I have tried to burn both my writing and as well as my yoga, the two mediums I am most skilled at.
And for years I failed. 

I wanted to burn writing because it was too unpredictable, cost too much time (a post like this easily costs 5 hours) and writing bore the hallmarks of a hobby.
My writing was like the 180 verses of Hallelujah;
To market it, there was too much and it was too messy. And yet there were still more verses for me to write.
My work as a writer is never done, there are always more thoughts to be had and more stories to tell. I often say that if they sold writer’s block in a bottle, I would pay for that.

And then there was yoga.
Oh…. yoga.
Although I still understand why I chose it, late 20th century, and I can still see the amazing things I, as a teacher, would have been able to do with it, my resentment to being a yoga teacher and in particular to being seen as a yoga teacher, and what my profession entailed- my resentment had become unbearable.
I was more than ready to burn yoga, ritually, if I had known how.

And last week, the big WHY dropped. I saw why it was important to burn the yoga teacher badge forever.
Because yoga would take my life, if I didn’t.
It would prevent me from doing the work I absolutely want to do, before I die. An urgency better and more eloquently expressed by a 70 year old Cohen.

There comes a moment when the net starts closing in, you know your timeline is ending, and you know it is now or never.

Everybody tries to talk me out of this fatalistic way of thinking but for me it is clear;
If I don’t choose right this time, my life is lost.

I will never finish my Hallelujah, and step into the role of being a modern-day writer whose task is vastly different from the book-writing author of the 20th century, as well as profoundly different from the commercial bloggers of the 21st- if I don’t cut ties with the yoga that cost me two decades.

I will never be the writer I know I am meant to be, if I keep dragging that old yoga teacher identity with me, like a cross.

Last week, it made me so happy to say goodbye to yoga.
I glowed as if I had found a new lover, God, or both!
And could not remember the last time I felt SO good.

But then I saw it…
And I did see it before the documentary, to be honest;
Glimpses.
When I saw that I had already done a lot of writing, creating books, guides, manuals, all in the field of yoga and that I absolutely wholeheartedly loved.
My book The White Tigress Yoga Workbook.
The free Bon Jovi yoga manual.
And the Dutch compilation, Love Duckie’s Yogabook, that I wrote in my child-like handwriting to make it extra cute. Well, it’s Love Duckie’s handwriting of course.

They were glimpses where I understood that in order for those and all the other yoga schedules on my computer and on paper, and for all my still-to-be-made yoga creations, and the books about the White Tigress lineage I still wanted to study so desperately and perhaps write a new one- that topic is my necessity to study, like Leonard Cohen’s 50 prayers of Words of Mercy were a necessity to write!-
that I needed to get back to yoga.

notebooks containing verses and variations to Hallelujah

That somehow, despite yoga already having taken 20 years of my life which I could not get back, the only way to honor the work I had created, the yoga schedules in those three publications and all the schedules I create as abundantly and prolifically like Leonard Cohen created new verses to his Hallelujah-
that in order to save that work, I needed to get back to yoga.

But I also knew, that I could not be trapped again in the yoga teacher’s body. That I could not lose one more day, being confined in this role of being a yoga teacher. Not teaching like that in real life, nor in the way I had been on YouTube since 2015. 
Not to mention I had lost 2022 entirely, because I thought I would reboot my two YouTube channels with yoga, and then hardly creating anything for a whole year.
And wept, because 2022 had been the worst year of my life.
Totally lost.

I knew I could not, let that happen again.

So I was left to find a way to get back to yoga.
Back to the schedules I had made in twenty years time, schedules that had been my little works of art, my words of love or drawings of love (and of Love Duckie), and find a way to be with them, share them, teach them, which was as I now realized my work to do just like Leonard’s work was his poetry and his seeking, his writing.

But I had to find a way to do it without being a yoga teacher.

Fail, and my life will be in vain.
My life stands upon the edge of a knife and if I stray I will either lose yoga, and the work that was mine to do, or I will be devoured by being seen as a yoga teacher.
By this role, that constricted me so much, because I did not know I was a creator, a writer, and not a business owner or a professional.

To be seen as a yoga teacher was harmful, because I am an artist and I need to be free.

Stray.
A little.
And fail.

And then the documentary gave me the answer. Hallelujah provided both the context to understanding that yes! Yoga was indeed a medium that I should be using. Just like Leonard had poetry, song writing, prayer writing, singing and recording, and performing.
Yoga was a medium, like any other. But this was mine.

The mistake I course-corrected wrongly, the one I talked about a few paragraphs further up,  was I thought I had been drawn to yoga from a performer’s perspective.
That what I had wanted from yoga, was to use it as a performance tool. As a way to let my body express something.

That’s what I wrestled with these final years.
I knew that I had been drawn to yoga, when it was done by performers. Which had led me to believe, that it had been the performance element, that I had not found in the official trainings I took, and it was not part in the yoga I taught either. 
For years I had been convinced performance was the craft I wanted to develop, both with and within yoga.

But the Leonard Cohen documentary showed me, the key element to my art, is not performance.
It isn’t performance at all.

That I, like Leonard Cohen, am a storyteller.

What had appealed to me, when I saw a performer who did yoga, was that they told a story, with their body!
It had not been the performer thing, it had been the story-teller thing.
Their body had added meaning, urgency, and energy, to yoga.
Their body had given yoga, a story.

Exactly like my White Tigress workbook, my Bon Jovi yoga manual, and Love Duckie’s yoga book, had given yoga a story.

The reason I have felt so absolutely horrible, desperate and ultimately devastated and ready to burn all yoga, was that I could not tell my stories.
Sure, I created a little 5 minutes here and there to talk about it;
A themed class, a themed series.
But ultimately I knew those little creative outbursts were in service of yoga, because THAT was the role of a yoga teacher. To be in service of yoga, and in service of the people looking for yoga.

But my job is to be in service of the story.
And my yoga should be in service of the story.

I don’t want to teach yoga, create yoga, do yoga, that is the most effective, that is the best, or that is highest in demand.
All those years, from late 20th century with the performer Madonna expressing all kinds of Rock Star things with her muscular yoga body;
To the frustration I had when I felt that as a yoga teacher my job was to be silent when I wanted to scream and wake the world.
It all came down to one thing;
Story.

And the absolute necessity, the knowing, the urgency, the motherfucking CALLING, of knowing I am here to speak, and write, and share, and shake up.
And that yoga is part of how I express.

And it’s a very, very large part.

So I was right, last week, when I knew I would never be a yoga teacher ever again. I’m not a yoga teacher.
I’m a storyteller.

And my yoga has been going on for 25 years, and although it looks like I’m done, there is still so much work to do. 
It is so horribly and terribly, so terrifyingly incomplete, compared to the vastness of all the untold yoga stories, still inside of me.

It took until the movie, the Leonard Cohen documentary, to understand that yoga is not my profession.
Being a storyteller is.
And my first expression is writing.
My second is speaking.
And my third is yoga.

And together, they are my time-consuming, life-bringing, impossible, maddening, euphoric, Hallelujah.

Together, they are Grace.
.

~Suzanne
Rock Star Writer

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That was it! 

Thank you for reading my Rock Star Writer blog!
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Books

You can find my books The Little Mistress Who Turned Into A Baby Koala
A Boyfriend Like Jon Bongiovi
and White Tigress Yoga Workbook
at the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter

If you live in The Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, you can also order these books from me – just go to the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter
to check out which ones you want, and write me an email at s_beenackers@hotmail.com.
Payment is via PayPal or bank transfer.

This Rock Star Writer blog is an element of “Rock Star” [phase 3]

Title: “Rock Star”
or “Rock Star yoga/ business/ writer”

artists: Suzanne Beenackers, little bear Puux           
art form: writing + YouTube videos
leg 1: earliest expressions, mixed work, July 2019 – March 2022
leg 2: The Void April 2022 – January 2023
leg 3: Storytelling 17 January 2023 – 

3 YouTube channels, all to be rebooted late January 2023
1. English YouTube Stories of Bon Jovi and the White Tigress
2. Nederlandse YouTube Het Yogaboek van Liefdeseend
3. YouTube Rock Your Business

4 blogs
1. Rock Star Writer (current blog)
2. About Bon Jovi concerts: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga
3. World Between Worlds
4. Dutch blog: Suzanne Beenackers

2 Facebook pages
1. Rock Star Writer on Facebook
2. Dutch: Suzanne Beenackers Schrijver Facebook met beertje Puux

1 Twitter account
my personal Twitter account

Silent Night? Silent autumn and winter, I’m afraid. { I burned my fuses }

Unfortunately, this is not one of those posts that will only increase in value with time. Not a precious new addition that will be picked up by search engines and Google Android reader, months from now.
But fortunately, it is also not a post that has disturbing news such as “this site is changing”.
Because it is not changing!

My vision for this site is still the same as the day I changed this site from rockstaryoga to rockstarwriter, which was pre-pandemic if I’m not mistaken.

Which is to write music-inspired long reads, and the official series are to write posts about Bon Jovi’s box set (2004) and to write about Bon Jovi’s 1995 90 minute Wembley recording Live From London.
And I had decided that the Live from London series would also cover all the extra songs, available on a 3-ish hour bootleg version of that night in Wembley.
But I haven’t written for either one of those series for over a year now.

In 2022 I have only written a few longreads, about The Red Hot Chili Peppers in The Netherlands;
A playlist for Jon Bon Jovi’s 60th birthday;
And I wrote about three live performances I saw this year, Guns N Roses, and two local bands/artists.
And that’s it, that was 2022.

But this summer, I wrote many accidental long reads for a blog called #dailybonjoviyoga.
And just like this blog, which was renamed Rock Star Writer, pretty soon after having opened as Rock Star Yoga-
in the same manner #dailybonjoviyoga was redubbed #dailybonjovilive a few days ago.
Because I only wrote about live concerts, and hardly if ever about yoga.

So clearly, my biggest inspiration this year came from the live concerts. Attending them AND listening to them! 

I will start harvesting, cleaning up, and rewriting, all the relevant long-read blog posts I wrote for that other blog, and repost them here.
So that we can close 2022 here on the Rock Star Writer blog, with a strong list of new additions.

But listening to concerts is taking a toll on my mental health, because I think I burned some innerfuse this summer! 

I hear snippets of Bon Jovi music in my head all day, and when I go to bed at night it’s even worse. As if three radios are playing simultaneously.
My brain is no longer able to make sense of everything I have been listening to.

It mixes Bon Jovi with whatever movie I saw last, or series I watched.
And when I close my eyes, I see moving images that belong in sci-fi movies.

It’s like a mental filter, that should have been there, is no longer there. Since this summer, I’m in a constant state of overstimulation.
So I just gave up on going to a concert from Bon Jovi tribute Bounce, a show I was going to attend in November, in Germany.
And I had been counting the days to go, since last August! 

—-
So ARE YOU ready to rock?!
Then make your final months of 2022 memorable!

Bon Jovi tribute band Bounce is touring Germany: 
https://www.bonjovitribute.de/termine.php
An amazing experience.

YouTube playlist here: Tribute band Bounce (est. 2001) + singer Oliver Henrich 
—-

For me personally, attending was no longer an option. I would have woken up sick the next day. And two train rides and hours away from home, just like I had woken up after Guns N’ Roses. Barely able to move, and more in need of Paracetamol than breakfast.

So no live music for me, for now…. I really want to sort myself out, sooner rather than later because a Rock Star Writer that can’t attend rock concerts, is at the stage of not being able to do her work. So let’s hope this is temporary and that I m back on the road soon.

Until then I will be taking it the slowest of slow, these final months of 2022. There will be more than one silent night.

Silent Night is a Bon Jovi track from the second Bon Jovi album, 7800 Fahrenheit (1985). An album that was lost in history.
Silent Night was one of the songs from that second album, which was added to the setlist, for the 1985 tour. It had a special part to play, because it was the only ballad of Bon Jovi’s first and second album.

Silent Night stayed on the setlist until the beginning of 1987. By then Slippery When Wet, the band’s third album, had effectively shot them to super stardom and the band was dropping more and more songs of their older work.
Early 1987 it was Silent Night’s turn to make way.

They replaced it with a song that is a fan favorite, to this day. If it had not been for “Wanted Dead or Alive” getting all the attention, this other ballad  from Slippery When Wet would have been better remembered.
Its message still resonates today.

Never Say Goodbye.
.

~Suzanne
Rock Star Writer

☕️ Buy me a coffee
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🇳🇱Tikkie van de week

Never Say Goodbye 6 February 1990 Santiago, Chile

That was it! 

Thank you for reading my Rock Star Writer blog!
Subscribe to the blog, to get them in your mailbox.
You can find the subscription button on this page, probably on the top right.

My other blog  is dedicated to writing about Bon Jovi On-this-day concerts!
So subscribe there for those short trips through memory lane and the Bon Jovi archives.

Twitter: soundtrack Bon Jovi on this day concert 
Rock Star Writer on Facebook: all English blogposts and a soundtrack on this day

Books

You can find my books The Little Mistress Who Turned Into A Baby Koala
A Boyfriend Like Jon Bongiovi
and White Tigress Yoga Workbook
at the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter

If you live in The Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, you can also order these books from me – just go to the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter
to check out which ones you want, and write me an email at s_beenackers@hotmail.com.
Payment is via PayPal or bank transfer.

30 minutes of heaven | EP Man – Bas Beenackers, solo debut

The album presentation in a chapel in Oud-Zuilen. Little bear Puux and me posted our collage on Twitter.

Before I left the after party to the album presentation of “Man”, from Utrecht’s My Blue Van frontman Bas Beenackers, I asked him how bad he would feel if my post about his first solo record resulted in a call to plug it in, amp it the f up, and to wake up the neighbors?
On a scale from 1 to 10?
Because in theory, that is what I do best.

In a not so long ago past, when I still felt I could develop something called Rock Star Yoga (I no longer feel that, I feel like I need to give it a rest. My years-long involvement has not benefited it, and I trust it will find its form in my absence so I can pick it up when I know what it is), someone once asked me how I was going to combine yoga and Bon Jovi, suggesting if maybe “the philosophy” was going to be Bon Jovi’s?
Although it wasn’t meant as a serious suggestion, I answered;
“Well, yeah! It kind of is!”

Because Bon Jovi’s active, push back, go get ’em approach IS exactly what yoga has been lacking!
It’s the directionless “just feel what it does to you” approach, that had unwittingly been depleting me all along.
And that I for one, desperately needed out, before it was ever going to work again between me and yoga.   

The energy of Bon Jovi’s anthems were, and are, the perfect antidote to the feeling I lost myself, during my yoga career.
I was okay, and then one career later, it had destroyed me.
I went in a grown woman sure of herself, with a Tommie by her side, and we had each other.
I came out an insecure wreck who was afraid to stand in her own power, my Tommie was long gone.
And although I’m happy in my love life as a single now, I can’t help but wonder if I had stayed in my power, would we still have each other, AND have made it?

If I had to choose, I’d recommend Bon Jovi’s anthems rather than yoga.
And  Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction rather than meditation.
And I don’t say that because I have 15 years of “What the f happened” to unpack.
I say that because anyone ever listening to a rock record, and enjoying it, will tell you exactly the same thing.

So although I had listened to “Reason” the single from the EP Man, insatiably  on repeat – and would have been able to give him a cue if he had blacked out in the chapel in Oud Zuilen – I didn’t quite get my head around “Cherry” the second single.
And besides, acoustic guitar against plugged in amped up electric guitar? Oh, that’s just no match.

So I was convinced I would like the first two My Blue Van albums, As Colors Change and Hush, better than the singer songwriter album Man.
And that therefor this blogpost about “Man” would inevitably, result in a call to arms to go back to the rock sound of the first two My Blue Van albums;
And all the shows they gave…
Oh man!

All those venues, so well known in The Netherlands, because they all have their legendary stories!
“Pearl Jam played there.”

Nirvana.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
And Dutch band The Golden Earring and the legendary Herman Brood.
Those stages, those places, those venues.
Where the stage is dark, with bright stage lights, and the smoke from machines is reminiscent of the 20th century where for decades people just smoked during concerts.
THOSE kind of venues.
THAT kind of music.

“Bas, if my post ends in a call to plug it the fuck in, amp it up, and rock the  frickin’ house!!
How bad would you feel about that?

On a scale from one to ten.”

And as he looked at me smiling, with those intensely blue eyes, he said in that slow husky drawl;
“I leave that entirely up to you.”

Bas Beenackers’ solo EP Man, is probably the best album you will hear this entire year.

For those who know Bas Beenackers (1985) from his electrifying live shows with My Blue Van, the sound of Man will take some getting used to.
No howling distorted guitar, funky drums or raucous screaming vocals. None of that. His first solo EP features intimate, acoustic songs, bare and vulnerable.
full article 

“Man” is 30 minutes of heaven.
The album was presented in an old chapel in Oud-Zuilen, and the guitar and Bas’ voice sounded nothing short of angelic.
And its melancholic tone, makes it the perfect companion for the month of September, when we look back on this summer and our lives slowly get back to normal. 

For full effect, listen with headphones, and it is guaranteed to make any drizzly workday better. 
And also make any movie better or any commercial more effective, this material could start a serious bidding war on the commercial market. 
Buy the EP “Man” from Bas Beenackers here.
Including the singles “Reason” and “Cherry” which eventually became my favorite track.

Buying the album is €10 straight into the pockets of a singer songwriter who made a deeply spiritual album, that will give you a touch of paradise in the midst of war torn, polarized world.

And waiting for your delivery, listen to the album that needs a reissue with lightning speed, because it is no longer available:
My Blue Van –  As Colours Change (2013) [Spotify exclusive]
and
My Blue Van – Hush (2015)

And amp it the fuck up.

.
~Suzanne
Rock Star Writer

☕️ Buy me a coffee
🥳 PayPalMe
 
🇳🇱Tikkie van de week

Get a taste of the LIVE magic!!!
My Blue Van, Who is there to know (live), from the album Hush:

That was it! 

Thank you for reading my Rock Star Writer blog!
Subscribe to the blog, to get them in your mailbox.
You can find the subscription button on this page, probably on the top right.

At my other blog, Daily Bon Jovi Yoga , is currently exclusively dedicated to writing about Bon Jovi On-this-day concerts!
So subscribe there for those short trips through memory lane and the Bon Jovi archives.

Twitter: all blogs, all posts, I practically live here!
Dailies on Twitter: little bear Puux, soundtrack Bon Jovi on this day concert 
Rock Star Writer on Facebook: all English blogposts and a soundtrack on this day

On my English channel Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs will reboot this week! (finally!)

Nederlandse YouTube wordt een channel voor generatie X (1965-1980)!
Dus subscribe.

NEW: Books!

You can find my books The Little Mistress Who Turned Into A Baby Koala
A Boyfriend Like Jon Bongiovi
and White Tigress Yoga Workbook
at the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter

If you live in The Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, you can also order these books from me – just go to the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter
to check out which ones you want, and write me an email at s_beenackers@hotmail.com.
Payment is via PayPal or bank transfer.

Now that
– I am consistently blogging 2-3 times a week inspired by Bon Jovi concerts , at the blog Daily Bon Jovi Yoga
and
– the decision to take a yoga sabbatical (teaching wise/ video wise) until I can share Rock Star/ Bon Jovi yoga the way I want to
and
– with the Bounce concert, being the excellent kickoff to something new!
I am opening a new phase in my umbrella project “Rock Star”.

Therefor:
This Rock Star Writer blog is an element of “Rock Star” [phase 3]

Title: “Rock Star”
or “Rock Star yoga/ business/ writer”

artists: Suzanne Beenackers, little bear Puux           
art form: performance art
phase 1: earliest expressions, mixed work, July 2019 – March 2022
phase 2: April 2022 – August 2022
phase 3: 22 August 2022 – 

All yoga projects from phase 2 have been dropped for now (yoga sabbatical from teaching/ sharing),
my own yoga practice will be picked up and shared on Twitter,
and otherwise this phase 3 will just be the celebration of projects and dailies, already started and played with, these past years;
All kicked into a higher gear! 

3 YouTube channels
1. English YouTube Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs
2. Nederlandse YouTube “de Catacombe” studio voor generatie X
3.
YouTube Rock Your Business
Headers from the channels have not been changed yet (and may contain the word “yoga”), but you ARE in the right spot!

4 blogs
1. Rock Star Writer (current blog)
2. Bon Jovi concerts on this day- blog: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga
3. Art and pop culture: World Between Worlds
4. Dutch blog: Suzanne Beenackers

2 Facebook pages
1. Rock Star Writer on Facebook
2. Dutch: Suzanne Beenackers Schrijver Facebook met beertje Puux

1 Twitter account
my personal Twitter account

That’s no tribute band; That’s a rock n’ roll orchestra! | Tribute band Bounce | de Wolfsberg, Groesbeek | 2022 08 21

Little bear Puux got very inspired in Olli’s church of rock n roll. After our post-Guns N Roses hiatus, of two months rarely posting, we’ll pick up posting photos on our Twitter , this week

I wasn’t going to put a photo with little bear Puux here. Because in my honest opinion tribute bands have gone through their share of goofy receptions.
But then I saw that I had also posted last month’s Guns N’ Roses story with a photo from little bear Puux!
Who was I kidding: Me, making a photo of you with my bear, is my the highest regards. 

I ditched the idea of using the one single photo I had taken of the band without Puux (during Wanted Dead or Alive, with Oliver Henrich on acoustic guitar as well) and went for this one where a bright light shines around Oliver Henrich’s head.
And since Bon Jovi never feels any shame around deliberately creating a religious experience, in particular during the performance of Lay Your Hands On Me, where Bon Jovi goes aaaallllll in, on his self-proclaimed “Jonny’s Church of Rock n Roll”;
I thought a little reference to the savior never hurt any rock star.
So Oliver Henrich in the light, with little bear Puux as his disciple, it is.

And this is where the mood changes.
This is where you and me, are gonna get super serious about that we need to collectively review our appreciation, of what we, the world, and probably the musicians themselves, call tribute bands.
When in my opinion there are VERY good reasons not to call them that.

Do we call an orchestra a Bach cover band or a Mozart Tribute?
No we don’t, do we?
And why not?
Because we ACKNOWLEDGE (pardon my capitals) that writing music, a symphony, is one thing;
And performance is another.

We acknowledge that musicians, an orchestra, just like actors, perform other people’s work (yes), but their performance in itself is art.
And the tribute scene at least in the Netherlands, isn’t. It sees itself as a party scene, which it maybe is, I don’t know. Maybe other, less serious tribute bands, are party bands.
Don’t ask me.

All I m saying is that I know Bounce, and others, have far outgrown that.
And next to that there are tribute bands that can’t possibly qualify as a party band because the original was way too niche for that. Like for example the Lou Reed tribute band I saw last month.

Before I go into the Bounce setlist and performance, and come up with even half of something that resembles a review here, and not to hammer my point home, but yes!
To bring it home, and close this conversation once and for all, I want to share with you a concert Bounce did in 2014.
They rewrote Bon Jovi songs for orchestra, (talk interpreting as an art form!) and performed in a club, packed deep into the balconies, to a crowd of absolutely ecstatic Bon Jovi fans!
Or maybe better: Bounce fans.
In Germany Bounce fans travel hundreds of miles to see them, and they were particularly hellbent to see this show!

Bounce & Orchestra | A Symphonic Rock Night
| Live at Zeche | Bochum 2014 🇩🇪

So I thought that was definitely required before I can even begin to touch on what I saw today;
Bounce are artists in their own right, with a deep understanding of their craft, their message, and the music they perform.

Can I have an Amen!

bounce in groesbeek:
Welcome to Olli’s church of rock n’roll.

 

No proper church can go without merchandise! And sold over the counter in an iconic stand here (made from concert crates). Merch available on German shows or their website. 📸source: Facebook Bounce

Bounce are what I would call, the ideal cover band for the real fan.
Everyone will have a great time, but the real fan?
Will have an unforgettable time!

Knowing this, I looked forward to having the rarities being tossed around like “Hey, heys!” in Lost Highway, but!
Groesbeek was going to be a 1 hour show!
And at a festival that sends you reminders to come early so that you can claim your favorite standing table with your friends.
A festival that urges you to buy your tokens early, and then you click it and the minimum amount is 25 tokens!
Well, I was no longer so sure.

To me, a tribute festival looked like the anti-rarities occasion.
You wanna hit them with that chorus sooner rather than later.
And preferably one they know!

So would German band Bounce really, on their only concert here in the Netherlands of this entire year (I have the impression the pandemic nearly killed their international calendar), dare to bring their trademark setlist? 
Their shows in Germany can last up to three hours, and have the layered timeline and musical variety of a 2010 The Circle, Bon Jovi concert;
And. Then. SOME!

The setlists of full Bounce concerts rock so hard, that just seeing those titles all lined up like that, is enough to make any fan wonder who they have to bribe to hear such a piece from the heavens.

I asked the setlist from the tribute party, and got it, so I have the list here of what was played.
It has a ton of coded and perhaps classified information on it, so I m not going to share it (and I m terrible with puzzles, so their secrets are definitely safe with me), but I can see the track list.

There was absolutely no time to ask if they had diverged from it, and there was loud music playing when I asked for the list that was taped to the floor. So that made for uncomfortable communication.

It seems to be incomplete on at least one account;
Unexpectedly really, because I thought they would have stuck to it, and there are no audibles (songs to choose from) on it.
But they played Lost Highway, and Lost Highway is not on the list.

Hey, hey!

In short?
Bounce delivered.
They m.f.-ing did it man!!
They actually, I kid you not, used those 60 minutes of stage time to open with We got it going on, which I absolutely LOVE!
But I imagine it will ring few bells, for a tribute festival visitor.

Then we had
You Give Love A Bad Name
Have A Nice Day
Which makes sense because I can imagine the audience needing some reassurance they were in the right tent, and that there’d actually be songs they could belt along!

Then we get Keep the Faith’s album opener I Believe, oh dear….
One for the fans, one for the fans..
Fans who never get to hear this at Bon Jovi concerts, so who are of course VERY excited to hear this with drums banging, guitars howling, and a lead singer who drops to his knees, just like Jon Bon Jovi on the Keep the Faith tour!
I mean, Jon Bon Jovi also did that on the Crossroad/These Days Tour, but I always got the impression that it got turned into an act.
But I like to think Keep The Faith Tour Jon, dropping down to his knees was a  genuine seeker in need of guidance.
Things were not going well for the band in terms of Keep the Faith ticket sales, which made for a tour where Jon literally threw in ALL he had. Probably the best tour they ever did.

After Believe, the maracas come out!
Which can only mean one thing, it’s time for the Keep The Faith album song everybody DOES know;
Keep the Faith.
Opening with the famous bass chords, by a bass player on “whose side of the stage” I’d definitely be on! 
I recently learned people who chose Richie’s side of the stage, called themselves “Darksiders”, so now I am in the habit of identifying on “which side of the stage” I want to be on.
An identity choice I didn’t even know existed, until recently.

Maybe this is a good moment to point out that all this time, we are watching 5 professional musicians, and an on-stage WALL with I think 8 different guitars (Oliver’s and guitarist Jens Roesel’s).
Bear in mind that just like in Bon Jovi, the lead guitarist Jens Roesel (Jay), is not just one hell of a guitar player;
He also sings.
Keyboard player, Sven Martin/ Jojo, like David Bryan; Also sings.
And also like David, who is an acclaimed Broadway musical writer, Jojo was the one who rewrote the material together with Oliver Henrich, for the orchestra performance
Bass player, Tom Mueller: Also sings.
And drummer Markus Hoffmeister is definitely as strong a drummer as Tico Torres. And who knows maybe Markus, can do those cheeky baritone voiced songs or additions Tico does about once a decade 😉 Who knows!

But this is one hell of a band and, just like in Bon Jovi, its members are multi talented and they have invested in their equipment to get it right. No to get it, perfect.
Including the famous talk box;
An instrument that reached worldwide fame (and was probably saved from getting extinct, the moment the 70s rock artists have all passed away) when Bon Jovi started using it for Livin’ on a prayer.
Had they not done that, the talk box’s life would now be tied to Peter Frampton’s.

Bounce is a tribute band with all the bells, whistles, and wow wow pedals, and they know how to wield it.
But mostly of course, it is the standard of excellence from its musicians, that make Bounce what it is.
It’s not what you have, it’s how you use it, and all that.

If Bon Jovi would be in need of new musicians, of a backup musician in case something happens on tour;
Or if they would take the leap of finding a new band member?
I have no doubt in my mind Bounce would be able to supply a drummer, a keyboard player, a bass player, a guitarist, and yes, even a lead singer.
Although that is of a whole different category, because the life of the band Bon Jovi, has historically been tied to its founder and singer Jon Bon Jovi.

But coming back on my point made earlier, if we are willing to start seeing performing as separate to the writing of the music;
Then performing in a band, in a play, that already existed, is not such a big leap.
Just like Queen is still touring, with Adam Lambart as lead singer.

I can see I drifted off.
A lot!
But I hope it illustrates that the level of skill, instruments, and performance power of Bounce, is no small feat.
All ingredients to give you a full concert experience, are there.
And in my opinion, they DO deserve to tour Europe and beyond, with their 3 hour shows. [ touring schedule ]
And wouldn’t it be great if they would also have tours with their own orchestra?
We all deserve that.
Although I thank God on my knees they played Groesbeek; That is not where they belong.
Period.

So let’s return to their Groesbeek setlist, where they had to crush their set to one hour.
What came after Keep the Faith?
The – drum intro! Always!
A track that Bon Jovi has never allowed to become a staple on their list, but since it is probably their biggest hit after Livin’ on a Prayer, Bounce was not going to leave that one on a Groesbeek standing table!

After that we have another one to sing along;
It’s My Life
And then it’s rarities time again, with Born to be my baby AND Raise Your Hands!
The adrenaline for any Bon Jovi fan, to hear those tracks being played live, in a concert setting?
No words to describe, my friend.

After that, a wonderful rendition of Wanted Dead or Alive, with Oliver Henrich on guitar as well.
Wanted Dead or Alive, is referred to as the anthem.
Not yesterday, but by Bon Jovi as well as by fans.
So with Wanted Dead or Alive being loved both by the fans as well as people who are there to meet friends, this was a nice one to get the crowd on the same page again.

Then another standard track from a Bounce concert! 
One Wild Night
From Bon Jovi’s “comeback album” Crush, 2000.

Just like the opener We got it going on, One Wild Night is irresistible as a party song, and the chorus can be taught in a heartbeat and milked for minutes of crowd interaction (which they skillfully did).
But One Wild Night definitely has the hurdle of having very difficult lyrics!
I can imagine that a tribute band or two, and the majority of the fans and that includes me, are definitely not going to be able to get:

Then I’m rolling the bones with Jimmy ‘no dice’
Gonna take him for a couple weeks’ pay
Man, if you lose this roll I take your girlfriend home
So I stopped
But you’re not gonna believe who comes walking out

But that’s why you go to church, to see someone who gets it to a level that you don’t!
And there is no doubt that Olivier, or Olli as he often abbreviates it, knows how to lead the community into higher realms.

Although the voodoo and witchcraft references make One Wild Night an odd one out, in the Bon Jovi catalog.
There is an Angel Heart (1987)/ Wild Orchid (1989) vibe to One Wild Night, where we enter an unfamiliar world where the voodoo priests rule.
Not the catholic ones.

And then.
Just as you think there is no way you can go back from mature, showing them how it’s done, Bon Jovi 2000, to the first album, Bounce plays Runaway;
A song I never really liked on the record, but by the Gods do they bring this live!
And in the original key, AND the miraculous key changes in the end. They talk about “that” key change in Like a Prayer, one Jon Bon Jovi warns young artists NOT to put in their songs if they still want to be able to sing them when you’re 20 years older!
But Runaway’s key changes?
Those were given up by Bon Jovi a lot sooner.

Could have heard them yesterday in Groesbeek though!

And the band Bounce is 20 years old; Oliver Henrich is not a new kid on the block. He was runner up, landing second spot at the voice of Germany in 2020, competing with candidates half his age. This is a singer who has managed to ward off aging and to keep his voice in mint condition. 

And then it’s time to bring it home and remind the congregation why we are here. And that we must never forget that no matter how tough things get, we will always have each other.
And that’s a lot.

Livin’ on a prayer.

And although in this tale, the priests did not blew trumpets, because since 2014 they no longer had the resources of pulling together an entire classical orchestra.
And the wall with 8 of Olli’s en Jay’s guitars did not come crumbling down like the walls of Jericho once had;
The people shouted a great shout, just like they had done in biblical times.

“Whoohoo! Livin’ on a prayer!”

.
~Suzanne
Rock Star Writer

☕️ Buy me a coffee
🥳 PayPalMe
 
🇳🇱Tikkie van de week

Tour agenda Bounce: https://www.bonjovitribute.de/termine.php 
Worth planning a trip for!
Or a pilgrimage!

That was it! 

Thank you for reading my Rock Star Writer blog!
Subscribe to the blog, to get them in your mailbox.
You can find the subscription button on this page, probably on the top right.

At my other blog, Daily Bon Jovi Yoga , is currently exclusively dedicated to writing about Bon Jovi On-this-day concerts!
So subscribe there for those short trips through memory lane and the Bon Jovi archives.

Twitter: all blogs, all posts, I practically live here!
Dailies on Twitter: little bear Puux, soundtrack Bon Jovi on this day concert 
Rock Star Writer on Facebook: all English blogposts and a soundtrack on this day

On my English channel Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs will reboot this week! (finally!)

Nederlandse YouTube wordt een channel voor generatie X (1965-1980)!
Dus subscribe.

NEW: Books!

You can find my books The Little Mistress Who Turned Into A Baby Koala
A Boyfriend Like Jon Bongiovi
and White Tigress Yoga Workbook
at the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter

If you live in The Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, you can also order these books from me – just go to the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter
to check out which ones you want, and write me an email at s_beenackers@hotmail.com.
Payment is via PayPal or bank transfer.

Now that
– I am consistently blogging 2-3 times a week inspired by Bon Jovi concerts , at the blog Daily Bon Jovi Yoga
and
– the decision to take a yoga sabbatical (teaching wise/ video wise) until I can share Rock Star/ Bon Jovi yoga the way I want to
and
– with the Bounce concert, being the excellent kickoff to something new!
I am opening a new phase in my umbrella project “Rock Star”.

Therefor:
This Rock Star Writer blog is an element of “Rock Star” [phase 3]

Title: “Rock Star”
or “Rock Star yoga/ business/ writer”

artists: Suzanne Beenackers, little bear Puux           
art form: performance art
phase 1: earliest expressions, mixed work, July 2019 – March 2022
phase 2: April 2022 – August 2022
phase 3: 22 August 2022 – 

All yoga projects from phase 2 have been dropped for now (yoga sabbatical from teaching/ sharing),
my own yoga practice will be picked up and shared on Twitter,
and otherwise this phase 3 will just be the celebration of projects and dailies, already started and played with, these past years;
All kicked into a higher gear! 

3 YouTube channels
1. English YouTube Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs
2. Nederlandse YouTube “de Catacombe” studio voor generatie X
3.
YouTube Rock Your Business
Headers from the channels have not been changed yet (and may contain the word “yoga”), but you ARE in the right spot!

4 blogs
1. Rock Star Writer (current blog)
2. Bon Jovi concerts on this day- blog: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga
3. Art and pop culture: World Between Worlds
4. Dutch blog: Suzanne Beenackers

2 Facebook pages
1. Rock Star Writer on Facebook
2. Dutch: Suzanne Beenackers Schrijver Facebook met beertje Puux

1 Twitter account
my personal Twitter account

Guns N’ Roses Groningen 2022 06 23: story, recap video, full set + other songs European tour

little bear Puux posts his photos on my Twitter:
https://twitter.com/SLBeenackers/status/1540087090452520960

On 23 June 2022, Guns N’ Roses played at Stadspark Groningen, The Netherlands.

It was 30 years to the day, after their absolute legendary gig in Rotterdam!
A gig bootleggers still make money off charging €20+ for dvds with grey lines and an only slightly more recognizable audio stream. My cat destroyed any leftover value, by throwing it in their drinking fountain, and it has never done that with anything else before or after.

Thankfully, in 2022, many concerts can be re-experienced with YouTube, and I hope to create just that for you, with this playlist.
It’s always possible videos will be taken down, but for now at least, I hope to make a good selection.
Setlist below this post.

As unbelievable as it is:
3 H+ setlists are Guns N’ Roses standard these days.
As was the case in Groningen.
But Groningen was one of the shorter ones of this European tour.

Shadow of Your Love, Hard Skool, Don’t Cry and Black Hole Sun, did not get played but were presumably on the setlist.
I have this information from Setlist FM, which is about as reliable as 20th century starting times of Guns N’ Roses concerts.
Or so I heard.
But unless you are in possession of the handwritten OG setlist of Guns N’ Roses playing Groningen 2022;
Setlist FM will just have to do.
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/guns-n-roses/2022/stadspark-groningen-netherlands-73b5b27d.html

The “shorter” setlist was absolutely no problem, but it was a surprise because in 2017 Guns N Roses played the longest setlist of their European Tour, in The Netherlands. With Angus Young, at Goffertpark Nijmegen.
And in 2018, at that same venue, their show was 3.5 hours as well.

I had really expected Groningen, The Netherlands, to get the honor of a new record for this tour as well.

I would even, have betted my original-art-work copy of my Appetite vinyl, that The Netherlands would have the debut of There Was A Time, since that has been rehearsed at least once in soundcheck and they appear to give every city one new song.

They kept word though:
Groningen had “Sorry” as the tour debut!

But naturally;
With a 3+ hour show, to an absolutely mesmerized crowd of 50.000 people who were thrilled you were there,
and excited that Groningen is on the map again after going without big concerts for over 20 years;
Guns N Roses had nothing to apologize for!

Playlist 38 videos:
Guns N’ Roses Groningen 2022 06 23
recap video, full set + other songs European tour
[ + story and setlist in description of this playlist ]

part 1: Groningen (29 videos)
* trailer 2021 Mojo concerts
* Recap 2022 Feiko Dijkstra [ 26:39 ]
[ Set Groningen 23 06 2022 ]
[ videos as much as possible filmed in Groningen ]
set:
1 It s so easy
2 Mr.Brownstone
3 Slither
(Velvet Revolver cover)
4 Chinese Democracy
5 Welcome to the Jungle
(Link Wray’s “Rumble” intro)
6 Madagascar
7 Back in Black
8 Double Talkin’ Jive
9 Live and Let Die
(Wings cover)
10 Estranged
11 Rocket queen
12 Reckless Life
13 Street of Dreams
14 You Could Be Mine
15 I Wanna Be Your Dog
(The Stooges cover) (Duff on lead vocals)
16 Absurd
17 Better
18 Civil War
(Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun” outro)
19 band introductions
+ Slash on Guitar
(Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign” jam)
+ Sweet Child of Mine
20 Wichita Lineman
(Jimmy Webb cover)
21 November Rain
22 Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
23 Nightrain
ENCORE:
24 Sorry (tour debut)
25 Coma
26 Patience
(The Beatles’ “Blackbird” intro)
27 Paradise City

separation video (1 video)
Sweet Child of Mine, Groningen

part 2: (8 videos)
played on other European concerts, or overheard from soundchecks (expected to be played)

Walk All Over You (AC/DC cover)
Hard Skool
You re Crazy
Shadow of your love
Don’t Cry
Black Hole Sun
The Seeker
There Was A Time

part 2 of this list will stay updated with new concerts
part 1 will be curated and stay under supervision for 1 year.

.
~Suzanne
Rock Star Writer

☕️ Buy me a coffee
🥳 PayPalMe
 
🇳🇱Tikkie van de week

That was it! 

Subscribe to the blog, to get these posts in your mailbox.
You can find the subscription button on this page, probably somewhere on the right.

English channel:
Rock Star Yoga (yoga) + Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs (talk)
And you can follow my Yoga Blog: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga

Nederlandse YouTube:  “de Catacombe” studio voor Rock Star Yoga
Begint zodra ik beter ben

NEW: Books!

You can find my books The Little Mistress Who Turned Into A Baby Koala
A Boyfriend Like Jon Bongiovi
and White Tigress Yoga Workbook
at the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter

If you live in The Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, you can also order these books from me – just go to the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter
to check out which ones you want, and write me an email at s_beenackers@hotmail.com.
Payment is via PayPal or bank transfer.

This Rock Star Writer blog is an element of “Rock Star” [phase 2]

Title: “Rock Star”
or “Rock Star yoga/ business/ writer”

artists: Suzanne Beenackers, little bear Puux           
art form: performance art
phase 1: earliest expressions, mixed work, July 2019 – March 2022
phase 2: April 2022 – 

3 YouTube channels
1. English YouTube “Liberation”: Rock Star Yoga + Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs
2. Nederlandse YouTube “de Catacombe” studio voor Rock Star Yoga 
3. YouTube Rock Your Business
De headers from all channels have been changed already, so you know you re in the right spot.

4 blogs
1. Rock Star Writer (current blog)
2. Yoga Blog: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga
3. World Between Worlds
4. Dutch blog: Suzanne Beenackers

2 Facebook pages
1. Rock Star Writer on Facebook
2. Dutch: Suzanne Beenackers Schrijver Facebook met beertje Puux

1 Twitter account
my personal Twitter account

Consider this embraced | My incomplete and personal history of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in The Netherlands

My home made school agenda 1988-1989 Crafted with photo of Antony Kiedis, by photographer Patricia Steur. Nudity covered for social media.
My agenda 1988-1989, Crafted with photo of Antony Kiedis, by Patricia Steur. The cover photo is protected using sticky tape, a trick many teens without access to sticking foil used. I have no idea where or when I had a tape embosser but apparently used my one shot at it strategically!

I m almost inevitably going to heavily disappoint myself and you, at how terribly little about
-the remarkable history of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in The Netherlands
-their intimate relationship with its most respectable music journalists and media
-and the rich YouTube legacy that has left us;
I manage to cover in this post.
And the tiny glimpses I do get sorted, fact checked, lined up and presented, will definitely not do justice to this well of historical and musical heritage.
But I m gonna try.

I m also beforehand apologizing for infinite number of things of late 80s cultural context, that is probably required to understand why they rooted so well in the Netherlands.
And also why a very young Bon Jovi fan like me, had photos of Anthony Kiedis in her school agenda AND considered their 1989 Mother’s Milk album “that album when everybody got to know them”
and even (bear in mind I was just 17 in August 1989 when Mother’s Milk hit) “the moment they got commercial”.

Okay, as far as late 80s cultural context goes? 
If in 1989 you re an avid 17 year old BON JOVI fan (in the Netherlands, 80s Bon Jovi was a band no respectable journalist would “touch with a ten-foot pole”, or at least that was my impression), and your school agendas have been embellished with a variety of clippings from music and fashion magazines, but only the pages that were BLANK because you had not enough JON BON JOVI CLIPPINGS to cover all of them just with his appearance?
If then?
Under those circumstances?
You cover your agenda with Anthony Kiedis and consider the album Mother’s Milk – which was released after the school year 1988-1989 – absolutely a million miles away from being alternative or underground because in your perception the band had been around for ages?

That requires context and a timeline that even I would not be able to reconstruct. But again: Gonna give it a go.

So: Music scene in the 80s.

As I already said, Bon Jovi was pretty much a no-no, no-go, and it was entirely acceptable to attribute their ENTIRE commercial success to their looks. So they were considered a “hair metal” band, and I think we should begin by acknowledging that to everybody who was not a Bon Jovi fan, which included every music journalist and person of import in the media;
No one knew, it wasn’t clear, which hair metal band would last.

The Dutch venues Bon Jovi played late 80s were indoor, and totally sold out. But so did the gigs from The Scorpions (Germany), Whitesnake (US, extra popular in The Netherlands through Dutch guitarist Ad van den Berg), Van Halen (UK, Dutch connection through brothers Van Halen, and this band was always heavily supported by Dutch DJs) and Swedish band Europe also rocked the house and easily sold out Dutch indoor venues.

In that crowded overflowing market, New Jersey band Bon Jovi could very easily be discarded based on their looks, and there wasn’t one Dutch journalist who appreciated them.
The only Dutch media personality who sided with them, was Adam Curry. The American born host of the show Countdown and the host of the Dutch radio show Curry & van Inkel. 
But Curry worked for our Dutch broadcasting corporation Veronica, and on the spectrum of eight to ten corporations we had, Veronica was the youngest one and the most commercial of them all.
Veronica’s flagship was their television guide. All national broadcasting corporations issued their own television guide, that was their most tangible form of branding.
These magazines expressed the values of the particular public broadcasting corporation, and Veronica was the only one non-religious, non-political, and aimed at teenagers and young adults.
Their magazine was full color, and it kept you updated on all the trends, films, new music, and of course informed on cool programs that would be broadcast.
Curry also made a point pronouncing their name the American way, which described phonetically to a Dutch person, means he said: “Baaahn Jovi” 
Because the Dutch pronounce their O entirely different to how an American would do that.
Curry’s way of pronouncing Madonna’s name (correctly) and pronouncing Bon Jovi’s name (correctly), even became the laughing stock in a column of a no doubt respected columnist whose first name was Annelies.
Curry’s response: “How would you feel if I pronounced your name Anné-Lies?”.
All this to illustrate, that in order to be seen, acknowledged, supported  and respected by the Dutch music scene, and even to get the honor of having your name pronounced correctly, you had to have the EXACT right, pretty fucking elitist way of showing just the right thing, at just the right time, and in the right place and STEER AWAY FROM VERONICA AND THEIR MAGAZINE AT ALL TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And then, maybe, you could talk.

Dutch press adored Bruce Springsteen by the way. That too, didn’t help Bon Jovi stand out in the “hair metal” or rock genre.
I think Dutch journalists felt they betrayed Bruce Springsteen, who was hailed, appreciated and LOVED from the 70s, but also because of his 1984 album Born In The USA.
Dutch journalists seemed to believe they could only include one artist from New Jersey in their Dutch Hall Of Good Music, and they had already given that spot to Bruce Springsteen.

Now on the other end of the television guide spectrum, there was also ONE public broadcasting corporation that stood out as the absolute most elitist, high-brow, and culturally respectable.
This corporation was the VPRO, and their television guide was the hallmark of having good taste.
If as a teen you said: “We have the Veronica guide” everybody knew what kind of background you had (your parents were easy going and entrepreneurial).
If you said: “We have the VPRO guide.”? 
To this day, people know EXACTLY what your background is.

Given the fact that I knew who the Red Hot Chili Peppers were, and that I had a school agenda from the pre-Mother’s Milk era, covered with arty photos from Anthony Kiedis, it should come as no surprise;
We, had the VPRO guide.

Occasionally I bought the Veronica guide, and indulged in it. In the same way I bought music magazines, such as the one the photos from Anthony Kiedis stem from.
Being a Bon Jovi fan, buying the Veronica guide, watching Countdown and listening religiously listening to Curry and van Inkel every Friday night, were aspects of my own, individual, self-expression.

Except, of course? You guessed it right? 
My parents VPRO guide, gave me access to the alternative world of Dutch music.
And I often listened on Wednesday afternoon, to a VPRO radio show that I knew had cool alternative music. 
I don’t know when I heard the Peppers on there, only that there were a lot of references to George Clinton.
Maybe it was 1988, or maybe it was after Mother’s Milk 1990…
All I know is that in 1988-1989 I already had that Anthony Kiedis agenda, and I considered them famous and known. And “of course why wouldn’t you know them”.

When I look at the 1987 album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, I only recognize Fight Like a Brave.
When I look at the 1989 album Mother’s Milk, I recognize the titles Higher Ground, Knock me Down, and Johnny Kick a Hole in the Sky.
From the 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik; The Power of Equality, Breaking the Girl, Suck My Kiss, I Could Have Lied, The Righteous & the Wicked, Give It Away, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Under the Bridge, and Naked in the Rain.
I remember making a cassette tape in the early 90s. From cds I rented on my library card, I recorded Blood Sugar Sex Magik on one side, and Mother’s Milk on the other.
That’s when I was the most involved with their music.

But since I have a more intimate relationship to my stationary, than to my cd collection, for me the real relationship with the Peppers was through that crafted agenda. With those photos from Kiedis and his then girlfriend Ione Skye.
There is a Dutch piece, that was released just earlier this year, where Patricia Steur talks about how she created these photos:
DE PLAAT EN ZIJN VERHAAL: ‘ALLEEN DE RUG VAN ANTHONY KIEDIS VOND IK WAT SAAI’ 

And my relationship was in that Wednesday afternoon radio show, where The Red Hot Chili Peppers played live, and all I remembered was that it was heavy on the George Clinton references.

I was unsuccessful at retrieving the radio broadcast. But I did encounter a treasure box of Red Hot Chili Peppers material from a Dutch documentarian,
Bram van Splunteren.
I collected what was public in a YouTube playlist
It includes a conversation with John Frusciante, in what were the most difficult years of his life:
John Frusciante Vpro 1994 in HQ + Stuff

In 2016 the VPRO and Bram van Spunteren collected the 1988-1992 work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers into a documentary: Red Hot Chili Peppers – A Dutch Connection. It is available on Vimeo after login. 

Another important man who created the deep roots the Peppers have in the Netherlands, is famous tattoo artist Henk Schiffmacher.
In the 80s, he made eagle on the back of Anthony Kiedis.
And the two went on an extensive trip to Borneo, to discover the origin of tattooing. 
Schiffmacher’s Dutch book about this expedition has just been rereleased, after having been out of print for decades.
In his autobiography, Anthony Kiedis describes the expedition as a trip to hell and “a Vietnam experience”.

Documentarian Bram van Splunteren, photographer Patricia Steur, and her then husband the famous tattoo artist Henk Schiffmacher;
Together with the context of the serious Dutch music scene being the dominant one, had made for fertile grounds for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  And when they gave a show yesterday, at the local park, I took a little stroll around the grounds, and contemplated how I could avoid writing about them, because I was already vaguely aware of there being something extra special in The Netherlands.
Between them and us.
But I didn’t really know how to go about figuring that out, I didn’t know if I was correct, and I was days behind on what I considered my “grownup” content creation (videos), which was not going to get done anymore, if I took on this project of saying something about the Peppers.

I even contemplated not taking that stroll; Because then I would not have a reason to write.
If I would not take a stroll, I could ignore them and win my time back.
But that too, did not felt good. Them being here felt way too significant to be ignored.

So what I did, before I took my stroll, is I looked for that old agenda. And I scanned the photos with Kiedis, and I trimmed the files.
And then I took the walk around the venue, through the trees, over the grass, passing thousands of people who had gathered to listen to the concert.

After about 70 minutes in, the music had stopped, I noted the time because in case the concert is uploaded to YouTube I want to hear the rest of it;
But right then, all I heard was this;

A male voice, I think it was Flea, although I have no idea how I would know how Flea sounds…. But I think it was his voice when I heard him speaking about us, the Netherlands, and said:
“You were one of the first countries that embraced us. Thank you.”

And there I had my answer.

I had been right; The Netherlands had been one of the first countries that had embraced them. And now, after this post, you know why.
Their music and position as outsiders, made them loved almost immediately by serious, alternative, Dutch music scene, that was dominant in the media. 
Media for whom Bon Jovi was too common, too low-brow, and that actually didn’t come around until 1995 These Days.
Which is my principal reason for not liking that album, even though it is an amazing album! 
But I just can’t.
I never forgave The Netherlands for their collective disdain for Bon Jovi, where only Adam Curry and the Veronica guide supported them.

But the Red Hot Chili Peppers?
Maybe that was the higher ground we found each other.
Where I could stand them, and they could stand me.
And where yesterday, we found each other again.

The Peppers were glad to be here. Many Dutch people, including a whole new generation, were thrilled they were here, and I was happy too.
I m sure many of us would have bought a last-minute ticket if it had not been sold out months ago.

We were all happy to embrace each other, once again.
On higher ground.

.
~Suzanne
Rock Star Writer

☕️ Buy me a coffee
🥳 PayPalMe
 
🇳🇱Tikkie van de week [de allereerste! 🤗 ]

That was it! 

Subscribe to the blog, to get these posts in your mailbox.
You can find the subscription button on this page, probably somewhere on the right.

English channel:
Rock Star Yoga (yoga) + Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs (talk)
And you can follow my Yoga Blog: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga

Nederlandse YouTube:  “de Catacombe” studio voor Rock Star Yoga
Begint zodra ik beter ben

NEW: Books!

You can find my books The Little Mistress Who Turned Into A Baby Koala
A Boyfriend Like Jon Bongiovi
and White Tigress Yoga Workbook
at the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter

If you live in The Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, you can also order these books from me – just go to the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter
to check out which ones you want, and write me an email at s_beenackers@hotmail.com.
Payment is via PayPal or bank transfer.

This Rock Star Writer blog is an element of “Rock Star” [phase 2]

Title: “Rock Star”
or “Rock Star yoga/ business/ writer”

artists: Suzanne Beenackers, little bear Puux           
art form: performance art
phase 1: earliest expressions, mixed work, July 2019 – March 2022
phase 2: April 2022 – 

3 YouTube channels
1. English YouTube “Liberation”: Rock Star Yoga + Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs
2. Nederlandse YouTube “de Catacombe” studio voor Rock Star Yoga 
3. YouTube Rock Your Business
De headers from all channels have been changed already, so you know you re in the right spot.

4 blogs
1. Rock Star Writer (current blog)
2. Yoga Blog: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga
3. World Between Worlds
4. Dutch blog: Suzanne Beenackers

2 Facebook pages
1. Rock Star Writer on Facebook
2. Dutch: Suzanne Beenackers Schrijver Facebook met beertje Puux

1 Twitter account
my personal Twitter account

You Never Really Know

 

At the risk of being expelled out of Bon Jovi fandom, and for good reason this time ;), I have never gotten my head around listening to Richie Sambora.
Regardless of how many times I was blown away by a live guitar prelude to Wanted Dead or Alive.
Or all the times he sang “I ll be There for You”, and in my opinion had earned the right to always be the one singing that song.
Regardless of how many times I was swept off my feet by HEAVEN HELP US ALL!!!!!
Oh God what a good song.

Anyway, despite all of those things-
Oh, and also, despite all the proper Bon Jovi fans (the ones who do not self-proclaim to be musically dyslectic, those ones) being solid disciples of the man, and his 1991 album Stranger In This Town being a musical version of the bible;
I simply could not get into Richie Sambora’s work the way I knew I was meant to.
Because I like his voice, I like electric guitars, and I like the blues WAY more than alternative, pop, and country. I like the blues more than protest songs, I like it more than meaningful singer songwriter-y types of things.
And I like Richie’s guitars because I think they will bite your fingers off if you play punk or ska on them, but maybe that’s just my imagination.

But all in all there had been ample signs that told me I would love Richie Sambora’s music and yet…
Not today. And the not-todays became years.

One week ago, hAnD90 uploaded a remastered 2012 Richie Sambora concert, with live chat, and because Today still had not come, it was one I knew I could skip.
Although unfortunately, there were also more personal reasons why I had to keep a way lower online profile than I found professional or desirable.

But yeah.
The fact that it was not a Bon Jovi concert but a Richie Sambora concert, whose music I hardly knew, did make it a painless decision to let the premiere of that video just pass, without joining in on the live chat.

Anyway, all those things, I m just reconstructing them for you here.
Because they surely were not on my mind this Sunday! 

I’m almost at my one week mark of being sick. It’s a common cold, but the virus-low Covid years combined with the fact that etiquette around public sneezing and coughing has changed dramatically since 2019 for sure;
This common cold has already trashed one week worth of premium appointments and dates!
Including sex!

I also did not film any videos for any of my 3 YouTube channels, but that was a minor setback, compared to the havoc the cold created in my personal life, to be honest.

And God knows how many more perfectly good parties, workdays and get togethers I will have to give up the upcoming week, before I can finally take part in everyday life, in a crisp and clean way.

So all in all, this Sunday was not dedicated to finally hitting it off with Richie Sambora.
That much was sure.
Or was it?

Because I just ordered Richie Sambora’s 1991 album Stranger In This Town.
I did enough research to be able to tell you it has a 99% Google rating of people liking it.
The 2012 Richie Sambora concert is blasting through my headphones, and I have devoured the well-written description box below the concert video as if it contained the secret to life. That’s how eager I now am to know everything about Richie Sambora.

Richie Sambora | Live at Circus Krone | Munich 2012
video & audio remastered by hAnD90

And also! Where I have always felt kind of uncomfortable to admit that if Richie Sambora would go touring, I would not know if I d go?
I know I ll not just GO! But PAY whatever it takes!
If it were the 90s I d sit a night on the sidewalk of the local record store to purchase tickets. So after all that time, I am finally, a Born-Again Richie Sambora fan!
With her musical bible, the album, “Stranger In This Town” on the way.

The reason this all happened and that this day had such an unexpected turn, is because I wanted to indulge in writing about something sexy.
After a week of my most intimate relationship being the one with a box of Kleenex and Thyme syrup, I was going to indulge in treating myself to writing about Zalman King movies.

Now, Zalman King movies are in general not very highly rated, because they are always about sex. And not the art house type, but the soft-focus, Emanuelle-type thing.
Do you know Emanuelle?
Loved those ones too so much…. but they were 70s and early 80s. Zalman King’s movies featured in the late 80s and 90s. 
His two most famous movies are 9 1/2 weeks and Wild Orchid, but my favorites are Two Moon Junction (1988), which you can still see on YouTube if you have an age-verified account, and Delta of Venus, which they very unfortunately took down recently.
It wasn’t until about two years ago, that I realized all those wonderful movies were made by the same man, and that he was also responsible for my absolute favorite series of all time;
The Red Shoe Diaries.

Now I haven’t seen any of those episodes back since then, so I m relying on a three decade old memory here, but The Red Shoe Diaries was about (and I m not going to Google it, to keep it real here!) a journalist or writer played by David Duchovny, who placed an ad to hear about women’s sex stories and then they all started sending him letters.
With his voice over, and the female voice over from the woman telling the story, every episode revolved around one story.

When I started investigating Zalman King, after finding out I had such an instinctive fondness for his work, I found that there was little “irrelevant” about his work, really.
Because they all had had the same theme:
They had all been about women’s sexuality.
A theme that has got millennia of repression to catch up on!
(plus one week)

The Zalman King movies had been an avid advocate of female sexuality, and at a time when the female voice in erotica was almost absent. When erotica itself, was almost absent….

Making this a wonderful theme to write about, to bring at least some zest and sparkle to these days when I saw my bed way too often and for all the wrong reasons, I sat down to write about Zalman King.
For starters I was going to look for the music from The Red Shoe Diaries, to listen to. 

Music that would bring me in the mood!
And I found a playlist that was titled after the Red Shoe diaries, but it appeared to be broader because it also had music from 9 1/2 weeks on it. But that was not what stood out for me;
This list, which the maker claimed was a soundtrack to The Red Shoe Diaries, contained two Richie Sambora songs.

Wait what?
Richie Sambora made music for The Red Shoe Diaries?
Are you joking?

Since the list was a bit of a hotchpotch with music from other Zalman King work as well, I knew his songs could be from one of the movies as well. But that would also come as a surprise me.
So I dug into that new finding, instead of diving into Zalman’s King work. Which was probably the better choice, considering I wrote the previous paragraphs Wiki free. I think I ve already studied Zalman King to a level that greatly extends the Minimum Rock Star Writer Requirement!
Whereas the work of Richie Sambora has been lacking in my knowledge, and I know it.

And as it turned out, the list had been correct! 
There are indeed two Richie Sambora songs on the original 1992 Red Shoe Diaries soundtrack:
You Never Really Know

and
Rest In Peace.

I have recreated the album, soundtrack to Red Shoe Diaries on my YouTube. Richie Sambora’s “You Never Really Know” is number 4 on this list and “Rest in Peace” the final track.

But it got even better!
Because as I threw “Richie Sambora You Never Really Know” into Google, it gave ONLY the Red Shoe Diaries album, as its source! 

No other album! 
Rest in Peace is the opening song to Richie’s 1991 album Stranger In This Town, but You Never Really Know? 
Never featured anywhere else.

A few years ago, I wrote a blogpost about 5 Unexpectedly Sexual Bon Jovi songs. One of them was a Richie Sambora song River of Love.
And in the paragraph about that song, I said:
“I don’t think any fan has any doubt which one of the two front men possessed the “raw, untamed power”, as Star Wars put it.”

Right now I m still listening to Richie Sambora singing his heart out in These Days, the Munich 2012 concert.
And rereading that post about the 5 Unexpectedly Sexual Bon Jovi songs.

In retrospect, I don’t think I would have chosen the Star Wars reference there. It gives a bit of a shock, in a post solely about erotica and Bon Jovi, don’t you think?
I m not sure, if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. Then or now in this post…  Zalman King would not approve.

But it no longer surprises me that Richie Sambora had two songs on the soundtrack of The Red Shoe Diaries. With that raw untamed power, that made it into my top 5 Unexpectedly Sexual Bon Jovi Songs.
Of course his music made it to Zalman’s soundtrack.

And three decades later, it was how I finally connected to Richie’s work.

You never really know.

.
~Suzanne
Rock Star Writer

☕️ Buy me a coffee
🥳 PayPalMe
 
🇳🇱Tikkie van de week [de allereerste! 🤗 ]

That was it! 

Subscribe to the blog, to get these posts in your mailbox.
You can find the subscription button on this page, probably somewhere on the right.

English channel:
Rock Star Yoga (yoga) + Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs (talk)
And you can follow my Yoga Blog: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga

Nederlandse YouTube:  “de Catacombe” studio voor Rock Star Yoga
Begint zodra ik beter ben

NEW: Books!

You can find my books The Little Mistress Who Turned Into A Baby Koala
A Boyfriend Like Jon Bongiovi
and White Tigress Yoga Workbook
at the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter

If you live in The Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, you can also order these books from me – just go to the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter
to check out which ones you want, and write me an email at s_beenackers@hotmail.com.
Payment is via PayPal or bank transfer.

This Rock Star Writer blog is an element of “Rock Star” [phase 2]

Title: “Rock Star”
or “Rock Star yoga/ business/ writer”

artists: Suzanne Beenackers, little bear Puux           
art form: performance art
phase 1: earliest expressions, mixed work, July 2019 – March 2022
phase 2: April 2022 – 

3 YouTube channels
1. English YouTube “Liberation”: Rock Star Yoga + Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs
2. Nederlandse YouTube “de Catacombe” studio voor Rock Star Yoga 
3. YouTube Rock Your Business
De headers from all channels have been changed already, so you know you re in the right spot.

4 blogs
1. Rock Star Writer (current blog)
2. Yoga Blog: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga
3. World Between Worlds
4. Dutch blog: Suzanne Beenackers

2 Facebook pages
1. Rock Star Writer on Facebook
2. Dutch: Suzanne Beenackers Schrijver Facebook met beertje Puux

1 Twitter account
my personal Twitter account

Your Rock Star soul is fighting for their life

To say I slept poorly last night would be an understatement. I had nightmares, hallucinations, and a replaying of events as if I had gone through a traumatic event, rather than through of a week to reflect and decide on some things I knew I needed clarity on.

I had finally gotten to the root of why I was stalling on my second career in yoga, my first career in business teaching, and my Rock Star project which started summer 2019.
Why wasn’t I doing what I knew I was meant to?
Why wasn’t I living into my purpose?

It was a question that could be answered on many levels but the moment I had crashed into a raw bloody wall of pure agony, I knew:
“Jackpot!”
Or “Oh God No for fucks sake!” and then “Jackpot!”.

I knew it was the biggie, and that I needed time to think.

Jackpot or not, the thing was so frightening, that my first instinct was to run away from it by destroying ten years worth of blogs and six years worth of YouTube channels.
That was a more appealing option than to stay calm and seriously thinking about it.

I managed to delay pushing the button of destruction, by a few days. And then last night there were the nightmares and hallucinations.
It would probably best compare to one of those vision quests you can get under the watchful eye of a Shaman.
It did give clarity, that’s for sure!
Just that I didn’t expect that a few days of logically thinking it over, would bring me into another world.

I just recall I also had one featherlight unexplained event. The night before my breakthrough insights, I had a motion-detection operated light in my house switch on out of nowhere. On a spot without any draft, and my cats were sleeping. It has never done that and because I was having such a deep-thinking, make or break week, I thought about what it could mean.
Maybe I was getting guidance, from the other side!

But aside from the mysterious light, the rest of the week had been very worldly.
And the encounters I had were very real as well.
And the insights I am sharing with you today were not formed in a Shaman tent nor in my hallucinatory night.
They were based in truth, in what I saw.

And in what ultimately scared me more than any unexplained events, or spirits from another realm, ever could. And eventually, yes, it scared me  far more than the raw bloody wall of pure agony that had been undermining my creative work.

What I saw is what happens when you do not answer the call.
That thing inside of you that comes out in your art.
Or what used to come out, until you started using work, alcohol, drugs and the busyness of the day to day to grind to numb it.

And now all you do when you have spare time is some variation of consuming. Consuming too much food, too much socializing, buying too much stuff you do not need.
Before all of those things started becoming who you are, and you still knew who you were;
The art, that THEN, came out of you.

That art.
That purpose.
I understood what would happen if I would not answer the call.

And, as I assume:
What will happen to you, if you fail too.

If you do not answer the calling of the artist within, of the Rock Star within, then it is going fight for its life.
It feels like despair, it feels like anger, it feels like desire.
It feels like agony, it feels like dying a spiritual and creative death in a Shaman tent on hallucinogenic mushrooms and that is because you ARE, dying a spiritual and creative death.

And I imagine that one day you will wake up thinking:
“What a good and noble thing that I didn’t follow through on my creative career, because now I am safe and I have everything I want.”

Everything, but the one thing you ever wanted.
Everything, but the one thing, your creative Rock Star soul ever craved for, and ever needed out of life.

So next time you feel absolutely horrible, next time you can’t sleep, next time you feel like tearing up what you created because what is the point anyway;
Next time you re afraid, next time you cry, next time a part of you no longer wants to live?

Stop.

It is your Rock Star soul fighting for its right to live.
Its right to RULE.
To unleash into the world, and not in the planned, moderate, drip by drip way, but by turning up your life and pulling out the stops.

It is your Rock Star soul telling you loudly, that it is more than ready to claim back what was yours and to take over your life.

And it’s waiting for your “Hell fucking Yes!”

.
~Suzanne
Rock Star Writer

☕️ Buy me a coffee
🥳 PayPalMe
 

That was it! 

Subscribe to the blog, to get these posts in your mailbox.
You can find the subscription button on this page, probably somewhere on the right.

English channel:
Rock Star Yoga (yoga) + Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs (talk)
And you can follow my Yoga Blog: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga

Nederlandse YouTube:  “de Catacombe” studio voor Rock Star Yoga
Begint volgende week

NEW: Books!

You can find my books The Little Mistress Who Turned Into A Baby Koala
A Boyfriend Like Jon Bongiovi
and White Tigress Yoga Workbook
at the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter

If you live in The Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, you can also order these books from me – just go to the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter
to check out which ones you want, and write me an email at s_beenackers@hotmail.com.
Payment is via PayPal or bank transfer.

This Rock Star Writer blog is an element of “Rock Star” [phase 2]

Title: “Rock Star”
or “Rock Star yoga/ business/ writer”

artists: Suzanne Beenackers, little bear Puux           
art form: performance art
phase 1: earliest expressions, mixed work, July 2019 – March 2022
phase 2: April 2022 – 

3 YouTube channels
1. English YouTube “Liberation”: Rock Star Yoga + Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs
2. Nederlandse YouTube “de Catacombe” studio voor Rock Star Yoga 
3. YouTube Rock Your Business
De headers from all channels have been changed already, so you know you re in the right spot.

4 blogs
1. Rock Star Writer (current blog)
2. Yoga Blog: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga
3. World Between Worlds
4. Dutch blog: Suzanne Beenackers

2 Facebook pages
1. Rock Star Writer on Facebook
2. Dutch: Suzanne Beenackers Schrijver Facebook met beertje Puux

1 Twitter account
my personal Twitter account

Bon Jovi is touring again! In a world that needs them more than ever. (and they know it)

A viral video of Odessa, Ukraine, standing their ground with It’s My Life.
The band shared this video on their socials, and Jon has called it a humbling experience.
With “We Don’t Run”, dedicated to Ukraine, on the first show of their new tour, Bon Jovi answered.
🎶🎸🇺🇦🕊️☮️

Omaha, Nebraska, 1 April 2022

After more than 2 years Bon Jovi is touring again!
The previous tour was This House Is Not For Sale, which ran from February 2017 to October 2019.
The already socially conscious record 2020, originally scheduled for March 2020, was pushed forward to October 2020, and changed to include new poignant material, reflecting the spirit of the times.

The tour “2020” was cancelled for obvious reasons and the new tour, called “2022” has started on April 1st.
At this point I could “only” find dates for April, so it looks like they re weary  not to start too big and then have to cancel.
To minimize Covid risks, they travel in a bubble, which also reminds me of an otherwise unrelated yet entertaining movie I’m currently watching on Netflix called “The Bubble”, about a movie set (not a rock band) in a bubble.

Shortly before the tour started, an interview with Jon was published in the Charlotte Observer and it gives a behind the scenes impression of how this tour has come together.

“In light of COVID and how long it’s been since anyone’s done this,
we went into an arena for three weeks and had rehearsals, and it was the most joyous thing I may have ever done in my life, career-wise.”

Jon also shares how the setlists for these shows are created, and it’s an exciting recipe, that would have me visiting multiple shows if they came to Europe! 
The recipe is 70% hits, the songs the audience definitely wants to hear, and 30% new material and, quote, “obscure tracks”.

From that same interview in the Charlotte Observer:

“The hits take up 70%, and that leaves you with 30% for new material and obscure tracks. That’s the kind of breakdown.
(So it leaves) you with X amount of slots for your artistic,
you know, ‘listen-and-look-at-me’ moments, when it’s just about
‘I don’t care if you don’t wanna hear this song, I wanna play it.
I’m allowed one or two of those.”

And the show in Omaha on April 1st showed there is an acoustic set in the middle of the show, so that means you’re going to be hearing different versions of songs as well.
Overall this tour’s setlist promises to be very exciting!

It may seem like a given, that Bon Jovi plays lesser known material, because  indeed having varied setlists has always been one of their main features.
But the previous tour didn’t have any surprises, and in all honesty, the only tour that was actually ever set out to include “obscure” material, was The Circle tour, 2010.
So I think it was the three weeks of rehearsals that set the tone for things to be different and fresh.
Jon saying there is room to play around with the setlist is not new; even the 70-30 rule is kind of familiar to what he’s said about it in the past.
But digging deeper into the catalog- as the setlist of the first night proves they are doing – that is new.

“I’ve been blessed. I’ve released 17 albums in my career. That’s a lot of music.
You go, ‘Oh, this one would be nice to pull out again.’
And it’s not an easy task, because the audience wants hear Song X, Y and Z.
You gotta do all the obvious hits.  You’re not gonna not play ‘Livin’ On a Prayer,’ and ‘It’s My Life,’ and ‘You Give Love a Bad Name. [..]
Believe me, it’s a good problem to have.”

“Truly, it is like a very simple [process] but nonetheless a Rubik’s Cube.”

The first night the Rubik’s Cube landed with the acoustic set on top, that included We Don’t Run, dedicated to the Ukraine, and fan favorite Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night.
Four sides of the cube were both songs the audience definitely needs to hear or they’ll start rioting, as well as songs that can be moved around.  
And for everyone flipping to the bottom there was the surprise of finding Older,  an upbeat song that will nonetheless cut to the core of fear of growing older for anyone who was an adult Bon Jovi fan at the time of the original release;
And  The Radio Saved My Life Tonight and Love’s The Only Rule.

On March 23, Bon Jovi shared a viral video on their socials, showing the people of Odessa getting their city ready to defend their city, by creating barricades with sandbags.
“It’s My Life” was blasting through the speakers, there were drums on site, with someone pounding them along with the track! 

In my opinion The Radio Saved My Life Tonight and Love’s The Only Rule, must be viewed within the same context of We Don’t Run being dedicated to the Ukraine: The context of this war.

And with Bon Jovi’s anthems being so close-knit to the war in Ukraine, I’m putting my money on Save the World being played sometime in the very nearest of Bon Jovi futures.

“Maybe I can’t save the world
But as long as you believe
Maybe I could save the world”

With all things you could possibly be doing to save the world;
Make believing in Bon Jovi one of them.

.
~Suzanne
Rock Star Writer

☕️ Buy me a coffee
🥳 PayPalMe
 

concert setlist
Bon Jovi, Omaha, Nebraska

April 1, 2022

I ve marked the newest (2020) and the rarest (surprise!).

01. Limitless (2020)
02. The Radio Saved My Life Tonight (surprise!)
03. You Give Love A Bad Name
04. We Weren’t Born To Follow
05. It’s My Life
06. Just Older (surprise!)
07. Born To Be My Baby
08. Beautiful Drug (2020)
09. Let It Rain (2020)
10. Keep The Faith 
11. American Reckoning (2020)

Acoustic set:
12. We Don’t Run (acoustic) 

13. Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night (acoustic)

14. Who Says You Can’t Go Home
15. Lost Highway 
16. Wanted Dead or Alive 
17. Do What You Can (2020)
18. This House Is Not for Sale 
19. Have a Nice Day 
20. Livin’ on a Prayer 

Encore:
21. Love’s The Only Rule (surprise!)
22. Bad Medicine 

That was it! 

Subscribe to the blog, to get these posts in your mailbox.
You can find the subscription button on this page, probably somewhere on the right.

English channel:
Rock Star Yoga (yoga) + Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs (talk)
And you can follow my Yoga Blog: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga

Nederlandse YouTube:  “de Catacombe” studio voor Rock Star Yoga
Begint volgende week

NEW: Books!

You can find my books The Little Mistress Who Turned Into A Baby Koala
A Boyfriend Like Jon Bongiovi
and White Tigress Yoga Workbook
at the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter

If you live in The Netherlands, Belgium or Germany, you can also order these books from me – just go to the bottom of this page:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter
to check out which ones you want, and write me an email at s_beenackers@hotmail.com.
Payment is via PayPal or bank transfer.

This Rock Star Writer blog is an element of “Rock Star” [phase 2]

Title: “Rock Star”
or “Rock Star yoga/ business/ writer”

artists: Suzanne Beenackers, little bear Puux           
art form: performance art
phase 1: earliest expressions, mixed work, July 2019 – March 2022
phase 2: April 2022 – 

PUBLIC Rock Star offerINGS: 

3 YouTube channels
1. English YouTube “Liberation”: Rock Star Yoga + Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs
2. Nederlandse YouTube “de Catacombe” studio voor Rock Star Yoga 
3. YouTube Rock Your Business
De headers from all channels have been changed already, so you know you re in the right spot.

4 blogs
1. Rock Star Writer (current blog)
2. Yoga Blog: Daily Bon Jovi Yoga
3. World Between Worlds
4. Dutch blog: Suzanne Beenackers

2 Facebook pages
1. Rock Star Writer on Facebook
2. Dutch: Suzanne Beenackers Schrijver Facebook met beertje Puux

1 Twitter account
my personal Twitter account

Paid Rock Star offers: 

I BOOKS
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rockstarwriter
Scroll up, for more delivery options.

II Rock Star mentoring (Zoom)
at Business, Artist or Rock Star level.
Starts May 2022

III Live in-person events
starting summer 2022:   Rock Star Yoga sessions in Nijmegen
starting summer 2023:   Rock Star Yoga shows in The Netherlands, with the possibility of expanding to Europe