Pondertone

The gap between rich and poor is increasing. The earth will soon reach boiling point. Racism and discrimination are becoming more common. Meanwhile political leaders put the blame on ‘the other’, just as they did in ‘the good old days’. Join the revolution… of love and compassion. Buy this T-shirt for €15 (shipping not included) and help spread the message. Mail to info@pondertone.com for more information.

On March 7 we released our new single. The past 19 years I rarely mixed in the political debate. Now it seems the situation world wide is going out of control. The gap between rich and poor is increasing. The earth will soon reach boiling point. Racism and discrimination are becoming more common. Meanwhile (political) leaders put the blame on ‘the other’, just as they did in ‘the good old days’.

On March 15 elections are held in the Netherlands. Untill then I try to save what I can by distributing posters and sending cards trying to convince my fellow countrymen to vote with their hearts for respect, peace and tolerance. Buy the download on our bandcamp page, for $5.30 (or more) and receive two posters (international shipping not included). If you subscribe to Pondertone through Lukida, you get lots of extra’s for one year (including the new posters). Don’t let the gulls take control!

On March 15th we play the Rabo Open Stage in Tivoli/Vredenburg. Accidently our performance starts right after the concert by Elvis Costello. He is one of my great musical heroes. Since his collaboration with Paul McCartney on his Flowers in the Dirt (1989) I try to follow the career of Costello. That is quite difficult sometimes, because it tends to be quite capricious. No genre is foreign to him and he obviously hates parochialism. The brilliant lyrics, his powerful voice and the constant search for the ultimate song form the connection. The concert has long been sold out, but we play the after show on the Rabo Open Stage in the central hall. Our performance has free admission.

For the third consecutive year we will be performing at the Gluren Bij De Buren (Peeking At The Neighbors) Festival. This time in Bussum and Amersfoort. On 12 and 19 February we’re happy to invite you in a living room for an intimate concert in Bussum and Amersfoort. Check the Calendar for more information.

On December 12 3voor12/Utrecht presented the new Christmas song. Pondertone wonders where it went wrong. “Who took the ‘Merry’ out of Christmas? What happened since the days When Christmas was a feast of light? “. The song appears on the new Pondertone Christmas album that can be downloaded through bandcamp. For € 7.50 (excluding shipping) you get the download and the new Christmas book. This contains the lyrics to all Pondertone Christmas songs with accompanying artwork. You can also subscribe to Pondertone through Lukida, you get the book and album for free. The song can also be streamed on Spotify, Tidal, Deezer etc. Watch the accompanying #vlog video on youtube!
Menno Pot of Dutch national newspaper de Volkskrant chose Make Christmas Great Again as Track of the week. “‘Who took the merry out of Christmas?’, is the question Utrecht based guitar band Pondertone ask. Christmas rock for those who start to cringe when December comes.”

On December 18, we will put ‘Merry’ back in ‘Christmas’. We will perform a series of concerts during the Christmas Fair in the Snorfabriek. For Peace sake, where did it all go wrong? The most wonderful time time of the year is not what it used to be. Once it was a feast of light, but dark times lay before us. As we approach the Christmas tipping point it’s time time for change. Let’s Make Christmas Great Again!

Check the Pondertone agenda for details.

On September 9 we will perform as part of the Showman’s Fair, at Berlijnplein in Utrecht. This evening we will be playing a couple of short shows of 15 minutes.

After the success of Gluren Bij De Buren (Peaking in at the neighbours’) in Utrecht we’ll be performing at the edition in Haarlem. 20 march we’ll play three acoustic sets in the living room of Patricia Gravemaker. Times: 13.00, 14.30 en 16.00. Adress: Gierstraat 77A Rood Haarlem. We’ll also play our version of Quicksand -original by David Bowie- again. Here you can watch a clip of our version of that song as we played it in Utrecht.

Sunday afternoon 31 januari we’ll be playing in our own living room as part of the festival Gluren Bij De Buren (Peaking At The Neighbours). Times: 14.30, 16.00 and 17.30. Free entry (voluntary contribution much appreciated). Shaky the cameraman made a preview at the rehearsals. Watch it here.

Traditionally Pondertone reflects on Christmas. This year we reworked ‪‎Sandalen‬ a dutch song by fellow-Utrecht based band How to throw a Christmas party. With special guests Nora Iburg and Agnes Loonstra of Wooden Soldiers & Tom Swart. The song is about Joseph and Mary’s travel to Bethlehem. For the video I made drawings that were reworked by my daughters Mien and Lenna. If you buy ‘A very Pondertone Christmas’ on Bandcamp and supply us with your address, you get an original drawing as used in the video.