Introduction to the guys behind DanBaird.net

Some Dutch rural village, 1988. Four friends are driving to the nearest city to go to a club. One of them tells the others that he has taped a concert from the -then (in)famous- Dutch radio show Countdown Café. He puts it in the car stereo. DJ Alfred Lagarde (May he rest in peace and God bless his soul) says: 'Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome: The Georgia Satellites! The crowd applauses and yells. The friends hear a Southern voice say: "We're gonna do - let's do that old NRBQ-song, okay? Comes to me naturally? Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a song from my favorite fat man on the planet, Mr. Al Anderson. Called Comes to me naturally, goes like this." A loud guitar riff starts, and an even louder rock band joins the guitar. The four guys in the car are amazed, cheerful, excited. A life-long love for the music of The Georgia Satellites and Mr. Dan Baird has begun.

Two of them start to play the guitar, the third plays bass and the fourth sings - and what the hell, plays guitar too. A drummer is found and a band is born, and its only goal is to sound like the Sats. All the records are bought, but never did the friends catch the Sats live.

1993. A Dutch classic rock station plays Dan Baird's "I love you period" all the time. One of the friends runs out and buys "Love songs for the hearing impaired". Thinks: "Dan Baird, how come that name rings a bell. Searches through his album collection and finds out he was in The Georgia Satellites"! (We never expected DB to be the lead singer, actually we always thought Rick Richards looked like a lead singer the most :-)) The friends (meanwhile they all moved to different parts of the country, hence R.I.P. their band) visit his gig in Amsterdam, and although Dan has vocal problems, it's the best damn gig they've ever seen. After Dan's second solo album, "Buffalo Nickel" little is heard from him.

1994. OK, this is gonna get very personal. If you hate emotional shit, move on. The four friends have an unforgettable one week camping holiday in the south of France. Soundtrack to the fishing-drinking-smoking-bbq'ing week is 'Land of Salvation and Sin' and I'll never forget the drive in an old Ford Sierra, hot and sunny weather, windows open, four guys singing along to 'Another Chance'. In fact, besides the 'usual' best memories of the wedding day and the birth of my two sons, this is number 4 on the list. Chronologically, it's even number 1! ;-)

In 1999, two of the friends have concieved 'a cunning plan' as Baldric always said (if you didn't watch Blackadder, I'm sorry for you). They drive for eight hours to Switzerland to catch The Georgia Satellites at a Swiss Biker Meeting. Passports are forgotten, and so is the fact that a pack of marihuana is in the car and just maybe would be a crime enough to never make in to Switzerland, but hey - some things are meant to be and they arrive safe & sound. Unfortunately, there is no time for a pre-gig meeting with Stefan Wondberg (May he rest in peace and God bless his soul) and, as we discovered later, Martin Zbinden. Will have to make up for that, some time, Martin. The show is awesome, the atmosphere perfect.

2002. The four friends have a perfect music year by seeing the Yayhoos and Dan Baird & Friends. A-fucking-mazing. 2003 is another excellent year because of The Dusters tour featuring Dan, and a damn fine Dan Baird & Friends summer tour next. They even have the chance to meet up with the guy because in the meantime they started www.danbaird.net as some sort of hommage to their personal rock 'n roll heroe. Actually out of frustration that there wasn't ANY good info on Dan Baird on the web. I was complaining about that on the GS message board and I have to thank Mick Penn, Patti Ray and Chris Stanley for triggering me the right way (some cynical replies!). That was early February 2003. In April of that year, the website was up. What can one write better than that Dan the man himself wrote "thank you, you've done a nice job" and from then on no gig passes without a brief encounter. Who said "stay away from your heroes"? Fuck that! And King Dan rules!

Gerben Holwerda, January 2005