Alley Cat
Paul Van Vlodrop hails from Amsterdam in the Netherlands and over the years has become one of Europe’s well-known musicians and artists. He learned to play guitar at an early age, influenced by the popular music of the day by such as the Beatles, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Simon and Garfunkel, and others. Later he found a love for bluegrass music and taught himself both banjo and mandolin. He then joined his brother in the band Country Ramblers for a few years. In the 1980s he toured internationally, sharing the stage with folks like Byron Berline and Bill Keith. In the late 1980s he formed the band 4 Wheel Drive, which performed until 2007; the band introduced bluegrass to audiences throughout Scandinavia and Europe. They even made a showcase appearance at the 2000 IBMA Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. Now Van Vlodrop (mandolin, banjo, guitar), is joined on this new project by Heiko Ahrend (guitar), Joost van Es (violin, bass), Arthur Deighton (guitar), Nathalie Schaap (bass), Bertolf Lentink (resonator guitar), Janos Koolen (guitar, mandolin, clarinet), Jos Van Ringen (banjo), and Rens van der Zalm (violin, mandolin, guitar).
The selections chosen by Van Vlodrop for this CD come from a variety of sources including bluegrass, folk and pop. He picked Bent Fabric’s “Alley Cat” as the title of the project with Erik Kriek providing the illustrations for the booklet cover art. There is Mel Tillis’s “Walk On Boy,” John Prine’s “Blue Umbrella,” Johnny Mercer’s “Old Cowhand,” and Willy Nelson’s “Night Life.” Grassier tunes include “Keep On Pushin’,” “Hamilton County Breakdown,” “Cricket On The Hearth,” “Remington Ride,” Chris Jones’s “Will You Be There,” and he closes with the medley “From Galway To Spencer.”
Van Vlodrop has a very pleasant voice and shows a strong command of his instruments. The other musicians prove to be equally adept at their craft. This is a good representation of our international players in the music.
