After two years of touring Europe with a camper and a van, ‘The Gulls’ makes a stop at the family home of the Geleen drummer. Among other things, for the recording of their first live album.
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“They’ve been at our house for about a month, so a lot of machines are washed and the vacuum cleaner also works overtime, but it’s a very pleasant place here in Geleen, we really enjoy it,” says Marianne Kessels, mother of drummer Bob Kessel.
Legoland
Her son has not lived in the Netherlands for a few years now, because he wanted to try his musical luck abroad. The passion for music and adventure started early, Marianne recalls. She pulls out a photo showing Bob in Legoland. “All instruments were made of Lego. It was very spontaneous that Bob started making music there. That’s just his whole life; making music.”
Impossible tour
Bob first moved to Berlin and then he traveled to England for musical projects. There he became the drummer for the British rock band The Gulls. Initially, the group played in all kinds of public places, simply to cheer people up during the corona pandemic. This eventually became the so-called ‘Impossible tour.’ A tour without a plan or set route, in which the boys crisscross Europe to play in the open air. Sometimes in clubs too.
Not family
Bob has been on the road with his band and crew (a total of six people) for two years now. “Don’t ask me how, but we still do it,” Bob says. “People have a very romantic image and we also experience great things. But you also give up a lot. All the luxuries I was used to are gone..” It is also not always pleasant among themselves. “Sometimes you want to hurt each other, with all the sharp objects you can find. But yes, that’s part of it. You go into this together, it’s like family.”
Public places
Their music is the main motivation, according to Bob Kessels. The band may stay with its parents, but the touring doesn’t stop in the meantime. For example, they were in Amsterdam this week and they also go out in Limburg to play in public places, such as Terborgh Castle in Schinnen. She is not strange; The Gulls have previously stood in parking garages, on the roof of a shop or in an abandoned forest.
Live album
The visit to Geleen is not only to strengthen family ties. A concert is planned for Sunday in Poppodium Volt, where the band will record their first live album. Not in the open air, because then you still have risks for the sound quality. For example, the weather can throw a spanner in the works.
Kessels and his band are buzzing with plans. The bucket list still includes a performance at the O2 in London or in the Amsterdam Arena. But before that, the band will travel even further into Europe, with two buses full of stuff and ambition.
On Saturday morning, Bob Kessels will be a guest in the radio program L1 Cultuurcafé between 10.00 and 11.00.
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