I was eleven years old when I started playing on a piano my grandfather bought for me. My mother played violin and also some piano. The first pop/rock albums I listened to, were from my parents. Among all the classical albums my parents had an lp from Ekseption (Rik van der Linden) and the soundtrack from Hair. When I was 12 years old, I saw a movie called 'The Blues Brothers' and since that moment, I was hooked on rythm and blues.

After high school I studied at the Music school of art (in dutch it is called conservatorium) in Rotterdam. There I had a classmate who played in a blues band. I was invited to come and play, so we set up a rehearsal. The rehearsal was nice, but the band insisted that I should play a Hammond organ. I had no idea that playing an organ was really my thing. So the band bought me my first Hammond; the X5 with a 760 Lesley. And after only 30 minutes of playing I fell in love. From that moment I played in a lot of blues-, soul- and rhythm and blues bands. My sound developed into a rock sound of the Hammond organ. As John Lord said: "Unleash the beast". So I did, and this gave me the chance to play in a hard rock band for two years. After this experience I went back to my roots music again that I really wanted to play. I was waiting for the right band and opportunity,so for me joining the Julian Sas band is a warm welcome home to the blues-rock. I have the feeling that all my experiences can be combined in the music and musical vision and direction of this band.

My influences

Great bands:
Blues brothers band (STAX /Atlantic), The Doors, SRV, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, BB King, The Beatles, Boston, Whitesnake, Maceo Parker, Lynyrd Skynyrd...

Great keyboard players:
John Lord, Ray Charles, Paul Shaffer, Dr John, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Booker T (The Stax musicians), Joey Defrancesco...

When I m not playing music I am a teacher in special need education. One day a week I teach piano/keyboard lessons at the music school in Waalwijk. With my wife we have a combined family with 6 kids in various combinations. This all makes my live busy and intensive, but there is never a dull moment.