"There is always compassion in my lyrics", says Dutch singer-songwriter Leon Brock. "Or at least a wink. But they're never sarcastic." Leon lives in the historic town Delft (William of Orange, founder of the monarchy, was shot here in 1584), halfway Rotterdam and The Hague. He is a teacher sociology in daily life, so he is used to observing people and their behaviour. It's no big surprise that he finds there the inspiration for his songwriting too!

When he thought it was time to release a new album, he selected ten self-penned songs or 'reflections on this modern society' as he calls them. The music is a mix of country, blues and folk with hints of flamenco and African rhythms. Just like on his first album, Guus Westdorp plays the keys, the other musicians are: Derk Groen (guitar), André Boekestijn (bas and flamenco guitar) and Arie Verhaar (drums). Henk de Kat is a guest musician, who plays the accordion on bonus track "My Egomobile". It took quite a bit of time to get everything ready, the studio owner ran into some bad luck and the mix had to be perfect, even if that meant they had to listen to their songs over and over again.

Bas Beijersbergen, a visual artist based in Delft, designed the FUN packaging: a tin cigar case! The colorful CD-booklet features collages for every song, with quite a few skeletons doing their thing like normal people! Both Leon and Bas are big fans of comics and especially 'Kuifje' (Tintin) is their hero. After all the hard work, it felt fantastic to finally have the finished CDs at home, admits Leon.

 

Leon always liked the American country rock and altcountry, but also the singer-songwriter tradition. He found inspiration by listening to the music of Steve Earle, Joe Ely, Townes Van Zandt and Hank Williams. He was the founder of the Dutch altcountry band The Red Sea Sharks, but after eighteen years he decided to pull the plug and return to basics. In 2009 Leon released his first solo-album 'Ordinary People'. He went into the studio with his 'co-pilot' Guus Westdorp and bassist Martin Vermeer and they recorded all eleven songs on one Sunday afternoon! The theme of that album was travelling through the U.S.A.

Dan McCann, former bass player of Evan Johns & His H-Bombs, had some well-deserved praise about the CD: "I saw the preparation and real world travelling that Leon did to craft these songs for recording 'Ordinary People'. He travelled America, on his own, in a car camping in the desert and visiting with the people of the American SouthWest. The songs are 'true' or they are actually part of Leon's American experience. I notice that Americans find it interesting to hear these snapshots of our own country coming from the guitar and voice of, in this case, a Dutch songwriter focused on American realities of life."

'Ordinary People' is still available!