COVERS
Along Comes Mary
And The Band Played On
Big Bucks & Easy Money Blaufunk
Black Label
Bogus Brothers (UK)
Bokito Brothers
Bombitas XL
Boys Named Sue

Buckshot
BuzzAround
Call Me Blondie
Cats On The Corner
The Eagles Tribute Band
Dansman3
Disco Disciples
Draagbaar Radio Orkest
Dude
Factor3
Handshake Daddies
Heebie Jeebies
The Hillybilly Moonshiners
Evi Hanssen
Johnny & The Gangsters of Love
Kasba
KBAM
Marvelous Barrels
Nashville Roots
The Mad Donna's
Me Pearl and the Band
Me & Mrs Bass
My Boot Heels
Playground
Roelofs en Van Bommel
Rusty Apollo
Slash 'n Roses
Span Crank
Strax
Thickshag & Marty
The Old Brown Shoes
Pollux Duit Springsteen
Rafter
The Revolvers
Sound Of Silence
Spanjers, Van Dijsseldonk, Planteijdt
Spiders From Mark
Stringcaster
Trio Ristretto
Troubadour Rob

DJ's
miXendorp

(STRAAT)THEATER
Discreator
De Kleine Scala
Caravan Of Love
Gili
Hippe Gasten
Marc Stakenburg
Mario Queen Of The Circus
The Non Melting Ice Cream Band
Sinterklaas En De Stoute Pietenband
Slampampers
Banjo Circus
The Hutspot


ORIGINALS

African Connection
Amsterdam Faya Allstars
Barefoot And The Shoes
Big Bo
Jan de Bruin
Eddy & The Ethiopians
Peter Beeker
Arthur Ebeling
Bright Blue Gorilla
Bertus Borgers
Bohemian Betyars
Bots
Brons
Cabocubanjazz
Captain Gumbo
Casa de la Muerte
Cavan Moran
Cochon Bleu
Draw The Parade
Dwayne Verheyden
The Eminent Stars
Esther Groenenberg
Esk-Esque
The Felicianos
Flamenco Connection
Firkin
Folk Survival Club
The High And Lonesome
Hind Hakki
Mercy John
Lancee en Havens
L'Chaim
Iain Matthews
Mathijs Leeuwis
Ming's Pretty Heroes
Joris Linssen en Caramba
Scarlet Mae
June Noa
Op Zoek Naar Johan
Iris Penning
Rootbag
JW Roy
Gayle Skidmore
Kissmekillme
La Manouche
La très illustre compagnie du Chat Noir
Leeuwis en Pignon
Jeroen Kant
Mannen Van Naam
Mark Olson
Thomas Martens Quartet
Melou
The Mighty Ya Ya
Mira
Mister Inglish
Namgar
Negritos
Mrs Hips
Matt Woosey
Neil Taylor
Nathalie Matteau
& Les Hommes Perdus

OPMOC
Quatro Ventos
Rafael Fraga
Reminder
saxotones groove mission
Sedaa
The Sensational Second Cousins
Sensual
Sesgado
Stackhouse
Tigre Blanco
Ton Engels
The Goat Roper Rodeo Band
The Transsylvanians
U'Duet
VOF De Kunst
WeaaH
WeCookWithFire
Yevgueni

 

 

 





Monkeyman
Cultuurcentrum De Hutten
Hutten 2
5571 VG Bergeijk
0497-540054
info@monkeyman.nl
kantoor Utrecht 030-2960644

The Eminent Stars

Sittin’In
New LP / single & cd @ Tramp Records – spring 2014



The Eminent Stars were founded by saxophonist Ben Mendes and drummer
Toon Oomen. They both share the love for the great music emerging from cities
like New Orleans in the 60's and 70's: Dr. John, Freddie King, The Meters and
many more! Just mix up some soul, Rhythm and Blues, funk and Blues and there
you have it: a record that consists of authentic elements: it's danceable,
intriguing, vibrant and fresh!


eminent

New Orleans

Drummer Toon Oomen decided to live and studied in New Orleans some years
ago just to capture the unique vibe and sounds of this region. When he came
back to Amsterdam he wanted to share this musical richness. He found a great companion in saxophonist and producer Ben
Mendes and they soon started to work intensively on fresh and original material .

Vintage

Then the moment arrived when Toon & Ben planned a recording session (2012) in a rusty old farm in the middle of the French
Ardennes. Here the basis-recordings for the new album 'Sittin In' found place: all live, together in one big old dusty room, all
vintage equipment was brought down there. Just to capture the authentic sounds & vibes of the songs.

Vocalists

Soon the great American singer-songwriter Bruce James joined the team, later other vocalists such as Imelda, Lana Gordon and
Steffen Morrison jumped on board. All blending in with the Eminent Stars!

cover

The Eminent Stars on stage are:

• Toon Oomen - drums, percussion and
guitars (Beans & Fatback, Gumbo Night)
• Ben Mendes – saxophones (Mendoza
Dance Parti)
• Mischa den Haring – guitars (T99)
• Andert Tijsma – bass (Coco Jones, Jett
Rebel)
• Dirk Beets – trumpet (B-movie Orchestra)
• Emiel van Rijthoven - piano, hammond
(Luzazul, Waylon)
• Imelda – vocals
• Bruce James – vocals
• Steffen Morrison – vocals
• Lana Gordon - vocals

Liner Note: live line Up up of the band may change occasionally due to availability of the musicians.

Press / Quotes - Sittin’In – The Eminent Stars

Gerard Ekdom - Dutch Radio presenter: 'Geweldige sound hebben jullie! Alsof het album daadwerkelijk begin jaren 60 is opgenomen. Love it.' - Great sound you guys have! Like it
really was recorded in the 60's.

Airplay highlights:

BBC Radio 6 - The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show
East Village radio - New York - Jon Oliver - The Main Ingredient
Radio 6 Netherlands – DJ’s Gerard Ekdom/ Giel Beelen
TVL1-fm Tel Aviv! – World Flight
Dinamo FM Istanbul – The Basic Soul Show by Simon Harrison
MDR Deutschland – Sputnik Soulfood
Podomatic – Saturday Soulmine with Jonny Layton
SamuraiFM - Tokyo -Japan
Polski Radio - Poland
Radio Bulgaria National
Tilos Radio, Budapest FM90.3, Hungary
KCRW 89.9 FM , USA
KDHX - St. Louis - USA
Inspiration 107.8fm - Funk By Funk - UK
Radiu Kraków - Poland



Reviews:

Eminent Stars: An Old But Not Forgotten Groove March 18, 2014• by DJ Prestige : 'When the founders of Eminent Stars gottogether in some old, dusty room with analog equipment to lay down some tracks for a record, they had one sound in mind.
That sound was the 60's and 70's coming out of New Orleans, when a certain breed of bands were churning out special music from a special city. It’s a distinct sound, one that by today’s standards is old, but not forgotten. Why is that? It’s all about thegroove baby. Their debut record on Tramp, Sittin’ With, echoes that groove of yesteryear and moves just like its forefathers. This record digs deep into the soul of the sound, drawing from Funk, Gospel, Soul, and R & B while taking the listener back to the sweaty Bayou clubs and rocking them until dawn like it was done before. One of the founders, saxophone player (plus engineer and producer) Ben Mendes surrounded himself with some top notch musicians such as Toon Oomen on drums, percussion, and guitar, Mischa den Haring on guitar, Andert Tijsma on bass, and Dirk Beets on trumpet to lay down one bad ass funky record.
From the huge drum break on “Ready To Fly” (featuring Imelda), to the Dr. John influenced “A Good Woman” (featuring Bruce James), to The Meters echoing in “My Baby Is Hot”, and other stand out tracks like the organ heavy “Tune In” (someone has been listening to Touissaint McCall) and bubbling “Slow Cooking Baby”, Sittin’ With has a serious ‘Nawlins vibe and feel. It’s cool to see bands emulating this era, N.O. had its own sound, and when a song starts, you know exactly where you are, even if you’re 10,000 miles away. This music is associated with heavy players, from Eddie Bo to Lee Dorsey, Professor Longhair to Jellyroll Morton, and Eminent Stars represent the sounds emanating from AM radios during that time period quite well. This is a sound we could never forget.'

Monkeyboxing.com / feb 2014: “Now I don’t know exactly which town in the Netherlands the band hails from but I wouldn’t mind betting that in the band members’ heads they like to think of it as ‘Nieuw Orlijns’. That’s certainly the message I’m getting from tracks like the Meters pastiche of funky chicken-scratch opener Ben’s Dungeon and fast/ slow funk instro My Baby Is Hot, not to mention the gris-gris-infused Voodoo Do Mar which owes a little something to the work of a certain Mac Rebennack. Also helping the band out during the recording session though was a veritable constellation of guest vocalists: Bruce James, Aricia Mess, Lana Gordon, Imelda and Steffen Morrison – whose turn on the northern soulful stomp The Club betrays yet another of the band’s musical influences. The Eminent Stars then – you might be sitting in with them but you’re unlikely to be sitting down with them…”

Wasser Prawda.de / feb 2014: “Der Bandname ist schon mal passend: Mit einer derartig tanzbaren, mitreißenden und frischen Musik sollten The Eminent Stars eigentlich bald überall dort bekannt werden, wo man handgemachte Soulmusik liebt. Die von Saxophonist Ben Bendes und Schlagzeuger Toon Oomen nach dessen Aufenthalt in New Orleans gegründete Band spielt so ziemlich den feinsten Funk und Rhythm & Blues jenseits der Dap-Kings, der mir 2014 vor die Ohren gekommen ist. Stücke wie „Jumping Beans“ mit seiner prägnanten Gitarrenlinie, die von den Bläsern fortgeführt wird, sind eine faszinierende Mixtur aus dem aktuellen Sound der Brassbands mit Jazzklängen aus eleganten Clubs der 70er. Und wenn Bruce James mit seiner rauhen Stimme zu singen beginnt, entsteht feinster Soulblues. „Sittin‘ In“ ist ein Pflichtkauf! “

Mos Eisley Musicblog / jan 2014: „Die Band, die maßgeblich durch den New Orleans Sound der 70er beeinflusst ist, präsentiert rauen Funk & Soul in Instrumentalform und in Unterstützung von talentierten Sängern. Aber was heißt hier talentiert, viel mehr als die Vocals von einem wie Bruce James ist wohl kaum aus dem menschlichen Körper zu holen. Die weiteren Gäste heißen Lana Gordon, Imelda und Steffen Morrison. Doch auch die Grooves dahinter haben es in sich, wie sich in dem Opener "Ben's Dungeon" oder "Jumping Beans" zeigt. Die Gründer und Köpfe hinter diesen Songs, Ben Mendes und Tom Oomen haben ganze Arbeit geleistet, eine mehr als solide Soulplatte aufzunehmen, mit allem was dazugehört.”

Soul and jazz And Funk .com / feb 2014 : “On their new 13 tracker there's plenty of their Meters-inspired workouts – notably the opening 'Ben's Dungeon' and the feisty and sparse 'Jumping Beans'. However bringing real variety and freshness to the Eminent Stars' sound is a team of vocalists who notch up the soul quotient no end. American Bruce James guests on the bluesy, down-home 'A Good Woman' and the Southern styled 'Hearts Are Jumping'. His voice has just the right amount of gruff edge to make the tunes convincing. Lana Gordon's out front on the scratchy funk of 'Write Me' while the simply named Imelda takes lead on 'Ready To Fly'... maybe a little too rocky for soul sensibilities. However, died-in-the-wool soul folk will have no problems with 'The Club'. Big and boisterous, the lead vocal's handled by Steffen Morrison and the cut's a great Northern soul pastiche... one of the most authentic recreations I've heard in a long while. I tell you if it was burned onto a 7" 45 and covered up you could kid anyone that it was a long lost Loma or Mirwood classic. Morrison also features on the country soul of 'Smokey One'. That
leaves the LP's oddity...'Voodoo Do Mar'. This one's fronted by Aricia Mess and its slippery, snaky sound is a proper New Orleans gumbo.”


All promo photo’s free of use, use name of photographer: Ron Beenen