Hello everyone,

Let me start with the wonderful news that on the 15th of july in the morning Isaac George van Straalen was born. Named after Isolde her grandfather (Isaac) and mine (George), he's is a healthy beautiful baby boy of 8 pounds. Isolde, Cecilia and I are extremely happy! 

 A lot has happened the last months; I did tours in Korea, Holland and Germany and I'll be in Japan next month. In between all the Hamel craziness I found time to record with Sensual for their already third album. I can't tell you the title yet, but the album is a killer, an instant classic!

Another cd that I'm very proud of is the debut album of my own duo band Blistered. Together with guitarist and composer Bobby Ruijgrok I've recorded the album 'Europeana'. It contains music that mixes Americana, Brasilian music and pop all in one. Influenced by heroes like Leo Kottke, Cyro Baptista, Mino Cinelu and Ry Cooder the band touches many different styles and genres. The album is due to be released on the 1st of november 2010 and can be ordered at GBWusic.com. You can visit Bobby and me on facebook:http://www.facebook.com/#!/gijs.vanstraalen, http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1012054764&ref=ts

I decided to close down the agenda; please see www.wouterhamel.com for all Hamel dates, www.bandasensual.com for Sensual dates and GBWusic.com for Blistered dates. 

All the best, groeten, Gijs