"Ad Vanderveen sings simple songs about love, longing, wandering and coming home. We tend to associate depth with complexity when, in fact, it is only the simple things that have real depth. You only have to hear Ad sing a song one time to tap into its meaning. And the feeling will grow stronger and deeper the more you listen", David Olney, liner notes for Brand New Everytime.

david olney-a live major poet, by Ad Vanderveen

there’s very few people that can express what david olney does,with just a voice and acoustic guitar.a voice that tells of a life,a guitar that sounds like a band or orchestra and every song rolling like a movie,all complete by itself.

the first time i saw david was on a singer-songwriter night in a club  in lichtenvoorde;a small country town in the east of holland,i think it was in’94.on the bill were olney,steve young  and myself.

i had opened and sat in the audience , the adrenalin still rushing through my veins and feeling wide open to what was to come when david took over.

over the years friends of mine had introduced me to some of his records but for some reason they hadn’t really quite reached me yet.

this time was different; he started with ‘the lean and hungry years’,although maybe not even his greatest song, it hit me right in the heart and left a deep and lasting impression there.

little did i know then that we would record that very song together as a duet for one of my records a year later

as the evening progressed song after song blew me away and i remember being fascinated with the lyrics propelled by the incredibly cool understated guitar playing.  it turned out that night’s show was recorded and released as the‘live in holland’cd,perhaps my favorite olney record.

the thing about david olney is i have to experience him one on one to really get the full feeling out of it,he draws me right into the heart of his songs where more can only be less.

there’s two sides to his music;there’s the tender deep and sensitive poet and there’s the raw rough and rowdy rock&roller.the one so intensely beautiful and vivid it’ll make you cry,the other so wild and hilarious you’ll want to holler and laugh it away.

i did both that night and every time i caught his shows in the years that followed.

his songs, delivery and great guitar playing continue to inspire me,just like the work of other great ones that were my heroes when i grew up.

i’m glad there’s still some people i can feel that way about.

ad vanderveen.

©2000