Never Mind the Bolhuis

I was born in a small Dutch village an hour by train from Amsterdam. I moved to Amsterdam when I was 19 and left when I was 28. You won’t be surprised to hear Amsterdam is far more exciting than the village where I grew up, which had more churches than people. Amsterdam, in contrast, has a lot of different things! For example it has The Ship of Fools, a sailing music-theatre run by three men, August, Robbie and Victor. No matter who comes on board, they share their food and their drink. The House of Cosy Cushions’ video for ‘Palace For The Lost Ones’ was filmed on their ship. The ship is now on a world tour, which has stopped in Cork. Whenever I think of Amsterdam my first thought is of The Ship of Fools.

It was there I started The House of Cosy Cushions and began collaborating with different musicians, who played classical instruments such as violin and vibraphone – but with a punk attitude.
I discovered a lot of great music in Amsterdam. I loved going to Paradiso in Weteringschans, which used to be a church and was turned into a squat and then a venue. I took all the money out of my account to go there to buy tickets on the black market to see PJ Harvey. I've played there myself a few times too. I love to go to smaller gigs to see less well-known acts, such as Vic Chesnutt and Trost. My favourite Dutch band is De Kift.
Another good place for music is Occii. It gets a lot of punk bands and other acts that would be hard to find anywhere else. I saw Tara Jane O’Neill there, playing to about 15 people. I enjoyed playing there myself. Another thing I liked doing in Amsterdam is going to the exhibitions. I used to go to the Van Gogh Museum early in the morning to avoid the tourists!
I’ve never really had a big connection with Irish folk or traditional music myself, but I presume it’s as popular in Holland as anywhere else. I was aware of My Bloody Valentine and really enjoyed them. Radio stations in Amsterdam are like most radio stations in that they just play the average music. Very average, in fact. You don’t get people playing the music they love. Most DJs play the music they have to play because the big companies threaten them, or so the DJs told me. There are a lot of recording studios, but I don’t know about any record companies in the city.
When it comes to eating, I love fruit. One of my favourite Dutch dishes is best translated as “raspberry forest”. To make it you get loads of girls standing in big buckets in the parks – they trample the raspberries with their feet and then they spread them over each other and lick them off each other’s arms and legs. Yum!
I recommend people buy fruit and vegetables from local vendors, such as those at the Albert Cuijp Market and have a picnic in a park. Actually, that’s where I met the violin player Steph O’Hara who played on our ‘Palace For The Lost Ones’ single. He was busking there.
There are loads of great places to go for a drink. One of my favourites is Sporadisch Antiquarisch, a second-hand bookshop selling occult books where the owner will sometimes serve drinks to customers. If you’re lucky!
Most foreigners think of Amsterdam and think of drugs and hookers and the red light district which is really a sort of Disneyland for tourists. In fact, I did my first demo recordings in the red light district. I met a guy and although I didn’t know him he let me use his studio and sound engineer free for a day. I was really thankful but I’ve never met him since! Because I have such good memories of the area and because I enjoy walking long distances around Amsterdam, I used to stroll around the red light district early in the morning, usually at around 3am. It’s a sad place, but in a way it’s like being in a movie, and that’s what makes it attractive.