+ Allemaal Beestjes (Cabaret)

I always was big fan of Belgian Caberet trio De Nieuwe Snaar. So it was inevitable I would try and found a band like them sooner or later. Hard to find musicians to play this kind of thing, I remember rehearsing once or maybe even twice with a violin-player, a singer who couldn’t sing, and me on acoustic guitar. I guess I knew about five chords at the time, and I had written a few songs called „Hemd” („Shirt”), „Ouder Worden” („Growing Old”) and „Ik Hou Van Haar” („I Love Hair/Her”). Never played live, and probably never even finished a complete song on the few rehearsals we did.

+ Benvis & His Rockets (Rock-n-Roll)

It was already past ten, and I was quietly watching some TV, when the Benvis Brothers, Tim and Ben, rang my doorbell. They just had a fall-out with their drummer, and if I could come and play with them the day after. Although I never really considered myself part of the band - I always remained ad interim - I played with them for over a year, and even sat in with them after then, when their new drummer couldn’t make it.
They’re still good friends, and being the organizer of the very popular Radio Modern Soirees, I run into them regularly.

+ Big Boy Blubber & His Fine Young Skelletones (Rockabilly)

I had just met Wan Debrabander, when I left Sin Alley. Wan had been guitarist for The A-Bombs, and we decided to put together a band. This band evolved into Los Fabulous Frankies.

+ The Blue Chevy's (Blues / ROCK-N-ROLL)

This was a local band we were all jealous at. They already had a single out. And they played a lot. They asked to me replace their drummer for while, while he was ill. Had a great time playing with them.

+ The Crawlin' Kingsnake Rhythm & Blues Band (BLUES)

The Crawlin' Kingsnake Rhythm & Blues Band was the name of a Blues band, consisting of students of St. Lucas Academy in Brussels. I had only started drumming for a few months, and was fired after only two rehearsals because I just couldn’t play Santana’s „Black Magic Woman”. I don’t remember who was actually in the band, except for Filip Casteels, who played the guitar. The band itself didn’t last longer than a year, and I’m not sure they ever made it to the stage.
Because I really liked the name of the band, I suggested we’d use it a few years later for a new band we had started, featuring, again, Filip on vocals and guitar, Luc Houben on bass and Stefaan Hackelbracht on harp.
This was the first band I played in that gigged regularly, even twice on one day during the summer. It was quite an event at the time.

+ Crystal & Runnin' Wild (ROCKABILLY)

We were already touring for several years with Runnin’ Wild, when Patrick’s daughter, Crystal, came to see us more and more often, whenever we played in the neighborhood. She’d jump on stage with us to sing a few songs, and liked it so much she wanted to start her own band.
The easiest way, of course, was asking Runnin’ Wild to back her up. And we, of course, didn’t say no.
See More: www.facebook.com/CrystalAndRunninWild

+ Donkey Diesel (Europeana)

This band invented the term „Europeana”. Combining violin, horns and accordion with a raspy voice and beautiful melodies. I'm on percussion and backing vocals. Check it out on YouTube

+ Los Fabulous Frankies (Rock y Roll)

This band was started in 1995 as a party answer to all „cool” Rockabilly acts, afraid to move on stage and get their clothes dirty. The scale may have tilted a bit too much to the other side, but fact is that Los Fabulous Frankies are a crazy bunch. Playing Rockabilly with significant Mexican influences, shooting Tequila from a shotgun, and jumping around like crazy, there’s bound to be a party. Johnny Trash, or Franky Dell Rio as he is called in this band, plays rhythm guitar, percussion and backing vocals, with an occasional lead vocal. Check it out on YouTube

+ The Five Somethings (Rockabilly)

Another short lived side project. Had fun during the gigs, which, unfortunately, were not as much fun for the audience as it was for us. It all sounded very crappy. Had fun anyway.

+ The Grasshoppers (Rockabilly)

Another attempt to start a Rockabilly band. Short-lived.

+ Greaseball (Roots Rock)

There was a time Los Fabulous Frankies got sick of being clowns, and really wanted to be taken seriously. We did however realize it would be very difficult to reach that goal as Los Fabulous Frankies. So we decided to set a side-project with Howlin' Bill as a frontman.
We really did some col stuff, but when Wim (Howlin' Bill) decided it wasn't his cup of tea, and the Frankies were offered a record deal, Greaseball became history. A few of the songs were implemented in the Frankies' setlist though.

+ Guido Belcanto

+ Hank Van Damme (BlueGrass)

I've always been a Bluegrass lover. So when I got the chance to play with these guys, I didn't say no.They would later be the base of the Broken Cirkle Breakdown Bluegrass Band. Unfortunately my guitar skills weren't good enough, so I couldn't keep up with the pace.

+ Herman Brock Jr. (Country/Blues)

Herman Brock Jr. is a Dutch Country/Blues singer and guitar player. He has several bands, and sometimes asks me to join in on drums. Whenever I'm free, I tend to say yes. Love playing with this guy.

+ Hètten Dès (CowPunk)

The PowerCuntry ensemble. The first band I was full-time singer in, and stayed it. We played Country music, and played it loud. With a Punk Rock attitude. Check it out on YouTube

+ Jesus Likes Peppermint (Rock-N-Roll)

After The Hunting Tones fell apart, we started this band called JLP. Strange name for a Rock'n'Roll band, but we liked it.I was originally the singer of the band, but while rehearsing I found myself more behind the drums than behind the mic.Drummer Filip Casteels on the other hand, had bought himself a guitar, and started to sing too. So we traded places.

+ Johnny Trash (Comedy)

Alternating stand-up comedy and funny songs, I find myself regularly playing line-ups with other comedians. I do have my own full-length shows, called „Yes, We Can’t” and „Niet Enkel Schoonheid”. While playing mostly in my native Dutch language, I sometimes also perform in English.

+ The Johnny Trash Revue

In October 2007, a benefit concert was organized for The Seatsniffers and Big Dave, who unfortunately got their vans stolen earlier that year. Of course lots of musicians and singers wanted to participate and support these bands. Because There were so many, I was asked to put together a band with some of those musicians, and accompany some of those singers. That’s how The Johnny Trash Revue came to be. I did it once more one year later, as a tribute to Luc Timmermans, a good friend who unfortunately passed away after being in a terrible motorcycle accident. Since then I’ve been asked to pay tribute to Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. Participating artists include amongst others P.P. Michiels, Willy Willy, Lady Lynn, Isolde Lasoen, Pieter Embrechts, Tine Embrechts, Nathalie Delcroix, Alex Agnew, Guido Belcanto, Helmut Lotti, B.J. Scott, Filip Casteels, Bart Herman, … I’m Master Of Ceremonies, although I also usually sing a few songs as well. Check it out on YouTube

+ The Johnny Trash Rock'n'Roll Show (Rock-N-Roll)

Every once in a while, I'll do a gig abroad for my clothing sponsor, King Kerosin. I will usually go there by myself, and be backed by local musicians, playing some Rock’n’Roll and Country classics. Most of the time, the backing band is the Nürnberg based Dougie & The Blind Brothers. Great guys. Great band! Check it out on YouTube

+ Kick’em Jenny (Wild Rockabilly)

It was Yung Han who had gotten a call asking if he could back up Jenny in Spain, so he asked Patrick and me to join. It was a free holiday in Spain. Of course we’d go! He might have mentioned Jenny’s crazy! Had good fun anyway.

+ The Legendary Johnny Trash & The Amphetamine Four - feat. the Cherry Chix (Country/Rock-n-Roll)

Oh yes, I like long names. After the demise of Hètten Dès, and the failure of keeping together The Mud, The Blood & The Beer, I wanted to start a "Best Of Me"-band, playing my favorite songs I had played with Runnin' Wild, Fabulous Frankies, Hètten Dès, ... It didn't really turn out that way, as we added more and more new songs to the repertoire. What did happen was something I had wanted to do for a long time. It was very common for Surf bands to have gogo girls on stage. Not so much for a Rockabilly or Country band. Well, I guess we changed that. Disadvantage was that one of the gogo girls was my girlfriend. So when we split, the band split up as well. Had fun while it lasted, though... Check it out on YouTube

+ Lovesteaks (CowPunk)

Started in this Eindhoven based band as a singer. This was my first real step away from Rockabilly and towards the Cowpunk, Country Rock, or whatever you wanna call it. After the first recording it was obvious my voice did not fit the songs, so I became drummer again. Not too long after I had left the band, bass player Bartman Geevers also left to band to join Peter Pan Speedrock. Singer Berry Hoogveldt started a new band called Judasville.

+ Madé J.

I met Madé on the night of our first gig with The Legendary Johnny Trash & The Amphetamine Four. We were playing at The Windows in Brussels and he just happened to walk in. He was fed up with playing music, he told me, but seeing our band play, with enthousiasm and joy, made him want to play music again. It was only a few months later we met again through Patrick, and Runnin' Wild became his backing band. He also joined Runnin' Wild for a while. I played with him on off for several years. Also Recorded several songs with him.
Check it out on YouTube

+ The Mighty Gordini’s (Surf/Punkrock)

These guys are the perfect combination of Dick Dale and The Ramones. They needed a drummer for their German tour. I went and I had great fun.

+ The Million Dollar Sunrise (Rockabilly)

This tell-tale project will take you back to the beginning of Sun Records, where Rockabilly was unintentionally invented. Based on the members of The Million Dollar Quartet (Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins), The Million Dollar Sunrise tells the story of the birth of Rockabilly at Sun Records. I am - who else - Johnny Cash, and play drums in this project. Check it out on YouTube

+ The Mississippi Cotton Pickers (Blues)

Looking back it seems like we changed names every month. Changing the line-up too, although Filip, Luc and me always seemed get back together. This band also featured Peter Veekmans on Piano. We played with Werner Braito for a few rehearsals, but in the end Howlin' Bill joined the band. After I left, they changed their name to Big Trouble, and actually made quite a name for themselves in the Belgian Blues scene for a while. By that time Filip had already left to join El Fish, and Luc would be joining The Seatsniffers shortly after that.

+ The Mud, The Blood & The Beer (Blues)

After Hètten Dès had split up, I quickly started a new band, called The Mud, The Blood & The Beer.Fact was that I had this gig offer from a festival in Finland, where I definately wanted to play. So I put together this band, and our first gig was in Finland. Second gig was at a festival on the Grote Markt in Antwerp. And then Bjorn got an offer to go and play with Captain Fristi, a well-known Belgian singer-songwriter. We tried to replace him by Jorg Strecker, but when he got a job offer from Daan, another well-known Belgian arists, I gave up and disbanded the band.

+ Red Eye Junction (HonkyTonk/Country)

I came to play with this bunch thanks to the joys of the digitalized world. This San Luis Obispo CA based band was coming to tour Europe, but unfortunately their drummer quit only a week before. They went looking for European drummer on Myspace, as it would be easier to play with a local, then to buy an extra ticket for a new American drummer. So they found Los Fabulous Frankies drummer Joris Govers, who couldn't do the gigs, but send 'em to me. Really had fun on this 3-week tour. Great band, great guys. Check it out on YouTube

+ The Rhumba Kings (Rockabilly)

This is a band that was started by my good friend Mark Spreckley, together with Patrick Ouchêne and Big Ben from Runnin' Wild.
Mark was originally the drummer/singer of the band, but decided it would be better to play bass while singing. This of course meant that Ben couldn't stay, and so I was asked to play the drums. Really had fun playng in this band, and I'm glad to say they still play and record today, although their line-up has changed a lot over time.

+ The Rock-N-Roll Calendar (Rockabilly Magazine)

I was learning all about computers in the early 90s, and was having fun listing all the flyers I could find on one sheet of paper. After a while, it became a little booklet. That’s when Mighty Sam Dams told me I should turn it into a real magazine, and he would provide the graphic design. So I decided we would need interviews, reviews and articles too, so I asked Franky to help with that, as I wanted it to be in English and Dutch, and Franky had a degree as English translator. It became too big in the end, too much work, and we never got the magazine out on time, which also gave us a lot of complaints from our readers. Plus the fact that making the magazine cost more than we earned, made me decide to quit. We did try it again a few years later, but the same problems made us quit again. Had fun while it lasted, and I still miss it sometimes, but I’m sure it’s not worth the hassle. Check it out on YouTube

+ Runnin' Wild (Rockabilly)

Runnin’ Wild started in 1994 as a Rockabilly trio, without drums. That's how they recorded their first single and album. But then they realized they would sound better having a drummer. And because I just left Sin Alley, I turned out to be the obvious choice. After a while, I also started singing both backings and sometimes lead vocals. That lead to the recording of the infamous single "Killer Taco Stomp" in 1999. Runnin' Wild has become my longest running project. We still play today, although we are mostly featured as the backing band for Crystal Dawn.

+ Shakey & The Hunting Tones (Rockabilly)

My very first band. It started out in St. Lukas, the art academy where I was going to school at the time. A friend called Jochen Donny had discovered Psychobilly, and wanted to start a band in which he'd sing. He started asking around who wanted to join. I was allowed in because I had a keyboard. The fact that I didn't know how to play it, didn't matter. Luc Houben, the bass-player, didn't even own a bass. He would be playing rhythm guitar until he could affort one. In fact, the only one in this band who could call himself musician, was Filip Casteels, who had been drumming for several years already. We did only a few gigs, and even less rehearsals, and it always seemed to end in chaos. But it was Rock'n'Roll!

+ Sébi Lee (Rockabilly)

Sébi Lee is a great Belgian piano player. I played drums with him for while, and he’s still part of The Million Dollar Sunrise.

+ The Shuttlecocks (Rockabilly)

Now these guys were my heroes! Late 80's, early 90's, The Shuttlecocks were without any doubt the best Rockabilly band in Flanders. And for sure the only authentic Rockabilly band in Flanders. I learned a lot watching these guys play, which I did whenever I could, whenever they played. So when they asked me to fill in for their drummer for a few gigs, I was never happier. Glad to have been, even if just a small footnote, part of the legend.

+ Sin Alley (Desperate Rock-N-Roll)

This band evolved from Tiny Tinne & The Texas Jumpers. After the rest of the band decided to play a dirtier kind of Rockabilly, and change the name to Sin Alley, things started to happen. I wasn't too keen on the change, but they proved me wrong, and opened my eyes. Much so that I even let my hair grow for the first time, abandoning the pompadour. People really liked the band, and before we knew it we were playing at the Hemsby Rockabilly Festival in England, at that time the biggest and most notorious Rockabilly festival in the world. We were only the second Belgian band to ever play there, after The Domino's played there a few years earlier. In Belgium we started to get noticed outside the Rockabilly scene too, as we got to play on national television, and be the support act for The Cramps. Unfortunately, the rest of the band was not too happy with me always being late, and as I was the only one with a car, and needed to pick up everyone, it was becoming a real problem without me realizing it. One day I found out they were actually looking for another drummer, so I quit the band immediately.The rest of the band carried on for a while, but was disbanded when they started a new band called Angelico. Unfortunately, that band wouldn't last either, as Ruben had already started his own band called Triggerfinger. And the rest, as they say, is history. Check it out on YouTube

+ Tiny Tinne & The Texas Jumpers (Rockabilly)

Het was tijdens het D-Day festival in Amsterdam toen ik Alain, Ruben en Martine ontmoette. Ze hadden net een Rockabilly band opgestart in hun thuisstadje Lier, en zochtten een drummer. Ik deed met veel plezier mee. In het begin speelden we authentieke Rockabilly, maar na een tijdje wilde de rest graag wat ruigere Desperate Rock'n'Roll spelen. Ik was oorspronkelijk niet zo blij met die beslissing, omdat ik een enorme fan was van authentieke Rockabilly, maar als ik nu terugkijk ben ik toch blij dat bij de band ben gebleven, want het werd de eerste band waarin ik speelde die echt succes had. Het werd Sin Alley.

+ The Trash Pack (Americana)

Now this my own baby. After touring with Trash Sings Cash for two years, we decided it was time to start playing our own songs. I brought together a bunch of musicians I always wanted to play with, and started my own Americana - or should I say Europeana - band. Combining beautiful melodies with uptempo Banjo and rockin’ guitars, my voice is well-backed up on these moody sounds.

+ Trash Sings Cash (Country)

In 2013 was het tien jaar geleden dat één van mijn grote helden, Johnny Cash, was overleden. En dus wilde ik hem graag een eerbetoon geven in de vorm van een Cash Tribute Band. Uiteindelijk heeft de band een jaar langer bestaan dan voorzien, waarna we de naam veranderden in The Trash Pack, en naast Cash covers ook eigen liedjes en covers van andere artiesten zijn beginnen spelen. Check it out on YouTube