G.Bevin - Biography

the story

G.Bevin is a singer-songwriter who has been developing his personal style since the age of 14. Right from the start he sensed the power and the beauty of the acoustic guitar. Unlike many others, he didn't start by learning covers and ever-greens, he immediately took the path of composition and song writing. Over the years he experimented with a lot of different styles and tried to capture their essence in a single guitar and voice arrangement. His texts grow out of the music through improvisation. They can be described as impressionistic poetry, often not completely clear but always honest and touching.

Right from the beginning, G.Bevin understood the importance of public performance. At high school, numerous live appearances and free festivals prepared him for 'the real life' on stage. Since then, he has been gigging very regularly in pubs, youth clubs and festivals. With his vast and versatile repertoire, he can easily entertain during an hour and a half. However, if the public is enthusiastic, concerts can stretch further into the night.

G.Bevin has never been afraid of experimenting. One of the most daring examples of his everlasting quest for novelty, is 'Brel en Brassens mè nen Brusselsen Bril'. With a few friends, he prepared a program with songs of Jacques Brel and Georges Brassens. However, they didn't simply cover those songs, all the texts were translated into the Brussels dialect and every song got an original, brand new, guitar arrangement. And on top of all that, they performed their show in a little pub in the center of the 'Brusselse Marollen'. The show was so successful that one year later a follow-up has been organized.

G.Bevin's music is experienced in a completely different way by everyone who listens to it. Some are deeply touched by the honesty of the music while others are excited by the raw power of certain songs. Many are surprised by his voice while several are intrigued by his guitar arrangements. Most of the people, however, are pleased to hear original songs and sing his melodies regularly by themselves.

the concerts

Here is an excerpt of G.Bevin's past concerts and projects.

22 April 1994	De Bizon	First payed concert in a smoky pub in the center of Brussels. Already here, G.Bevin had an impressive playlist of 18 songs. During the following year he played occasionally in other small pubs.
15 June 1995	Carwash Café	He gets a contract to play weekly in the Carwash Café. These concerts allowed G.Bevin to gain a lot of podium experience.
5 July 1995	Free Unplugged	He is invited to play in the Free Record Shop, a well known mega CD store.
8 & 9 September 1995	Lucky Town	G.Bevin plays two nights at the Lucky Town festival.
17 January 1996	Habitat Central	He gives a free concert to support a protest action against the destruction of historical buildings in Brussels.
April & May 1996	De Ketting - Filmmusic	He composes the music for a short movie by experimenting with computersynthesis and sequencing.
24 July 1996	Arte Diem	G.Bevin closes the night of an 'art festival'. Young European artists were invited to stay in Brussels to work together on a cultural project.
20 February 1997	Brel en Brassens mè nen Brusselsen Bril	The first concert of this very original project. Songs of Jacques Brel and Georges Brassens were translated into the Brussels dialect and G.Bevin gave them a completely new guitar arrangement.
7 September 1997	St. Géry en fête	G.Bevin's neighbourhood organised a big party, animated by the artists and musicians living there . At last something happened at St. Géry !
23 April 1998	Brassens mè nen Brusselsen Bril	One year after the initial project, a follow-up has been presented to the public.
December 1998	Release demo CD 'Bandage'	The first demo CD of G.Bevin was recorded and released.
March 1999 - February 2000	Bandage 'tour'	G.Bevin played the songs of his demo CD 'Bandage', and many more, in most pubs and small venues in and around Brussels.
May - December 2000	Recording CD 'Dream like a tree'	Together with producer-engineer Mike Butcher, a complete CD production was made of G.Bevin's best thirteen songs. A large number of established Belgian musicians provided their contribution to the project.

the studies

Although G.Bevin finds selfstudy and constructive improvisation extremely important, he took a lot of music lessons to work on his singing and guitarplaying technique.

1982 - 1988	Basical music and solfège knowledge	Music academy.
1983 - 1986	Classical guitar	Music academy.
1987 - 1988	Harmonical arrangements	Music academy.
1989	Jazz ensemble lessons	Alexandre Furnelle.
1990 - 1991	Private guitar lessons	Eric Daniel.
1992 - 1994	Voice placement and singing techniques	Roseline Thirault.
1995	Private guitar lessons	Gunther Valckenier (Jazz-Studio).
1995 - 1996	Advanced techniques for voice, guitar, sightreading, eartraining, arrangement and ensemble.	Jazz-Studio.
1995 - 1997	Voice training and singing exercices.	Lory Turner.