Although he has ALS, George Kooymans of Golden Earring will release a new album next month

[highplainsdem]

First read about this on Twitter a couple of days ago, and I've seen a couple of posts from the record label (Red Bullet) and stores in Europe, but the most comprehensive description of the album that I've found so far, one which is apparently from a press release, was posted to Steve Hoffman's forum by a member in the Netherlands who might have done this translation himself, or it might have been released in English there as well since so many Dutch people speak English.

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/george-kooymans-golden-earring-frank-carillo-mirage-release-date-17th-june-2022.1145483/

KOOYMANS & CARILLO
MIRAGE

CD/DIGITAL

Release date: 17th June 2022


- Second album by Golden Earring founding member George Kooymans and American rock guitarist Frank Carillo
10 brand new tracks
- Including George Kooymans solo bonus track ‘Seasons’ – originally written in 1968 as the debut single for Dutch band Earth & Fire
- Artwork by George Bixby
- Mixing by John Sonneveld

Twelve years after their debut album On Location, George Kooymans and Frank Carillo return to the front with their second album entitled Mirage. Recorded over a period of approximately three years in various studios and countries, Mirage offers ten tracks that illustrate the natural chemistry between the two guitarists, showcasing artistic excellence, as well as a wide array of musical influences.

,,Four countries, a fantastic cast of real characters, sometimes an ocean between us and more than a few laughs: That’s how Mirage came to life. We wrote a number of the songs in George’s kitchen while he cooked and I strummed guitar. Then he strummed and I got on the cutting board. We like to cook.” – George Kooymans & Frank Carillo

George and Frank are accompanied by a.o. Paul Orofino (banjo, guitar, Hammond Organ), Rinus Gerritsen (bass), Bobby Langenberg (drums), Ocki Klootwijk (bass), John Sonneveld (keyboards, programming) and George’s daughter Cassy on harmony vocals.

,,It wasn’t a conscious effort to make a CD. We just wanted to write and record because we loved doing what we do. After a while, we realized that we had enough material recorded to put out a new collection so here it is.” – George Kooymans & Frank Carillo

-snip-

The Dutch band Earth & Fire had been opening for Golden Earring in the Netherlands but hadn't been able to get a record contract until George helped them, writing "Seasons" for them. It was their first hit and their biggest hit. George was 21 or 22 at the time, but he'd already successfully discovered, produced and written songs for Dutch singer Bojoura (the daughter of his vocal coach, if I recall correctly) a few years earlier. He's produced and written songs for a number of other artists over the years -- Dutch rocker Herman Brood, for instance, whose last hit album was produced by George in 1988.

His work touring and recording with Carillo was one of his side projects, along with Vreemde Kostgangers (with Boudewijn de Groot, a successful folk singer, and Henny Vrienten (who died weeks ago), known best for his ska group Doe Maar). None of this interfered with George's work with Golden Earring, and he produced many of their records, as well as writing most of their music (with Barry Hay writing lyrics for most though not all of Golden Earring's songs after he joined the band; he's the only band member for whom English was his first language).

Frank Carillo is an American guitarist who's recorded his own music as well as working with other artists including Peter Frampton and Joan Jett:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Carillo

Btw, Kooymans & Carillo are among the artists supporting Sea Shepherd:

https://www.artistsforseashepherd.com/george-kooymans/


There's video on YouTube of George singing "Seasons" at a Vreemde Kostgangers show in February 2019. No sign there of the ALS he was diagnosed with by late 2020. (Nor was there any sign of it at what turned out to be the last Golden Earring concert in November 2019 -- I have the double CD and DVD of that concert -- or a VK concert in March of 2020, the most recent one I found video of.)

I haven't seen any very recent news about how he's doing. Barry Hay, Golden Earring's lead singer, had said in a recent interview that he'd be visiting George in a few days, but that was a couple of weeks ago and there's been no news about that visit, even though Barry always seemed more eager to talk to the media than other members of the band. I was hoping to hear that Barry had been surprised by how well George is doing, despite the diagnosis.

Still, there'll be some new music, including a solo performance of "Seasons," which was a huge hit for Earth & Fire in the Netherlands and Belgium,