Cactus Truck Brings Unique Sound to Campus on Wednesday

Photo Submitted

Cover art for Brand New For China!

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Cactus Truck, an Amsterdam-based trio, will play their signature style of blues and jazz at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec.5, in the Fine Arts Center’s Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall.

Cactus Truck released its first official album, Brand New For China!, in March 2012 on Public Eyesore Records. Band members John Dikeman, Jasper Stadhouders and Onno Govaert combine elements of delta blues, early free jazz, Japanese noise and no wave in their music to create their unique sound. The band has collaborated frequently with members of The Ex, a band formed in 1979 that is also from the Netherlands, including Terrie Ex, Andy Moor, Arnold de Boer and Colin McLean.

Dikeman, an American saxophonist currently residing in Amsterdam, has performed extensively in the United States and internationally. He has recorded three albums as a band leader and performed with many of the most notable improvisers from the U.S. and abroad including Joe McPhee, Han Bennink and Andy Moor.

Stadhouders, a guitarist and bassist based in Amsterdam, is an active member of the international improvised music circuit and has performed extensively in Europe and the U.S.  He is a co-founder of Cactus Truck and the Govaert/De Joode/Stadhouders Trio.

Govaert, a drummer from Amsterdam, has developed a way of performing described in reviews as unconventional, devouring, spectacular, threatening and “as if the devil is chasing him.” He plays in many free jazz and improvisational groups which have performed in prominent venues and festivals in Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Slovakia and the U.S.

The Wednesday night concert is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the Stadium Drive Parking Facility, where parking is free after 5 p.m. Entrance to the parking facility is on Stadium Drive, and the facility’s elevator will take patrons to street level directly across from the Fine Arts Center.

To hear excerpts from Brand New For China! go to http://cactustruck.bandcamp.com.