16 Shells From A 30.6 

On the 60th birthday of a friend I decided to record the untranslatable song 16 Shells From A Thirty Ought Six. His girlfriend suggested we could be the surprise act at his party. I asked Mischa Porte to arrange marching drums and Gerco Aerts to casually hide his double bass at the venue. Alan McLachlan was smart enough to pick a mandolin while I brought my guitar and the old windpipes. Out of nowhere we appeared and we played the song in front of the old birthday boy. Our version of the song met with such enthusiasm that we decided to take it one step further. The story goes Tom Waits read this article about a furious man who emptied his 30.6 gun on the scarecrow in his yard. In my Waitsian associations that furious person became the narrator of the song: An ominous creature, building and bawling, puttering and muttering. I asked film director Mark Limburg if we could record and film a live performance of the song. And if we would add a welder to the set, wouldn’t that make a hybrid horn section in the background? One day we had the gigantic industrial hall of Markt Centraal to ourselves and got the job done! Wouter Planteijdt Camera and edit - Mark Limburg Moving lights, sandwiches and coffee - Stephanie Meyer Takken Hond - Harry de Dood Welding - Kees van den Haak Mischa Porte - percussion Gerco Aerts - double bass Alan McLachlan - slide mandola Wouter Planteijdt - vocals, guitar, sound recording and mix.