Nooooo! Say it isn’t so! Popular Afrikaans rock group Van Coke Kartel have officially announced that they are disbanding. The group has had an illustrious career since they formed a decade ago. They’ve released five albums, won numerous prestigious awards, partook in numerous international tours to places like Taiwan and Europe and opened for international acts like Metallica. Now, since the members have been busy with other projects, the group realised that it was time to call it a day.
“Van Coke Kartel has been a crazy ride. It was the main focus for Francois van Coke and myself for many years. A lot of work went into the project and we definitely learned a lot from it. It is sad to think that it is all coming to an end, but I’m excited to take the circus on the road for one last time,” the bands Wynand Myburgh says.
Fans will have realized that the group has not played a show in 16 months but instead of letting the group fade away, they want it to go out with a bang. So, the band will reunite with ex-drummer Jason Oosthuizen for a number of shows from July 2017. “The band had many different drummer over the years. A total of 5 to be be exact. We felt that the time that Jason was with us, it was our ‘golden years’. In that period we were extremely active and on an all-time high. It just felt natural to end the project with him on drums,’’ Jedd Kossew says.
The group came to life when Fokofpolisiekar went on hiatus back in 2007 and quickly made an impact on the local music scene. ‘’When Wynand and I started the project in 2007, we had never been in a band where we were the main song writers,” lead singer Francois Van Coke reveals. “It took a lot of hard work to create those first records. I think we got our confidence from the fact that we knew that when we hit the stage, we will make up for whatever we lacked in the songwriting. When Jedd joined he took us to a new level and he immediately contributed a lot to the writing process. He still does so today with my solo stuff.’’
We’re terribly sad to hear about the disbandment but we wish each member of the band the best of luck for their future. We expect big things from each and every one of them and we can’t wait to see where their careers lead them over the next few years. Thanks for the music, Van Coke Kartel!
The Final Tour Dates:
Date: 14 July 2017
Venue: Arcade Empire, Pretoria
Address: 256 The Highway Street, Equestria
Contact: Rudolf 082 449 5144
Performance time: 23h00
Ticket price: R60 Early Bird (limited) + R80 pre-sale & R100 @ door
Purchasing tickets:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1326670444048725/
Date: 15 July 2016
Venue: Rumours Rock City, Cresta
Address: Cnr Weltevreden Road & Valley Lane, Cresta
Contact person: Fred – 079 825 7995
Performance time: 23h00
Ticket price: R60 Early Bird (limited) + R80 pre-sale & R100 @ door
Purchasing tickets: https://goo.gl/vCOEuD
https://www.facebook.com/events/1291666584204314/
Date: 16 July 2016
Venue: Atterbury Teate
Address: Lynwood Bridge Centre, Lynwood Road, Pretoria
Contact: Paulette 012 471 1702
Performance time: 18h00
Ticket price: R150 –
https://www.facebook.com/events/285743405208124/
Date: 17 July 2017
Venue: Mystic Boer, Potchefstroom
Address: 72 James Moroka Street
Contact: Eloise – 018 293 1773
Performance: 23h00
Ticket price: R60 @ the door
https://www.facebook.com/events/1960056810891163/
Date: 26 July 2017
Venue: Aandklas, Stellenbosch
Address: 43 Bird Street, Stellenbosch
Contact: Marcus – 021 883 3545
Performance: 22h00
Ticket price: R60 @ the door
https://www.facebook.com/events/1005611882908662/
Date: 28 July 2017
Venue: Mercury Live
Address: 43 De Villiers Street, Zonnebloem, Cape Town
Contact: Tim Moolman – 0844447160
Performance time: 23h00
Ticket price R60 Early Bird (limited) + R80 pre-sale & R100 @ door
Purchasing tickets: https://goo.gl/2YlCSJ
https://www.facebook.com/events/348962995506055/
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