Larry Van Kriedt

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Larry Van Kriedt
Van Kriedt in 2006
Van Kriedt in 2006
Background information
Born
Lawrence Alton Van Kriedt

(1954-07-04) 4 July 1954
San Francisco, California, U.S.
GenresJazz, rock
OccupationsMusician, songwriter
InstrumentsSaxophone, bass guitar, guitar, vocals[1]
Years active1963—present
Formerly ofAC/DC
Non Stop Dancers
Afram
The LPs
Websitetwitter.com/LarryVanKriedt

Lawrence Alton Van Kriedt (born 4 July 1954) is an American-Australian jazz musician. He is known for being the original bassist for the hard rock band AC/DC from November 1973. He joined Malcolm Young (rhythm guitar), Angus Young (lead guitar), Dave Evans (lead vocals) and Colin Burgess (drums). Van Kriedt was replaced in February 1974. Van Kriedt also plays saxophone and guitar, and sings.

Early life

Lawrence Alton Van Kriedt,[2] was born on 4 July 1954 to David Norman (1922–1994) and Margot Joan Van Kriedt (née MacNeil, 1927–2019) in San Francisco and grew up as the second eldest of four children.[3][4] His father was a jazz musician who composed, arranged, played and recorded with Dave Brubeck,[4] Paul Desmond, and Stan Kenton.

Van Kriedt's life has been centred on music, particularly jazz. He began playing the double bass at age 9, the guitar at 12, and added saxophone and vocals at 15. He studied jazz, harmony, composition, and musical arrangement with his father. In August 1969, at age 15, the Van Kriedt family emigrated to Sydney, New South Wales via SS Oriana.[3] He associated with Angus and his older brother, Malcolm Young.[4] Van Kriedt is described as being an accomplished jazz-influenced guitarist during this period.

AC/DC

In November 1973 he was asked to join a new rock band, AC/DC by Malcolm Young. Shortly after, lead singer Dave Evans, drummer Colin Burgess and guitarist Angus Young joined.[5] On 31 December 1973 the band performed their first live show.[6] Four months later the band recorded the single "Can I Sit Next to You, Girl", although shortly afterwards Van Kriedt was replaced,[7] and his bass lines were re-recorded by George Young[8][9] (one of the older brothers of Malcolm and Angus). After this, he was replaced by Neil Smith. AC/DC employed a succession of bass players over the following months.

In January 1975 after Rob Bailey was fired, Paul Matters joined the group as bassist for live shows but his tenure was short-lived, being replaced by Mark Evans in March 1975.[9] Until Axl Rose joined as a guest vocalist in 2016, Van Kriedt had been the only member in the group's history to be born in the US.

Other bands

Van Kriedt created his own band called Non Stop Dancers with Kevin Jones (guitar, vocals), Jane Stewart (keyboards), Karen Steains (bass), and Brett Van Kriedt (drums). They released one full-length album, Surprise Surprise, in 1984.[10]

Personal life

From 1997 to 1999, he lived in Morocco, working there as a musician with his band Afram doing radio, television and concerts such as the first Gnawa Festival in Essaouira in 1998, and raising money for the charity, B.A.Y.T.I. After leaving Morocco he travelled the world busking, that is, playing jazz on the street from London to Provence to Sydney. This was when he started making backing tracks of jazz standards.

In 2002, Van Kriedt pioneered the first online downloadable jazz playalong backing track e-business, Jazzbacks.com.

In 2007, he worked with Paul Agbakoba in The LPs.[11]

References

  1. Square, Leopold. "Larry Van Kriedt makes debut at Leopold Square". leopoldsquare.com. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  2. "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'Once Upon a Kiss'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 19 September 2026.
  3. "Item details for: A2562, 1969/7105". National Archives of Australia (NAA). 21 May 2003. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
  4. "The Eighty Eights". Tharunka. Vol. 27, no. 10. NSW. 31 August 1981. p. 16. Retrieved 19 September 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. Svendsen, Roy Hilmar. "– AC/DC are ignoring their history". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  6. "42 Years Ago Today - AC/DC Perform First Ever Live Show (Watch "Can I Sit Next to You Girl")". Glide Magazine. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  7. Staff Writer (19 October 2020). "Australian Bassist Paul Matters, an Early Member of AC/DC, Has Died". The Music Network. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  8. "AC/DC ac-dc.net Latest AC/DC News, AC/DC Tour, AC/DC Discography, AC/DC Story". 12 May 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  9. Engleheart, Murray; Durieux, Arnaud (2006). AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll. Harper Collins. pp. 46, 54, & 60.
  10. McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Non Stop Dancers'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  11. "Jazz Musicians group Sheffield Latin Funk Soul Jazz". The LPs. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011.

Further reading

  • "AC/DC Maximum Rock & Roll", Murray Englehart with Arnaud Durieux, 2007
  • "Two Sides To Every Glory", Paul Stenning, 2005
  • "Metal Hammer & Classic Rock present AC/DC", Metal Hammer magazine special, 2005