Kleijn was born in Scheveningen, where he spent his youth in a house on the boulevard with his parents and five-year-younger sister.
In 1984, Kleijn went to a Golden Earring concert in the Groenoordhallen in Leiden. The concert made such an impression on Kleijn that he told his friends afterwards that he was going to buy a drum kit. His parents decided to enroll him in a music school, thinking that the infatuation might blow over. After a few months of practicing fanatically in the music school on an improvised drum kit, his parents decided to buy a real drum kit for home.
In the early nineties, he moved from Scheveningen to Amsterdam, where he studied psychology. In 1991, he founded the band Little Furry Things there with, among others, guitarist Roald van Oosten, later known from Caesar, Martin Cramer, later known from Grumpyhead, and bassist Stefan de Prie. He also played with bassist De Prie in Julia P. Hersheimer’s band in 1993.
In 1994, Kleijn was asked to join Daryll-Ann, who was without a drummer at the time. After hearing new demo recordings, Kleijn agreed. This step made Kleijn a full-time musician and forced him to quit his studies and other bands.
Through Daryll-Ann, he came into contact with Ferry Roseboom, who was the band’s manager. In 1996, Roseboom founded Excelsior Recordings. Kleijn became involved with the label as a promoter and manager and subsequently also played drums for various acts on the label. After Daryll-Ann split up in 2004, Kleijn became a member of Johan. He played there until Johan split up in 2009, after which he went on to play in El Pino and the Volunteers.
Later, Kleijn played in Spinvis’ live band. He currently plays in Claw Boys Claw, with whom he recorded the albums ‘Hammer’ and ‘It’s Not Me, The Horse Is Not Me – Part 1’, and in the re-active Johan.
