I first encountered Dutch drummer René Creemers at PASIC in 1995. While one of the more popular drummers and clinicians in Europe, he was completely unknown in America. His clinic attracted a curious crowd who ended up leaving the clinic amazed by the musicianship they had just witnessed. The next day of the convention (Saturday) René made an appearance at the SONOR booth and was besieged by drummers wanting to talk to him, and asking him to show them his technique. In the middle of all this I managed to conduct this interview.
Flash forward to the 2003 MODERN DRUMMER Festival in New Jersey where René is making another American appearance. He is performing with a former student of his, Wim DeVries, as the DRUMBASSADORS. They wowed the crowd with their tight playing, stick tricks, and all around musicianship. Once again the American audience left the show talking about what they had just witnessed. The DRUMBASSADORS has become so important to René that he dropped all other bands he was in to concentrate on it and the musical vision that he and Wim have come up with. Judging by their full schedule of concerts and clinics, he made the right decision.
Originally published in Modern Drummer in 1996, I give you
Breaking Out With René Creemers
Text & Photos - Michael Bettine
It's Friday at the 1995 PASIC in Phoenix, Arizona, and there's been a lot of incredible drumming over the past two days. But the word is starting to get out about this unknown Dutch drummer who is doing a clinic that afternoon. People have seen his unique set-up at the Sonor booth and some have heard him practice in one of the side rooms. There is definitely a buzz going around the crowd. Who is René Creemers, and how did he make his way to Arizona for his first American performance?
"I'm a drummer/teacher," he explains. "In Holland it's very difficult to make a living as a musician, but it works if you teach. I teach two days and try to play, rehearse, or do my own studying the rest of the week. I also do clinics in Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium. Europe is small, so I can do it by car."
While many drummers put their emphasis on performing, René has found a balance where playing and teaching compliment each other. They both fit into his vision of musical growth. "I'm teaching rock and fusion drumming, My colleague at the school, Joop van Erven, teaches jazz. He was my teacher ten years ago, so we're a good team. We alternate a week of lessons with the students, so they get me every other week. Then twelve times a year we teach together for four hours in a group. We cover technical things like sticking, coordination, sound, dynamics, balance and just talking about music. The students have to bring in recordings and talk about things like the feel. They work together and learn from each other. We teach a variety of styles: jazz, Latin, rock and fusion. They need to reach a certain level of playing ability to get a teaching degree. The real good players can get a performing degree."
The other side of René is the player. He keeps busy, both in live situations and as a studio musician. In 1982 he and singer/guitarist Ton Engels formed the band, Blowbeat. Over the next nine years they recorded two albums and did five tours through Europe. The band featured 2-guitars, bass, and drums with all four members singing. "I love guitar," explains René, "it's my favorite instrument." But the grind of trying to make it without record company support became too much. "After nine years, it was enough. We played a lot and we fought. We were still playing in little clubs and cafes for 100-150 people. There was no room to change your clothes in. The whole evening was loud-loud music and then a 250 mile drive in your own car. I hated it! There's no space where you can relax.
"At that time, I combined it with teaching. I taught Monday-Wednesday and then played in Germany Thursday-Sunday. I was always 300-350 miles from home and had to drive back Sunday evening to teach at 9 am on Monday morning. Then Wednesday evening we were going away again. I realized that my body couldn't take it any more, it was too heavy. I also thought I needed to work with other people, get new information, or a different style of playing. I decided just to quit."
While René had achieved a certain level of success, the need for personal growth has always been a driving force in his life. "I thought about making a video for a few years," he says. "I wanted to break out of Holland, to get an opportunity to play in other countries. I'm successful in Holland and Germany, but it's very hard to play in other countries. Most of the time you need a good band. I tried for 15 years with, in my opinion, two very good bands. But the record companies didn't like it. That wasn't positive, so I decided to stop trying to make it with a band and try to do it alone. I thought, 'I'll make a video and give one to everyone who might be important to me. And maybe I can sell a few.' It took me three years to make it."
The resulting video, A Matter of Pride , features René playing along to two songs he programmed on his computer and one drum solo. His easy going personality and precise drumming make the video look like an easy project. "It's very expensive," he says. "Some people worked for free and I often got deals, but it cost me big money. I worked with 15 people. Five had never heard of me, but they did it for me. I couldn't pay them. It was a great experience and I learned a lot. Today, I do things for other people without getting paid. Because when you don't help each other, no one gets a chance.
"We did the video in two days. The second day we only had 3-1/2 hours left to play. It was stressful and I was prepared for that. But 3-1/2 hours is not much time to do two songs and a solo. I was only able to do each twice--that was it. Then I had to choose which one to use. I wanted to do two other songs, but it just wasn't possible. I thought, 'This is it. I've worked three long years to write some tunes and learn to compose on a computer. I found 15 people and a place to make it. I can't do any better. Maybe with more time and money...but this is the best I can do at this moment in 1993.' When I see it now, I think that I sometimes play much better than on the video, but it's about me. You can see my stress, that's what I don't like. And my solo has too many ideas. I like it more when I work with only 3 or 4 ideas."
Composing and arranging was a new venture for René. He spent two years learning how to create his music on a computer. "At home," he says, "I have a MIDI keyboard, an Atari computer, and one sound module. I have so many friends who are better keyboard players, but I wanted to do everything myself. I wanted to make a very naked product that is me."
The video is a fascinating and intimate look at René's drumming. After he gives a friendly introduction, the camera moves to an overhead shot. This is a great view to watch him play along with the first melody of "The Drum Song" on his cymbals. He hits the cymbals gently, drawing the sound out. He plays the bell, the edge, the bow--always looking for different colors. In the verse, he plays the melody on toms with accents on his splash cymbals and sound discs. This builds to the next verse where he lays down an intense funk groove, all while still playing the tom melody! Not only does he have chops, but he can groove. The next piece is a drum solo. He opens with another heavy funk groove, moves to a tom section, a bit of reggae, then hip-hop, and finally closes with an powerful tom and cymbal finale. Even though it's mostly a rhythm solo, there is always a strong sense of melody. He also employs some interesting effects, like press rolls and simulating an echo by playing a repeated pattern with a decrescendo. This works well in the reggae section where uses the echo on a cross-stick. He also uses a lot of percussion on his drum set: tambourine, jamblocks, cowbells, spoxe, splashes and sound discs. The final piece is an interesting arrangement of the Police song, "Syncronicity." Again, he shows his ability to play a groove and color in the melody with his percussion.
"Actually," he clarifies. "I'm a groove player: a rock/fusion/funk drummer. What's on the video is not a rock drummer--it's a drum solo performance. I wanted to show people what my ideas are and my technical capability. I played a lot of grooves on the video, but when you've seen it, you won't say, 'that's a typical groove player.' I think I am, and I want to stay there. I want to play grooves in bands, do clinics and do solo performances."
René has worked hard to get to this point in his career. Not one to stand still, he constantly works at his art. "For the last ten years," he says, "I wouldn't mention drummers as a direct influence. That was an important period in my life, but now the music, the whole thing is important. People like Jaco Pastorius, Mike Stern, John Scofield, or other non-drummers. The people I play with are also a great influence, because I see them everyday. We talk about music, the feeling, the songs.
"I never copy. I always try to remember a certain atmosphere that somebody played. For the last ten years, I've studied very systematically. So I could be interested in somebody, like Vinnie Calaiuta playing a certain lick. I would look at what was happening there and write down two other ways to play it. It's a kind of language that I try to speak. When it works out, I play it. Now someone like Richie Hayward, It's taken a long time to understand what he thinks. Because I was thinking in the other way. Now I think I understand him.
"I think one of the most important things to me, that I'm telling my students, is that your hi-hat has to become your metronome. It's crazy that when we first learn drums it's bass and snare with the right hand. Then we start to learn the left-foot, it's too late. Actually we should start with the hi-hat, that's the metronome, that's the pulse.
I've been changing my concept of studying. Forty years ago we had jazz and everybody played the cymbal--ding-ding-a-ding. So we had a cymbal ostinato. Drumming books used the ostinato and we learned right-foot and left-hand against it. We got better technically. Then there was rock 'n' roll and rock books. They did the same thing using short cymbal ostinatos. People learned a certain freedom on the bass and snare. I don't think you need a right-hand ostinato in rock. You have to play a bass and snare ostinato--that's the feel. That's what I studied over the past few years-ostinato for bass, snare and hi-hat. Then I started to learn melodies in the right-hand. I took Ted Reed's Syncopation book and learned to free the right-hand. That's my style of playing now. The right-hand plays the easy drum fills, melody on cymbals, cowbells, tambourine-everything."
Another interesting aspect of his set-up is the second mini-kit to the left of the hi-hat. It consists of a 20" bass drum, 5 X 12" soprano snare, 8" Paiste bell cymbal hi-hats, a 12" splash cymbal, a tambourine, and a jamblock. Why the second kit? "It was so simple," he says. "I always use all the stuff I have. So when I got an endorsement deal with Sonor, I didn't know if I wanted a 22" or 20" bass drum. They said to take both. They also wanted me to play their new 12" snare. I didn't need it, but they said, 'take it.' I didn't think I'd use it that much. But two months later it was there: the bass, snare, mini hi-hat and the splash. When I do a clinic, I use it. I did a big theater tour in 1994 with a Dutch singer (Margriet Eshuijs, resulting in the CD: The Wee Small hours) and had it with me. We did many ballads, but also three hip-hop oriented songs that were great on that kit. It was another sound to use. When I play small clubs, I don't want to have a huge drum set. That looks so ego centric, featuring yourself. "
Keeping with René's groove philosophy, he sometimes uses a shaker in his right hand. Besides playing a pattern with it, he uses it like a stick, hitting his cymbals and percussion. "It's the same idea," he says, "playing the right-foot, left-hand groove. The right hand is free for melody. I sometimes play gigs where the record might have had a drummer and percussionist. I was thinking that it would be nice to have both parts. With the shaker, I can play on the tambourine, cowbells, blocks-, then it might sound like two drummers. Also, 90% of your fills don't work anymore, so it got me into using my feet in fills more. The shaker is not very loud, so it only works for quieter songs. You have to be careful not to hit the percussion too hard. I had a couple of shakers just explode, with pieces flying everywhere. I use the Rhythm Tech shaker that has the ridge inside. I went out and bought about ten of them because I didn't know what I'd do if they stopped making them."
Considering the size of his set, and the power that he can play with, it's fascinating that he plays mostly with traditional grip. "I started very young with traditional grip," he says, "and it's still a better feeling to me today. Some things are better or worse. Certain things like left-hand hi-hat playing are easier with traditional grip. It's also a shorter way to the toms. But when I want to play my second floor tom, matched grip has a better reach. Or when I play a hip-hop groove, I need matched grip for that energy and the ghost notes."
At 36, René has come a long way in his drumming career. In the past few years he has become an in demand clinician and guest teacher in many music schools throughout Europe. In 1991 and 1994 he performed at the famous International Drum Days in Koblenz, Germany, where he received a standing ovation. In 1995 he was the only featured European teacher at the 2nd European Drumcamp in Germany and Austria. He worked alongside such well known American drummers as Adam Nussbaum, Ed Soph, Steve Houghton and Will Calhoun. But none of this has happened without a lot of work on his part. "It takes a lot of time to do your PR", he says. "That was a hard thing for me to learn. You have to pick up the phone, call somebody, and then call again and again. After three or four years something is starting to happen. Faxes, computers, writing letters all take time, but you want to study and improve playing the drums. And you only get more from all that work. That's my problem right now. Some things are going well and immediately there is more work. I had hoped that there would be less writing letters and faxing."
All of that hard work is finally starting to pay off. Now he is in America to play at the PASIC in Phoenix, Arizona. "Someone," he says, "gave a copy of my video to Steve Beck of the PAS. He's in charge of selecting artists for the convention. He really liked what I did and Sonor was kind enough to bring me over here. This is my first opportunity to play in America. I'm very excited to do it. I also want to do my PR. What I want to accomplish is to grow. I want to grow in a musical way, but also to try to become more well known than in just Holland and Germany. Since I quit Blowbeat in 1991, I've tried to make a career of my own. I feel that I've achieved more by going by myself than trying to do it with a band. But last week I played with them again (he laughs). I didn't think it would be good anymore, but it was great. I might play with them more because I still like the music. But I'm looking for another band like that, a guitar band, something at the same level."
Judging by the standing ovation he received after his PASIC session, he made a few more friends in America. With his drive to succeed and his drumming skills, we should be hearing more from René in the future. "I want to always study in my head," he expresses, "and play from my heart."
© 1995/2007 Michael Bettine
René on the web:
Drumbassadors.html
