Drumbassadors clinic May 9, 2003
On May 9, 2003 I attended a Drumbassadors clinic at Musicon, The Hague. On stage there were two drummers called René Creemers and Wim de Vries. They were introduced by Golden Earring drummer and Music Station owner Cesar Zuiderwijk. He organises from time to time drum clinics at Musicon where his school is located as well. The drumbassadors started playing and they audience was caught immediately. They really likes drums as a solo instrument. Both musicians are conservatory trained and graduaded. In the clinic they approached their drumkits as melodic instruments and providing lots of different colors, sounds, atmospheres, contrasts, etc. Whereas in bands the drummer always is a timekeeper and plays an accompanying role, in clinics he can concentrate much more on things like melody and harmony. The fact that these two don´t seem to have anything to do with drumming makes them all the more interesting for the Drumbassadors to experiment with.
During the performance they sometimes sing as well on their drum songs, other times they only play very melodic on the drums. Each drum solo they play is part of a "drum song" they explained. . They presented their drumkits as a complete musical instrument using a several techniques and ways of playing. They try to play with the tought in mind that even a non-drummer must understand their ideas and way of drumming. René also told a story about being in the Paiste manufactury and had the chance to hammer his own cymbal. Of course this is a technique for skilled persons and he didn't make anything out of it. However the cymbal was given to him by Paiste and he now uses it with cowbells and a tambourine as a special "custom build" hi-hat. Of course with an odd sound but as René explained to create an own kind of sound and therefor special! Playing a "theme" is what they aim at and trying not to speed up things but slow down as this often turns out to be better. "Creating a "rest" in your music makes the climax and the dynamics sound much more intens", René told me.
The Drumbassadors started in February 2000 to rehearse together (They come from Nijmegen and Arnhem) and soon gave clinics. They endorse several brands like Meinnl, Regal tip drum sticks, Sonor and Paiste. They now gained international attention and are the first Dutch drummers to play at the New York Modern Drummers festival 2003. They are naturally very proud of this achievement. Of course this is a great opportunity to gain attention for their new Drumbassadors DVD which has been recorded in Dolby surround sound and gives a good impression of their unique skills and talents. I like to thank both the drummers for their kind cooperation and small interview afterwards the clinic.
René Creemers began his career as the drummer of a Dutch group called Blowbeat. The band enjoyed tremendous success, particularly in the club circuit of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In 1989 the group recorded their debut entitled "Blowbeat". With Dutch singer Margriet Eshuys René did three tours and cut two albums, "In the Wee Small Hours" and "Shadow Dancing". René also played drums on Dutch jazz singer Denise Jannah´s Blue Note release "Different Colours". Currently René plays in three bands, the Rich Wyman Band, Kazda and MEC.
As a clinician René has shared the stage with drummers such as Steve Gadd, Terry Bozzio, Dave Weckl, Steve Smith and many others. René Creemers is considered to be one the world´s best drummers by his colleagues, critics and music lovers alike. His many clinics at home and abroad only confirm this status. Highlights include the Drummer Meeting in Koblenz of 1991 and 1994 (which earned him a standing ovation); PASIC, Phoenix, 1995 (another standing ovation); PASIC, London, 1996; and the clinic tour he did together with Will Calhoun for Sonor in California in 1996.
As a teacher René works at the Arnhem Conservatory and the Tilburg Rock Academy in Holland. He is a regular guest teacher at the Drummer´s Institute in Düsseldorf, Germany, the Modern Drumschool Drum Camps in Germany and Austria, and the Los Angeles Music Academy (LAMA), USA.
In 1994 René Creemers released his instruction tape A Matter of Pride which the readers of Dutch percussion magazine De Slagwerkkrant proclaimed "best video of 1994". In 1996 the readers of the same magazine made him the "Drummers´ Drummer" of the Benelux. The readers of the Dutch drum mag have also elected René "best fusion drummer of the Benelux" in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001! In 1997 René recorded the solo album PARaDOX which features bass player Pieter Douma. The CD contains original compositions from both musicians in which their musicianship, creativity and confidence can be felt. For many years René and Pieter constituted the rhythm section of the group by the name of Blowbeat. In 1997 they decided to collaborate on a CD featuring bass and drums ('just 'cause they liked to do that').
The CD contains ten pieces of music written by Pieter and René, which are all strongly different in melody, groove, sound and atmosphere. As a whole, however, the compositions on the CD form a unity all right. In terms of style designation this unity is best described as world music.
Music evolves, it knows of no blueprints. A sense of humor combined with a lack of self-importance, these are elements that can bring about a musical encounter. Which is exactly what happened to René Creemers and Pieter Douma. These two, apparently very different men, are able to stimulate each other both intellectually and emotionally thus evolving into a "special unit". Up until 5 years ago they were part of the legendary band Blowbeat, which frequently toured the West-European circuit. Later on René Creemers managed to make quite a name for himself by playing in all sorts of bands, projects and clinics while Pieter Douma decided to retire from playing in bands, if only for a while as he re-emerged on the scene in 1995. To the both of them the completion of this CD is quite literally "a dream come true".
In 1998 René recorded with Rich Wyman for his album Where We Stand at New Road Studios in Wijchen, near Nijmegen, Holland. It was the first opportunity he had in over a decade to be part of a real rockband. At first he found it hard laying down rock grooves using a lot of 8ths in a decent and varied way. Looking back, though, he really like the way it turned out and playing rock music gives him the thrill he experienced 20 years ago. Working and recording with Rich has proved fruitful enough for the studio band to become his live band as well. It´s hard to deny they were a kickass outfit! On stage Rich is a strong and charismatic personality.
Solo clinics. Besides playing in bands and teaching René still is a very active clinician. He really likes drums as a solo instrument. In his clinics he always tries to approach his drumkit as a melodic instrument and he's always looking out for different colors, sounds, atmospheres, contrasts, etc. Whereas in bands he always is a timekeeper and plays an accompanying role, in clinics he can concentrate much more on things like melody and harmony. The fact that the two don´t seem to have anything to do with drumming makes them all the more interesting for him to experiment with. During his performances he makes use of a loop device which enables me to record and play back my own parts on stage as a backup to themes played or sung by me. Each drum solo I play is part of a "drum song". Sometimes I sing, other times I play the melody on my drums. Presenting the drumkit as a complete musical instrument is his main ambition. The one thing he tries to avoid is using his kit as a fitness tool. Sports and drums do not go together.
One of his best initiatives over the last few years has been forming The Drumbassadors with Wim de Vries. Working with Wim is fun. He has good ideas, is highly motivated, possesses a good sense of humor and is easy to work with. The advantage of playing with another drummer is being able to complement each other and share musical initiatives, which means René gets to back somebody up for a change. All of which has led to what he feels is a strong repertoire of songs which will appeal not only to drummers. They just released a dvd from the Drumbassadors clinics in surround sound. Check out the website of Rene Creemers, the drumbassadors website is now under construction.
