Drummer Jeroen Booy was born in 1966 in Oostzaan. At the age of four, there was only one thing that really interested him and that was his mother Jantien’s acoustic guitar. It was this first introduction to an instrument that would later prove crucial for the rest of his life. Later in Krommenie, another instrument came into view. ‘In the ‘family practice room’ behind my grandmother’s furniture store, there was a drum kit that was used by my uncles, who made music together there. I immediately saw endless possibilities in the instrument and was completely sold.’
KAK EN DE BINKIES
Together with school friend and later jazz luminary Benjamin Hermans, they played the school musical ‘Kak en de Binkies’ at the age of ten. ‘We got our inspiration from songs by Herman Brood, The Jam and listened to the radio a lot. I tried to figure out the guitar riffs. Playing in a band appealed to me.’
DRUMMING, DRUMMING, DRUMMING…
In the meantime, the young Krommenie resident practices at home on a borrowed drum kit. His playing can be clearly heard far and wide. Keyboardist Robbert Jak and bassist Rob Blanchemanche, who at that time play in the band ‘Zoot’ and are eagerly looking for a drummer, hear Jeroen practicing. ‘We just went to the noise, rang his doorbell and met Jeroen. We clicked right away’, says Blanchemanche. Jeroen still remembers it well. ‘I had an uncontrollable urge to be on stage. The energy of playing live gave me a huge kick. It still does. When I was about twelve, I sold my sailboat and with the proceeds I immediately bought my first drum kit. A 24-inch Roger kit’.
Roberto Jacketti & The Scooters
Jeroen went to the IVKO in Amsterdam and came into contact with Erik van der Hoff via Zoot’s keyboard player Robbert Jak. ‘Erik attended the Bertrand Russel in Krommenie. He sang, played guitar and was also friends with Blanchemanche.’ Soon a new band was formed with saxophonist Barend Middelhof, Blanchemanche on bass, Bart Corver on guitar and Jak on keyboards. The young formation rehearses in West-Grafdijk in what they call ‘De Kippenschuur’. ‘We played covers but soon started working on our own work. By the time we were ready to do our first performance, a journalist asked what our band was called. Erik answered; ‘Roberto Jacketti & The Scooters’. Robbert Jak was called Roberto Jacketti by us because he often went on holiday to Italy. At that time, the scooter was very popular there. Hence the band name and it also sounded good.’
After a year of working on their repertoire in ‘De Kippenschuur’, the Scooters sent a demo to ‘Vara’s Popkrant’. The cassette ended up with Angela Groothuizen via father Jaap Booy, who was tour manager for the Dolly Dots, who invited the band to record a single. ‘Hot Summernight’ became a hit. ‘We were young and eager. After the release of that single, we were offered many gigs in North Holland. In the early days, the Dizzy Mans Band was a great source of inspiration for us. They completely destroyed every tent. They had the musical baggage and the show. We wanted that too.’
After the success of the first single, the Scooters recorded their debut album ‘Time’ of which ‘I save the Day’, which was originally intended as the B-side for a single, provided the big breakthrough. ‘That song actually started as a kind of joke, but became a huge hit because it was picked up by radio and TV. We didn’t know what hit us. We were suddenly playing all over the Netherlands and beyond. The record company even hired private planes to get us everywhere as quickly as possible. Italy, Russia, East and West Germany, Spain, Belgium, Turkey… It was a crazy feeling to play all over Europe as a seventeen-year-old.’
Roberto Jacketti & The Scooters became the first Western pop group to record a video clip on the Red Square in Moscow. At the end of 1984, the band received a Silver Harp. In 1985, the band released the album ‘Oh… Not Again’ and in 1987 their third and final LP ‘Madman’ was released. ‘We had a lot of fun until 1989, but then it was just over.’
De Dijk
In 1989, twenty-three-year-old Jeroen was living in Amsterdam and had already had a brilliant career as a professional musician. The Scooters had split up, and he hardly ever played. Something that gnawed at him. ‘A musician has to play, I always say. But at that time I didn’t. My mother was manager of De Dijk and at one point they were looking for a ‘backliner’. I became a drum roadie for Antonie Broek and drove the truck. A fun and educational period, but I still preferred to be on stage than behind it.’
The Scene
It is December 3, 1989, Jeroen’s birthday, when singer/guitarist Thé Lau is at his door. Thé is looking for a drummer for his band ‘The Scene’. ‘I didn’t even let him in. My upstairs apartment was a huge mess. We stood there for a while to talk in the doorway where he gave me a cassette with The Scene’s repertoire on it. He asked me to let him know as soon as possible if I was interested as there were performances planned in January. As if the devil was playing with it, I lost the cassette a few days later… It accidentally slipped out of my hand, straight into the gutter. I didn’t dare tell Thé.’ During the first meeting and rehearsal with bassist Emilie Blom van Assendelft, keyboardist Otto Cooymans, guitarist Eus van Someren and Thé, everything fell into place for Jeroen. ‘The spark was there. This was the band I was looking for. I felt at home here.’
BLUE AND OPEN
At the end of January 1990, The Scene went into the studio to record the album ‘Blauw’, which was produced by singer Rick de Leeuw of the friendly band Tröckener Kecks. ‘We wanted to capture the organic sound and feeling of the band. Raw and abrasive. As a band, we played everything at the same time.’ The Scene gained a foothold in Belgium through ‘Blauw’ and became a welcome guest at festivals. Studio Brussel proved to be a major catalyst for the band. The singles ‘Blauw’ and ‘Iedereen is van de Wereld’ became big hits in Belgium and the band played Torhout Werchter with acts such as Sting and The Smashing Pumpkins and did many TV and radio appearances. In the Netherlands, the band failed to achieve great success, although Parkpop in The Hague slowly opened some doors. ‘As a band, we had only one goal, and that was to win. Whether we played for 30 or 30,000 people; we always gave everything we had.’ Blauw earned the band an Edison in 1991. A year later, the album ‘Open’ was released, which was also awarded an Edison. In 1993, The Scene received the ‘Popprijs’ and the single ‘Iedereen is van de Wereld’ was re-released in collaboration with Doctors Without Borders. It meant the definitive breakthrough for the band in the Netherlands.
‘With Blauw we had found our sound. With ‘Open’ we tried to equal Blauw’s success. We played with the knife on the table. No bullshit. I learned a lot from that. Thé was serious about music. We rehearsed and played about 150 times a year on average.’ After the studio album ‘Avenue de la Scene’, ‘The Scene Live’ was released in 1994 and the band performed again at Parkpop in The Hague. ‘Because we had become a well-oiled, thundering live machine, we decided to release a live CD. I am still happy about that. You can just hear that we were a close-knit collective. As a band, we were always in 1 room. We travelled together, always sat in dressing rooms together and went on stage together. We considered each other family. Once on stage, only one thing mattered; The hall must be flat.’
ARENA, TWEEMETER SESSION AND MARLENE
More records and successes follow. ‘Arena’ (1995), ‘The Scene-Twee meter Sessie’ (1997) and ‘Marlene’ (1998). In 1996 the band receives a ‘Golden Harp’ for their entire oeuvre. An attempt to undertake a theatre tour with The Scene does not really get off the ground. ‘The band played hard. We started with ‘trunk amplifiers’ but gradually everything became bigger. Bigger stages, a bigger PA, more volume. I often smashed my hands while playing to be heard above the volume. It was sometimes crazy. Thé went solo to the theatres. At the end of the 90s the pressure on The Scene is high. New songs are expected but due to a lack of hits they play less. ‘I found it terrible to play less. We were always an energetic band. Everything was running on adrenaline, but at a certain point the energy just went out of it.’ The band continued to perform sporadically, but Thé increasingly focused on a solo career. In 2002, he announced in an interview with the Telegraaf that he was quitting The Scene.
SKELTER, SCHOOL CONCERTS, WORKSHOPS, SESSIONS, SCOOTERS REUNION…
In 2000, Jeroen, now a father, moved to Wormerveer. There were fewer performances on the agenda than he was used to. Back in the Zaanstreek, he came into contact with guitarist Ruben Hoeke from Krommenie. Together they founded the band Skelter with which they released the album ‘Skelter’ in 2003. Although the press was full of praise for the new band and they performed frequently, real success remained elusive. In 2004, both Zaankanters started a large number of jam sessions in North Holland and Jeroen became active in Manuela Kemp’s band and with The Chedderheadz. He also resumes the school concerts he organised during his ‘Scooter years’. ‘I was always interested in musical education. Showing and letting young people hear what is possible with instruments.’ Jeroen starts music workshops for young people in the Nix community centre in Krommenie. ‘Everything was normally arranged for me, but then I started my own business. There is only one thing I can and want to do, and that is to be involved with music. I also had two small children. It might have been a good idea to take a break from all the hustle and bustle.’
With Roberto Jacketti & The Scooters, Jeroen does reunion performances. Such as during the seven-day ‘Vrienden van Amstel Live’ spectacle in Ahoy, a tour on Curaçao, performances in the Heineken Music Hall, Belgium and TV and radio performances. Hoeke is also part of the reunion band and also plays in Thé Lau’s band.
The Scene again
It is 2005 and The Scene seems to be a thing of the past. Thé is on tour with his theatre programmes and his own band. When the regular drummer of his band turns out to be unable to perform, Hoeke suggests Jeroen as a substitute. Thé initially reacts with surprise, but on closer inspection thinks it is a good plan. ‘It was strange to step in. Coincidentally, Emilie was also playing that evening. As usual, the sound rolled into the hall like a block of concrete. It felt more than okay’. Thé also seems to be pleased with the short reunion. According to Jeroen, the chapter was not yet closed. When the two meet during a performance by De Dijk in Paradiso, Jeroen asks him if he wants to pick up the thread again. The conversation leads to a new collaboration. In 2007, The Scene releases its new CD: ‘The Scene – 2007’. A CD that mainly consists of old songs that have been given a new look. There is also a role for guest musicians such as Sarah Bettens (K’s Choice), Pascal Jakobsen (whose band Bløf once started with the Scene song ‘Zuster’) and Tom Barman from the Belgian band Deus. ‘We made the record in the hope of generating performances. Which we succeeded in doing.’ In 2009, the album ‘Liefde op Doorreis’ follows and in 2012 ‘Code’. Although the band no longer plays as much as in their heyday, they do play much more dynamically. ‘The time when we played so hard that I broke my hands was far behind us. We actually became a much better band than before.’
Senior Rock School
Early 2013, Jeroen was asked if he could also organise his youth project for seniors. ‘It is my experience that music unites and always offers a way out. The Senior Rock School started in Amstelveen but quickly expanded to Zaanstad and Heerhugowaard. People can sometimes become lonely at a later age. The workshop brings people together because music unites.’
The end of The Scene
In March 2014, Thé Lau turned out to be terminally ill. ‘Then everything went crazy. We decided to do four more performances. For ourselves to close the chapter but also to give the audience the opportunity to say goodbye. For me it was a very difficult period. You never knew when it would be the last time. The last time in the rehearsal room, the last time on stage… We all worked together to end things as well and fairly as possible.’
The Scene will play at Pinkpop, in a sold-out HMH, the Lotto Arena and the AB in Brussels in Belgium. There will be a few special performances. For example, the television program RTL Late Night will be dedicated to The Scene and Thé Lau for an evening. Booy will play live on the Leidseplein with Barry Hay (Golden Earring), Tom Barman and Pascal Jakobsen (Bløf). On July 3, 2014, The Scene will open the new pop stage Tivoli in Utrecht with a surprise performance, with King Willem Alexander as guest of honor. On March 25, the band will participate in the program ‘Op volle Toeren’ by Ali B. It will be their very last performance. Thé Lau will die on June 23, 2015 at the age of 62. The Scene is no more. (Source: www.jeroenbooy.nl)
