Categories
GUEST EDITOR

Bettie Serveert’s Keepsakes: Joey Ramone

The members of Bettie Serveert are alt-rock survivors. They have been performing in various incarnations since 1986, and they released critically acclaimed debut album Palomine in 1992. Joining the core lineup of vocalist/guitarist Carol van Dyk, guitarist Peter Visser and bassist Herman Bunskoeke on new album Pharmacy Of Love (Second Motion) is drummer Joppe Molenaar (of fellow Dutch band Voicst). The group recorded the LP in relative isolation in Waimes, Belgium, in order to better concentrate on honing its sound, and the result is a mix of the classic Bettie Serveert vibe with new modern-rock flourishes. Van Dyk, Visser and Bunskoeke will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with van Dyk.

Carol: Joey Ramone is my all-time hero. Or maybe I should say anti-hero. I have been a Ramones fan for as long as I can remember and so is Herman. There’s a line in our 1992 song “Kid’s Allright” that goes “And down in the bushes, we find a cat and beat ‘em up with a baseball bat.” It’s my ode to “Beat On The Brat.” I’ve seen the Ramones only a couple of times; one of them was at the Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium. That festival had the best lineup ever: starting at 11 a.m. with Nirvana, right after they released Nevermind and before their massive success started. Apart from the Ramones, Pukkelpop had Sonic Youth, the Pogues and Dinosaur Jr. Awesome! We once played at the same festival as the Ramones somewhere back in the ’90s, and as we were leaving, I saw Joey getting out of their van. I wanted to ask him for his autograph but was too chicken. There’s a small Ramones museum in Berlin. Herman went there and saw the poster of that festival on the wall. The owner of the museum had Herman sign it, because we were on the poster as well 🙂 Hey ho, let’s go.