Bettie Serveert is a Dutch

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

band. The name translates to "Bettie Serves", or "Service to Bettie", which is the title of a book written by Dutch

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

player

Betty Stöve Betty Flippina Stöve (born 24 June 1945) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. She is best remembered for reaching the ladies' singles final, the ladies' doubles final and the mixed doubles final during the same year at Wimbledon in 19 ...

, who made it to the Wimbledon Ladies Singles final in 1977.

Formation

The band is composed of Carol Van Dijk (or "van Dyk", born 22 April 1962, in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

, British Columbia) (vocals and guitar), Peter Visser (guitar), Herman Bunskoeke (born c. 1961 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

) (bass) and Berend Dubbe (born c. 1961 in Amsterdam) (drums). The band originally formed in 1986, but its members split up for four years, following their first gig. They reformed in 1990, and released their debut album, ''Palomine'', in 1992.

Subsequent releases

In 1995, the group released their second album, ''

Lamprey Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like s ...

'', which was well received by critics. They subsequently obtained tour slots alongside bands including

Belly Belly may refer to: Anatomy * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach ** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking ** Belly dance * The fleshy, cent ...

Dinosaur Jr Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlo ...

, Buffalo Tom,

Superchunk Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of ...

, Come, and

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

. After releasing the full-length album '' Dust Bunnies'' in 1997, Bettie Serveert released a cover album featuring songs from the band

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

. Dubbe left the band due to artistic differences and started his own band, Bauer. In July 2001, Van Dijk and Pascal Deweze of Sukilove released their self-titled album as '' Chitlin' Fooks''. They followed it with ''Did it Again'' in January 2003. A number of drummers, such as Reinier Veldman (who played the drums in the Bettie Serveert proto-band ''De Artsen''), stood in for Dubbe on their next album, ''

Private Suit ''Private Suit'' is the fourth studio album by Dutch indie rock band Bettie Serveert, and their first to be released on Parasol Records. It was released on September 5, 2000 through Parasol's subsidiary Hidden Agenda Records. It received generall ...

''. Stoffel Verlackt, Jeroen Blankert, and Gino Geudens played the drums on ''Log 22'' and ''Attagirl''. Bettie Serveert continues to tour extensively through Western Europe, Canada, and the United States. Their cover of the Bright Eyes track " Lover I Don't Have to Love" was featured in episode 18 of season 3 of the FOX show '' The OC''. ''Palomines title track can be heard playing in the background during episode 4 of ''

My So-Called Life ''My So-Called Life'' is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It originally aired on ABC from August 25, 1994, to January 26, 1995. It is distributed by The B ...

''. The band also covered

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "

I'll Keep It with Mine "I'll Keep It with Mine" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1964, first released by folk singer Judy Collins as a single in 1965. Dylan attempted to record the song for his 1966 album ''Blonde on Blonde''. Dylan's versions Dylan recorded a voca ...

" for the soundtrack of the 1996 indie film '' I Shot Andy Warhol''. Bettie Serveert released a digital only EP, ''Deny All'', on Second Motion Records, on 26 January 2010 in the United States. Their ninth full-length album, ''Pharmacy of Love'', was also given a US release by Second Motion on 23 March of that year. 2017 saw the release of ''Damaged Good'', again to positive reception. A pink vinyl version with a

gatefold A gatefold cover or gatefold LP is a form of packaging for LP records that became popular in the mid-1960s. A gatefold cover, when folded, is the same size as a standard LP cover (i.e., a 12½ inch, or 32.7 centimetre square). The larger gatefo ...

cover, limited to 1,000 copies, was released as part of

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

that year.

Carol van Dijk

Carol van Dijk was born in Canada to Dutch parents. Her native language is

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

. Her family moved to Holland in 1969, and van Dijk struggled with the subsequent language barrier, in particular the Amsterdam variation of the Dutch language. Her voice has been praised for its beauty and clarity, as well as its unusual pronunciations.

Discography

Albums

*1992: '' Palomine'' *1995: ''

'' *1997: '' Dust Bunnies'' *2000: ''

'' *2003: '' Log 22'' *2005: '' Attagirl'' *2006: '' Bare Stripped Naked'' *2010: '' Pharmacy of Love'' *2013: '' Oh, Mayhem!'' *2016: '' Damaged Good''

Singles/EPs

*1992: "Tom Boy" (also on the soundtrack to

Amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

) *1993: "Palomine" *1993: "Kids Alright" *1993: "Palomine (new single edition)" *1995: "Crutches" *1995: "Something So Wild" *1995: "Ray Ray Rain" *1997: "Co-coward" *1997: "Rudder" *1997: "What Friends?" *1999: ''Our New Demo'' *2000: "White Tales" *2000: "Private Suit" *2003: "Smack" *2003: "Wide Eyed Fools" *2010: "Deny All" *2016: "Never Be Over"

Live

*1998: ''

Plays Venus in Furs and Other Velvet Underground Songs ''Bettie Serveert plays Venus in Furs and other Velvet Underground songs'' is a live album by the Dutch indie rock band Bettie Serveert, released in 1998. The songs are all Velvet Underground covers, recorded during a concert at the Paradiso, in ...

Other

*1994: " For All We Know" from

the Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct, soft, musical style, combining Karen's contr ...

cover-song compilation album '' If I Were a Carpenter'' *1996: "

," a

cover from the '' I Shot Andy Warhol Soundtrack''

References

External links

Bettie Serveert official siteFirst Look: Bettie Serveert – B-Cuz video premiere on jammerzine.com April 2020
{{Authority control Dutch indie rock groups Musical groups from Amsterdam Beggars Banquet Records artists Second Motion Records artists Minty Fresh artists