Biography
Throughout the group’s indelible history, they have been embraced by every major music journal around Europe. Says the De Gelderlander, “The five's looked remarkably sound and sounded untouched by time.”
The Best Blues in Town
The BluesBreakers was founded in 1995 by Dik Korving (guitar and vocals), one of the first people to
adopt the blues in the Netherlands. The band is a spinoff of the White Bluesband, which had been playing
all over Europe from the 70s.
The band released 5 albums over the course of its existence. Since the introduction of the All-time Dutch
Blues Top 100, an annually released chart by all blues radio stations in the Netherlands, the
BluesBreakers have consistently 5 to 6 productions in the charts with Mercury Blues being in the top 10,
ranking 3rd in 2015.
Where most blues bands in northern Europe have made a shift towards the blues-rock, the
BluesBreakers stick to traditional blues, but explore all styles and aspects within that framework. At the
same time the band attempts to give a European twist to the music. This is illustrated perfectly by the
album cover of their 2012 CD Riverside that does not portrait American juke joint or inner-city neon signs,
but typical Dutch windmills in an idyllic meadow.
Regardless of their Dutch blues ambitions, the band has an international cast and character. The
harmonica is played by the extraordinary German harp player Reinhard Sämisch, and in 2011 the
American/Dutch Francesco (Frank) Frentrop joined the band on keyboards and vocals. Frank and Dik
also form the composer duo of the band and are responsible for the majority of the original songs.
Their songs alreay received notable airplay outside the Netherlands with blues radio shows in the US,
Russia, UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Croatia.
With strong lyrics and compositions that go far beyond the average 12-bar shuffle, they manage to slowly
get the critics on their side.
The live performances of the band are notorious. They happily mix styles and tempos, contemporary
classics and new material. As a result they manage to entertain not only the blues buffs and afinados, but
also the people who are not so much blues minded (they do exist). That is what blues is all about
according to the philosophy of the BluesBreakers: Send the crowd home with tired legs, sore hands and
smiling faces after a night of dancing, clapping and good times.
The Bluesbreakers accompanied several international acts, including: Dr. Feelgood (UK), Willie Foster
(US), John Campbelljohn (CA), Eelco Gelling (NL, Cuby and the Blizzards), Keith Dunn (US), Dave Hole
(AU), Magic Frankie (NL), Marty Hall (CA), Chris Jones & Steve Baker (UK), Mike Anderson Band (DK),
Nico Christiansen (NL, Living Blues), The Stewart Barnes Band (UK) and DieDra (US).
Memories
In November 2014 Rino Geerdinck had to leave the band for health reasons. He was replaced by Ernst Wernicke, known for the Jibs and the Pensionado’s, among others.
- Dik Korving – guitar & singing
- Marcel Boss – drums
- Francesco Frentrop – keys & singing
- Reinhard Saemisch – harp
- Ernst Wernicke – bas guitar & singing