Teunis Spits – I’m not wealthy, but rich at heart

Whilst I already know how to begin this article, I still have to type out the last half hour of the interview. Teunis is very talkative (‘They call it ADHD, I just call it being creative’.) People like Teunis are both a bliss and a horror for an editor, especially for someone that still has to get used to her new voicerecorder – sugar!, now it’s all starting over again!
Teunis Spits. Programmer, PR man, designer and more of Poppodium Iduna in Drachten, The Netherlands, might be talkative, but he also has a lot to tell about his profession. His near-monologue is full of anecdotes and in odd moments he brings the Dutch pop and music scene back to earth.

Always into music
Teunis, born 1970, has been occupied with music as long as he can remember. He was planning on leaving Drachten – ‘nothing to do there’ – but instead he decided to do the opposite and stayed at the age of 16. ‘I’ll stay and want to change that!’ And so he began organizing skate events and was co-founder of foundations that had to promote the musc scene in the area in the 80s. Thus he programmed famous Dutch bands such as Slagerij Van Kampen and The Heideroosjes in the Frisian countryside. At that time he was also working for Iduna on a voluntary basis. Iduna at that time was a centre for all kind of activities for the youth. Teunis: ‘When most of the activities disappeared, only the music was left and I found that we had to focus on this on a regular basis. This meant, programming each weekend, small, local bands included. Just to built up an audience.’

Education
Teunis was a volunteer besides his daily job as a painter. ‘I went to work every morning, took bread and coffee with me and at 7:30 I was already thinking: “When’s my next coffee break?” and also: “Oh dear, in twenty years I’m still working as a painter and boring myself to death.” A couple of years ago Teunis applied for the job as programmer at Iduna’s, a job that nowadays is more than just doing the programming for the venue. ‘It seems that you can be educated for this nowadays,’ he answers, ‘But, and now some will become angry, I don’t think highly of that school [Popschool in Leeuwarden – ed.]. They are all lazy beans. Students tell me that they are planning to do practically nothing during the four years of education! Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, we have a trainee over here, and she is really willing to learn and working very hard indeed.

I can guarantee, she will become a pro! But the majority of the students suffer from a big ego. Which isn’t surprising considering the fact that the teachers all come from the entertainment industry. They are free spirits and are use to a certain way of life. As are their students. They live their own lives and every now and then they meet at a crossroad. Then they learn a bit. And it takes them four years to achieve something! It can be done in half a year, easily. Some use the school to achieve something with their band as well. Nothing wrong with that, except: this is not what a school is meant for, in my opinion. I’d rather see good managers and journalists leaving that school, people that know what hardcore and progrock are, where it originates from. That know everything about our Dutch music history, etc. And that makes me think: I would have crawled 20 miles upon my hands and knees to such a school, should it had been there when I was young! Being proud when I finally received my degree, “Look, this is what I’ve learnt the past four years!” But, well ...’

No placing upon a pedestal
Teunis is really spilling his guts now. ‘When we have the well-known artists here, well, they are just people like you and me. I am honoured to work with them, but they are honoured as well. Because you did your utmost best to book them. I think that placing upon a pedestal of pop artists is crap: it’s just hard labour. And you are not paid a lot of money for it either. No, I’m not wealthy, but rich at heart! Dutch bands are placed upon a pedestal as well. It is very difficult for Iduna to program the major Dutch acts. ‘These major bands think very highly of themselves. Iduna is too small a venue for them. They are BIG in Holland and when you are BIG in Holland you have all people working for you: technicians, merchandisers, a roadie, another roadie, and so on.

It is mainly the people working for the bands though, not the band members themselves!’ Being BIG in Holland is relative, Teunis states. ‘For example. When you live in Drachten and you are able to sell five or six thousand records in your neighbourhood, you enter the Top 40! Well, what is BIG in Holland then?’ Luckily, they are still bands that appreciate venues like Iduna. ‘Peter Pan Speedrock, for example. This band is very important for the Dutch music scene, as they realize that Holland is such a small country, and in a country like this one can never forget its roots.’

Thinking in concepts
Still, Iduna has an interesting program and that is thanks to the creative mind of Teunis. ‘I’d like to think in concepts and doing it together!’ Examples? ‘Well, take MyStage, Stage For Friends. I took the design and idea of it as a basis and transformed it into a concept. Many bands are booked through MySpace, bands that pay a lot of attention to their communication. Beginning local bands and international bands. You can just let them come over and put them on stage, but it’s more fun to offer them a real concept.’ Teunis eyes are sparkling, you can tell: this is what he likes most!

Jake La Botz
Even foreign artists are a ‘victim’ of Teunis way of concepting. ‘I came across Jake La Botz on MySpace, a unique American blues singer/songwriter. So, I asked him: Do you ever come to Europe? When I sent this email, I coincedently received a mail from a Belgian booking agency, in which Jake La Botz was offered to Iduna, as he was planning a European tour. I talked about it with Rinto, a good friend of mine and owner of a tattooshop.

He went bezirk and told me that he saw Jake in a venue some while ago and the he was “awesome!”. And to make it more strange, Jake did some tattoo tours in The States! So I sent him an email in wich I asked him if he felt like doing a gig in Rinto’s tattooshop as a promo for his show in Iduna. I received an email back in which Jake said that he had wanted to do a tattoo tour for quite a long time in Europe, but nobody was interested ... Well, he played at Rinto’s for free and when Jake came to Holland a year later, Rinto and I organized his tattoo tour! He played gigs at Hanky Panky, Dragon Tattoo, all the famous tattooshop in our country!’

Mark Ramone
With some artists Teunis has developed a more than businesslike relationship. ‘I wouldn’t call them real friends, but the contacts are great!’ Not such a great contact Teunis had with former Ramones drummer, Mark Ramone. ‘I always threw him out of the premises! He was to play here with his tribute to the Ramones band and a Russian support act. Nothing had been arranged, there were no contracts, nothing of a kind. As from the moment he arrived he did nothing than swearing and shouting at people, especially one lady that was joining the Russian band. And what was it all about?

The poster was wrong! “Make a new one,” he commanded. Well, Teunis didn’t feel like being commanded and the argument came to a point that Teunis told Mr Ramone: ‘Well, listen, you might have played in big stadiums as a substitute drummer for The Ramones, and you might have travelled the world ... but there are 150 people coming to this show and I’d rather put a note on the door that the show’s been cancelled than to take your orders and have you shouted at all the staff over here!’ In the end Mark Ramone appologized. ‘The nicest part is, that two days later that Russian lady phoned me. She said: “I don’t know what you told Mr Ramone, but he is as sweet as can be”.’

Programming
‘Programming is a matter of question and demand,’ Teunis answers to my question how it works. ‘In Iduna metalcore is popular, ‘gabberhouse’ alternative music like punk, but also progrock. And blues, for the older visitor. In early days, people were old when they were 40 years of age, now they are still active. I am almost 40 now and when we are 60, well, I think we will be very active elderly by then! You have to take that into account when you program.’
Of course, Teunis receives demo’s, about five or six a week. ‘Only 1 or 2 % are interesting. There are far more bands than I can program, but most of it is just crap. For instance, about six months ago I received a CD from a Within Temptation-like band.

The vocals were horrible! When she called I told her: “It’s not that easy without a vacuumcleaner, isn’t it?” I am honest, yes. I told her that this demo was a waste of her and my time! I gave her the advize to redo it. At first she was really angry, but two weeks later she phoned me. “It’s the woman of the vacuumcleaner. I was really, really pissed off, but I listened to it again and I had to admit: you were right. I am glad you were at least honest to me, all the others gave me the impression we were doing a great job”.’

Taking care for artists
Once booked in Iduna, everybody (most of them are still volunteers) is taking good care for the artists: there is a cook and the hospitality rider is actually read. ‘A Dutch punkband tested us once. They wrote down that they wanted postcards and blue M&Ms. Well, the postcards were there and the blue M&Ms as well! If it’s not too difficult, we will cater for it. Just to break the ice.’ Well, in my opinion, there wasn’t any ice to start with. I think Iduna has a great programmer, PR man, designer and more!

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