Marinus Vreeke breathed new life into Traveler

BY EDWIN MIJNSBERGEN

Even if you don’t know Marinus Vreeke personally, you may have seen the name of one of the bands he played in. In 1978, for example, he was one of the founders of The Sandy Road Band, a company that Marinus himself describes as “a modern-sounding dance band, with an emphasis on beautiful, more or less danceable pop songs. “. This group alone could be seen at countless parties and other events in Walcheren in the eighties. You saw the van used to transport the instruments everywhere. Marinus had already left him by then, but still: he had been closely involved.

First the CD, then Traveler
In his own words, Marinus never tried his best to really break through, but he continued to innovate throughout his life and always sought out new challenges. In 2018, during a poetry competition at the Ellewoutsdijk church, he met producer and musician Peter Wessel. The two had known each other since the days when Peter was still in the musical business of Middelburg van Damme, but had never worked together musically. After a few meetings, it was clear that they had clicked. Marinus still had plenty of his own songs on the shelf, so releasing a CD was an obvious choice. To promote the record, including performances in Oranjezon, Marinus revived his old band Traveler, also featuring a number of new musicians. The fact that this only happened after the CD was released explains why the ‘September days’ album can be found on Traveler’s website under the band’s name, but on Spotify, for example, under the name Marinus Vreek.

Rock
Marinus finds the collaboration with Peter Wessel, who has recently published many of his own works, as a relief. “He’s the best musician I’ve ever worked with. I’m an amateur, he’s a pro, it makes your music better. He is the first and the only one who really understood my music. Our collaboration resulted in something beautiful and new. I think it’s become a new kind of country rock. It is not daily and varied. Marinus is no longer twenty, but is far from thinking of quitting music. He still rehearses with the group every month. New songs are recorded until there is enough material for the next CD. Representations are of course also welcome.

Interested parties can always contact travelermusic.nl.