SOME of the most talented rockers in Cape Town teamed up in 2019 to give new life to the satirical masterpiece album EET KREEF!, released in 1989. Johannes Kerkorrel and Die Gereformeerde Blues Band made headlines in those tumultuous years and EET KREEF! became one of the top alternative Afrikaans album releases at the time.
The younger (than the ‘80s) generation musicians that re-recorded these amazing tunes a few years ago were also applauded for the accompanying live shows at the time. KREEF! are Laudo Liebenberg (aKING) – vocals, Frank Freeman – guitar and vocals, Sheldon Yoko – drums, Schalk van der Merwe – bass, and Mikhaela Kruger on keyboards.
Freeman says they are excited to be on stage again with this incredibly popular production: “We came to a point where we thought that the live-shows for EET KREEF HERLEEF! have come to an end, but there has been a steady demand for more shows in both Cape Town and Gauteng. It’s ironic that this music was originally made in a tumultuous time, and we are doing these shows in a new tumultuous era.”
Freeman, who initiated the project (live shows and album), recalls how it all came together: “I rediscovered Johannes Kerkorrel’s music in 2018 and was amazed at just how relevant these tunes still were. I felt compelled to work with it. The EET KREEF HERLEEF! shows we did so far, made it evident that people are quite emotionally attached to these songs. It made me realise we are busy with something more than just a re-interpretation of the music; we are also re-delivering this important music from three decades ago, just in another time and context.”
There are currently three upcoming shows: One at The Daisy Jones Bar in Stellenbosch on March 19 at 9pm, and two at Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria on March 26 at 3pm and 7pm. The Atterbury shows will have a special sentiment to them as they are being held on the evening before Kerkorrel’s birthday. He would have been 62 this year.
Tickets from Quicket are are R180 presales, and R200 at door. Follow EET KREEF HERLEEF! on Instagram @eetkreef and search for EET KREEF on Facebook.
PHOTO CREDIT: Pierre Rommelaere
