I was very excited when I learned that Laurens Bakker had joined the online Picture club, Heavy Metal Ears. I contacted him via e-mail, and asked him a few questions. Here's what 'Bakkie' had to say:
Hellmaster: What is your opinion of Picture's later guitarists, Chris Van Jaarsveld and Henry Van Manen? They certainly helped to change Picture's sound after the departure of Jan Bechtum.
Bakkie: Chris was a very good guitar player both in the studio as well as on stage. He understood what it was all about. Henry was also a good guitar player of course, but I got the impression that he wasn't completely on the same wavelength as the rest of us.
Hellmaster: Why did you leave Picture after "Eternal Dark"?
Bakkie: I stopped because some promises that were made were not kept. We had the opportunity to go on a world tour with Saxan (they asked us after we opened for them a few times), but the record company didn't want to invest any money into that.
So the future looked a bit bleak and financially things weren't that great either. In the meantime my kids had turned 4 (twins) so I had to put food on the table somehow.
I never listened to any of the Picture albums beyond "Eternal Dark" because when I quit I totally had enough of the whole thing to be honest.
Hellmaster: So what are you up to these days?
Bakkie: Well, Rinus and I see each other regularly these days as we work for the same company now.
Hellmaster: Do you play drums anymore?
Bakkie: It has been two years now since I touched drumsticks, and at that time it was only for one song. Hammerfall was playing in the Netherlands and had invited us over to their concert to play "Eternal Dark". Before that, I didn't play for 15 years. I am really curious to see how it would go these days.
Hellmaster: Are you excited that some of Picture's material is finally being released on CD?
Bakkie: The good news is that after releasing these CDs, there are plans to give a few concerts in September or October with the original Picture lineup: Ronald, Jan, Rinus, and myself. Pete and Chris may also participate as well.
Well, there you have it; a little bit of info from Picture's long lost drummer. Thanks to Laurens for his participation in this e-mail interview.