Bettie Serveert

Formed in 1990 in Amsterdam, Bettie Serveert took its name from an instruction manual by Dutch tennis star Betty Stove. Translation: Bettie serves. Between 1992 and 1997, the sometimes jangly, sometimes gritty ensemble released three signature albums -- "Palomine," "Lamprey" and "Dust Bunnies" -- that established its reputation among the college rock crowd. Years on the road with acts such as Dinosaur Jr., Buffalo Tom, Superchunk and Counting Crows helped buoy its indie fanbase. While various drummers have come and gone, the core membership of Carol van Dyk (vocals and guitar), Peter Visser (guitar) and Herman Bunskoeke (bass) has remained solid through 10 albums.

"There's a very small festival in Holland. It's called -- translated in English -- Easter Pop. It's the worst festival you'd ever want to play. It's infamous for that. Most people are completely drunk by 2 p.m. ... It's in the middle of farm country in Holland. They get so completely wasted that it doesn't really matter what's onstage as long as they can sort of jump to it. There are only a couple of bands, specifically Dutch singing bands, who can play there and get away with it without getting bombarded. It's not because (the crowd members) hate the bands, it's just because they're so drunk that they don't really care. It's usually rolls of toilet paper that they throw, for no apparent reason. We've only done the festival once. And we came offstage and were like, 'Never again!'"

— Carol van Dyk, Bettie Serveert