CHASE THE SUN - extremely experimental, with no grand plan and came together coincidently but just happened to win the Australian Blues Award for Best Group and Title of Best Song in 2007 for You Gotta Go. Possible yes, expected no. This is the story behind an up and coming Sydney blues rock trio who recorded their debut album within days of meeting each other.
"I was running a jam night in Parramatta and Jan came and had a jam and Jon was a fellow teacher of mine at TAFE so it all formed from there," says bassist Ryan Van Gennip. One may think that the band knew what they set out to do from the word go, but as is the spirit of Chase The Sun it was all spur of the moment. "We went into the studio for a bit of a play just for a bit of fun, not thinking we could come up with anything but then we came up with a whole album."
The only hint of an explanation behind the speed of their success is in their musical backgrounds. Frontman Jan Rynsaardt, formerly of hard rock blues outfit Freeway, has shared stages with the likes of Jeff Lang, Ian Moss and John Butler. Van Gennip has lent his bass playing abilities to Diana Anaid, Charlton Hill, Sandrine and iOTA and drummer Jon Howell provided the backing beats to '90s pop sensation Leonardo's Bride. Therefore, with all these musical forces under the one roof no one can predict what will be produced. Not even the members in the band. "No song is done the same way, ever," Van Gennip reveals.
Work on their upcoming album has kept their creative juices flowing as it is (you guessed it) different to their last one and involves songwriting from all members. "Jan wrote most of the songs on our first album, but this one has a more collective feel as we all figured out the songs together," says Van Gennip. The album, which is due for release in March 2010, relies solely on their rock influences and not as much on their blues ones, as Jan spent his childhood listening to AC/DC and Metallica.
The boys have even found time to contribute to a Christmas record produced by Cath Eager and Doug Williams. "She took all these old Christmas tunes and funked them up a bit," Van Gennip says. "We did it in Jimmy Barnes's home studio, it was great fun. We'll be doing a run of dates around Christmas to promote it."
With their history it is hard to ask what their plans are after they wrap up this tour. But since their band even confuses them sometimes, I'd be surprised if they had an answer!
Chase The Sun will play at the ANU Bar on Thursday October 29 with Claude Hay and Point Of View. Tickets are $15, starts at 8:30pm.
