Sitter

When two high school friends began fooling around with a guitar and a few songs back in 2003; they never once thought that in just five years, they would emerge as one of Durban's most acclaimed bands. But that's just what happened to Edan Latz and Gary Wolno. The fooling around- these guys started the band so they could impress the ladies- eventuated into the beginnings of a band...and two band members later- Darryn Butcher and drummer Theo Claassen- Sitter was finally born.

The four guys, all former school mates from Durban, have since seen their music on the charts and airwaves on radio stations across the country, they've been featured in magazines and newspapers, while their energetic performances from Splashy Fen to the Mozambique Fest have built them a solid, devoted fan base. In 2007 they released their second album; “This Masquerade Called Life” to a capacity crowd and rave reviews. Weeks later, they were personally hired to perform a 5 date tour across the UK - which went off spectacularly to enthusiastic audiences.

While many a rock story may have begun like theirs, not many have seen it rise so high so quickly- It took their idols Green Day many years to crack the charts in the US. Sitter needed just two years before they tasted chart success with songs from their debut album “Based on a True Story”. Their success is a testament to their work ethos and sheer dedication; all four still have their day jobs. "It's an expensive business" says lead vocalist and guitarist Edan, "And we don't have a record deal...we had to do everything on our own". IT specialists (Ted and Darryn), lawyer/banking consultant (Edan) and events coordinator (Gary) by day, Sitter are rockers once their working days end. Tiring yes, but the gamble has definitely paid off. In four years, despite day jobs to contend with and no record company to back them up- it was up to them to generate publicity, get play-listed and get the media's attention- they made enough money made from gigs and CD sales to produce two albums, sparing no expense on the latter, released two music videos and recently hired media rottweiller Pedro Carlo as their manager.

Their first big break was when East Coast Radio finally added the track “Another Day” to their airwaves in 2005. In August that year, the track climbed all the way to the number 2 on Top 9 at 9 charts - a huge deal for the band, which proved to be the catalyst they needed. In the same month, another track “My Work is Not Done” hit the number 4 spot on RMR Radio's Top 40 and landed the bands their first number 1 on Kovsie FM's Top 30. “Another Day” continued its success, running for arespectable 12 weeks on ECR's Top 20. The track proved to be their
biggest success yet when it hit the number 1 spot on SAMP3.com and ranked at number 45 on ECR's Top 100 songs of the year. Their live performances was perhaps their biggest trump card. Getting in at the right gigs (Splashy Fen, Rocking the Daisies, The White Mountain Folk Festival), they quickly gained a loyal following.

By 2006, Sitter had impressed the socks off critics everywhere after their high energy performance at the Coca Cola Massive Mix...a gig they would later call one of their biggest breaks, as they got to share a stage with Metallica, Collective Soul and Seether.

Finally, the media caught on. Wicked Rock called their latest album "the best work Sitter has ever provided" while heaping praise on the high quality of production, the relevance of the lyrics and the catchiness of the hooks.
The Natal Witness labeled the band as 'inventive' saying their music can only grow on you. Warren Manning , program manager for Kovsie FM credited Sitter with 'upping the game in SA music'. The Sunday Tribune described them as "sophisticated, original, creative and intense; qualities that put them a few steps them ahead of their contemporaries."

From there the band moved to the United Kingdom to have a crack at the big time in London!