The Sweeteners

November 12 2012, 1:34 PM ET
by SPIN Staff

Headed up by cocksure singer-guitarist Chad Reynvaan, the Sweeteners were pegged by Jeff Weiss as delivering "blistering blues-rawk with gusto." Along with Reynvaan, bassist Mark Nelson and drummer Eric Neet are transplants from Washington State. The blistering trio are currently working on their debut EP.
- SPIN Magazine

November 12 2012, 1:34 PM ET
by SPIN Staff

Headed up by cocksure singer-guitarist Chad Reynvaan, the Sweeteners were pegged by Jeff Weiss as delivering "blistering blues-rawk with gusto." Along with Reynvaan, bassist Mark Nelson and drummer Eric Neet are transplants from Washington State. The blistering trio are currently working on their debut EP.
- SPIN Magazine

Interrogation: The Sweeteners

By Jeri Kopet | Posted: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 2:27 pm

Many musical projects start through random happenstance, or cases of people being in the right place at the right time. Then again, others start because it's been a long time coming. "[The band] started because we're all from the same town in Washington: Aberdeen," says Chad Reynvaan, lead guitarist and singer of the newly minted Anchorage group The Sweeteners. "We all grew up with each other and we were all friends in high school."

The trio of Washingtonians came up to Alaska for different reasons. Reynvaan came to the Last Frontier for love, Mark Nelson, the bassist, came up for college, and drummer Eric Neet followed along eventually for reasons unknown. In any case, Neet is here too, and the three transplants continued following their musical interests after leaving their home state. The Sweeteners is a slightly more indulgent project than the three members have been used to. Says Reynvaan: "We always played in bands that played mellower stuff. This is our chance to be loud and not try to be something that our parents would listen to."

That being said, The Sweeteners do have a distinctly "fuzzed out" sound, one that recalls Nirvana and other grunge-influences of the ‘90s. "We jam out in a heavy way," says Reynvaan. "We sort of grew up on the fuzzed out stuff." Taking these influences into account, The Sweeteners also throw in elements of some modern blues, taking cues from The White Stripes and Black Keys. "We're trying to make our sound cohesive, we're focusing on making it ours."

The Sweeteners are extremely new on the Anchorage music scene, having only formed in early summer. Despite their "rookie" status, however, they have been met only with success, garnering attention from a broad spectrum of the musical community. "We've played three outdoor festival type shows, and our first gig in a bar, the Anchor, was just last Thursday," says Reynvaan. The "hands-off" approach seems to be working in terms of the band's promotion-The Sweeteners let their music speak for itself. "It's weird, in other bands I've spent a lot of time trying to get people to like us, and this band, it has been pretty effortless." It seems that when a majority of time isn't spent wallowing through the social media of the internet, word spreads organically. "It's easy and it's fun."

For those who would like to get a taste of what The Sweeteners have to offer, there are two samples available on Myspace (while the band figures out Facebook track uploading, that is), and they have had three songs recorded by Twisted Penguin studios. Reynvaan says the band hopes to release a six-track EP by winter-not a bad time frame for a brand new group. As for the songwriting process, it's nothing especially formulaic: "When we get to practice we have a good time jamming out to stuff... then we'll work up some lyrics and then we'll arrange it together." Arranging the songs takes the most time, but the entire process has only been enjoyable for the band-nothing has yet gone sour for The Sweeteners.

When questioned about the title of the band, Reynvaan has to laugh a bit. "It's actually really hard to get three guys to agree on the same name. Nothing stuck, then one day [The Sweeteners] popped into my head and I did the old Google test." The distinct lack of other bands sharing the name made it stick. "There's the occasional person who's a little unsure of [The Sweeteners], but I like it," says Reynvaan. In any case, it gives the trio a classic sort of spin that seems to be working in its favor. Besides an upcoming show at The Avenue with Ghost Hands on Friday, August 26, The Sweeteners will also play the upcoming Monolith Showcase at the Tap Root the next day. "We're on Saturday at 10 p.m., it's a great slot," Reynvaan says. For being the new kids at school, this band has a lot to look forward to.

- Anchorage Press