Jeff Martin -  January 2008 - www.amplify.co.za

Krakatoa and Friends – Sitter, Driverlane and His Dying Wish

I very much like the band His Dying Wish try to be. Their particular style of music represents an interest in some sounds which fall far outside the palette of the mainstream – or at least most highly popular – bands in their genre. The keyboard pieces with which the open some of their repertoire are interesting and dark. What is hugely unfortunate so far, is that the performance level just doesn’t match the ambition of what I believe could be a great band. To start with, vocals were unfortunately lacking in the fundamentals – pitch and sustain were just too inconsistent to be called a good performance. It’s not that frontman/singer Johan lacks the ability or range to reach the ambitious vocals he seeks, it’s just that he doesn’t hit them often enough to make the performance more than amateurish. I obviously can’t judge whether or not there was some special condition which made him unable to hear, or match, the sound of his band, but it was clearly not on the level of what one would hope for with a band of such compositional taste. Lacking too (unfortunately) was the ability of guitarists Sean and Chris to stay in tune – either with themselves or each other. It is incredibly frustrating to hear a well constructed chord pattern, or riff, end in discordant noise as the result of out of tune instruments. There was an occasional feeling that perhaps the songs had been “miswritten” or at least were being played in the wrong place, given the sound between each of the instruments. Even the bass was out at some points during the evening, a feat which is not often seen amongst our generally talented rhythm sections. That said, and it was certainly a rough time, the band have an interesting take on the music they play. Timing decisions and changes, rhythm choices, elements from the piano and vocals that are beyond the “norm” make His Dying Wish a band that I would be happy to see again, if only to see if they ever manage to rise to the potential that I believe they’re capable of.

Following up on the unsatisfying but tempting performance of His Dying Wish was Driverlane a band I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing often enough. Genuinely entertaining, as well as combining a sort of wry, wary element into their presence on stage, Driverlane delivered their set with a professionalism that cannot be faulted. Radio-played songs such as Regular Flavour are both a hit with the crowds and with those of us listening for slip ups because they’re delivered with real style. Not sufficiently different to stand out in any dramatic way from the bands which occupy the same area in the Rock spectrum, Driverlane performed without a hitch. The only worry was that of vocalist Mark very occasionally missing a note, which he most often corrected for immediately. This may well have been caused by bad sound monitoring, and thus bad sound engineering (which would apply for His Dying Wish too) but this wasn’t evident in the balance of the sound, which, quite usually for the Krakatoa gigs, was excellent.

Rounding up the evening was the ever buoyant Sitter, about whom a great deal has been written on this site. The unfortunate thing about seeing a good band so often is that it begins to get lost on one how impressive it is to maintain a great performance level all the time. Sitter are at the level now, where one bad review, should they completely fluff it any point, would do very little to diminish the reputation they’ve built up with the public and critics alike, in doing what they do so well. I reiterate that I would love to see them doing a wider variety of music – if only to really test their mettle. It is always a strange idea to stray away from the formula which satisfies bandmembers and creates a following! Sitter is eminently good at their blend of punk/rock and, deservedly, continues to enjoy great popularity.

Wicked Rock - May 2007

Had any other band entitled their cd as dramatically as SITTER has, I would’ve been apprehensive. But the emotional promise is fully collected from This Masquerade Called Life which eclipses its fantastic predecessor, Based On A True Story. SITTER is one of the most infectious bands in Durban’s history because they pile the hooks until your foot is sore from tapping. They get you singing and then suddenly break rock ‘n roll down until it’s almost ballad before catapulting you into a chorus that’s bigger than the one before. They have perfected the bridge. Add changing vocal deliveries, improved musicianship and possibly the best production to emerge from Dave Birch’s famous Tropical Studios (Parlotones, Squeal, Perez), and we have the commercial rock cd of the year (actually, the past couple of years).

In the rockier vein, ‘Complicated Lives’ and ‘Fall Away’ possess anthem quality whilst the fun melody of ‘Questions’ begs for a place at the top of the charts. Guest artists can add an X quality to a song and that clearly happens when Ou Q (from BIG IDEA) raps on the remake of ‘The Music – A Tribute to Madiba’ and Kody Chetty screams a guitar beautifully through ‘I’m Not Alright’. And then there’s the big ballads, the tearful ‘Fool’ and haunting ‘The World Was A Lie’. Both rank as amongst the best SITTER has ever provided.

This Masquerade Called Life is an oxymoron because this 47 minute journey is as genuine and heartfelt as anything life has to offer.

Sunday Tribune, Sunday Magazine - 25 March 2007

"Popular Sitter heads north" - by Colin Roopnarain

THE ALBUM LAUNCH FOR local band, Sitter, in a marquee outside Suncoast Casino last Friday was one of the most highly anticipated launches this year. For weeks ahead it was all I heard people talk about. That's rather impressive when you consider Sitter is an indie group with only a handful of tracks on radio and just one other album (Based on a True Story) released, and that was two years ago. The event was invite-only and by 9pm, one hour after the event was set to start, every one of the 800 guests had arrived. Brilliant news for Sitter not so great for the rest of us; Marquee, plus hot sticky weather, plus hundreds of bodies equalled extreme discomfort and the majority of fans decided to sit just outside the tent.

Still the boys put on a spectacular performance showcasing some killer new tracks from their new album This Masquerade Called Life. The energy generated by the group was enough to make anyone forget about the heat, and the audience responded like love sick groupies. If you haven't heard of Sitter, here's a quick lesson: The four man band formed in 2003 and features Edan Latzelsberger on bass and main vocals, Darryn Butcher on guitar and backing vocals, Gary Wolno on guitar and Theo Claassen on drums. Their sound is everything from pop rock to indie rock, from punk rock to ballad. Lyrically, they are original, creative and emotionally intense - qualities that put them a few steps ahead of their contemporaries.

Sitter have generated a buzz mainly from gigging in and around Durban for the past four years, impressing audiences enough to develop a solid fan base. The band has even been playlisted on usually rock shy, East Coast Radio, and a host of other smaller local in house stations, proving its accessibility.

According to Edan, the band's name is an acronym for: Someday I'll Try to Treat Everyone Right. A noble sentiment echoed by their website motto: "We believe that playing music is what we are meant to do and are thoroughly enjoying every step of this journey".

We write songs according to what mood we are in and it is our goal to convey as best we can, the emotions of the song in a live performance. After hearing them live and then listening to the album, I'd say they definitely achieved their goal. The songs are varied and sophisticated pieces of acoustic rock dripping with emotional intensity. Stand out tracks include: "The Music- A tribute to Mandela" featuring Ou Q, "The Whole World Was a Lie", "Perfection", "Fall Away", "Fool" and the brilliant opening track "The Inevitable Compromise". Luckily, I'm not the only one impressed- The band is off to Britain for a two week promotional tour where no doubt it will knock the socks off the Brits!