Their Last Summer in Fargo: Sunny Travels at The Aquarium

Blair Ross, Ryan Anderson, and Greg Olson are the trio known as Sunny Travels. A locally based band, they are musical veterans with diverse tastes. Ross and Anderson have been playing together for over a decade and with Olson for seven years.

“We (Anderson and Ross) started to play together when we were thirteen, started playing shows when we were fifteen, and we’re twenty-eight, so thirteen years. A couple years ago we messed around with fake names at open mikes but we’ve always been Sunny Travels,” Ross said.

The core of the group has remained remarkably stable. “It’s always been me and Ryan, I’ve always been the vocalist and Ryan is a guitarist and vocalist. We’ve had Greg Olson, the bass player, for a long time, quite a few years. We’ve had drummers come and go,” Ross said.

Ross and Anderson share songwriting duties. “Sometimes he’ll write the entire song, sometimes I’ll write the entire lyrics, sometimes he’ll write and we’ll half it. There’s a couple songs he does that he sings lead and I do backup vocals,” Ross said.

“Lately we’ve been acoustic but when we have a drummer that’s when we rock-out with a punk edge. Just lately we’ve been bass, acoustic guitar, and vocals and we’ll throw in kazoos.”

Much of their music can be played electrically or acoustically. “The majority we can play either way,” Ross said of their songs.

“When we first started our favorite band was the Sex Pistols and now our favorite is Bob Dylan or the Grateful Dead. There’s still a punk rock influence, even in our acoustic old stuff. We’re expanding, doing more styles, Phish and Ween, we do reggae, heavy stuff, rock n roll, anything we can. (Olson) likes the Melvins but we brought him to a Phish concert and sort of ‘converted’ him,” Ross said of their influences and sound.

Sunny Travels’ recent shows have been acoustic. They’ve released an electric and an acoustic album. “The first one is an electric album, ‘Feelin’ Alright.’ The other one is, ‘But I Can’t leave this Rocking Chair,’ but that’s acoustic. That’s more the style we’re doing right now,”

“Feelin’ Alright” is an eclectic mix of sounds that demonstrates the band’s versatility. Their blending of different genres with a hint of pop sensibilities makes for great listening. They should do their fans a favor by recording an album where they fully explore either their rock n roll or acoustic side. There are enough seeds here to keep the listener curious as to how far Sunny Travels can mature.

The album is available upon request through Sunny Travels Myspace page. Their second album, “But I Can’t Leave This Rocking Chair,” is available at Mother’s Records in Moorhead.

The band’s next album is close to completion. “We’re working on a third album right now. We’ve got it all recorded. All we have to do is master it and get the artwork. We already have the title, it’s going to be called, ‘Meet the Beer Pirates,” Ross said. He was optimistic that the album would be finished by the end of summer. Olson, who took a hiatus from the band after their first album, returned for the third album.

Lyrically, they are diverse, “I don’t think there’s anything we wouldn’t (lyrically) touch, it’s just a matter of we haven’t gotten to it yet. Some of our main subject matters are probably women, relationships, sex, depression, and drinking. Philosophy and religion get in there a bit, there’s a little bit of politics,” Ross said.

Ross and Blair both work in the food service industry. Olson works in home heating. Ross recently earned a bachelors degree. “I just graduated from MSUM after like ten years, off and on, with an English major and philosophy minor,” he said.

Sunny Travels plan on moving to Portland in the spring but this summer they are going to stay around the area and play local shows.

Questions and comments:

If You Go

What: Sunny Travels with Hot Button
Where: The Aquarium
When: Friday, June 20, 10 p.m.
How Much: $3
Who: 21+ID
Info: (701) 235-5913