PVCC Puma Press: March 2006

The five male members of the Van Buren Regulars are no strangers to the streets.

The band consists of 21-year-old Tim Swanson on guitar and lead vocals, 20-year-old Joshua Johnson on guitar, 20-year-old Wes Willard on bass, 19-year-old Scott Van Sande on percussion and 20-year-old drummer Justin Delster. The five members have been friends for years and have equally shared a love for music.

Their sound resembles that of the Dave Matthews Band or Jack Johnson with a twist. Their Dave Matthews sound eminates through their songs, “Thief” and “Satire,” with Swanson’s whispery, deep voice, Willard’s intricate bass lines, Delster’s and Van Sande’s strong percussion beats and Johnson’s heavy acoustic guitar.

With the underlying connotations that the band name has, it is quite a surprise to listeners when they are told that The Van Buren Regulars is a Christian band. The five members justify the name through their religion. “The Bible says that Jesus spent time with prostitutes, and everyone knows what goes down on Van Buren street,” says Swanson. “It was something witty that we all liked. The purpose of the band is in our name. We just want to meet people where they are and not force anything upon them.”

It takes more than a witty name to make a band work. The Van Buren Regulars have raw talent to go along with the name. In the past, Swanson has traveled the world singing and playing guitars with festival bands, while Johnson and Delster have had extensive experience in previous bands and Willard has had music experience since the age of 9.

The band could not be complete without a bongo-like drum called a djembe, and that’s where Van Sande comes in. Although he has very little experience compared to the rest of the members, he is able to keep up with them.

“Everyone in the band jokes that I’m not a real musician,” says Van Sande. “And there is a slight chance that this might actually be a true statement. However, I used to play drums.”

The idea of a Christian band may scare away a number of possible listeners, and this is a fact that the band does not forget.

“It is our goal to be a Christian band in a non-Christian way,” says Swanson. “To love people without an agenda, simply care for them.”

Although the band has only been together for about nine months, it has already reached a small success by reaching the semi-finals of the Emergenza International Music Festival. The Van Buren Regulars are set to play a show for the contest on May 5 at 9:30 p.m. at The Clubhouse located on Broadway and Rural Road in Tempe.

Although each member has his own personal goals, they all have been able to agree upon one thing, the music. “We want to make music that people will keep thinking about long after the show has ended,” says Delster.

The five do not question their staying ability. They have already set up their own website, www.vanburenregulars.com, which consists of information about each band member, upcoming shows, blogs and photos. They have a MySpace page which can be found through www.myspace.com/vanburenregulars.com. They have three of their songs on the website and each has reached about 150 plays. They also have merchandise tables available at each of their shows with shirts and CDs for sale.

“Everybody in the band has had an extremely strong commitment to this whole thing,” says Swanson. “Six months ago, it was me sitting on my girlfriend’s bed playing on the guitar. It has already gone further than my imagination ever dreamed.”