VAN GO GO is Nathan Mackinder (vocals/guitar), Jason Schaller (lead guitar/vocals) Paxton Olney (bass/vocals) and Jonah Brockman (drums/vocals).

 

Their name is as unique as these veteran rockers and it actually wasn’t difficult to decide on a name for the band. They came up with VAN GO GO at the end of a night on the town when they saw a Van Gogh print at the top of a stairway. Schaller looked at the group and said, “How about Van Go Go?”

 

Nate and Jason had shared the stage for over 20 years, 15 successful years with their band South Normal, which broke up in 2007. Jason wanted to keep things going, so they auditioned some people to play drums and bass. That’s when Paxton and Jonah came along and Van Go Go was fully assembled. 

 

Barely 9 months into the inception of Van go go, Nate and Jason decided that they were burned out and needed a life change. It’s a that point that Van Go Go called it quits and Nate and Jason moved from Michigan to Florida to pursue careers outside of music. 

 

Twelve years would pass before something cosmic would reunite the band. In October of 2020, COVID 19 and the Universe brought the guys back together. They had unfinished business, as well as unfinished music from 2008 and they collectively decided that it was time to finish the stories that they had begun to tell before separating. “Music is in your blood and for us, life just wasn’t the same without it,” says Nate. 

 

The songs are as relevant today as they were when the band wrote them in 2008 and luckily, Chuck Alkazian at Pearl Sound Studios, where the band had originally recorded, had saved the original files.  The band returned to Pearl Sound to finish the four songs from its first session in October of 2020 and this quickly inspired the band to return to the studio for a second round of new songs that were completed January of 2021.

 

The singles and debut release have  received over 3,000,000 streams and YouTube plays in the short time that the band has been together. All produced, promoted and managed independently by the Van Go Go Team. 

 

What’s different with the band today?  “We’re all business people with a love for music,” says Jason. As you mature, you realize that life is about balance and for Van Go Go and its members, they’ve figured out the perfect balance. 

 

For Van Go Go - Life has just begun.