A Brief History....

Raised in South Africa, Ryan Sweeney has a love for the ocean. On a surf trip in the early '90s he met Harry Washburn, an Australian songwriter of some 12 years and a mean blues harp player. Along with Torsten Fehsenfeld, who had fronted a grunge rock outfit in Germany, this odd mix of singer/songwriters soon got a permanent slot at a pub in Durban, where they inflicted their own material and improvised blues on many a drunken crowd.

In late '95 Ryan went to Canada, living in a van in a ski resort car park writing music and snowboarding. Here he met fellow musician and snowboarder, Dougal Linnett, another Australian songwriter and a great guitarist.

Dougal and Ryan found themselves in London in the summer of '96. They continued to play together and in Jan '97 they went into Westbourne studios for a day and recorded a ten track album, 'Precious Days'. In just 10 hours, using only guitars, vocals and harmonica, they captured a raw and beautiful recording, which hallmarked Ryan's reputation.

That summer ('97), Ryan and Dougal headlined their own festival at Knebworth. With the help of Tojo and the s-man (of Global village film & television/ Speed Orange fame) there were 200-300 people, 6 bands and 3 DJs. Using whatever wood they could find and scaffolding from '70s Pink Floyd gig, a crew of friends and the band erected a fantastic stage at one end of a forest clearing. Magical, psychedelic and euphoric, this was an event that will always be remembered by those who were lucky enough to have attended.

Calling themselves Hubbard, they recruited Cameron Arthur on drums and Gary Lacroix, a film director and funk DJ, on bass and went back into the studio. 1998 and 1999 were big years for Hubbard. They worked the circuit including the Water Rats, the Barfly, the Monarch, the Garage and the Mean Fiddler. They headlined the 100 club on two occasions.

They had a solid fan base and were popular with promoters and artists, and enjoyed supports slots for Dr Robert (the Blowmonkeys) and Australian madmen, Regurgitator. On the side they held a residency at an Irish pub on the Kilburn high road, playing all night and trying out new material. They put on another festival at Knebworth that September.

some pics and press links: (the Monarch) (Precious Days 2) (tnt magazine article)

They travelled to Bethesda in Wales and recorded four new tracks, which were produced by Dr Robert and began to get airplay on x-fm (including guest DJ, Sir Bob Geldof). On the side Gary worked with 'the Mexican' on a tracks which features on the 'Well Done, Big Trak' ep released on the Catskills Label. The track includes a sample from Ryan's 'Very Own Century'. Interest in the band grew strong, a cash injection was offered, agents, managers and A&R folk started to bite, but due to visa problems, the band split in early 2000, with three out of four members leaving the country. And that ended the adventures of Hubbard, at least until the reunion??

Ryan stayed in the UK and began working as a solo artist performing under the name 'roostar'. He started playing the more intimate London clubs like the Kashmir Klub with his beautiful mix of folk, acoustic and enchanting vocals.

roostar enjoyed a slot, backstage at Glastonbury and the Camel Rock festival on the Scilly Isles. He was invited to play at a charity gig at the Garage in london, with the Gallos Tree Jug band, the Bark (now 'the Lea Shores') and Dr Robert. In 2001 Ryan recorded his first solo album, 'Little King'. He played most of the instruments, engineered and mixed the whole thing. Gary Lacroix, back from Oz, helped out on bass, programming and production. Little King is filled with diversity and colour, further establishing roostar as a fine artist. Response was tremendous and roostar has been promoting the album with a series of London shows in 2002. Including a slot at this year's Fierce Festival in Brockwell Park (Midnight Oil, Mick Thomas, Even, Spiderbait, the D4, Magic Dirt, Boo, Dorp, Not my Dog) and supports with top South African acts, Henry Ate and Sons of Trout.

Roostar continued recording in 2002 up until he moved to Australia.