Who are The Hoosiers?

The Hoosiers are Irwin Sparkes (lead vocals, lead guitar), Martin Skarendahl (bass guitar, rhythm guitar), and Alphonso Sharland (drums, percussion). Irwin and Al both hail from the United Kingdom while Martin is from Stockholm, Sweeden. Both Irwin and Al spent time in the United States, encouraged by a chemistry teacher to broaden their horizons and knowledge of the world. The pair ended up winning a soccer scholarship to the University of Indianapolis, which was where they would come up with the name for their band: The Hoosiers, based on the nickname for citizens of Indiana. Returning to London once they had enough material for an album, the duo met Swiss keyboard player and sound engineer Duri Darms, and also Martin Skarendahl who was working with Darms at the time while studying at The London Music School. After some personnel changes, Martin would join Irwin and Al and the band would become the trio known today as The Hosiers.

Their first album, "The Trick To Life," was released in 2007. Although it did not receive widespread critical appreciation, the album spawned several hit singles in the UK including "Goodbye Mr. A," "Worried About Ray," "Worst Case Scenario" and "Cops and Robbers." The album did reach #1 on the UK charts and ended the year at #98 on the End of Year UK Album Charts.

Photo credit: gordonflood at Flickr

In 2010, the band returned with their sophomore album, "The Illusion of Safety." The album featured a rather strong departure from their earlier pop-rock sound, being more keyboard and dance-music oriented. It only reached #10 on the UK album charts but many critics were kinder to this release than their first. The band themselves felt their record company was no longer giving them the support they needed and deserved, and announced in 2011 they had split from their old label and would be re-releasing "The Illusion of Safety" on their own later in the year. The new version of the album would be retitled "Bumpy Ride" and feature additional tracks and bonus video footage.