The Follow's musical epic started around the lunch table when Troy Rickertsen and Mat Matlack, decided that they wanted to start a band--never mind the instruments. At the time, they were on their high school cross country team together and immediately decided they needed a memorable name like The Fixx... and soon after The Follow was born with Troy filling the shoes as frontman and guitarist, while Mat naturally fell into the drum seat. After briefly cutting their teeth on their favorite Rattle and Hum licks, the twosome started to write and recorded a debut album with their original bassist. After their first release and paying their dues through years of regional shows, Troy and Mat added Troy's future wife, Amy Rickersten, to permanently fill the bassist role. Amy solidified the foundation with her bass playing and angelic backing vocals that the trio desired. And with her initiation, The Follow was officially a band.

After close to a decade of entrenchment in the Midwest music scene with two full length releases, they established themselves in their hometown of Columbia, Missouri and supported several national acts such as Billy Corgan's Zwan. Through intense touring and the release of a handful of singles, the band built up their base to a whole new level with play on such influential radio stations as WOXY-FM in Cincinnati, OH. But still, they weren't where they wanted to be... yet .

On his off-time while building the new Oni Music recording studio in Missouri, Troy furthered his skills as a self-taught music producer and engineer by recording, mixing, and mastering the new record by The Follow. Thus, Up With The Sun, is a labor of love that represents the life changes inside everyone when transitioning into maturity and finding out who a person really is and not being afraid to express his or her core ideas and ideals.

Kicking off 2006 with the Spring release of Up With The Sun, the Midwest threesome tackled the national music scene with this tight and solid album full of lush, alt.pop songs surrounded by intricate layers of sound and more hooks than a fisherman's tacklebox. From the gut-wrenching refrain of the lead-off single "Anything at All" to the anthemic arena rock of "Back” to the introspective yet and lilting "Heart of Joy," The Follow's sincerity and commitment to explore internal issues with an original sound allows the band to be completely universal and addicting.