In an homage to the countless hours circling the pool during swim team practices, they called themselves Klorine.
Their collective confidence was a product of a lifelong friendship forged almost since birth. Although the song may have been beyond their expertise, they would soon grow into the technique. This unique drive and determination to master a beloved tune is where the early roots of Greenvan first emerged.
The band’s story of friendship began when Ricky and Elliott met in preschool. Soon after, Ricky and Konner shared the same kindergarten class. The boys became a trio at Ricky’s epic 6th birthday party. Nerf gun battles, all night video game wars and a ritual breakfast binge fest at favored eatery, Pat’s Place, bonded the boys as brothers. Music, however, would become their shared lifelong passion.
Just fourteen, Ricky made a bold move. He declared independence from his Mom’s day-care business. With baby beds in every room of the family home, including his bedroom, Ricky set out on his own and moved to the basement. Suddenly, Ricky had room for his drum set, some privacy and a place to hang with Konner and Elliott. In the newly formed band cave, Konner picked up the guitar, Elliott the bass, and they composed their first song, Rainfall.
Although they were thriving, a high school band director insisted the boys choose between jazz band and swimming. Undeterred by the ultimatum, they left the music program and set out on their own. The boys changed their name to Eyes Closed and Through, a literal translation of the German phrase Augen zu und durch, meaning to “face your fears and push through.” This both resonated deeply with the boys and aligned with one of their burgeoning philosophies about music: “music has the power to help people through life’s greatest challenges.” This would gain even more significance when Elliott later faced a life-threatening illness.
Soon the boys had written more than enough tunes to play several full sets. Eager to test their skills, the boys landed a few gigs, including The Store in Chicago and The Spot in Cleveland. In 2014, Eyes Closed and Through (ECT) won the preliminary round of the Gorilla Music Chicago Battle of the Bands. The band qualified to compete in the finals, but summer break ended, and the boys were forced to say goodbye as they headed back to school.
Graduation from high school sent the boys in different directions. Although life would pull them apart, music would bring them back together again and again. Each time they made their way home, they headed straight back to Ricky’s basement to reconnect and play new music.
The summer of 2015 changed the band’s trajectory once again. They gained lead vocalist, Kate McGinnis. Konner’s cousin, Kate added a new layer to their evolving sound. With youthful optimism, the foursome changed their name to Greenvan, inspired by the classic Ford van they used in Atlanta while recording their EP. The green van also became a metaphor for the open road and artistic freedom. Now working with professional musicians, a vocal and songwriting coach, producers, and sound engineers, they meticulously composed their debut EP, Greenvan: Freedom Rings.
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“I realized I enjoyed creating my own chord progressions, melodies and song structure.” When Konner was age six, he played a song for Aleksandra. She submitted the original piece to PTA Reflections Arts Competition, which resulted in a win.
In the 4th grade, Konner joined the jazz band with future bandmates Elliott Kerbel and Ricky Havansek. All three picked up the trumpet. The band director, Mr. McCall, taught and played music with contagious excitement, which fueled the boys’ spark for music.
Konner, like Elliott and Ricky, also competed on the swim team. Sidelined because of an injury, Konner filled his time composing music. At age eleven (6th grade) he entered into the PTA Reflections Arts Competition once again. His classical arrangement won for Illinois and went on to compete at the national level. The following year, he composed a 3-movement suite for string quartet and secured a third victory.
Konner cites a few pivotal moments in his musical evolution. From an early age, he studied classical music and loved Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi, and many more. However, at age eleven Konner discovered Queen. Bohemian Rhapsody kickstarted his love for rock music. He became obsessed, playing it on repeat for three days. Next, Elliott gave Konner a copy of Kansas’s Greatest Hits for his 12th birthday. Konner credits Carry On Wayward Son as a life changer. He became immersed in this world, soon devouring Billy Joel, Elton John, Five For Fighting, and a plethora of others. Inspired, Konner picked up his Dad’s guitar, taught himself a few chords, and wrote his first rock song called Negative. Throughout junior high Konner spent his free time posting piano covers on YouTube. His cover of Snow (Hey Oh) by the Red Hot Chili Peppers amassed nearly 70,000 views.
In addition to music, Konner excelled academically and was a High School All-American in two swimming events. Konner was recruited by the University of Pennsylvania to compete in the ivy league. Writing and recording music became a way to escape from stress and pressure of a heavy schedule. Even during finals, he wrote, on average, a new song each week. He recently graduated from UPenn with a degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in music and has catalogued over 250 songs.
Konner cites professional guitar player Chris Blackwell as his latest mentor. Chris worked with Konner while the band prepared to record their first EP. Konner says, “Chris’s skill level is beyond anything I’ve ever seen. Learning and playing with Chris has both grounded me and inspired me to take my playing to the next level.”
In his first 22 years, Konner has explored a vast variety of music genres. In addition to guitar, piano, and trumpet, Konner also dabbles in bass, drums, and trombone. Konner’s first and last thought each day is music. “I love so many types of music, I’d be devastated if I only got to play one. We don’t want to have borders. We don’t want to be boxed in. We’re passionate and outspoken about so many different things. We have strong views. We’re all individuals and our overall sound is an amalgam of us all.”
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His entire life, from his passion for bioengineering to his successes as a sprinter on Case Western Reserve University’s swim team, began to unravel. Eventually, he was forced to take a semester at home and attempt to recover.
“Music became my sanctuary. Playing guitar and writing songs helped me escape my illness.” Stuck in the hospital, Elliott reflected on the boys’ current band name, “Eyes Closed and Through,” a literal translation of the German phrase “augen zu und durch.” The phrase is a mantra for pushing through hell. Elliott wrote several songs during this period, including It’s Not the Dark (That Scares Me), a testament of strength, perseverance, and love. Independently of the band, he recorded and released an acoustic EP, Above The Pain, that detailed his journey through hell and his emergence through to the other side.
In May of 2014, Elliott was scheduled for major surgery. Just like that, Elliott recalls waking up and feeling the illness was gone. He was out of the hospital in four days. The pain had stopped and he was soon off medication. “There was just an incredible feeling of relief. The arduous, seemingly endless battle was essentially over.”
Moving forward, Elliott’s perspective transformed. He was able to see what really mattered. When a disagreement emerges in the band, he reminds everyone what’s important, and what’s not. He also discovered a heightened emotional awareness, “I have a deeper connection with the people around me and a greater passion for life in general.”
When talking about Greenvan’s sound, Elliott simply says, “We’re committed to writing meaningful music that connects.” During the summer of 2015, he was coached by Joseph Patrick Moore, bass guitarist of The RockTronix, and by band mentor and Atlanta vocalist Thomas Barnette. With Thomas, Elliott learned to have more emotive control over his voice, and to use his life experience to fuel the emotion in his songwriting and performance.
Elliott’s musical growth and influences, from classic rock to pop punk, follow a trajectory similar to Konner and Ricky. The director of their school concert band, in which all three played trumpet, was bass player Peter McCall. Mr. McCall’s easygoing approach to life and passion for music inspired Elliott’s chill personality and his love for the bass.
Elliott is currently back at Case Western completing his final year in biomedical engineering. He is also the captain of the swim team and president of his fraternity, Zeta Psi. He has returned to school in full form, recording stellar marks in his engineering classes and posting multiple best times in the pool.
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Kate was five years young when she caught the American Idol premier in 2002. She, like so many kids, grew up watching singers battle it out on stage. Catching an episode with her Dad, Kate declared, “that’s going to be me one day.” Kate grew up in a musical household listening to folk and jazz. “Dad is an amazing piano player,” she recalls. Kate studied violin, guitar, and sang in school choirs. From sixth grade through high school she also pursued independent vocal lessons, but often challenged her teacher’s curriculum in support of her own ideas and song list. Like Ricky, she bucked under the structure of classical training.
At 16, Konner discovered Kate’s talent and pulled a song from his library that would be a good fit for her voice. An afternoon rehearsal resulted in their first YouTube video called Lifesaver. “It was strange publishing our first collaboration, because it was the first time I ever sang solo in public.” Later the same year, as a gift to her father, Kate summoned the courage to sing at his 50th birthday party. What happened next was a surprise to everyone: she brought the house down with her rendition of Landslide.
Still in search of mentorship, Kate finally met her match in Atlanta recording artist and vocal coach Thomas Barnette. Through working with Thomas, Kate was inspired to improve her voice technically and also to grow as a person. “I don’t know if Thomas is a teenage girl stuck in a black man’s body, or if I’m a black man stuck in a teenage girl’s body, but either way it works. We laugh, we work, we sing. I just love him to pieces.”
In 2014, Thomas agreed to help Konner and Kate record three original songs. In a few short weeks, they published a piano arrangement from Thomas’s debut album Let Me Breathe and two of Konner’s originals, Lifesaver and Afterglow. Energized by their partnership, Konner and Kate returned to Atlanta with Konner’s bandmates from Eyes Closed and Through. The fab four squeezed into a basement apartment in Midtown Atlanta and prepared to embark on a very intense music boot camp. Thomas and producer, Trammell Starks, designed a ten week recording workshop in support of the band’s first EP.
Kate admits she has grown from the positive pressure of working with the boys. “Konner is my cousin, but the boys are now my brothers.”
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On a solo adventure to the Electric Forest festival, Ricky was awed by the blended artistry of Tipper, whose spontaneous and unscripted sets were accompanied by Jonathan Singer’s on-the-spot visual mixing. Ricky calls them “masters of manipulating sound and light.” Inspired, Ricky rallied his Greenvan bandmates and drove 15 hours from Atlanta to the festival in Rothbury, MI. “As musicians, I knew an infusion of musical creativity would inspire our sound.”
Ricky’s formal music education began in 4th grade when he joined jazz band with Konner and Elliott, all 3 choosing trumpet. He also took drum lessons and learned the basics before venturing out on his own. Ricky’s unique style was forged from this rebel independence.
During the summer of 2015, Ricky’s drumming expertise evolved while honing his technique under the instruction of professional drummers, Wayne Viar, of The RockTronix and Emrah Kotan, percussionist for Grammy award winning artist India Arie.
Ricky is all in with his music career. While he first followed the standard track into college, he soon realized it wasn’t the path for him. So, Ricky went to work for his dad’s demolition company. Even when knocking down a wall, Ricky was drumming in his head, creating new rhythms, and beatboxing to pass the time. He often works overnight, using demolition to supplement his passion for drumming and music production. With his own money, Ricky designed and built his own computer, obtained Ableton Live, purchased a drum pad and a launchpad, and now fills his free time by churning out intricate electronic songs as a way to sharpen his production chops.
During breaks and holidays, the boys would reunite in Ricky’s basement to jam on favorite songs and explore new ideas. With Greenvan, Ricky is on track to fulfilling his dream of working in music.
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Raised in a house full of engineers, her high school class schedule was heavy on math and engineering. However, an issue arose when she realized she had no passion for those technical fields. Confused and angry, she would spend her days in the art room contemplating her path to fulfillment.
At age seventeen, Edan started her own photography portrait business. Refocused on art, Edan ended her senior year with a 3.8 GPA after bottoming out just the year before. She had found her truth and is now a rising star at Savannah College of Art and Design, majoring in Graphic Design. SCAD, a leading art school, also recruited Edan with a swimming scholarship.
Edan is drawn to simplicity and elegance. She has her subjects gaze directly into the lens with a relaxed calm expression, which creates an open and free interpretation between viewer and subject. She enjoys playing with light during post-production while maintaining realism.
In addition to sharing a basement apartment, Edan documented the band in Chicago, Atlanta, Michigan (Electric Forest), Savannah and Tybee Island, GA. Like her brother, Edan found her calling and is now focused her own path to success.
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