Gerben raised with a vigorous segment of symphonic rock music. He was to a certain extent influenced by his 10 years older brother Joop, who listened over and over again to bands like Camel, Genesis, Saga, King Crimson and Barclay James Harvest. After he had taken some courses for the recorder, Gerben decided to focus on the classical piano. A particular space in the parental residence was ‘equipped’ as a music room, where soon after you could discover a little organ as well as a drum kit. Therefore, while unloading his juvenile frustrated emotions, he managed to develop into a fairly pleasant drummer. It was approximately 1982 when the brothers created the first concepts for ‘The Sun Also Rises’. After Joop left the house, Gerben widened his outlook and together with musical friends he formed the symphonic band Sangamo (which still exists actually).
The first months of 2000 Gerben started to write songs for his solo project, entitled ‘Knight Area’, which is a translation from the Dutch word ‘Ridderbuurt’, the street where his house (and studio) is located.