Like many bands, the story of Sherpa can be traced back to school days – in this case, a low decile high school in South Auckland. Papakura, to be exact.

Earl Ho and Vince McMillan had both previous experiences playing music, drafting newcomer Sam Cussen to play bass guitar after conversing during a number of classes. Haphazardly playing shows to usually empty spaces around South Auckland, the band recorded their first set of demos in a strange recording studio above a library in Pukekohe. The engineer has been described as a “really creepy and bizarre dude”, who would regale them with stories about playing guitar with a sex toy, play noise collages he created (and wasting valuable recording time) and ultimately deleted all of the vocal takes the band had recorded.

Through a few chance meetings with other bands in Auckland Central, Sherpa left the out-lands of South Auckland's gigging circuit. While in 7^th form, the band played their first R18 show supporting disco-punk outfit Kittyhawk at the Dogs Bollix. Despite being underage, this trend continued without getting caught... despite one incident involving a venue, NZ Lager and the cops surveying the place.

Having found a fan in the form of a Fleet FM presenter, their early works hailed the then three piece as a promising power-pop band, showing a depth of musical and cultural references that struck a chord with older audiences. Said presenter then went on to form MUZAI Records, with the intent of helping Sherpa get their music to more ears.

This led to the release of the band's debut EP, I'm Sparklers, in 2009 – a six track odyssey charting the band's life since on the cusp of leaving high school and leaving behind the realms of the Smokefree Rockquest. With popular tracks “11:11” and “Inside Feeling” generating modest airplay and performing with the likes of 1995, Bandicoot and Fanucman, I'm Sparklers became one of MUZAI's more popular releases.

It took nearly a year and a half for the band to bring out their second release; the band's real lives taking precedence with University, employment and the real world. Some of these adult themes became the basis for their sophomore EP, Pretty Cool Optical Illusions; the themes of life in the real world melded with a bolder, maturer sound. Stripping back their recording techniques at ThinkT Studios (who also engineered and helped produce the sound they were looking for) and the faithful mastering of Tyler Burke (who recorded and mastered their debut EP), previous fans of the band eagerly anticipated the release.

Pretty Cool Optical Illusions has seen it's first single, “Batman Through A Telescope” hit the top of the 95bFM Top 10 in mid-March and debut at #29 on the RadioScope Alt.Radio charts. Their shows in Auckland and Wellington saw crowds cram into venues just to catch the revitalized band play, with the inclusions of second guitarist Ben Tindall, and the group share the distinction of sharing the bill with legendary New Zealand group The Clean in late February 2011.

The success of Pretty Cool Optical Illusions in 2011 lead to the biggest swell of live crowds the band has ever experienced – packing out Auckland’s Whammy Bar and Wellington’s Mighty Mighty while ruling their airwaves, either with the first single or “LoL Wut” – both of which having videos created by the band themselves, demonstrating their flair not just behind their instrumentation.

The group were twice invited to perform at events held by Auckland radio station 95bFM; their annual “Fancy New Bands” Showcase and then months later with their Nirvana tribute night, to a capacity-reached Kings Arms, with audiences singing along to not just the Nirvana covers but some of Sherpa’s original tracks also. The radio station also invited Sherpa along to perform a set as part of the “In Session at Roundhead Studios” series, which broadcast in January 2012.

2012 looks to catapult the band even further into the annuls of New Zealand’s music scene – the band are set to release their debut album in March, off the back of performing at this year’s St Jeromes Laneway Festival.