INTERVIEW WITH THE SWIFTS

There is this little band that began in 1993, a post-punk band that has become a success. The guitar riffs and lyrics are something that dreams are made of. However, this being said, are they the “ultimate Dad band?”  This is an interesting way to see a band which has been around for years. Celebrating their newest release, All Sunshine, the band continues to release good music into the world. Rock Documented got to hear what they say.

Rock Documented: How did The Swifts come together?

Mike Little (Lead Vocalist): It’s kind of funny.  Rob somehow booked a show before there was even a band.  Once the show was booked, he called the rest of us and asked if we wanted to join.  We started out playing ’80s covers at punk rock speed. We played around Denver for a while doing the covers.  It was received well and we had a blast doing it. Somewhere along the way we started writing songs. And now here we are.    

RD: Where did the name of the band come from?

Mike: Rob came up with the name.  It seemed to fit well because our schtick was that we played everything so fast.  Also, when we played live, we strung a lot of the songs together and barely ever stopped playing.  Therefore The Swifts seemed appropriate.

RD: For those that are not familiar with the band, how would you describe your sound?

Mike: I grew up on 80s/90s pop punk so the sound is definitely inspired by that;  Which basically means we try to write melodic tunes that are catchy and punchy over heavy distorted guitars and fast drums.  If you like Green Day, Blink 182, the Descendants, there’s a good chance you’ll like what we do.

RD: The title of the new album is All Sunshine, and it is also a name of a song on it. Why did you settle, out of the ten songs on the album, to call it by this one?

Mike: That’s a great question.  We had a lot of debate about what to call the album.  For the longest time we weren’t going to name it. When we got it finished and started talking about how to promote it, we decided it needed a name.  We landed on All Sunshine because we thought it best captured the theme of the record. It has this sort of this half-serious, half-joking sarcastic thing to it.  If you listen to the record, some of it is very serious, some is very sarcastic and some of it is just a joke.

RD: How was the recording experience on All Sunshine?

Mike: It was a great experience.  We recorded at The Keep Recording studio https://thekeeprecording.com/ in Denver.  It’s an incredible studio run by wonderful people and I highly recommend it.  Recording might be my favorite part of being in the band. I love the process of taking a song from the initial idea to what comes out the other end of the recording process.  It’s hard work but super rewarding.

RD: How was the experience working with Ahrue Luster?

Mike: We loved working with Ahrue.  He also produced the EP we did a couple years ago so we were excited to work with him again on the full length.  I didn’t really understand what a producer does prior to working with Ahrue. He’s there to make the record better by suggesting arrangements, pointing out lyrics and other parts of songs that don’t work, dialing in guitar tone and helping us work through backup harmonies.  You have to be willing to take the feedback because what he’s suggesting makes the songs better. I can’t wait to work with him again.

RD: Do you have a favorite moment while recording the album?

Mike: My favorite moment was hearing the finished version of “October Sky” for the first time.  It’s my favorite song on the record and also the most personal. Often times when you are recording the whole band is not together in the studio.  So I had not heard all the different parts that had been recorded. When I heard it I loved everything the guys played on it including Ahrue who played the acoustic guitar.   I was so happy with how it turned out.

RD: Are there plans to tour?

Mike: We’d love to do some short ones for sure.  But we won’t do anything too big.

RD: Will the band play any festivals this summer?

Mike: We would love to.  We are just starting to look ahead and get a plan for the summer.

RD: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Mike: Thank you so much for the interview.  I really appreciate your time and interest.  I hope that your readers give the record a listen and send us a message on the socials and let us know what you think.

The Swifts are a band which defy the normality of Rock ‘n’ Roll as we know it today. Their uniqueness is what every band should take notes on in their career. Whether or not they’re ”ultimate Dad band”, their new album proves to be a great album. Overall my wish is for them to play Bonnaroo, which would be awesome. Check out the All Sunshine until next time Rock On!