The Swifts are an outstanding punk band that land in the pop end of the genre but the band member’s roots are in metal plus they enlisted Ahrue Luster of Ill Niño to record and produce their exceptional new album All Sunshine. So basically a bunch of metal guys have made one of the best pop-punk albums I have heard in the last couple years. Go figure. Here is vocalist Mike Little of The Swifts.
Hello Mike, how are things in the The Swifts camp these days?
Things are great. We’re excited to have All Sunshine finished and ready to get out and start playing.
Okay so let’s get to work. Why do you play punk music? Why not something else especially since some of you have backgrounds in metal?
Rob put the band together around the concept of doing 80s covers played super-fast in kind of a punk style. We had a blast playing the covers but eventually started writing our own songs. I grew up in the punk genre almost exclusively. So when I starting writing songs for the Swifts, punk is what came out. I really like that we do not all come from punk backgrounds. I think you can hear the musical diversity in how the songs are played.
The name of your new album All Sunshine has a sarcastic tone to it. Is that the vibe of the whole album?
Yes it is meant to be sarcastic. I wouldn’t say the tone of the whole record is sarcastic. But it is somewhat cynical with sprinkles of sarcasm.
What sort of message are you delivering with the new tunes?
There’s no one particular message. It’s really a reflection of the last couple years of our lives. Some of the songs are really serious and some are very not serious.
Lyrically, what are some of your most personal moments that are discussed in the songs?
“October Sky” is the most personal as it is about my mom passing away. My dad and I were with her when she died in the middle of the night. After I left the hospital I didn’t want to go home so I drove to a parking lot by myself and just sat there until the sun came up. I had the chorus written almost immediately afterwards.
Ahrue Luster produced All Sunshine. How was it working with Mr. Luster?
Ahrue is a really talented producer, musician and all around great guy. A producer’s job is to challenge us and push us to be creative in ways we wouldn’t have done on our own. I think he did just that. He has such a great ear for hearing little things that make the songs better. I can’t wait to work with him again.
Why do you feel that people really need to hear All Sunshine?
Even though lyrically some of the songs are dark, it’s all pretty melodic. Ahrue once said our music is “like getting hit with the happy stick.” So if you need to be hit with a happy stick, then you need to hear All Sunshine.
What bands would have to breed in order to have a child that is The Swifts?
The Descendants and Judas Priest.
Who are the members of Swifts, what do they do in the band, and how did they get there?
Mike Little – Lead vocals and rhythm guitar
Jim Boutell : Bass and backup vocals
Rich Arbuckle : Drums and backup vocals
Rob Hinerman : Lead guitar and backup vocals
We’ve all played in lots of different bands over the past several years. We’ve covered just about every genre out there including punk, metal, jazz, Dixieland. Especially Rich. If you were in a band in the last twenty years there’s a good chance Rich was in it.
“Normal” is a very rockin tune. Who, what, and how is that song all about?
After my mom died, I was reflecting a lot on the past and being young and remembering how fun it was. “Normal” came out of that. I just wanted everything to go back to the way it was when I was young…stress free and simple. The line in the chorus “…maybe more rock and roll, guitars and cheap whiskey” is a throwback to playing in bands back in my early twenties. No care in world.
I’m totally digging the album artwork you are using. Who is the artist and where can we see more?
Mike King designed the album artwork. He’s super talented and a great guy. His stuff can be found at www.velveteenrobot.com.
How has your songwriting evolved over time?
I’d like to think we’ve become a little bit more mature. For example, “Zombie” is the first song we ever wrote. It’s a love song about a couple that becomes zombies but stay boyfriend and girlfriend. It is a stupid premise but became one of the live favorites so we decided to put it on the record. We stopped writing songs about zombies immediately after that and moved on to more mature topics. But seriously, we owe a lot to Ahrue. He really helped us understand how to structure songs and put them together in better ways than we did in the past.
What can people expect at a Swifts performance?
We really try to give it everything we’ve got. We barely pause between songs. And we play “Zombie” about three times faster than it’s recorded.
What are your band goals for 2019?
We are excited to get out and play more. We didn’t play as much as we’d like in 2018 since we were focused on the record.
Anything else you would like to tell people about The Swifts and All Sunshine?
We had a blast recording it. We worked really hard on it and are proud of it. We hope people give it a listen.
All Sunshine Links:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5TUTnEWGZnZqce9wl07Bn9
Bandcamp: https://theswiftsrock.bandcamp.com/album/all-sunshine
The Swifts Band Links:
https://www.facebook.com/theswiftsrock/
https://theswiftsrock.com/
