 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2020) |
Swiz | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Washington D.C., U.S. |
| Genres | Hardcore punk, post-hardcore, emocore |
| Years active | 1987–1990, 2004, 2014 |
| Labels | Sammich, Hellfire, Jade Tree, THD |
| Past members | Dave Stern Jason Farrell Nathan Larson Alex Daniels Ramsey Metcalf Shawn Brown |
| Website | jadetree.com/swiz |
Swiz was an American hardcore punk band formed in 1987 in Washington, D.C., United States. [1]
The founding members were Shawn Brown (vocals) [2] and Ramsey Metcalf (guitar), who later added Nathan Larson (bass), Alex Daniels (drums) and Jason Farrell (guitar). Before Swiz formed, Brown had been the original vocalist for Dag Nasty. Metcalf departed shortly after the band recorded its first demo and Swiz continued as a four-piece. [3]
The band started with the goal to move away from the Revolution Summer movement that had emerged with the Washington, D.C. punk scene in 1985. Members felt the intensity and aggressiveness had decreased with the new wave of punk music and felt they resonated more with hardcore punk. [4]
The band's first show together was on June 25, 1987 and did five more before deciding Ramsey was not a good fit. They proceeded to put out an E.P and begin touring. [3]
They released its first 7", Down, at the end of 1987 and its self-titled LP was released by Sammich Records in 1988. Swiz released its next album, Hell Yes, I Cheated, in 1989. The record also included a track by Fury, a side project that consisted of Farrell, Daniels, Brown (on bass), and Chris Thomson (formerly of Ignition, later of Circus Lupus), on vocals. By the time Hell Yes, I Cheated was released in 1990, Larson had left the band and was replaced by Dave Stern. This line-up recorded an EP in May 1990 but broke up shortly afterward. The EP, titled With Dave, was released posthumously in 1992 by Jade Tree Records. In 1993, Jade Tree also released No Punches Pulled, which contained the band's entire discography. Also that year, THD Records released a 7" called Rejects, which contained unused tracks from the Down sessions.
Nathan Larson resurfaced with Shudder To Think and later went into soundtrack work. Jason Farrell and Dave Stern formed Bluetip in 1995. After Bluetip's demise, Farrell formed Retisonic and is also a graphic designer whose work has appeared on many records by a number of different bands. Alex Daniels played drums in Severin from 1990–1993. Shawn Brown fronted the band Jesuseater and currently works as a tattoo artist. In 1996, Brown, Farrell, Stern, and Daniels reunited under the name Sweetbelly Freakdown and released a 7" and an album on Jade Tree.
In 2012, Brown, Farrell, and Stern formed a new band called Red Hare. [5] [6]
On December 19, 2014, Swiz reunited for a surprise series of songs at a Red Hare show at Comet Ping Pong in Washington, DC. This line-up featured Brown, Farrell, Stern, and Daniels. This same Swiz line-up played an unannounced 30-minute set the next evening (December 20, 2014) at the Black Cat in Washington, DC, joining Soulside and Moss Icon for reunion sets.
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by their band The Teen Idles. With other independent American labels such as Twin/Tone, Touch and Go Records, and SST Records, Dischord helped to spearhead the nationwide network of underground bands that formed the 1980s indie rock scene. These labels presided over the shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock that were emerging.
Rites of Spring was an American punk rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in late 1983. Along with Embrace, and Beefeater, they were one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement which took place within the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene.
Brian Baker is an American punk rock musician. He is best known as one of the founding members of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat, and as a guitarist in Bad Religion since 1994. In Minor Threat, he originally played bass guitar before switching to guitar in 1982 when Steve Hansgen joined the band, and then moved back to bass after Hansgen's departure. He also founded Dag Nasty in 1985, was part of the original line-up of Samhain, and has had stints in Doggy Style, The Meatmen, Government Issue, and Junkyard.
Dag Nasty is an American punk rock band from Washington D.C., formed in 1985 by guitarist Brian Baker of Minor Threat, drummer Colin Sears and bassist Roger Marbury, both of Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, and vocalist Shawn Brown. Their style of less aggressive, melodic hardcore was influential to post-hardcore; their sound was partly influenced by The Faith and their 1983 EP Subject to Change. Brian Baker said in "Filmage", the documentary about Descendents, that he started Dag Nasty as a direct inspiration from them.
Shudder to Think was an American alternative rock band. Formed in 1986, they released three albums on the Washington, D.C.-based label Dischord Records, and two on Epic Records. Their early work was largely influenced by post-hardcore although they gradually drew upon a wide range of stylistic influences, including pop music and glam metal.
Embrace is the debut record and the only release by the American post-hardcore band Embrace.
Jade Tree International, Inc. is an independent record label formed by Darren Walters and Tim Owen in 1990 in Wilmington, Delaware.
Scream is an American hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C.; they originally formed in the suburb of Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia. Scream originally formed in 1981 within the vanguard of the Washington Hardcore explosion. In 2009, the band reunited, and as of January 2012 were on tour in Europe. As of 2017, the band was still touring in both America and the United Kingdom.
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been applied to a broad constellation of groups. Post-hardcore began in the 1980s with bands like Hüsker Dü and Minutemen. The genre expanded in the 1980s and 1990s with releases by bands from cities that had established hardcore scenes, such as Fugazi from Washington, D.C. as well as groups such as Big Black and Jawbox that stuck closer to post-hardcore's noise rock roots. In the early- and mid-2000s, post-hardcore achieved mainstream success with the popularity of bands like My Chemical Romance, Dance Gavin Dance, AFI, Underoath, Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, The Used, At the Drive-In, Saosin, Alexisonfire, and Senses Fail. In the 2010s, bands like Sleeping with Sirens and Pierce the Veil achieved mainstream success. Meanwhile, bands like Title Fight and La Dispute experienced underground popularity.
State of Alert was an American hardcore punk group formed in Washington, D.C. in October 1980, and active till July 1981. S.O.A. was fronted by Henry Rollins, then using his original surname Garfield.
Molly Hatchet is an American rock band formed in 1971 by guitarist Dave Hlubek in Jacksonville, Florida. They were a popular band during the late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s among the southern rock and hard rock communities. The band released six studio albums on Epic Records between 1978 and 1984, including the platinum-selling hit records Molly Hatchet (1978), Flirtin' with Disaster (1979) and Beatin' the Odds (1980). They also had successful hits on the Billboard charts, including "Flirtin' with Disaster", "The Rambler", "Bloody Reunion" and "Satisfied Man". Molly Hatchet has released eight more studio albums since their split with Epic in 1985, although none of them have been as successful as their early albums, nor charted in the United States.
Washington, D.C. hardcore, commonly referred to as DC hardcore, sometimes referred to in writing as harDCore, is the hardcore punk scene of Washington, D.C. Emerging in late 1979, it is considered one of the first and most influential punk scenes in the United States.
Fire Party was a band from Washington, D.C. They were together from the autumn of 1986 to the spring of 1990. The band members were Amy Pickering (vocals), Natalie Avery (guitar), Kate Samworth (bass), and Nicky Thomas (drums).
Beefeater was an American post-hardcore band from late 1984 until late 1986. Along with Embrace and Rites of Spring, they were one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement which took place within the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene. They were pioneers of the post-hardcore genre in the mid-1980s with bands like Embrace, Rites of Spring and Gray Matter, among others.
Soulside, also spelled Soul Side, was an American post-hardcore band from the greater Washington, D.C. area. The original name of the band was Lunchmeat which was formed by high school students Bobby Sullivan, Chris Thomson, Scott McCloud and Alexis Fleisig in 1985. Lunchmeat played their last show under that name on August 29 of the same year as the group went on hiatus while the members went to college.
Bluetip was an American rock band from Washington, D.C., forming in March 1995 by ex-members of Swiz. They released four albums, an EP, and a number of singles before splitting up in January 2002. Originally, the band was to be named The Ohio Blue Tip, however the name was shortened to Bluetip early on.
Jerry Busher is an American drummer and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his work with Fidelity Jones and Fugazi.
Flex Your Head is a sampler album featuring early hardcore punk bands from the Washington, D.C. area. It was originally released in January 1982 on Dischord Records, with a pressing of 4,000 copies on vinyl record that sold out within one week; an additional 3,000 copies were released shortly after. In 1982, a third pressing of 2,000 copies was released under license in the United Kingdom by Alternative Tentacles. Each of the first three pressings featured a different front cover.
Youth Brigade was an American hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C., formed in late 1980 and disbanded in 1981. They released the Possible EP and appeared on the Flex Your Head compilation, both on Dischord Records. Although active for less than a year, they were nevertheless contributors to the development of D.C. hardcore punk and have influenced many other bands. Several members briefly reunited for performances in 2012 and 2013.
Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980–90) is a documentary written and directed by Scott Crawford. Released on December 19, 2014, the Kickstarter-funded film features early pioneers of the Washington, DC hardcore punk music scene over a decade (1980-1990) including Minor Threat, Fugazi, Bad Brains, Government Issue, Youth Brigade, Teen Idles, Rites of Spring, and others.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)