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Action Swingers were an
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
/
garage punk
A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include:
*Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...
band formed in the late 1980s in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, fronted by singer/guitarist Ned Hayden, who was the only constant member. During its history the band featured members of several other bands, both as full members and guest musicians. The band split up in 1998.
History
The band was formed in the late 1980s by Ned Hayden along with
Pussy Galore
Pussy Galore is a fictional character in the 1959 Ian Fleming James Bond novel '' Goldfinger'' and the 1964 film of the same name. In the film, she is played by Honor Blackman. The character returns in the 2015 Bond continuation novel ''Trigg ...
member
Julia Cafritz
Julia Cafritz (born May 5, 1965) is an American musician and guitarist who was a member of Pussy Galore (band), Pussy Galore and Free Kitten. She is regarded as a cult figure from the New York City noise music scene of the 1990s.
Early life
Ca ...
(guitar, vocals), and with drummer Johan Kugelberg and producer
Don Fleming, they recorded debut single "Bum My Trip" / "Kicked in the Head" in 1989, Fleming also contributing drums to the follow-up, "Fear of a Fucked Up Planet". Hayden and Cafritz were then joined by
Unsane
''Unsane'' is a 2018 American psychological horror film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer. The film stars Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Matt Damon, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, and Amy I ...
bassist Pete Shore and former
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
/Pussy Galore drummer
Bob Bert
Robert Bertelli, better known as Bob Bert, is an American rock drummer.
Biography
Based in Hoboken, New Jersey, Bert initially came to prominence as drummer for the experimental rock band Sonic Youth during the early to mid-1980s. Bert pla ...
, this lineup recording the self-titled debut album, released in September 1991.
[Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 588] Cafritz had left by early 1992, forming
Free Kitten
Free Kitten is an American alternative rock band formed by Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Pussy Galore's Julia Cafritz. Originally performing as Kitten, they changed their name after receiving threats of legal action by a heavy metal singer perfor ...
with
Kim Gordon
Kim Althea Gordon (born April 28, 1953) is an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Born in Rochester, New York, she was raised in Los Angeles, Califor ...
, with guitarist Bruce Bennett (concurrent member of the
A-Bones
The A-Bones was an American garage rock band from Brooklyn, New York. Their name was derived from a song by The Trashmen. The band was formed in 1984 by vocalist Billy Miller and his wife, drummer and co-vocalist Miriam Linna, in the wake of a ...
) and bassist
Howie Pyro
Howie Pyro (born Howard Kusten, June 28, 1960 – May 4, 2022) was an American bass player. He was a founding member of The Blessed, Freaks, D Generation, and PCP Highway. Pyro was also the bass player in Danzig from 2000–2003.
Biography
P ...
playing on a session recorded for
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
's
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
show in March that year.
[22/03/1992 - Action Swingers]
, ''Keeping It Peel'', BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. Retrieved March 29, 2013 The ''More Fast Numbers''
EP followed in mid-1992. Former
Loveblobs/future
Part Chimp
Part Chimp are an English rock band from Camberwell, London, England, that were formed by Tim Cedar, Jon Hamilton and Nick Prior in 2000. Their current line-up is Tim (vocals and guitar), Jon (drums), Joe McLaughlin (bass), Robin Freeman (bass) ...
member
Tim Cedar replaced Bert for live shows in 1993 and a lineup of Hayden, Cedar, and bassist Barry Stillwell recorded tracks in
Toe Rag Studios
Toe Rag Studios is an analogue recording studio located in Hackney, London, England.
History
The studio was founded in 1991 by Liam Watson and Josh Collins in the Shoreditch area of London. In 1997, the business relocated to Hackney due t ...
that would later see release as ''Complete Toe Rag Session''.
[Robbins, Ira & Ferguson, Jason]
Action Swingers
, ''Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
''. Retrieved March 29, 2013 J Mascis
Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo arti ...
played drums on two early tracks by the band. Two further albums were released — ''Decimation Blvd.'' (1993) and the compilation ''Quit While You're Ahead'' (1994) — before the band split up.
A recording of the band's final live performance, in New York in 1998, was released as a live album in 2004.
The final lineup comprised Hayden, drummer Dave Lindsay and former Vacant Lot bassist Brett Wilder.
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
writer Erik Hage described the band's sound as "incendiary garage punk".
[Hage, Erik]
Action Swingers Biography
, Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved March 29, 2013 The band were described by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' as "punk without pretences. Brutally elemental and patently obnoxious".
[Schoemer, Karen (1992)]
Sounds Around Town
, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', November 6, 1992. Retrieved March 29, 2013
Hayden also formed the Ned Hayden Experience and the Ned Hayden Band. He currently lives in the suburbs of New York City with his wife and daughter.
Discography
Albums
*''Action Swingers'' (1991), Primo Scree
*''Decimation Blvd.'' (1993),
Caroline
;Live:
*''Enough Already! ...Live!'' (2004), Reptilian - recorded 1998
;Compilations:
*''Quit While You're Ahead'' (1994), Caroline
*''Complete London Toe Rag Session'' (1999), Reptilian
EPs
*''More Fast Numbers'' (1992),
Wiiija
Singles
*"Bum My Trip"/"Kicked in the Head" (1989), Noiseville
*"Fear Of A Fucked Up Planet" (1990), Primo Scree
*''Live At The Sausage Machine - Wiiija Grunge War - Monday 19th October 1992'' (1992), Wiiija - split
flexi-disc
The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntabl ...
with Loveblobs, included the track "Courtney Love"
*"Heavy Medication" (1998), Reptilian
*"Miserable Life"/"Losing My Cool" (2013), Total Punk
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Action Swingers
Indie rock musical groups from New York (state)
Musical groups from New York City
In the Red artists
Caroline Records artists