Swish is an American indie rock band founded by Lori Martin Gregory in the fall of 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts, and includes guitarist Joe Boyle and
Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name.
The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlo ...
drummer Patrick "Murph" Murphy. Lori founded the project after playing in the Boston music scene for years, including a brief European tour as a fill-in bassist for
Helium
Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...
, between Brian Dunton and
Ash Bowie of
Polvo
Polvo is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band formed in 1990 and is fronted by guitarists/vocalists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, with Steve Popson playing bass guitar and Brian Quast playing drums. Eddie Watkin ...
.
In the summer of 1996,
Don Fleming produced a 7-song Swish EP, "Supermax," which was released on his Instant Mayhem label and distributed by Caroline/Virgin Records in seven countries. The EP features a track, "Game," which was recorded and engineered by
Wally Gagel
Wally Gagel is an American, multi platinum, award-winning record producer, audio engineer, mixer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. His current work with Blondfire, Zella Day, Best Coast, Hunter Hunted, The Mowglis and Redlight King has garne ...
and includes a cello track by Duke Roth, formerly of
Bullet Lavolta.
"Supermax" was well received among indie rock critics. M. Tye Comer of the CMJ New Music Report described the disc as "emotionally dense tracks (that) trudge along like angels walking barefoot on cobblestone," (Review, "CMJ New Music Report," M. Tye Comer, June 3, 1996) and John Elsasser of Magnet Magazine declared that "Martin has the kind of voice you could listen to for hours," (Review, "Magnet Magazine," John Elsasser, Aug./Sept. 1996). Following the disc's release Swish toured briefly with
Mike Watt (at the time featuring guitarist
Nels Cline
Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004.
In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has w ...
, now of
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...
), playing shows in Boston, Western Massachusetts and New York.
In 1997, Murph also signed on to drum for
Evan Dando
Evan Griffith Dando (born March 4, 1967) is an American musician and frontman of the Lemonheads. He has also embarked on a solo career and collaborated on songs with various artists. In December 2015 Dando was inducted into the Boston Music Award ...
and
The Lemonheads
The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member.
After their initial punk-influenced releases and tour ...
, for which he brought Lori along who was offered the bassist position by Dando. However, she declined to join.
After several years playing around in the acting and music world in Los Angeles, Lori is actively writing again and is working with original members Murph and Joe, as well as long-time friend and engineer/producer James Buckley.
Swish released three digital singles online via Bandcamp in 2014: Fear, Crickets and Lindstroms and Radar. They are the first three singles off of their in-process album "False Maria."
Discography
EP's
References
* "Live Life to the Supermax,"
Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire is the pen name of a British writer and music critic, currently writing for ''The Observer''.
Early life
Empire says that she was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britain ...
, ''New Musical Express'', June 22, 1996
* "A Slow Path to Quick Success," David Wildman, ''The Boston Sunday'' Globe, May 1996
* Review, ''CMJ New Music Report,'' M. Tye Comer, June 3, 1996
* Review, ''Magnet Magazine,'' John Elsasser, Aug./Sept. 1996
* Review, KFJC New Music Review, Thurston Hunger, June 5, 1996
Thurston Hunger review
External links
Trouser Press EntrySwish Home page
{{Authority control
Indie rock musical groups from Massachusetts
Musical groups from Boston