An Interview with John Swardson on 5/19/08
By: David Rachac
John Swardson is a local singer/songwriter who is about to release his second CD, titled Silver Dust. In this interview, he talks about his writing process, putting together a killer band and his outlook on the future of the Minnesota Twins.
John Swardson and Get Gone - Photo by Jennifer Glaws
HowWasTheShow: Tell me about your musical background—when you started playing, early bands, etc.
John Swardson: My parents were writers and readers and they also had a lot of records laying around. I grew up with old cowboy songs, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Willie and The Boss. I started writing songs when I was 13 and gradually learned the guitar throughout high school. I formed a band called Blue Dot Trance with some old friends after college. I played rhythm guitar and sang the songs of mine that the band did. I learned a lot during that time. They were all much more experienced than me. It was my first band and they were all great musicians and creative forces. The band broke up five years later during a label conflict and I went solo with my acoustic and kept working on my songs, my voice and identity as a songwriter. Ablaze came out in the spring of '06. We worked on it for two years.
HWTS: Writing and performing seems to run in your family. Your brother Nick is a popular comedian and actor in Hollywood and your sister Rachel works in television production. Why do you think you all wound up involved in a performance medium?
JS: As kids, we grew up around storytelling, whether it was through writing, reading or just listening, so maybe that seed got planted early on. There was a lot of contrast in our lives and I'm glad that we were all able to wade through the brambles and stick to what drives us. The whole watch-wearing crowd never really understood what the Swardson's were doing.
HWTS: What is attractive about Minneapolis that makes you want to live and make
music here?
JS: I grew up in St. Paul and moved across the river after college. I'm comfortable here. I dig the seasons—as a writer, I think they're important. The talent in this city is crazy. That's why I love the Hootenanny, it's a showcase of the great quality of musicians and songwriters that we have here. I'm always inspired when I leave Java Jack's.
HWTS: Talk to me about your writing and recording process.
JS: I'm going to try not to sound cheesy, but I write songs when I feel them coming on. I don't sit down and work at it, which would probably piss my dad off. I can sense them coming, even when I have no idea what they're going to be about. I go weeks sometimes without the smoke billowing up inside, and then I'll be walking around one day and just go "Yeah, I've got to get home." I also see songs in colors. I can tell you what color or colors each song of mine is. I try to write fairly visually and universally. I believe that the listener needs to see and feel the song in order to be attached to it.
I recorded both Ablaze and Silver Dust with my friend Chris Coyne in his studio The Honker Room South in Uptown. We built the songs from my acoustic guitar tracks. Nothing was ever rehearsed. All of the parts were pretty much written right there in the studio.
HWTS: How did the line-up for your band come about?
JS: My band is called Get Gone. I play guitar and sing, Chris Coyne's on bass, Lane Soderberg plays the other guitar, Joel Habedank is drums and Eliza Blue plays the violin and sings. Layne and Chris were around for Ablaze, they shared the bass parts. This is Layne's first time playing guitar in a band—he was the bass player for Houston and The Spitting Cobras. Joel is an old friend of theirs. He's currently the drummer for The Rockford Mules and had previously played with The Fuck Yeahs, Motion City Soundtrack and Sadie Foster.
Eliza and I met at the Hootenanny where we were playing together last April. I'm very lucky to have her and the rest of the fellas on board. They're all pro and easy to work with. Chris and I hooked up after his band Janis Figure broke up. He was looking to work with a songwriter in the studio and I had just wrapped up a collection of songs for my first record.
HWTS: Silver Dust will be your second solo disc. How does this disc differ from
your first one?
JS: I think that Silver Dust is a little more focused, more refined than Ablaze. There's a core of us on Silver Dust, so there's a common thread throughout. Ablaze was unique in that we had about 12 different musicians come in over a year and a half and play what they heard. I didn't offer much direction. It was really interesting letting people feel the songs out on their own. So there are a lot of different colors and feels on Ablaze, and I'll always love it for that. This time around, I wanted to make a guitar record, Crazy Horse-esque that was also a bit more accessible and cohesive.
HWTS: What song off Silver Dust do you think is the cornerstone to the album?
JS: The title track is the foundation of this record. It's an epic rock song and it exemplifies what we were trying to accomplish this time around.
HWTS: Your CD release party for Silver Dust will be Thursday, May 22 at the
7th Street Entry. What are we going to see there?
JS: The release show is Thursday, May 22 in The Entry. I was lucky enough to get Stook! and his Jukes and The Evening Rig to play. I think it's a good bill and should be a hell of a time! The Get Gone are going to hit Silver Dust pretty hard and play a couple off Ablaze and maybe toss a few curveballs at the crowd. I'm really looking forward to it!
HWTS: People tell me you are a pretty insatiable baseball fan. Do the Twins have a prayer of making some noise in the post-season?
JS: I love baseball and I would say that the Twins always have a chance because of their gutty style of play. I'm not going to go scope out my spot on the parade route anytime soon, but we have a good future ahead of us and a long season to work out some of our issues.
HWTS: Do you have any final comments you want to leave with?
JS: I write songs that I want to listen to. I'm not breaking any new ground, just learning from my records and painting with the same colors through my own voice.
Artist Info: John Swardson
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