Swamp Monsters Attack
October 5, 2009 • By Elyse Krachman,
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“Playin’ [music] for a livin’ is like getting paid for sex.” These are Swampdawamp (pronounced swamp duh wamp) drummer David Lee’s thoughts on being a full-time musician.
Swampdawamp played at The Pub Friday night.
David Lee is only one of Swampdawamp’s unique musicians. Lead singer Gig Michaels, the leader of the band, compared the band to characters from childhood television. “Scooby [Michael Hoffman, B3/keyboards/vocals] would be the craziest… he’s got the Scooby Doo laugh down to a science, but he’s the crazy… he’s always pulling practical jokes on everybody. Cody Bennet [bass/vocals] would be Shaggy, ’cause he’s always kinda aloof and forgetting things. Michael Hough [guitar/vocals] is so detail-oriented to the point of almost anal, which is a good balancer that we really appreciate… so he would be Velma, cause he’s the smart one. Then David Lee on the drums and… he’s always the first to get drunk, so we’ll call him the party animal, he’s like the animal from the Muppets.” The well-loved cartoon characters juxtaposed on the figures of smoking, drinking, Southern rock ‘n’ rollers is a hard concept to grasp, yet within the fun-loving context of the band, it works.
Aside from their unusual members, the band’s eccentric name also embodies the playful spirit of the band. The band was named for a scat (a kind of improvisational singing technique mostly used in jazz) on the end of the song “Birthday” on Swampdawamp’s first record. “I was just scatting at the end of the track, of course we were recording everything, and I was just scatting vowels, but it sounded like I was saying ‘Swampdawamp.’ ” Michaels said. “A couple months later as we were putting [the band] together and looking for a name, that came up. It’s totally original, it’s born in a song.”
For Swampdawamp, this originality and love of music is what brings them together. Swampdawamp, at their core, is a Southern rock band. When asked to name the two musical parents of the band, Michaels said, “Well, you know [the dad] had to be Lynyrd Skynyrd and the mom would have to be the Black Crowes.” Michaels also noted Led Zeppelin, Phil Collins, the Outlaws, the Allman Brothers and Kenny Wayne Shepherd as other influences.
All of that Southern inspiration is evident in the heavy intensity of the band’s sound. Their music is constructed around rolling, powerful riffs and the gritty, soulful sound of Michaels’ voice. Bolstered by masterful keyboards and anchored by the hard-hitting, jaw-shaking drumbeat of Lee and the deep fat bass heartbeat of Bennett, the band’s sound hearkens back to the golden age of Southern rock.
Onstage, the band is joyful and spontaneous. Sometimes they make up a blues riff or other times, like Friday, they rip through covers of such favorites as “Magic Carpet Ride” by Steppenwolf and “Takin’ Care of Business” by the Bachman-Turner Overdrive. On original songs such as “Lady,” driven by guitar player Keith Ingram’s fierce riff, or “American Man” with a soaring chorus, the musical quality of each band member is noticeable right away.
Despite their cohesive quality, Swampdawamp is a relatively new band. They have played together since 2005, but until two years ago, had trouble keeping a steady line-up.
“The manager that we had working with the first album was just really, really anal, and you know, we went through about 10 bass players and three guitar players…it was a nightmare. But I will say that what we have now, it was definitely worth it. We’ve really solidified, you know, and you couldn’t ask for a better bunch of guys,” Michaels said.
The band also has a 13-sleeper tour bus now, but when they started out, they had an RV that they called “our rock star starter kit tour bus.”
With two albums under their belt, and the third brand new “Rock This Country” having just hit the radio, the band loves their job more than ever. They’ve played with David Allen Coe, 38 Special, Confederate Railroad and The Marshall Tucker Band, and they’re looking forward to continue living the Southern rock dream.
Contact Elyse Krachman at krachmeh@jmu.edu
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Ugh, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. These are like the guys who used to ride the school bus when they were seniors in high school and wore shirts with all different kinds of guitars on them.