It’s been a few months since the year 2020 officially (in my mind, anyway) became the flaming bag of dog poop on the world’s porch that everyone simultaneously stomped on. And the flames promise to burn brighter as the cluster fuck that is bound to be the U.S. election draws closer! Going forward — assuming there’s a forward to go towards — I’ve made it my mission to start delineating events and incidents in terms similar to how religious types do the whole B.C./A.D. thing.
B.D.P.F. — read as “Before Dog Poop Fire” — I would have snidely referred to influential chaotic post-hardcore outfit Swing Kids as the locus of San Diego’s incestuous music scene. Instead A.D.P.F. — “After Dog Poop Fire,” obviously – I’m simply referring to the band with the short history and eleven song discography as a super-spreader event, a term we’re all unfortunately more than familiar with these days. This, as a nod to the fact its members went on to star and showcase in Bread and Circuits, Yaphet Kotto, Baader Brains, Sweep the Leg Johnny, Agonista, Dead Cross, the Locust, Retox, Planet B, Head Wound City and Deaf Club as well as other label, art and PR projects and businesses.
Swing Kids’ brief existence was fraught with equal amounts of creative triumph as personal tragedy and is set to be celebrated via Anthology, a remastered collection of those eleven songs. The discography is due to be released on October 23 both digitally, 500 on special “antifa-coloured” vinyl, 250 on “smoke colored” vinyl and another 250 on “Blue Note blue” housed in a gatefold sleeve to be issued by Three One G, the label owned and operated by vocalist Justin Pearson. Today, we present the opportunity for all y’all to listen to Anthology in its entirety below, watch the video for “Fake Teeth” below that, learn more about the band’s history below that and preorder here.
From Three One G:
“Swing Kids formed in the mid ’90s out of a mix of obscure punk, hardcore, and geography-specific social politics. The band — made up of Justin Pearson, Jose Palafox, John Brady and Eric Allen — drew inspiration from jazz and swing-era ethics, creating a strand of genre-defying music. The band was short lived, documenting their entire existence in a handful of songs/releases over a couple of years. The band did their last few shows recruiting Jimmy Lavalle who was part of notable acts such as the Locust, the Crimson Curse, the Black Heart Procession, Gogogo Airheart and Album Leaf, to play second guitar. Then, the unexpected happened: guitarist and founding member of Swing Kids and Unbroken, Eric Allen, took his own life. Over a decade later, Eric still lives on in his music. The final chapter of the band was written, as the remaining members had the opportunity to play two benefit shows in Southern California raising thousands of dollars for charity. The shows, or ‘funerals’ as the band members looked at it, displayed that the band’s spirit will live on, and showcased the evolution of the remaining members’ musicianship. Jose Palafox went on to play in notable acts such as Bread and Circuits, Yaphet Kotto, and Baader Brains. Bassist John Brady has since played in Sweep The Leg Johnny and Agonista. Vocalist Justin Pearson is known for contributing to a multitude of bands and projects over the years including Dead Cross, the Locust, Retox, Planet B, Head Wound City, and Deaf Club.
“One of Three One G’s earliest releases was Swing Kids’ s/t 7-inch EP, which featured four original tracks as well as a harsh version of Joy Division’s ‘Warsaw.’ Soon after the band released this EP, they followed up with a split 10-inch EP with Spanakorzo, which shared band member John Brady. After a few short tours and a jaunt over to Europe, the band called it quits due to drummer Jose Palafox relocating to the Bay Area. Swing Kids did manage to track one last song, ‘El Camino Car Crash’ which is the additional track on the digital follow-up of the band’s entire collection, simply titled Discography. Over the years, this nine-song collection would become a staple for the Three One G community. After the sudden and immense loss of founding member Eric Allen, the band reformed to play two charity shows in his memory, and the documentation of this final chapter was a self-titled 7-inch single featuring an updated version of ‘Situation on Mars’ as well as a new track titled, ‘Fake Teeth.’ For the first time, all of these tracks have been remastered by Brent Asbury and are in one physical release, the complete Anthology.”
