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Originally a Go-Go's cover band called Raspberry Bang, the Swirlies formed in Boston in 1990. Along with Kudgel and Fat Day, the band -- guitarist/singer Damon Tuntunjian, singer/guitarist Seana Carmody, bassist Andy Bernick, and drummer Ben Drucker -- was a part of the city's chimp rock scene, which pitted dreamy, guitar-based pop against noisy, experimental tendencies.
The Swirlies made their recorded debut with the six-song EP Swirlies Number One, and then proceeded to release a slew of singles, including Red Fishdreams with fellow chimp rockers Kudgel. The band signed to the Boston-based Taang! label and released a mini-album, What to Do About Them, in 1992. A collection of the group's singles along with new material, it hinted at the band's departure from typical dream pop.
1993's Blonder Tongue Audio Baton continued the band's foray into sonic experimentation. The addition of tape loops, found sounds, Moogs, Mellotrons, and white noise made the Swirlies' sound an interesting cross between lo-fi concrete music and shoegazing dream pop.
After the release of the Brokedick Car EP, the band experienced almost constant personnel shake-ups. This included an auxiliary bassist and the departures of Ben Drucker and Seana Carmody; Carmody formed her own band, Syrup USA. By 1995, only Tuntunjian and Bernick remained from the original lineup, joined by singer/guitarist Christina Files and drummer Anthony DeLuca. This lineup of the Swirlies recorded They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons, the band's second full-length album, which included more keyboards and drum machines in their sound but maintained a lo-fi aesthetic.
By spring 1996, DeLuca left the band and was temporarily replaced by Karate drummer Gavin McCarthy; however, by this time the Swirlies included a trigger drum kit in their equipment and also toured as an electronic trio. Later that year, the group found a permanent drummer in Adam Pierce, but Files left the Swirlies in 1997. The group continued as a guitar/electronic hybrid and released a remix album, Strictly East Coast Sneaky Flute Music, in 1998. That year also saw the band add another guitarist, Rob Laxo from the Wicked Farleys; the group lost distribution through a label that year, but started releasing cassettes as part of their Sneaky Flute Empire project. By 2000 the band was releasing CDs through this label/project, and issued The Yes Girls that year. The Swirlies continued to record and release singles for the next few years, collecting some of them, as well as new material, in 2003's mini-album Cats of the Wild, Vol. 2. The band also embarked on their first major US tour that summer, gigging with the Lilys.
from Wikipedia:
Swirlies is an indie rock band from Boston that formed in 1990. They have often been compared to My Bloody Valentine, and are sometimes referred to as shoegaze musicians.
Biography
Formation and early career
Guitarists Seana Carmody and Damon Tutunjian were introduced by native Bostonian punk icon/filmmaker Rusty Nails who was recruiting members for a Go-Go's cover band. Nails, Tutunjian, Carmody, and drummer Jason Fitzpatrick learned two songs before abandoning their original objective in favor of writing originals. Under the name Raspberry Bang, the group released one song on a 7" compilation. Shortly afterwards, Carmody and Tutunjian parted ways with the group and began focusing on their own material, inspired in part by the newly emerging shoegaze movement in England.
Tutunjian's high school friend Andy Bernick was enlisted to play bass and an M.I.T. student named Ben Drucker was recruited on the drums. The band began writing and recording songs characterized by shifting tempos, loud vibrato guitars played through numerous effects pedals, Tutunjian and Carmody's melodic vocal interplay, and occasional bursts of screaming and other noise. Some of their 1991 home recordings saw issue as the band's first single "Didn't Understand," which was self-released as a cassette and then as a 7" record by the Slumberland label.
Signing and member-swapping
In 1992 the band signed to the Boston hardcore label Taang! records and released the seven-song EP What To Do About Them culled from previously released and unreleased home and studio recordings. The album featured cover art by cartoonist Ron Regé who also contributed lo-fi recordings that were incorporated in the record's sequence. The band also set to work recording their first LP, around which time shifts in the Swirlies' personnel began to occur. Bernick departed to pursue ornithology for the academic year and was replaced by Morgan Andrews on bass guitar and other noises. After a year of birding, Bernick returned and Swirlies enjoyed a brief period of performing as a quintet made up of two guitars, two bass guitars and a drum kit. Andrews left in mid-1993 to become a radio DJ, and Ben Drucker was replaced by Anthony DeLuca soon thereafter. A year later Carmody left to lead Syrup USA, and Christina Files took over guitar and vocal parts. DeLuca departed in late 1995, and Gavin McCarthy manned the drum kit for two U.S. tours and then moved on to work in his own group Karate. Swirlies briefly played as a trio before Adam Pierce stepped in to play drums. Files left Swirlies to play with Victory at Sea and was eventually replaced by guitarist Rob Laakso.
Recent and current activity
Since 1997, Swirlies have more or less maintained the Damon-Rob-Andy-Adam arrangement, while also taking on various guest members. The group, though sometimes sparse in regards to output, has never officially disbanded. In January 2009, the latest iteration of the Swirlies (Damon, Andy, Adam and Rob, joined by Deborah Warfield) played three shows in the northeastern U.S. with Gregory and The Hawk and others.
Releases
Swirlies released four albums and two EPs on the Taang! label before moving on to Bubblecore Records for 2003's Cats of the Wild Volume 2. Singles have also been released by Slumberland, Pop Narcotic, Simple Machines, and Nervous Records, among others. In addition, the band has produced a number of cassingles, CDs, and free, downloadable albums on its own Sneaky Flute Empire label, including a rock opera addressing harbored feelings of enmity towards Meg Zamula, a former writer for Pitchfork.com. Bass player and keyboardist Andy Bernick releases Swirlies-related and other material on the Richmond County Archives un-label, whose guiding principle is the collection and presentation of free music in its natural, chaotic state (NOT to be confused with "lounge music"[1]).
Swirlies offshoot The Yes Girls (the current lineup but with Lavender Diamond's Ron Regé on drums) toured the U.S. with Timonium and Denmark as an opener for Mew on their Half the World is Watching Me tour; endeavors which culminated in the release of both a limited edition album on Sneaky Flute Empire/Pehr and a limited edition live album on Sneaky Flute Empire. Singer/guitarist Damon Tutunjian produced Mew's debut album and has performed in some capacity on all of their albums.
Members
Original lineup (1990-1992)
Damon Tutunjian – guitar and vocalsSeana Carmody – guitar and vocalsAndy Bernick – bass guitar and radioBen Drucker – drumsCurrent members
Damon TutunjianAndy BernickAdam PierceRob LaaksoDeborah WarfieldMike WalkerOther erstwhile members
Morgan AndrewsMike WalkerDoro TrachlerRon Regé Jr.Anthony DeLucaBaby TontsChristina FilesGavin McCarthyKen BernardKara TutunjianVanessa DowningThe Ghost of Christmas PastJunko HenmiTarquin KatisKurt VileAvery MatthewsKevin SheaMatt SheppeckBernick and Tutunjian have been with the group for its entire duration. Numerous other members have come and gone.
