Swingin' Utters

One of the more traditional-sounding of California's punk revival bands, Swingin' Utters formed in the late '80s around a first-name-only lineup of vocalist Johnny, guitarists Max and Darius, bassist Kevin, and drummer Greg. Originally based in Santa Cruz, these street punks later moved to San Francisco and recorded for several different labels, including Side One, IFA Records, and New Red Archives. The group first released 1992's Scared as Johnny Peebucks & the Swingin' Utters, but things really started to happen for them three years later with their full-length The Streets of San Francisco. The album garnered the band much attention, including Best Debut Album at the Bay Area Music Awards, and Swingin' Utters soon found themselves on the first annual Vans Warped Tour. They later also toured with Rancid before signing to Fat Wreck Chords (run by NOFX's Fat Mike); Swingin' Utters released A Juvenile Product of the Working Class in 1996 and Five Lessons Learned two years later. The Sounds Wrong EP from 1995 was re-released by the label in 1998, with the Brazen Head EP following the next year.

Around the same time, the guys also lent six tracks to a split with Youth Brigade as part of the BYO Split Series. The band's self-titled third-studio effort was released in fall 2000, and national tours with the Damned and Dropkick Murphys further heightened the group's popularity among punk rockers. Their debut full-length, produced by Lars Fredericksen, was re-released in October 2001. The next Swingin' Utters studio effort, Dead Flowers, Bottles, Bluegrass, and Bones, was issued in February 2003; a live album in the Live in a Dive series surfaced in summer 2004. By this time, the group was comprised of founding members Johnny Bonnel, Darius Koski, and Greg McEntee, along with bassist/vocalist Spike Slawson (Me First and the Gimme Gimmes) and guitarist Jack Dalrymple (One Man Army). The band members went back to their other projects during what would turn out to be an eight year gap between albums before getting back to business in 2011 with their much delayed seventh album, Here, Under Protest.

from Wikipedia:

Swingin' Utters (often typeset as $wingin' Utter$, and originally called Johnny Peebucks and the Swingin' Utters) is a Californian punk rock band that formed in the late 1980s.

History

Having begun in Santa Cruz, California, the band moved to San Francisco where they are now based. They have been signed to Fat Wreck Chords since 1996. While Johnny Bonnel is the lead singer of the group, lead guitarist Darius Koski provides lead vocals on many of the bands tracks. Spike Slawson and Jack Dalrymple have also provided lead vocals.

In 2010 a tribute album for the band titled, Untitled 21: A Juvenile Tribute to the Swingin' Utters, was released.

Side projects

Members of the Swingin' Utters have been involved in many musical side projects, most notably Johnny Bonnel, Darius Koski, and Spike Slawson's Filthy Thievin' Bastards (formed in 2000). Druglords of the Avenues with Johnny Peebucks singing (formed in Oakland, California in 2004), and Spike Slawson's Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (in which he is the vocalist).

Drummer Greg McEntee also joined Viva Hate in February 2007, and the Re-Volts are fronted by Spike Slawson, with Darius Koski and Jack Dalrymple on guitar in that band. Dalrymple was the former vocalist/guitarist for fellow Fat Wreck band Dead to Me as well. Jack also sang and played guitar in One Man Army, who were on Adeline Records until they disbanded in 2005.