Swear and Shake at The Hummingbird
UPDATE: whooooooops- this is actually on the 13th NOT tomorrow my bad!!!
Pretty sure I’ve made mention of this before, but the realization that Alabama Shakes had performed here in Macon and I missed it still makes me ill. And that is one of the reasons that I have been determined to not miss acts that are coming through Macon. One act coming to town tomorrow night is Swear and Shake- out of New York.
Their sounds is *very* reminiscent of Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers and more of that folksy, bluesy genre.
I had the chance to speak with one of the band members, Adam McHeffey, as they were driving in their tour van heading south. One large thing that I took away from our interview is just how important it is for smaller venues, like the ones we have here in Macon, to form relationships early with these bands. Swear and Shake formed just such a relationship with a venue in Atlanta and will be playing for the fourth time there just before heading our way. When a venue, and a city, can form such relationships it’s just like anything else- the bands will want to return. Sounds simple, but it’s one of the keys to getting really great music to come to Macon.
So, of course I had to ask McHeffey, just where did the name “Swear and Shake” come from?
” Before we started writing together we [Kari Spielier] were solo singer songwriters and I had a record or two and one of the songs had the line “swear and shake me endlessly” and we were trying to look for something to call ourselves and we came across that phrase. And the more we thought about it the more we liked it- we thought it sounded like the way our music sounds.”
Why this style of music? It seems to be the “it” thing lately- with bands like Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers, etc.
” It wasn’t a decision, it just comes to us naturally. The music we listen to heavily inspires our song writing and we’ve been listening to a lot of soul music- Motown specially – theres so much fun. I don’t think we set out to make a particular type of music.”
So, Kickstarter- how important is crowd funding for groups like you? Could you do it without this program?
” The album would have gotten made, but to answer it think it was a great way to get people in involved and they love to connect with the band and it helps to break down a lot of walls.”
I also asked McHeffey about Eddie’s Attic, the venue they are playing at before heading to Macon:
” We’ve been working with them since March we opened for The Last Bison and we fell in love with the room and the people who worked there and just a couple of month after that we came back and then came back again. So this will be the 4th time on stage there and each time is better than the last.”
McHeffey was also excited to learn in our conversation that they were traveling to the land of Otis Redding and The Allman Brothers, so I hope they have the chance to visit Macon a little bit while they are here.
Some other things to note that I learned, Swear and Shake is currently on tour in the South and they are very excited to visit Macon. Also, their second full length album will record in 2014 and the band would really like people to stay in touch with them for updates of when the release gets closer.
I think this is a rare opportunity to catch a band on the rise, and you’re surely missing out if you don’t come and catch this show.
To get a better idea of their sound, you can click the below link to get a free download or even check out the video I have featured here.
