Action Swingers were an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

/ garage punk band formed in the late 1980s in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, fronted by singer/guitarist Ned Hayden, who was the only constant member. During its history the band featured members of several other bands, both as full members and guest musicians. The band split up in 1998.

History

The band was formed in the late 1980s by Ned Hayden along with Pussy Galore member

Julia Cafritz Julia Cafritz (born May 5, 1965) is an American musician and guitarist who was a member of Pussy Galore and Free Kitten. She is regarded as a cult figure from the New York City noise music scene of the 1990s. Early life Cafritz was born in ...

(guitar, vocals), and with drummer Johan Kugelberg and producer Don Fleming, they recorded debut single "Bum My Trip" / "Kicked in the Head" in 1989, Fleming also contributing drums to the follow-up, "Fear of a Fucked Up Planet". Hayden and Cafritz were then joined by Unsane bassist Pete Shore and former

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of th ...

/Pussy Galore drummer Bob Bert, this lineup recording the self-titled debut album, released in September 1991.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 588 Cafritz had left by early 1992, forming

Free Kitten Free Kitten is an American alternative rock band formed by Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Pussy Galore's Julia Cafritz. Originally performing as Kitten, they changed their name after receiving threats of legal action by a heavy metal singer perfo ...

with

Kim Gordon Kim Althea Gordon (born April 28, 1953) is an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Born in Rochester, New York, she was raised in Los Angeles, Califor ...

, with guitarist Bruce Bennett (concurrent member of the A-Bones) and bassist Howie Pyro playing on a session recorded for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

show in March that year.22/03/1992 - Action Swingers
, ''Keeping It Peel'', BBC. Retrieved March 29, 2013 The ''More Fast Numbers'' EP followed in mid-1992. Former Loveblobs/future

Part Chimp Part Chimp are an English rock band from Camberwell, London, England, that were formed by Tim Cedar, Jon Hamilton and Nick Prior in 2000. Their current line-up is Tim (vocals and guitar), Jon (drums), Joe McLaughlin (bass), Robin Freeman (bass ...

member Tim Cedar replaced Bert for live shows in 1993 and a lineup of Hayden, Cedar, and bassist Barry Stillwell recorded tracks in

Toe Rag Studios Toe Rag Studios is an analogue recording studio located in Hackney, London, England. History The studio was founded in 1991 by Liam Watson and Josh Collins in the Shoreditch area of London. In 1997, the business relocated to Hackney due to ...

that would later see release as ''Complete Toe Rag Session''.Robbins, Ira & Ferguson, Jason
Action Swingers
, ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

''. Retrieved March 29, 2013

J Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo art ...

played drums on two early tracks by the band. Two further albums were released — ''Decimation Blvd.'' (1993) and the compilation ''Quit While You're Ahead'' (1994) — before the band split up. A recording of the band's final live performance, in New York in 1998, was released as a live album in 2004. The final lineup comprised Hayden, drummer Dave Lindsay and former Vacant Lot bassist Brett Wilder.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

writer Erik Hage described the band's sound as "incendiary garage punk".Hage, Erik
Action Swingers Biography
,

. Retrieved March 29, 2013 The band were described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as "punk without pretences. Brutally elemental and patently obnoxious".Schoemer, Karen (1992)
Sounds Around Town
, ''

'', November 6, 1992. Retrieved March 29, 2013 Hayden also formed the Ned Hayden Experience and the Ned Hayden Band. He currently lives in the suburbs of New York City with his wife and daughter.

Discography

Albums

*''Action Swingers'' (1991), Primo Scree *''Decimation Blvd.'' (1993),

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

;Live: *''Enough Already! ...Live!'' (2004), Reptilian - recorded 1998 ;Compilations: *''Quit While You're Ahead'' (1994), Caroline *''Complete London Toe Rag Session'' (1999), Reptilian

EPs

*''More Fast Numbers'' (1992),

Wiiija Wiiija was a British independent record label founded in 1988 by staff from the Rough Trade Shop in Notting Hill, London. The name Wiiija is a corruption of W11 1JA, the postcode of the Rough Trade Shop in Talbot Street. The label was notable fo ...

Singles

*"Bum My Trip"/"Kicked in the Head" (1989), Noiseville *"Fear Of A Fucked Up Planet" (1990), Primo Scree *''Live At The Sausage Machine - Wiiija Grunge War - Monday 19th October 1992'' (1992), Wiiija - split

flexi-disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable. ...

with Loveblobs, included the track "Courtney Love" *"Heavy Medication" (1998), Reptilian *"Miserable Life"/"Losing My Cool" (2013), Total Punk

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Action Swingers Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from New York City In the Red artists Caroline Records artists