Swirlies is an American
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
band formed in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
in 1990. Since their first records in the early 1990s, the band has released studio and home recordings that blend
shoegaze
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...
and
twee pop
Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 ''NME'' compilation '' C86''. Twee pop gets its name from the aesthetic of twee, which is known for its simplicity and childlike innocence. Some of its defining features are boy-gi ...
with
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
and
lo-fi music
Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...
.
Swirlies released five studio albums between 1993 and 2003. The band have since assembled to tour occasionally with a roster of musicians led by founding guitarist/songwriter Damon Tutunjian.
History
1990–1991: Formation and early releases
Guitarists Seana Carmody and Damon Tutunjian met in Spring 1990 through mutual friend
Rusty Nails
Rusty may refer to something covered with rust or with a rust (color). Rusty is also a nickname for people who have red hair, have a rust-hued skin tone, or have the given name Russell.
Rusty may also refer to:
People
* Rusty Anderson (born 19 ...
, a
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
fanzine
A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...
publisher who wanted to start a
Go-Go's cover band.
Formed in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
, Tutunjian, Carmody, Nails, 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-inch record compilation to benefit
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...
.
In November 1990, Tutunjian's high school friend Andy Bernick was enlisted to play bass and
M.I.T.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sci ...
student Ben Drucker was recruited to play drums. The band began writing and recording songs characterized by shifting tempos, loud
vibrato
Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...
guitars played through numerous effects pedals, Tutunjian and Carmody's melodic vocal interplay, and occasional bursts of screaming and other noise. They completed their first 4-track demo in December 1990, and played their first show on January 25, 1991. Because of the band's practice of
alternate guitar tuning
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* Alternative comics, or independent comics are an alternative to mainstream superh ...
s, Bernick took to playing
tapes or static from an old
AM radio
AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...
to fill time while Carmody and Tutunjian adjusted their guitars.
In 1991 Swirlies made some 8-track
home recording
Home recording is the practice of recording sound in a private home instead of a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a home studio or project studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narra ...
s, which saw issue as the band's debut single "Didn't Understand" first self-released as a
cassette and then on
7-inch vinyl
In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standal ...
by
Slumberland Records
Slumberland Records is an American independent record label, formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C., and based in Oakland, California. The label has released recordings by Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Lilys, Stereolab, Evans The Death, St. Christo ...
. A split double-single with Boston
noise rock
Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...
band Kudgel followed, and the group entered the studio to record another single and compilation tracks for Boston's Pop Narcotic label.
1992–1993: ''What To Do About Them'' and ''Blonder Tongue Audio Baton''
In 1992 the band signed to
Taang! Records
Taang! Records is an independent record label with a roster of hardcore punk, punk rock, Oi!, power pop, ska, indie rock, psychedelic, and ambient artists and bands founded by Curtis Casella in Boston, Massachusetts in 1983.
History
Taang! ...
and released the eight-song mini-album ''
What To Do About Them'' culled from a mix of previously available and unreleased home and studio recordings. Musician/cartoonist
Ron Regé, Jr. contributed artwork to the album's cover as well as
lo-fi
Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...
recordings that were woven into the record's sequence. The band also set to work recording their first
LP, around which time shifts in Swirlies' personnel began to occur. Ben Drucker only drummed on a third of the new album's studio tracks, and for the remaining songs his parts were handed over to a pair of session drummers. In fall 1992, Andy Bernick departed to focus on his studies at the University of Rhode Island (where he also served as a late-night FM DJ on
WRIU) and Damon's former roommate Morgan Andrews was brought in to fill in on bass guitar and assorted noises. It was this lineup that toured to support ''
What To Do About Them'' and that appeared in the video for "Bell" from ''
Blonder Tongue Audio Baton
''Blonder Tongue Audio Baton'' (sometimes spelled ''Blondertongueaudiobaton'') is the debut full-length studio album by Swirlies, released in 1993. The band recorded the majority of the album in the summer of 1992 at Q Division Studios, Boston ...
,'' which had already been completed but was not yet released. Named for an obscure piece of
vintage musical equipment
Vintage musical equipment is older music gear, including instruments, amplifiers and speakers, sound recording equipment and effects pedals, sought after, maintained and used by record producers, audio engineers and musicians who are interested ...
, ''Blonder Tongue Audio Baton'' made use of
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...
,
Moog, and other analog artifacts that the group had unearthed in the studio. During sequencing the band threw in numerous lo-fi compositions, soundbites, and rants, and
collage
Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...
d together an album jacket from arrays of found images and objects that matched the album's eclectic aesthetics. Hailed for melding "the high waters of shoegaze creativity and the mounting currents of indie rock", ''Blonder Tongue Audio Baton'' quickly rose to prominence in the American
noise pop
Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative and indie rock that developed in the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom and United States. It is defined by its mixture of dissonant noise or feedback with the songcraft more often found in pop music. Shoegaz ...
canon.
After the school year concluded, Bernick returned, and Swirlies enjoyed a brief period of performing as a
quintet
A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...
made up of two guitars, two
bass guitar
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
s, and a drum kit until Andrews left in June 1993 to become a radio
DJ. At this point ''
Blonder Tongue Audio Baton
''Blonder Tongue Audio Baton'' (sometimes spelled ''Blondertongueaudiobaton'') is the debut full-length studio album by Swirlies, released in 1993. The band recorded the majority of the album in the summer of 1992 at Q Division Studios, Boston ...
'' was released, and the band embarked on their first nation-wide tour with the original line up of Bernick, Carmody, Drucker, and Tutunjian. Later that year, Swirlies released the ''Brokedick Car'' EP which contained remixes of songs from ''Blonder Tongue'' alongside a couple of outtakes.
In Fall 1993, Ben Drucker was replaced by Anthony DeLuca on drums, and the band did a series of short tours on the East Coast college circuit. In January 1994, the band did their first tour of Europe, which included a session recorded for ''
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
''. Directly after the tour, Seana Carmody left Swirlies and formed
Syrup USA
Syrup USA were a four-piece indie pop band from Boston, Massachusetts, that formed in 1993 and disbanded in 1998. The brainchild of lead singer and guitarist Seana Carmody (formerly of Swirlies), their sound blended elements of 1960s pop and synth ...
.
1994–1999: ''Sneaky Flutes'' and ''Salons''
Christina Files joined Swirlies on guitar, synths, and vocals in early 1994, and that summer the band began work on their next album. After being branded both "
shoegaze
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...
"' and "
chimp rock"
early in their career, the band was exploring new musical directions and invented a name for their ethos, emblazoning it in the title of their 1995 EP, ''Sneaky Flutes and Sneaky Flute Music''. The seven-song mini-album was a forerunner to their full-length masterwork, 1996's ''
They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons''. The album added more synth-driven
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
and a few dance beats to their foundations in angular noise pop, drawing comparisons to
Stereolab
Stereolab are an English people, Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's sound incorporates repetitive motorik beats with the use of vintage electronic keybo ...
and their
Krautrock
Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...
forebears.
More member changes occurred during this time: In 1995, DeLuca left, and Gavin McCarthy manned the drum kit for two U.S. tours before moving on to work in his own group
Karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...
. Swirlies briefly played as a
trio
Trio may refer to:
Music Groups
* Trio (music), an ensemble of three performers, or a composition for such an ensemble
** Jazz trio, pianist, double bassist, drummer
** Minuet and trio, a form in classical music
** String trio, a group of three ...
before
Adam Pierce stepped in to play drums. Files left Swirlies to play with
Victory at Sea
''Victory at Sea'' is a documentary television series about warfare in general during World War II, and naval warfare in particular, as well as the use of industry in warfare. It was broadcast by NBC in the United States during 1952–53. It w ...
and was replaced in 1997 by guitarist Rob Laakso. In 1998, the group
remix
A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
ed songs from the ''Salons'' sessions for the album ''
Strictly East Coast Sneaky Flute Music
''Strictly East Coast Sneaky Flute Music'' is the third full-length album by Boston indie rock band Swirlies. The album comprises remixes of songs from their previous album, '' They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Sa ...
'', which featured collaborations with producers
Rich Costey
Richard Costey is an American music producer, mixer, and engineer. He has worked with musicians across genres including rock, indie, pop, hip-hop, and electronica. Notable collaborators include Fiona Apple, Vampire Weekend, Foo Fighters, Sig ...
,
DJ Spooky
Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American Electronic music, electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". ...
, Soul Slinger, and
Mice Parade
Mice Parade is an American indie rock band from New York City, led by percussionist Adam Pierce. ''Mice Parade'' is an anagram of Pierce's name.
Biography
Adam Pierce started Mice Parade as a solo project while he also played in groups includi ...
, various friends of the band, and an abundance of
field recordings
Field recording is the production of audio recordings outside recording studios, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It can also include the recording of electromagnetic fields or vibrations using dif ...
as was tradition on earlier Swirlies releases.
2000–2003: The Yes Girls and ''Cats of the Wild''
Swirlies continued as a four piece under the Tutunjian-Laakso-Bernick-Pierce arrangement into the new millennium. Swirlies offshoot The Yes Girls (the core lineup but with
Lavender Diamond
Lavender Diamond is an American, Los Angeles-based band, fronted by singer Becky Stark.
History
While living in Providence, Rhode Island, Stark began performing as Lavender Diamond in a play that she and puppeteer Xander Marro wrote, created ...
's Ron Regé on drums) toured the U.S. with Timonium, and in
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
as an opener for
Mew on their ''
Half the World is Watching Me'' tour. This endeavor culminated in the release of the home-made album ''Damon Andy Rob Ron: The Yes Girls'', which was released on Sneaky Flute Empire/Pehr in 2000, as well as a limited edition live album on Sneaky Flute Empire.
The band began to settle into being an outfit with a cast of guest musicians revolving in and out of the group to accommodate the other members' academic, career, and family commitments: Seana Carmody, Vanessa Downing, and Damon's sister Kara Tutunjian often joined onstage for live vocals, Mike Walker and Tarquin Katis occasionally sat in for Bernick on bass, and Ken Bernard and Kevin Shea sometimes replaced Adam Pierce on drums. Deborah Warfield joined the band as vocalist circa 2000, also playing guitar and keyboards live.
Swirlies eventually released ''Cats of the Wild, Vol. 2'' on
Bubblecore Records in 2003, collecting new material alongside revamped studio versions of Yes Girls songs, plus outtakes from Swirlies' early 90s recordings.
Subsequent activity
The group, though sometimes sparse in regards to output, has never disbanded. They played a few shows in the northeastern U.S. in 2009 and 2011, toured the
Eastern Seaboard and
Midwest
The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
in 2013 with
Kurt Vile
Kurt Samuel Vile (born January 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is known for his solo work, music released under the name "Kurt Vile and The Violators," and as the former lead guitarist of ...
, with Elliott Malvas on bass in lieu of Andy, and in 2015 Swirlies co-founder Seana Carmody rejoined the group for a two-week tour of the eastern U.S. and Canada to commemorate the band's 25th year of existence. In 2016,
Joyful Noise Recordings
Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label with headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on several of the label's first releases. Joyful N ...
released a new Swirlies song (Fantastic Trumpets Forever) on
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.
...
, and Taang! Records reissued the ''Blonder Tongue Audio Baton'' LP on vinyl.
In 2017 they headlined a tour of the West Coast in the U.S. In, 2018 they toured the South and the East Coast of the U.S. in support of the Philadelphia-based rock band
Nothing
Nothing, no-thing, or no thing is the complete absence of ''anything'', as the opposite of ''something'' and an antithesis of everything. The concept of nothing has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BCE. Ea ...
.
Post-COVID, the band headlined tours of the East Coast in 2023 and 2024, and Texas and the West Coast in 2024, including performances at the Slide Away, Levitation, and And Always Forever festivals. The band also released the first ever issue of their 2003 ''Cats of the Wild Forever'' LP on vinyl on Sneakflute Empire in Fall 2024.
Other releases and projects
Since their earliest demo tape, each Swirlies appearance has been marked with "This is Swirlies number __" in order of its release.
In addition to their "official" releases, Swirlies have produced a number of cassingles, CDs, and free downloadable albums on their own Sneaky Flute Empire label. Beginning in 2005 the band began to curate recordings of live performances and radio sessions in limited runs under the name "Swirlies' Magic Strop." The first three of these were issued via their website as
MP3
MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...
-only albums, including a mock rock opera about Meg Zamula, a former writer for
''Pitchfork''.
In 2015, the band's 1994 ''
Peel Sessions
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
'' were issued on a 7-inch called ''Orca vs. Dragon'', and in 2018 the band put out a 12-inch EP called ''Magic Strop Tonight'' compiling tracks from the Los Angeles radio show ''Part Time Punks'' and new studio songs from their "Fantastic Trumpets Forever" single.
Former bassist Andy Bernick (retired in May 2025) maintains a label and website called Richmond County Archives that publishes material from the band and other entities. The site currently serves as Swirlies' official web presence.
A Swirlies tribute album, ''Sneaky Flute Moods: A Tribute to the Swirlies'', was released online by Reverse Engine in April 2012.
[Sneaky Flute Moods release announcement at Free Music Archive](_blank)
posted by curator Dave Merson Hess on April 8, 2012.
Singer/guitarist Damon Tutunjian produced
Mew's debut album and performed in some capacity on their first five albums. He also produced a number of tracks for The Wicked Farleys debut 7-inch and first LP. He played guitar in the original incarnation of
Lansing-Dreiden
Lansing-Dreiden is an American band and art collective founded in founded in Miami, Florida, and based in New York City.
Their body of work includes music, multimedia artwork (in the form of drawings, collages, sculpture and video), and the l ...
in the late 1990s and in the Danish band Ghost Society in 2010. In 2013, he joined Swedish band I Am Super Ape on bass guitar and synths and produced their single "Monki", featuring
Mark Lanegan
Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer and songwriter. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the Stone Age ...
on vocals. He recently produced the debut album for the Swedish multi-instrumentalist Majken.
Members
Original lineup (1990-1993)
*Damon Tutunjian – guitar and vocals
*Seana Carmody – guitar and vocals
*Andy Bernick – bass guitar and radio
*Ben Drucker – drums
Current members
*Damon Tutunjian
*Deborah Warfield
*Elliott Malvas
*
Kevin Shea
Other erstwhile members
*
Rob Laakso
Rob Laakso (April 16, 1979 – May 4, 2023) was an American musician, record producer and engineer, best known as the recording partner of indie rock musician Kurt Vile and as a multi-instrumentalist in his backing band the Violators. Laakso als ...
(1997-2023)
*Andy Bernick (retired)
*
Adam Pierce
*Wesley Bunch
*Viktor Hober
*Anna Bergvall
*Seana Carmody
*Mike Walker
*Morgan Andrews
*Doro Tachler
*
Ron Regé Jr.
Ron Regé Jr. (born December 5, 1969, in Quincy, Massachusetts) is an American Alternative comics, alternative cartoonist and musician.
He has published a number of graphic novels and was a regular contributor to the ''Kramers Ergot'' anthology; ...
*
Anthony DeLuca
*Baby Tonts
*Christina Files
*Gavin McCarthy
*Ken Bernard
*Kara Tutunjian
*Vanessa Downing
*Junko Hemmi
*Tarquin Katis
*
Kurt Vile
Kurt Samuel Vile (born January 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is known for his solo work, music released under the name "Kurt Vile and The Violators," and as the former lead guitarist of ...
*Avery Matthews
*Matt Sheppeck
*Matthew Seabass
Tutunjian is the sole Swirlie to play with the group for its entire duration while other members have come and gone, sometimes coming back again.
Partial timeline
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id:v value:red legend:Vocals
id:g value:green legend:Guitar
id:b value:blue legend:Bass
id:d value:orange legend:Drums
id:k value:purple legend:Keyboards
id:sam value:lavender legend:Samples
id:alb value:black legend:Studio_album
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at:09/01/1992 color:ep
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at:04/01/1996 color:alb
at:07/01/1998 color:alb
at:07/01/2000 color:alb
at:07/01/2003 color:alb
at:04/01/2005 color:live
at:10/01/2005 color:live
at:07/01/2009 color:live
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width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(12,–4)
bar:Damon Tutunjian from:start till:end color:v
bar:Damon Tutunjian from:start till:end color:g width:3
bar:Damon Tutunjian from:01/01/1993 till:end color:k width:7
bar:Seana Carmody from:start till:12/31/1994 color:v
bar:Seana Carmody from:start till:12/31/1994 color:g width:3
bar:Seana Carmody from:01/01/1993 till:12/31/1994 color:k width:7
bar:Seana Carmody from:06/01/2015 till:08/31/2015 color:v
bar:Seana Carmody from:06/01/2015 till:08/31/2015 color:g width:3
bar:Christina Files from:02/01/1994 till:12/31/1996 color:v
bar:Christina Files from:02/01/1994 till:12/31/1996 color:g width:3
bar:Christina Files from:02/01/1994 till:12/31/1996 color:k width:7
bar:Rob Laakso from:01/01/1998 till:end color:g
bar:Rob Laakso from:01/01/1998 till:end color:k width:3
bar:Deborah Warfield from:01/01/2000 till:end color:v
bar:Deborah Warfield from:01/01/2000 till:end color:g width:3
bar:Deborah Warfield from:01/01/2000 till:end color:k width: 7
bar:Andy Bernick from:start till:08/31/1992 color:b
bar:Andy Bernick from:start till:08/31/1992 color:sam width:3
bar:Andy Bernick from:06/01/1993 till:end color:b
bar:Andy Bernick from:06/01/1993 till:end color:sam width:3
bar:Morgan Andrews from:09/01/1992 till:06/30/1993 color:b
bar:Morgan Andrews from:09/01/1992 till:06/30/1993 color:sam width:3
bar:Ben Drucker from:start till:12/31/1993 color:d
bar:Anthony Da Luca from:01/01/1994 till:12/31/1995 color:d
bar:Gavin McCarthy from:01/01/1996 till:12/31/1996 color:d
bar:Adam Pierce from:10/01/1997 till:end color:d
bar:Ron Regé Jr. from:start till:end color:sam
bar:Ron Regé Jr. from:01/01/1999 till:12/12/2003 color:k width:7
bar:Ron Regé Jr. from:01/01/1999 till:12/12/2003 color:d width:3
Selected discography
Albums
* ''
Blonder Tongue Audio Baton
''Blonder Tongue Audio Baton'' (sometimes spelled ''Blondertongueaudiobaton'') is the debut full-length studio album by Swirlies, released in 1993. The band recorded the majority of the album in the summer of 1992 at Q Division Studios, Boston ...
'' LP/CD/cassette (Taang! 1993)
* ''
They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons'' (Taang! 1996)
* ''
Strictly East Coast Sneaky Flute Music
''Strictly East Coast Sneaky Flute Music'' is the third full-length album by Boston indie rock band Swirlies. The album comprises remixes of songs from their previous album, '' They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Sa ...
'' CD (Taang! 1998)
* ''Damon, Andy, Rob, Ron: The Yes Girls'' (Pehr/Sneaky Flute Empire 2000)
* ''Cats of The Wild Volume 2'' CD/MP3 (Bubblecore Records 2003)
EPs
* ''
What To Do About Them'' mini-LP/CD/cassette (Taang! 1992)
* ''
Brokedick Car'' 12-inch EP/CD/cassette (Taang! 1994)
* ''
Sneaky Flutes and Sneaky Flute Music'' mini-LP/CD (Taang! 1996)
* ''Buffay: Damon Sez I’m Durdy'' (Sneaky Flute Empire, 2013)
* ''Magic Strop Tonight'' 12” (Sneaky Flute Empire, 2018)
Singles
* "Didn't Understand" 7-inch release (Slumberland Records, 1992)
* ''Error'' 7-inch (Pop Narcotic, 1992)
* ''Brokedick Car'' 7-inch version (Taang! 1993)
* ''Swirlies' Magic Strop: Orca vs. Dragon" 7-inch (Richmond County Archives/Sneaky Flute Empire, 2015)
* "Fantastic Trumpets Forever”
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.
...
(Joyful Noise Recordings, 2016)
Split releases
* ''A Kinder Gentler Genocide'' (Swirlies appeared under the name Raspberry Bang) 7-inch compilation (Wasted Effort, 1990)
* ''Free Tape'' (cassette with
Dropdead
Dropdead is an American hardcore punk band based in Providence, Rhode Island. They have been active in the punk scene since 1991, having been formed in January of that year. The band's songs are generally short and very fast-paced, with few las ...
, Fast Forward, 1991)
* ''Red Fish Dreams'' 2×7″ split with Kudgel (Cinderblock/Villa Villa Kula, 1992)
* ''Working Holiday Series: November'' split 7-inch with Pitchblende (Simple Machines, 1993)
* ''Vents of the Ocean Floor'' split 7-inch with Iris (Bubblecore Records, 1996)
Online releases
* ''Swirlies' Magic Strop: At the Salon of WBCN'' 12×MP3 (Sneaky Flute Empire, 2005)
* ''Swirlies' Magic Strop: Winsome Zamula's Hammer of Contumely'' 8×MP3 (Sneaky Flute Empire, 2005)
* ''Swirlies' Magic Strop: Gavin's March To The Sea'' 16×MP3 (Sneaky Flute Empire, 2009)
Compilations
* ''
Strictly East Coast Sneaky Flute Music
''Strictly East Coast Sneaky Flute Music'' is the third full-length album by Boston indie rock band Swirlies. The album comprises remixes of songs from their previous album, '' They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Sa ...
/
They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons'' 2×LP (Taang! 1998)
* ''Swirlies Magic Drive: Välkommen Till Ponyklubben'' mixed format
flash drive
A flash drive is a portable computer drive that uses flash memory. Flash drives are the larger memory modules consisting of a number of flash chips. A flash chip is used to read the contents of a single cell, but it can write entire block of ce ...
(Sneaky Flute Empire, 2013)
Music videos
* “Bell” (1992)
Appearances in other media
Swirlies are mentioned in the 2016 novel, ''Our Noise'' by
Jeff Gomez, appearing in a fictitious record review written by the book's protagonist.
In 2018 a Swirlies poster made an appearance in the
Hulu
Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
TV series
''
Castle Rock'' based on short stories by
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
and set in the 1990s.
See also
*
Fat Day
Fat Day was a Boston-based noisecore band. Formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1992, they released a handful of LPs and several EPs on their own 100% Breakfast! label as well as many others.
History
The four members of Fat Day met in the ea ...
, authors of ''Cats of the Wild''
ol 1*
Chimp rock, term that predated "sneakyflute music"
*
Syrup USA
Syrup USA were a four-piece indie pop band from Boston, Massachusetts, that formed in 1993 and disbanded in 1998. The brainchild of lead singer and guitarist Seana Carmody (formerly of Swirlies), their sound blended elements of 1960s pop and synth ...
, Seana Carmody's post-Swirlies band
References
Sources
Biographyon VH1
External links
Official band siteRichmond County Archives site*
{{Authority control
American noise rock music groups
Indie rock musical groups from Massachusetts
Musical groups from Boston
Slumberland Records artists