The Trouble with Sweeney was a band from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

that existed from 1999 to 2004. The band's songwriter and frontman

Joey Sweeney Joey may refer to: People *Joey (name) Animals * Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial * Joey, a blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets Film and television * ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...

started the band five years after leaving The Barnabys and recording a solo album, ''Heartache Baseball.'' They released two full-length albums and two EPs on

Burnt Toast Vinyl Burnt Toast Vinyl is an independent record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History Burnt Toast Vinyl was founded by Scott Hatch, a Drexel University student who had initially been involved with concert promotion at the school. The la ...

, as well as a self-titled EP which was released shortly after their formation. They also released an EP on the Basement Life imprint called ''Play Karen (and Others)'' in 2002. Many of the band's songs depict life in the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding area, and their final EP, ''Fishtown Briefcase'', is named after a Philadelphia neighborhood. "The Counterfeiters" from ''I Know You Destroy!'' and "Waiting for Gary" from ''Play Karen (and Others)'' directly refer to or quote the writings of

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French writer and author whose writings spanned a wide variety of styles and topics. He was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature. Gide's career ranged from his begi ...

, a French author. Joey Sweeney wrote for

alternative weekly An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting ...

newspaper ''

Philadelphia Weekly ''Philadelphia Weekly'' (''PW'') is a website based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a newspaper in 1971 as ''The Welcomat'', a sister publication to the ''South Philadelphia Press''. In 1995, the paper became ''Philadelphia Week ...

'' in the 1990s is now the editor of the website Philebrity. Producer Brian McTear has gone on to mix, engineer, and produce albums for a number of notable artists, such as

Marissa Nadler Marissa Nadler (born April 5, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. Active since 2000, she is currently signed to Sacred Bones Records and Bella Union, and released her ninth full-length studio album, ''The Path of the Clouds'', in October ...

, Espers,

Sharon Van Etten Sharon Katharine Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Originally from New Jersey, and currently based in Los Angeles, Van Etten's music is noted for its indie rock aesthetic and personal lyric ...

Jens Lekman Jens Martin Lekman (; born 6 February 1981) is a Swedish musician. His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings, with lyrics that are often witty, romantic, and melancholic. His work is heavily influenced by Jonathan Ri ...

Meg Baird Meg Baird is an American musician based in San Francisco, California, United States, who, in addition to her solo career, is known as a founding member, lead vocalist, and drummer for Heron Oblivion, along with members from Assemble Head in Sunb ...

Danielson Famile Danielson may refer to: * Danielson (band), an American rock band. *Danielson, Connecticut, a borough in the U.S. state of Connecticut *Danielson (surname) *Danielson (crater), an impact crater in the Oxia Palus quadrangle on Mars *Danielson (footb ...

, Mazarin, and

Greg Weeks Espers were an American psychedelic folk band from Philadelphia. Formed in 2002 as a trio of singer-songwriter Greg Weeks, Meg Baird and Brooke Sietinsons as part of the then-emerging indie folk scene, Espers later expanded to a sextet that in ...

Discography

Full lengths

*''Dear Life'' (

, 2001) *''I Know You Destroy!'' (Burnt Toast, 2003)

EPs

*''The Trouble With Sweeney'' (Burnt Toast, 1999) *''Play Karen (and Others)'' ( Basement Life Recordings, 2002) *''Fishtown Briefcase'' (Burnt Toast, 2004)

References

External links

Official Web Site
(not updated since 2004) Indie rock musical groups from Pennsylvania Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical groups from Philadelphia 1999 establishments in Pennsylvania {{US-band-stub