Ten in the Swear Jar

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Ten in the Swear Jar, TITSJ, or XITSJ (X representing ten), is an indie/experimental band derived from IBOPA and after the breakup, progressing to the still-active Xiu Xiu. The band released two albums before breaking up in July 2000. Key members in the band include Jamie Stewart and Cory McCulloch. Several songs from the band have been made into songs currently in the roster of Xiu Xiu. The band is often deemed experimental from the use of accordion and saxophone in their music, the general mood is low-key and molten. The music of TITSJ may be viewed as more accessible than that of Xiu Xiu, and likewise, the band proved to be a developing point for Jamie Stewart's musicianship. Jamie's vocal development is noted throughout the discography, and the experimental ways that became Xiu Xiu are formed. Jamie has noted in an interview that he felt the recordings were done hastily, but the band "rock[ed] the casbah live." Jamie then went on to cite one show in Los Angeles in which "a really famous drag queen named Vaginal Davis gave me a blowjob on stage and it got video taped."