The Swellers
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The Swellers are an American punk rock band from Flint, Michigan. Their music draws heavy influences from 1990s skate punk and Fat Wreck Chords artists—such as Strung Out, No Use for a Name, and NOFX. The Swellers have played a leg on the Vans Warped Tour in 2005 and 2007 and have opened for acts such as Against Me!, Mustard Plug, Against All Authority, A Wilhelm Scream, The Matches and the Suicide Machines. Currently they are a part of Search and Rescue Records and Radtone Music in Japan.
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[edit] Band History
On June 24, 2002, brothers Nick and Jonathan Diener brought their friend Nate Lamberts from Grand Rapids, MI to Fenton, MI to jam. In the following days, The Swellers were formed and recorded a 3 song demo.
After a week, the band booked their first show at the Flint Local 432 in Flint, Michigan opening for the band Divit (Nitro Records).
After a few years of playing shows all over Michigan and eventually the Midwest, The Swellers recruited Nick Ondovcsik on 2nd guitar. After a short lived stint with the band, Ondovcsik left in order to pursue other musical interests, eventually forming the death metal band Ares Letum. This was followed in early 2005, with Lamberts leaving to pursue a college education. Close friends and fellow members of the Flint music scene at the time, Garret Burgett and Lance Nelson joined soon after on bass and guitar. In March 2008, at the start of Sexual ErupTOUR, Lance quit and was replaced by Ryan Collins.
The band recorded "Beginning Of The End Again" in the spring of 2005 at Sentient Studios in Flint, MI. That summer the band signed to Search and Rescue Records and played a Midwestern/Canadian leg of the Vans Warped Tour.
Since the summer of 2006, The Swellers have been constantly touring the U.S., signed to Japanese Label Radtone Music, and flew out to do a week of shows.
In November and December of 2006, The Swellers went to the newly moved Sentient Studio in Chicago, Illinois to record their new full length album, "My Everest". The album was released on June 5, 2007 through Search and Rescue Records.
As of March 2008, bassist Lance Nelson has announced that he has parted ways with the Swellers and has formed an emo rock quartet by the name of deadtown.
[edit] Band members
- Nick Diener — guitar and lead vocals
- Jonathan Diener — drums and backing vocals
- Garrett Burgett — guitar
- Ryan Collins — bass
[edit] Former members
- Garrett Burgett (2004-2008) — guitar
- Lance Nelson (2005-2008) — bass
- Nate Lamberts (2002-2005) — bass
- Nick Ondovcsik (2004) — guitar
[edit] Discography
- Long and Hard — self-released 2002
- End of Discussion — self-released December 3, 2003
- Beginning of the End Again — released August 11, 2005 on Search and Rescue Records
- The Swellers — released on Radtone Music in Japan
- Don't Hold Your Breath — released March 19th, 2007 on Radtone Music in Japan
- My Everest — released June 5th, 2007 on Search and Rescue Records
[edit] Trivia
- Before The Swellers had begun their touring career, singer Nick Diener was brought on to fill in on bass for A Wilhelm Scream during their United States tour with Less Than Jake.
- He was also brought in to tour with A Wilhelm Scream to fill in for guitar in late 2007.
- Amidst rumors of a summer 2006 signing to the prominent punk rock label Nitro Records owned by Dexter Holland of The Offspring The Swellers are still signed to Search and Rescue Records (US) and Radtone Music (Japan).
- The song "They All Float Down Here" was titled after a quote from Stephen King's movie "IT".
- Nick Diener sings and plays a guitar solo on the Japanese edition of Much the Same's album, Survive, during the song "Seasons Change".
- Members of The Swellers have been in side project bands including Alkaline Trio, Leftover Crack, Misfits, NOFX, and Weezer cover bands, epic-metal band Another Kind of Hell, a band with Dan from the Suicide Machines called Bayonetting The Wounded, and Fuckin' Gnarly.
