Swanky Tiger

Dark, mysterious yet loud and in your face come to mind when you first hear Brooklyn based band Swanky Tiger - with an intriguing name like theirs, it’s no wonder they’re building up quite a fan base. Debuting the first full length album in 2015, EMPIRES, they caught the attention of several music websites and listeners alike. There’s a gritty, hard rock element that EMPIRES carries; the perfect recipe for crafting catchy songs - strong guitar riffs, seductive bass lines, and loud as hell drums. Their video, Glamorous, off of their album Empires - shows off their darker more complex, deeper side of dealing with failures in life with some indie movie horror vibes.

Just as Empires, MECHANICAL NIGHTMARES has shivers down your spine moments where lead singer Oliver’s voice hits a raspy note and fluctuates in a low, darkish tone. MECHANICAL NIGHTMARES carries on the sound Swanky Tiger established with EMPIRES but it’s evolved with a faster tempo, and edgier. Swanky Tiger’s music is the type you’d love to hear when you’re on the way to work and have to frustratingly squeeze into the already packed train, it’ll keep you motivated and intrigued especially with a distinctive name like such. Playing in iconic New York City venues, Swanky Tiger has molded a sound that is uniquely theirs - taking all of the influences and sounds and creating their own diverse music. Swanky Tiger emanates New York City rock ‘n’ roll swagger.


I caught up with Swanky Tiger as they began their adventure filled tour...

First off, how’s the tour going?

ST: “The tour is going fantastically! We’ve hurt ourselves with BBQ and hot chicken, played with some amazing musicians (they REALLY rock down here), stayed in some strange murder motels, swam in some hip lakes (and the ocean), and generally whooped it up. We’re excited for these last two shows (Memphis and Nashville)!”

You just released your EP “Mechanical Nightmares”, do you ever worry if a song is missing something or too over produced?

ST: Occasionally - for this EP we consciously tried to have a sort of pneumatic mix - we worked with J. Chris Griffin (Madonna, Justin Bieber) at Engine Room Audio in NYC to really nail down exactly what we wanted on these four tracks. Our first album was self-recorded and very raw, so we wanted to try something new. “I Saw The Light,” in particular, went through lots of previous mutations before becoming the banger that it is today.

Most surreal experience as a band?

ST: “Probably having our whole perspective of the rock n’ roll scene shaken up on this tour, in the absolute best way. Playing these shows with all of these ferocious bands has really opened our eyes to how vital this music is, and has made us even more proud to play it. Playing with the Chris Simmons Band (Leon Russell’s bandmate) in Alabama was an especially rollicking time.”

What has been the oddest job you’ve ever had before the band?

ST: “Oliver used to render ice cream out of liquid nitrogen, and never managed to burn himself. Clemens used to make mulled wine as a child in a small German village on the outskirts of the Black Forest.”

You guys have played a lot of NYC’s well known venues, which is your favorite one so far?

ST: Definitely The Bowery Electric, Diane runs one of the best rooms in the city with consistently amazing sound and acts like Tommy Stinson, Richard Lloyd, and of course, Swanky Tiger. We’ve played there so many times we’ve lost count, and Oliver held his birthday show there two years in a row. It is exactly what we imaged a lower east side rock n’ roll club should be! “ - The Huffington Post

The Brooklyn-based rockers of Swanky Tiger worked on their latest EP, “Mechanical Nightmares” (June 2017), for the better part of a year. Rather than saving songs for the studio and releasing them after, they perfected them on the road first. While an unusual move for the band—made up of Oliver Mashburn (guitar, vocals), Will Rockefeller (guitar), Michael Glendening (bass, keys), and Clemens Grassmann (drums)—it was a conscious decision to go outside the box.

SWANKY 2.0: NYC’s Swanky Tiger will play Reggie’s this week. Photo by Michael Koh.

“It’s been a totally different process by which we’ve come across these songs,” Rockefeller explains. “A lot of times, when we would record or commit to something, we would come back and say, ‘Oh, God! This could be so much better.’ This way we could get a real feel for the song—get inside it first. I feel we’ve made a much deeper record than we had previously.”

Swanky Tiger’s debut, “Empires” (2015), was more of a straight-forward punk album. With “Mechanical Nightmares,” they wanted to change rhythms and keys that seemed to show up in a lot of songs. They wanted to push themselves another direction.

“While I think this record is undoubtedly Swanky Tiger,” Rockefeller clarifies, “the music is purposefully varied and more eclectic. There’s blues, there’s pop, there’s metal-inspired stuff. . . . We wanted to produce a record way more consciously.”

“I Saw the Light” was a track that morphed quite a bit from stage to stage and then to studio. Rockefeller estimates it went through four iterations before they landed on a final version.

“It started out as a Metallica-chugging song, and it turned into something a little more sophisticated,” he tells. “We kept moving pieces around—trying to make the chorus bigger. The chorus never sat right. Mike and I just sat with it for a year or year and a half, continually changed things, added things, took things away…”

They got carried away at times, too: more keys, more lead lines, more texturing. They ran the risk of overworking the song to find its perfect form.

“We’d have to rein each other in sometimes,” Rockefeller admits. “When we actually recorded, we ended up adding even more stuff. Still, I think it turned out well. We’re more proud of this record than anything else.”

Swanky Tiger also brought on guest vocalists for some of the tracks. Both Kathleen Fogarty and J. Chris Griffin back up the track on “Mechanical Nightmares,” while Fogarty also sings backup on “All I Want” and “I Saw the Light.” Ultimately, they thought the added harmonies would make it a fun record, whether hearing it live or at home. Nevertheless, the added vocals were never something they thought or planned to do before. They gradually started testing the waters with harmonies.

“Mike and I would start singing at practice and then at shows—depending on how inebriated we got,” Rockefeller quips. “When it came time to make the record . . . we wanted to take the idea we had brewing from shows and practices, and run with it and make our voices more beautiful, so we used some better singer than us.”

All songs were written and composed by Mashburn, Rockefeller and Glendening. While “Empires” was heavy on electro-chainsaw bass, these four songs are guitar- and drum-driven.

“We didn’t feel like they needed to be any fuller than they were in terms of keys and such,” he tells. “There’s two big rock songs and no room for anything on those. There’s a blues song we felt really should stay one guitar and one bass. And then the song that does have keys [‘All I Want’]—it’s just a texture to sort of bolster a musical point.”

They’d like to explore other instrumentals again, with more keys and such, as well as circle back to the new-age-electronic-meets-rock sound. Rather than pursue a full-length record next, Swanky Tiger really plans to stretch their legs in a series of follow-up EPs. Because they’ve started writing more eclectically, the result is having a lot of songs that really don’t have much to do with each other on an album. While “Mechanical Nightmares” is a taste of what’s to come, Rockefeller estimates three more EPs are coming: one focused on heavy rock, another on blues and, of all things, a country record.

“We want something in there for everybody,” he continues. “We tout ourselves as a hard-rock band. . . . [But] we all cut our teeth on blues, and we tend to be pretty good at it, so we sort of felt like it was natural because we kept making these blues things or jams in songs. . . . I think country’s always been in our periphery as far as music we like and listen to—especially recently with acts like Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson. Country has become more accessible to northerners, as it were.”

Though their homebase in Brooklyn may not be the most open to country twang, he knows fans below the Mason Dixon will provide a bit of inspiration. As it turns out, one of their next stopovers is at Reggie’s 42nd Street Tavern. But the crowd at Reggie’s likely won’t hear any country songs in the works. “The country EP isn’t fully developed,” Rockefeller says. “It’s not show ready. If it were, we would be on it for sure.”

Swanky Tiger will play with garage-folk band The Menders from Gastonia, NC, and Wilmington-based Sunset Kings.

DETAILS:
Swanky Tiger
Opening acts: The Menders and Sunset Kings • Cover: $7
Sat., July 22, at 9:30 p.m.
Reggies 42nd St.Tavern
1415 S. 42nd St.
www.swankytigerband.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: SHANNON RAE GENTRY - Encore Magazine

Drew DeVine July 25, 2017 Features, News


Swanky Tiger–hailing from New York, New York–are a band in touch with the spirit of fun, sleazy, 1980s hard rock. But much like current rock heavyweights Queens of the Stone Age, the group manages to incorporate the best elements of an older rock sensibility while still sounding contemporary, living, and vital–never like a mere tribute or museum piece. A few days ahead of their show this Wednesday at The Nick Rocks, I interviewed the band by phone as they found themselves in the midst of a hotel-stranded food hangover.

DD: So I listened to your new EP and I really like it. Part of what I like about it is that there are all these hard rock sounds that I feel in the 90s–with grunge and indie rock–kind of got erased. And I feel like you flirt with those like glammier sides of rock music. Or maybe not even glam but like Guns N Roses, I hear a little AC/DC scratchiness in Oliver’s voice. Can you speak to that difference in sound?

ST: We love that stuff. Definitely love Guns N Roses and AC/DC. Big ones for this EP for sure, you kind of hit it right there. I don’t know… we’ve always loved the kind of glammy stuff, you know?

As far as the difference, and not hearing those sounds in other bands, it’s more of a coincidence or consequence. That wasn’t necessarily something we tried to make sure we did.

DD: So it was just a natural outgrowth of your sensibility.

ST: Yeah it just kind of came out that way. I guess since that’s just what we like to listen to, you know? And our whole MO with this band has always been kind of like: “Huh, what record do we want to hear that we can’t find?” You know?



DD: So Mechanical Nightmares, this new EP. It’s fun but also, especially the title track, it seems to be laced with a kind of paranoia. And so the name, it sounds like technological paranoia in a way. But is there any other kind that got in there? Or am I just reading that into it?

ST: Interestingly enough, I did the lyrics while I was waiting for the subway in New York. And I was just really pissed off because I hate the subway and it was taking a really long time. And so I’m just kind of writing it down in my notepad. And then what happened, interestingly enough, is like–I wrote the lyrics all over a year ago–and then all this crazy shit happened with the election and all this–the big upset and all of that–and, it’s very interesting. Because when this came out, it sounded really topical, from way before when all this stuff ever happened! So maybe there was foreshadowing or something there. But… it was just about me being angry at that subway train! So…

DD: Gotcha. No, that’s fine. So, on your website you list influences like Queens of the Stone Age and Iggy Pop, stuff like that. For the new EP did you feel like there were new influences? Or even outside of a comparison to another band or artist, was there another particularly different direction you wanted to go with this EP? Or was it all just a natural development?

ST: Yeah I think so. Especially in the way we did our guitar tones, all our gear being different, we wanted to make a much tighter, more hard rock album than we ever had before. So like a lot of those sorts of throwback bands were a bigger influence with us for this record. Compared to like the garage rock we did on our first record.


DD: Another thing I noticed when I was poking around on your website and looking at responses elsewhere to your music, there was a lot of singling out of your live presence. When you play live, do you really try to change it up, or is there more of a focus on recreating the studio sound in a particularly charismatic way?

ST: Well there’s definitely a very conscious difference in arrangement. In the studio, we look at the whole band as an infinitely variable instrument. You can have ten guitars doing different things on the record. But live you’re going to need to figure out a way to mix that down. So it is kind of trying to emulate the record but also conscious of like, we usually only go in with half of a setlist in mind, but also we try to keep it as party as possible. Read what the audience is doing and hope that they respond to what we’re doing.

So we’re taking the EP sound as the guideline, as the general grid and story of the song and then live we feel how the venue is vibrating with us, how the audience is feeling, how we’re all feeling on stage. If we want to extend a solo we just extend it if we feel it in the moment. Or we find some segue ways into songs and combine different things. But always with that EP sound in mind, I guess. That’s always the place we like to take off from or go back to. It’s usually just happening in the moment.

So we can’t really recreate what we do in the studio because we don’t have the personnel to do it live… especially on this EP we had tons and tons harmonies and keyboards and stuff. And we don’t have backup singers live and we don’t have a keyboard player. So like when we play live we try to make up for it in stagecraft. So we’ll like jump around and extend solos and such. But it’s always like reading the room.

Swanky Tiger will perform at The Nick on Wednesday, July 26, at 10 p.m. They will be joined by 7 Stone Riot and the Chris Simmons Band.

The Nick is located at 2514 10th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35205.

Image and video courtesy of Bread and Circuses, Inc. - Magic City Bands

Mondays can always be a challenge but if you crank up loud the new Swanky Tiger EP, I assure you, your mood will be lifted. Swanky Tiger have just released their 4 song EP, Mechanical Nightmares. It is four songs that will become regulars on your playlist! Their nasty rock n roll is exactly what we need more of. It brings to life the big sound of rock, angsty vocals, infused with punk, catchy melodies.

You can pick up the EP by heading over to https://swankytiger.bandcamp.com/album/mechanical-nightmares. Take a listen:


They successfully blend a style of hard rock, the edginess of punk, and catchy pop elements with alternative edges. It is refreshing to see a band bring out their own new sound and style, and not be afraid to break down the genre walls. I hope you check them out!

Swanky Tiger is:

Oliver Myles Mashburn -Vocals, Guitar
Will Rockefeller -Rhythm, Lead guitars
Michael “Deez” Glendening -Bass, Guitar, Keys
Clemens Grassmann -Drums, Percussion

Make sure to visit their social media sites and stay up to date on their latest news.

~ Marisol

Information & Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SwankyTiger
Bandcamp: http://swankytiger.bandcamp.com/releases
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SwankyTiger - Music Junkie Press

Swanky Tiger comes out swinging with Empires, their new album with songs that bring a rush of adrenaline and the focus and capture of a solid hard rock album. A sound that fits right into 2015 where hard rock is lead by current artists like Five Finger Death Punch, Slash & Myles Kennedy, Starset, or Alter Bridge. There’s still some intimacy with the material on this album. The group has found a fine balance between overdrive power and softer undertones with their songwriting. It’s that balance of dynamics that bounce back and forth all throughout that gives a warmer, rather than raunchy rock sound.

The band certainly harnessed their understanding of the component that make hard rock easy to listen to, with strong guitar riffs not just for the song’s main hook, but to build up around choruses, bridges, and strategic fills. It’s one thing to turn the gain all the way up, but great rock guitar sound comes from tone, and it’s easy to appreciate the experimentation of different distortional voices in songs like “If Live is but A Dream.” There’s also a capture of real creativity with strong solos that fit really well onto songs like “Half Light.” “Bad Operator.”

Don’t feel like it’s strictly a one-trick pony however. The album also allows the bass to set the tone with it’s own unique signature riffs all throughout the album in “Bad Operator,” “Glamorous,” and a really lively “Metamorphosize.”



Whiskey Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Shots

Article by: Tommy Shackleford - Pancakes And Whiskey

Following an eventful 2014 highlighted by performances at key New York City venues such as The Studio at Webster Hall, Tammany Hall, and Arlene’s Grocery, the young punk outfit Swanky Tiger is starting off the new year with the release of its newest studio offering, Empires. You can stream the album below.

One line in the tune “Glamorous” sounds a little like foreshadowing for this up-and-coming band: “If it’s fame you want / come and take it now”. By the sound of this track, and indeed the LP as a whole, Swanky Tiger is poising itself to do just that.

The band tells PopMatters more about the track “Glamorous”, which hints at many of the creative influences used throughout Empires: “With ‘Glamorous’ the initial idea was to play around with a Lana Del Rey sort of pop atmosphere, though obviously we’ve taken the whole job into heavier, more rollicking territory. The lyrical themes deal quite a bit with failure and the looming fear that one’s aspirations will backfire, which at the time of the song’s composition was a serious concern.” - PopMatters

NYC-based punk infused band Swanky Tiger teamed up with us to stream a new single ‘Bad Operator’ from their upcoming album Empires, set to be released on January 6. 2015.

Start your New Year off the right way with a little bit of old and a whole lot of new. Swanky Tiger may be an up and coming band, but don’t let that fool you…this band has an old soul. Swanky Tiger ushers in 2015 with their own updated brand of punk laced rock and roll. ‘Bad Operator’ pays homage to an era that seemed to slip into the shadows of an underground scene yet remaining completely original and boundary pushing. If you were able to pick and choose the best parts of genres (punk, rock, new wave, alternative) and some how find a way to make them work seamlessly together then…oh wait, Swanky Tiger has already done that for you. Their sound will appeal to all those salty punks who constantly complain that punk isn’t punk anymore as well as listeners who just need to break the main stream cycle and hear some pure rock and roll. I could probably RIYL this all day long, but I feel like every person is going to pull their own different influences from this band the first time they hear the track. It’s a slick new sound yet quite nostalgic in its own right. I am looking forward to wrapping my ears around Empires, if this is a taste of what this record has to offer, I couldn’t be more stoked. - Hellhound Music

Half Light brings a far more typical chord progression. The guitars almost playing a piano counter melody, bringing an unconventional substitution of sound, and showcasing the diverse elements of their songcraft.
Empires opens with a startling similarity to electric 6. But this transitions into power rock fairly quickly, with none of the former’s grandiose humour, but perhaps more with a wry smirk.

There’s a sense of subdued aggression. A couple of times the breakdown seems to call upon an arena, a mosh-pit – the pub band seems to ascend to new sounds like a cresting wave before calming to turbulent sea, full of promise.
My favourite track is probably Metamorphosize – it’s a clever nod to the change in tone at the album’s mid point. The lyrics suggest a more complex relationship than songs will usually acknowledge; the one way stream of simplicity we’re used to is countered by the turbulent sound and lyrics.

While Mashburn’s strained and pronounced vocals suit the tone of the songs, there’s not a great exploration of range. The songs explore different themes and styles, but the same full belt vocals don’t always capture the essence of the music. Not an unfixable folly, and not unexpected on an LP.

If I had to label them with past bands, there’s some Iggy Pop in the mix, echoes of The Smiths and Sex Pistols, all complimented with a more rock heavy smattering of Heaven’s Basement. But the rest is more or less their own way.

Won’t be Home Tonight’s opening riff bubbles with metal potential before the confident punk strut takes over, like the Artful Dodger striding through the Ripper’s alley. This is a band that teases with a pub rock lurch and smirk, but seems to have a darker, more predatory sound trying to break through. Swanky Tiger seems a fitting moniker. - Rock Industry

Swanky Tiger is an NYC based alt-rock quartet that specializes in cranking out melodic punk and hard rock anthems that combine accessible pop hooks with aggressive, buzz saw sounding electric guitars.

The band's new debut LP, Empires, was just released and puts on display the band's wide array of influences. The raw energy on tap calls to mind early Iggy Pop and his work with The Stooges, but it wouldn't be accurate to classify Swanky Tiger as a strictly punk rock outfit. The guitar tones are much more akin to those found on early '90s records from bands like Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins.

There's an undeniable swagger to the band's sound. Swanky Tiger sounds like a young band realizing that they are doing what they are meant to be doing. This is a band that believes that they should be heard.

The current trend in indie rock is to subvert traditional ideas about what being cool looks like - to be above it all. Swanky Tiger, on the other hand, is a band that would have no problem living up the the old school ideal of what a rock band should be. It's as easy to imagine Swanky Tiger playing a house show as it is to imagine them playing on some big festival stage, a trait they share with only a few established bands (Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, and The Orwells for example). You can listen to their brand new album, Empires here.
Learn More: Bandcamp Facebook Twitter
- See more at: http://inyourspeakers.com/content/news/287-bleeding-edge-swanky-tiger-swagger-01092015#sthash.QZHxW4cq.dpuf - In Your Speakers

Swanky Tiger, a young indie-rock band from New York City has started off their music career on the fast track. They've already been nominated for The Deli Magazine's "Best of NYC 2013 Poll for Emerging Artists," have had the chance to play many iconic NYC venues, and put out a new album titled Empires. The band took the time to let Inyourspeakers get to know them through a quick Q&A where they described their experience as a band so far and their future goals.

Inyourspeakers: To begin with formalities before getting into the real questions... How are you guys? Are you surviving the snow in NYC?

Oliver Myles Mashburn: It’s a little better now, it seems to be melting.

Michael Glendening: I goddam love the snow. Ain’t ashamed. Wish I were in Boston even.

Will Rockefeller: I love snowy NYC. Super rad.

Connor Crawford: I’m from Canada, this shit is nothin’.

IYS: How did the band come together?

OMM: Rokks, Deez, and I met in high school, where we had a little band backing up this really fantastic French singer, Hugo Jardin. After a while he went back to France to be a poet and we continued on ourselves, and found Connor along the way.

MG: Will and Oliver and I have been playing music in each others presence since boyhood. Actually we even made a record at The Cutting Room studios in high school. Times have changed, the music is better, but as people we’re pretty much the same. We found Connor after he fell out of a nest and the mother bird left him. Apparently if you touch the baby birds the mother abandons them or something? The cat picked him up and dropped him on our doorstep, we thought he was dead. Anyway we taught him to play drums and though he can’t fly anymore, we’d like to think we improved his life.

WWR: I was super impressed with Oli and Deez’s musical ability, I’d never seen anyone play like they did and for some reason they asked me to be in their band. Which was weird, because I knew like, two chords on the guitar? I had no idea how music worked. But look at me now!

CC: Chirp-chirp, chirp chirp. Mommy?

IYS: Where did you come up with the name Swanky Tiger?

MG: One summer’s eve in Saigon, our dearest Will Rokks was nearly mauled to death by a tiger wearing a top hat, but as the tiger was going to deliver the final blow, he stopped, grabbed Will by the collar, and told him he was going to let him live so long as he sent a message to the others. This is our mission. Beware the Swanky Tiger.

WWR: It was sort of a joke I said that something I saw was a “Swanky Tiger” and Oli and I looked at each other and were like "That’s it. That’s the name." I think everyone hated it until they realized how serious we are about the band.

CC: I think that it came to me one day while I was thinking about grass and stuff. Unfortunately it was already another band’s name. Who knew that one day I would be in that band!!!??

IYS: How would you describe your music for those readers who have never heard of you?

OMM: Heavy rock and roll, really, with raspy vocals, loud guitars and synths, and very snaky bass lines.

MG: Anthem rock music with a very heavy and modern influence. Swanky Tiger is love, Swanky Tiger is life.

WWR: I think our name is pretty indicative of what we sound like, Rock n' Roll with a large catlike demeanor.

CC: Basically if you take the punk of the '90s, but make it today with the technology that’s available that would be Swanky Tiger.

IYS: You guys have gotten off to a quick start for such a young band. You’ve had the opportunity to play shows in iconic venues and you were nominated for The Deli Magazine's "Best of NYC 2013 Poll for Emerging Artists.” What was that experience like?

OMM: I like The Deli, but to be honest not much has come from that mention. It’s to be expected, I guess, though it is still nice that people are thinking about us.

MG: Just like you’re describing- it’s been eerily easy so far. It’s also been seriously fun and flattering.

WWR: It’s been awesome! It’s incredible to have your work be validated by people who don’t actually have to give you the time of day. Shout out to those guys at The Deli! Thanks guys!

CC: I understand the love after getting the chance to work with these guys. It’s been great so far.

IYS: Do you have a favorite venue to play in NYC? Why?

OMM: I really liked the Bowery Electric, mainly because of the great sound and the neon lights. Webster was nice too, though.

MG: Webster Hall made me wet my pants on stage. We opened the show there with “Bad Operator” which starts with just me. Everything was fine, then just when everyone else is supposed to come in, BAM- strobe lights, disco, smoke- I was totally unprepared and probably screamed like a young lass in excitement.

WWR: Oh man, The Studio at Webster Hall! Killer sound, great lights great staff! They’re one of the only venues we’ve played that we didn’t have to pester anyone to get paid. Top stuff, Webster.

CC: I’ve only played at Bowery Electric, I’m excited for Arlene’s and Fontana’s though.

IYS: You guys just put out your new album Empires… How has the response been to that?

OMM: People seem to like it, which is nice, and once we can afford physical copies maybe they’ll even buy it! ;)

MG: For years I have told myself I am the best musician in history. So it’s very validating to finally hear other people say that too. But honestly I cannot thank the people enough who have listened to Empires, especially those that like it.

WWR: Really positive! There’s nothing like someone coming up to you and saying “*Blank song* is my favorite! It gets stuck in my head all the time!” It’s hard to get over that feeling.

CC: People love it. I had a random stranger come up to me at the school I go to and tell me that he loved "Glamorous" and that was a cool moment. My mom’s the biggest fan though.

IYS: Who were your influences while writing the album and what was the writing process like for you guys?

OMM: I was listening to a lot of The Rolling Stones while we were recording, and just got turned on to Pearl Jam when we were tracking “Metamorphosize,” though I’m not sure if those influences really turn up so clearly.

MG: The influences are all over time and space: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Dethklok, The Strokes, Muse, etc. We honestly just wrote whatever we liked that day and stuck with it. Also we have a big Iggy and the Stooges Raw Power poster hanging in our studio so I don’t think that was far from anyone's mind.

WWR: I think Muse and Queens of the Stone Age have been huge factors in the way we write and record. They’ve been some of our favorite bands for years.

CC: I think that it was probably One Direction for me. Big fan - ILY Harry.

IYS: Do you have a favorite song off of the new album? Why?

OMM: This is so hard. I have no idea. It’s a very sweaty three way between “Empires,” “With The Lights Out,” and “Won’t Be Home Tonight,” I think.

MG: It changes everyday but I think most often it’s “With the Lights Out”. That song started as such a whim but it ended up being the most beautifully structured song we’ve ever made and the most adventurous in terms of production. Plus I got to track the lead guitars on that song as everyone else was indisposed that day so that was fun.

WWR: "With the Lights Out" and "Metamorphosize" are my favorites for sure. I think I like those songs because I still can’t believe we wrote them.

CC: "With the lights Out," so much fun to play.

IYS: Do you have any plans to hit the road in the near future? What do you hope 2015 brings for Swanky Tiger?

OMM: We do, we hope to play as many shows as we can, and also do things like CMJ and SXSW, so be on the lookout! We hope 2015 brings fame and fortune and all that goes with it, my darling. Hoo - ha.

MG: I hope 2015 brings a Gulf-stream 6 and 4 platinum records. We don’t have an official tour going on but we’re kinda like batman. Just call on us and we’ll be there.

WWR: We’re trying to get on the road ASAP. Hopefully we’ll see y’all out there in your town.
- See more at: http://inyourspeakers.com/content/features/interviews/268-quick-qa-swanky-tiger-03112015#sthash.Jr4J2WTJ.dpuf - In Your Speakers

Coming off of a powerful 2014, the young NYC punk-rock outfit Swanky Tiger jumps into the new year with the release of their new album Empires.

The band came together while attending a boarding school in Connecticut with similar musical influences like Queens of the Stone Age. Their music is reminiscent of the Strokes, White Stripes, Stone Temple Pilots, Iggy and the Stooges, and the Cure.

Swanky Tiger has gotten off to a quick start over the past couple of years for such a young band with performances in iconic NYC venues such as The Studio at Webster Hall, Arlene's Grocery, and Tammany Hall. They also received an honorable mention in The Deli Magazine's "Best of NYC 2013 Poll for Emerging Artists" in the revival rock category.

Swanky Tiger now has put it into high gear with the release of their new album Empires. The band embraces a hard-rock vibe while retaining pop elements which gives their music a fun sound. Dive into 2015 with Swanky Tiger by jamming to their sharp, hooky sound and guitar driven aggression.

Swanky Tiger is a band you'll want to keep your eye on this year. They offer a new glamorous take on punk-rock with their shimmery sounds that is sure to take them to the top.
- See more at: http://inyourspeakers.com/content/news/268-bleeding-edge-swanky-tiger-01092015#sthash.oLlMrbVC.dpuf - In Your Speakers

8:55 am March 25, 2015

We’re pleased to bring you the exclusive premiere of Swanky Tiger‘s music video for their track “Glamorous.” The track is taken from the band’s their debut album Empires, available for purchase here.

The video for “Glamorous” might possibly give you the chills, with its found footage horror film feel. Some parts are even reminiscent of the eeriness found in the aftermath footage of the Heaven’s Gate cult mass suicide.

Directed by the band’s guitarist Will Rockefellar, the band filmed the video, “Glamorous” with minimal lighting and no makeup or special effects, in one night. They drew a lot of inspiration from the American Horror Story intro, creating something eerie. The song “Glamorous”is evocative of a sort of doomed glamor, experienced from the point of view of someone who has ultimately wasted his success and is checking out. It’s all about that feeling of being wasted, feeling burnt out before you’ve had the chance to really gain fulfillment, feeling as though your life has been hollow and superficial. There’s nowhere to go from there, so in the video at least, everyone seems marked for death, frustrated, beaten down, on the verge of some great personal catastrophe. - New Noise Magazine

Swanky Tiger, ‘Half Light’ – Exclusive Premiere
by Chuck Armstrong November 11, 2014 1:02 PM
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Hailing from New York City, rockers Swanky Tiger are gearing up to release their debut album on Jan. 6, 2015. While we all wait to get our hands on the full-length, Diffuser is ecstatic to premiere the band’s latest single from the record, ‘Half Light.’ Check it out and crank it up below.

It doesn’t take long for Swanky Tiger to hook listeners on ‘Half Light’ — the opening slowly builds into an explosive groove, highlighting the individual talents of the members while showcasing their solid, cohesive sound, reminiscent of acts like the White Stripes, Stone Temple Pilots, Iggy and the Stooges and the Cure … just to name a few.

“The song was conceived initially from a riff that Deez [Michael Glendening] came up with,” the band explains. “We dug the power behind it and used part of the guitar melody as a base for the vocal line as well, so as to accentuate the part more fully.”

Swanky Tiger go on, “The song, in its essence, is about being secure, feeling loved and steadfast in a relationship. Not everything is balanced all the time, though, so there’s a wild solo and lots of dynamic shifts to convey the ever-changing, unpredictable nature of things.”

If you dig what you hear from ‘Half Light,’ make sure to check out their first single from their upcoming record, ‘Empires,’ below:


Read More: Swanky Tiger, 'Half Light' - Exclusive Premiere | http://diffuser.fm/swanky-tiger-exclusive-premiere/?trackback=tsmclip - Diffuser.fm

With hints of angsty vocals amid the punk tinged rock guitars, you will find your new found love, Swanky Tiger. The New York Rock band has really captured my attention with their infectiously catchy new single, Glamorous. The song is off their debut album Empires which we will be bringing to you a review soon. They have just released a new video for the song, check it out here:

I am hooked on them as they bring out my love of punk rock and fused it with hard rock vibes and catchy pop elements and alternative edges. It is refreshing to see a band bring out their own new sound and style, and not be afraid to break down the genre walls. I hope you check them out too! We will see if we can bring you an interview soon and hopefully get a chance to catch them live. I need my Swanky Tiger fix!!

Swanky Tiger is:

Oliver Myles Mashburn -Vocals, Guitar
Will Rockefeller -Rhythm, Lead guitars
Michael “Deez” Glendening -Bass, Guitar, Keys
Connor Crawford -Drums, Percussion

Make sure to visit their social media sites and stay up to date on their latest news.

~ Marisol - Music Junkie Press

NYC garage rockers Swanky Tiger first garnered attention with their EP Electric Tiger, which earned an honorable mention by The Deli Magazine in their “Best of NYC 2013 Poll for Emerging Artists” revival rock category. When it came time to master their debut LP, Empires, the hard rock outfit headed to the Cutting Room Studios, where luminaries like Prince, We Are Augustines, and Iggy Pop have also turned.

With Empires, Swanky Tiger display their natural knack for old school, bar room style rock ‘n roll backed by raw, guttural vocals. Give the EP a listen below and check out their Facebook here. - Speak Into My Good Eye

—by Dean Scordilis, December 30, 2014

More and more bands are coming out of the woodwork and proving that rock ‘n’ roll is, in fact, not dead. The newest band in this army of the undead is Swanky Tiger, a jazzy, punky, synthy hard rock band hailing from New York City. The quartet will be playing a special show on Jan. 7 at The Bowery Electric in NYC in celebration of their debut CD, Empires. Fusing the sounds of 30 Seconds To Mars with Queens Of The Stone Age and The Myriad, Swanky Tiger’s record release show is not one to miss. - The Aquarian

“Empires”

Electric Tiger

Teetering on that peak between heavy metal and punk rock, Swanky Tiger swaggers onto the scene from the same New York that spawned the New York Dolls and the Dictators. Oliver Myles Mashburn, Will Rockefeller, Mike “Baby ‘BassFace’ Deez” Glendening, and Connor Crawford, the members of Swanky Tiger, have honed the skills for kick-ass rock n roll. Add a little Seattle fury and Manchester, England heaviness, with the inherent snottiness of NYC and you get Swanky Tiger. Iggy would be so proud. - Audio Fuzz

By Michael Deez | 1.22.2015
37 4
The Strokes, 'Comedown Machine' (RCA, 2013)

"Another weird Strokes album... well, I'm a loyal fan, I'll still listen." These were my thoughts when I finally decided to take a listen to Comedown Machine in the waiting room of a hospital after it had been available for maybe two months already. I had resurging memories of their last album as I readied my headphones and my ears. Is this going to feel like First Impressions of Earth? The new wave funk guitar rhythms of "Tap Out" came on and threw any notion of First Impressions down a well. But I wasn't disinterested. These were definitely not the same Strokes who wanted to make songs like "Last Night," but they were on to something.

I spent the next hour or so sitting in this tiny hospital waiting room while my bandmate was probably waiting in an even smaller room for a doctor to tell him basically nothing. The wait was nothing to me though: Comedown Machine had me. I think we've all known for a while now that Julian Casablancas is an '80s-phile, but never did I expect these '80s song structures and influences to be combined in such a way by a band like The Strokes, who gave us "Juicebox" and "Ize of the World".

Comedown Machine is not only a grand re-emergence of The Strokes, but maybe of modern pop rock itself. This record really does sound like it was made in the '80s... tell me you can't imagine a cheesy, overstated music video to go with "Welcome to Japan." But despite this, every single song is so well constructed that one doesn't really notice anything jarring, if it's even there at all. It's just the kind of album that makes you feel good about your favorite band.

We should all start taking hints from Comedown Machine and stop trying to musically reinvent the wheel for a while. Casablancas and his crew seem damn good and comfortable with breathing new life into the boomboxes of decades past, and as it goes, so should we.
About the Author
Michael Deez

Michael Deez is a member of NYC rock 'n' roll band Swanky Tiger. Their new album, Empires, is now available via Bandcamp. - No Echo

'The Questionnaire' with Swanky Tiger
Brownie Marie - AXS Contributor
By: Brownie Marie AXS Contributor Jan 17, 2015
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'The Questionnaire' with Swanky Tiger

Punk-infused hard rock band Swanky Tiger recently released a new album, Empires to rave reviews. The project was mastered in the legendary Cutting Room Studios in NoHo, and reflects a cultivated and intricate sound far beyond the band's years. The band was originally formed as The Young DeVotchkas by Oliver Myles Mashburn (vocals/guitar), Will Rockefeller (guitar), and Mike “Baby Deez” Glendening (bass/guitar/keys) while the young men were in boarding school.

They transitioned from French pop to rock in 2013, and recently added drummer Connor Crawford. Their eponymous debut EP was released in September 2013, earning them an honorable mention by The Deli Magazine in their “Best of NYC 2013 Poll for Emerging Artists” revival rock category. Performances at The Bowery, The Studio at Webster Hall, Tammany Hall, and Arlene’s Grocery, have followed, securing Swanky Tiger's place as one of the most sought after bands in New York. Check out singer Oliver Mashburn's exclusive interview with AXS below.

Where does each band member live?

Michael and Connor live up at school in Saratoga, and Will and I live in New York City.

Where did you get the group’s name?

Will and I were walking along the street one fine day when he spied a porcelain tiger statue, dressed impeccably in a top hat and three piece suit, with a cane of course, and called it a “swanky tiger.” We thought that to be quite a perfect name for a rock n’ roll band, so here we are, Swanky Tiger.

What was your first gig?

Our first proper show was at the Trash Bar in Brooklyn last year, with the Senators, Abhay Singh, and Beta Boys. We were sort of nervous, but their open bar situation in the back did much to assuage our plight.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

They’re all over the place. Offhand, I’d say stuff we mainly grew up on, so Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, The Rolling Stones, stuff like that. As of late we’ve been getting into some metal, as well as Muse, and Arctic Monkeys and the like.

What has been your biggest professional challenge?

Getting all you people to come see us live. This is getting a bit easier now, though, but seriously. Come to see us, and maybe pick up our records…. please!

What do you like about the current state of hard rock?

I for one have noticed a small sort of resurgence in heavy music, what with bands like Royal Blood and stuff getting rather popular. Honestly, though, I haven’t really listened to much new hard rock recently.

How did you successfully transition from The Young DeVotchkas to Swanky Tiger?

That was pretty damn easy, as our lead singer had to go back to France, and none of us could sing in French and didn’t want to play those songs without him, so we had to find something else to do.

What do you love about New York?

Pretty great pizza, sour diesel, the ease of transportation (though its getting too expensive), constant shows to go to/play, and the stoically beautiful architecture along Central Park West.

What are you currently working on?

Well we’ve just released our new album, EMPIRES, so we’re mainly playing shows in support of that. Also, we’ve got a music video for “Glamorous” almost finished, so the people should be seeing that rather soon. We’re mainly just playing shows and looking for a record deal, though. - AXS

by Camille Barichello, I play competitive air guitar. What else do you need to know?

Swanky Tiger

How’s your Wednesday going? Kind of dull and chilly? This will help. NYC’s Swanky Tiger has a dirty glam sound that is anything but dull, and singer/guitarist Oliver Myles Mashburn’s sneering delivery is also the opposite of chilly. Seriously, there is something about that little trail-off at the end of a line… look, we’re all adults here, let’s just say it: it’s sexy.

When I was first listening to the song, I wrote myself a little note and it said “what we have here is TRASH in the best possible way.” I agree wholeheartedly with myself. This isn’t trashy in the sense of the guy having a loud personal argument on the bus, or in the sense of tracksuits and bad haircuts. That kind isn’t any fun. This is the fun kind: the kind that pops its gum in church, the kind that can always be counted on to have a flask somewhere about their person, the kind that you pick up at a bar and never find out their last name. Let’s pretend the gentlemen of Swanky Tiger didn’t meet at boarding school, because that is the opposite of what they sound like.

Get Swanky Tiger’s new album, Empires, and play it at your next party. And invite me.
Published: January 14, 2015
Filed Under: audio
Tags: swanky tiger - Music Savage

Monday, January 19, 2015
Swanky Tiger - Half Light


This is an exceptional song by Swanky Tiger … “Half Light.” This is hard rock infused with heavy punk that just blows the headphones off of your ears.


I love the guitar riffs in this tune. Swanky Tiger… you rock! - Rock N' Roll Guru

Every day, Daily Downloads offers 10 free and legal mp3 downloads.


Today's free and legal mp3 downloads:

Dolly Spectra: "Moving in Circles" [mp3]

Electrician: "Billowing Clouds" [mp3]

Folk Angel: Christmas Songs NoiseTrade Sampler EP [mp3]

Jason Barrows: Islands of My Soul album [mp3]

Peter Carlsen: "Tiger" [mp3] from Sirens (out November 24th)

Pinecones: "Plays Cosmic Hits" Live on Radio album [mp3]

Streets of Laredo: An Introduction To Streets Of Laredo EP [mp3]

Swanky Tiger: "Empires" [mp3]

Sweet Soubrette: Be My Live Wire: Remixes EP [mp3]


Free and legal live performances at other websites: - Largehearted Boy

The first Swanky Tiger single “Empires,” from their forthcoming debut album dropped earlier this month and has already been featured on sites such as Indie Minded , The Vinyl District , and Faronheit .

Their previous EP – Electric Tiger – even earned them an honourable mention by The Deli Magazine in their “Best of NYC 2013 Poll for Emerging Artists” revival rock category.

Embracing complicated arrangements and orchestrations while still retaining that hard rock vibe, “Empires” was mastered at NYC’s legendary Cutting Room Studios, whose roster includes highly acclaimed artists such as Prince, We Are Augustines, and Iggy Pop.

We checked out “Empires” :

A vaguely familiar riff is scratched out by guitars that are buzzier than a whole nest of hornets.

The vocal deals out plaintive lines like rotten fruit, blistering through the skin of a sound. And all the while the bass thumps along.

The rhythms are sizzling hot, and efficient. The vocals are stimulating – though a bit dispirited – and the guitar work is beautifully crisp.

The final chorus has a grungy texture to it. And a smirk and an attitude that adds even more value to this very competent and quite complex composition.

@neilmach © 2014

Link:

https://www.facebook.com/SwankyTiger/ - Raw Ramp

RJ Frometa
on 28 October, 2014 at 14:45
Post Views: 21

Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?

We’ve been great! Thanks for talking to us!

So you guys recently released an awesome new track “Empires” – can you talk to us more about the story behind?

The song was actually supposed to be two different parts that sort of came together by accident. The verse was written on an electric mandolin we were playing around with and the intro was just a happy accident. As far as the lyrical content it just reflects a dissatisfaction we feel about the way things are.

How was the recording and writing process?

For us they are largely one and the same, we came to the studio with a lot of skeletons for songs and really fleshed them out (get it?) while we were recording. With Empires we really wanted to create a nasty Rock n Roll monster a la Queens of the Stone Age or Muse and I think we did that.

Where did you find the inspiration for the songs and lyrics?

We approach the whole thing as if we are searching for music we’d want to listen to. A lot of our songs are responses to sounds we think are really cool. Like in Empires you can hear a Muse style keyboard riff over the verse and a grinding Justice like bass line in other parts. As far as our lyrics go we like to create images in the listeners head that tell a story.

This is part of your upcoming debut album – how’s that coming along?

It’s done actually. We recorded it at Will’s (our guitarists) barn studio in upstate New York. We had a killer time making it, as we didn’t have to worry about wasting a studios time and our money getting drunk instead of making the record. This is the first full-length album we’ve done so we also took that time to experiment with recording techniques and sounds. Then we took it to the Cutting Room for mixing and mastering. Big shout out to the guys over there this record wouldn’t sound half as good as it does with out them!

Any official release date, title in mind?

Yes! January 6th 2015! We plan on playing a big record release show around then so if you’re in NYC come out and rage with us!

With a new album on his way, any plans to hit the road this year?

Aw man, we’re dying to go on the road. We’d love to as soon as we find the cash to do so.

What else is happening next in Swanky Tiger´s world?

We’ll we’ve been practicing the hell out of this record with hopes of getting on the road and getting rock n roll to the good people of the world. - Vents Magazine

Northern Trans
‏@northerntrans

Northern Transmissions' 'Song of the Day' "The Shark Attack" by Swanky Tiger http://northerntransmissions.com @EiPR_Tweets @SwankyTiger #swankytiger
Vancouver, British Columbia - Northern Transmissions

Posted by Steven Farkas on November 3rd, 2014 at 2:00 pm | Leave a comment

Swanky TigerNYC garage rock band Swanky Tiger are streaming a new track online. The song is titled Empires and is taken from their upcoming debut full length (as yet untitled), due for release in early January 2015. This represents the band’s first new material since their Electric Tigers EP, released back in 2013.

Check out Empires here. - The Punk Site

Swanky Tiger is an alternative rock quartet from New York.

“Half Light” is taken from their new album Empires which drops tomorrow.

With a classic hardcore rock sound, RIYL The Stooges, Oasis, Nirvana, The White Stripes, The Strokes and possibly even The Cramps. - Fecking Deadly

NYC-based punk rock band Swanky Tiger releases “Glamorous” and “Bad Operator” from their debut album Empires, due out 1/6/2015. Mastered at NYC’s legendary Cutting Room Studios, whose roster also includes highly acclaimed artists such as Prince, We Are Augustines, and Iggy Pop, Swanky Tiger’s latest “[ascends] to new sounds like a cresting wave before calming to turbulent sea, full of promise” (Rock Industry Magazine). - Skope Magazine

NYC punk-infused rock band Swanky Tiger are kicking off the new year with a bang. Their new album Empires comes out next Tuesday, and you can hear the premiere of the new track “Glamorous” right here on GroundSounds. Stream the new track below and visit Swanky Tiger online for more!

Swanky Tiger on Facebook - Groundsounds

We can finally begin to publish the results of the open submissions for our Best of NYC 2013 Poll for Emerging Artists, starting with the Revival Rock category! FYI, all our local branches are running a Year End Poll right now, so check them out in the next 3-4 weeks (only Austin has released some results so far).

Since in NYC we always get hundreds of submissions for this yearly poll, we organize these results by genre. It's the first year that we feature a Revival Rock category (it used to be bundled together with Alt Rock), which includes mostly Garage, Punk and Classic Rock bands.

As always, more than 2 bands deserved to go through to the poll's next phase, but unfortunately we have to put a limit to the band that qualify (we already have too many!). Here we go then:

Total submissions in this category: 13

Artists Qualified to the next stage (Readers' Poll, starting around 01.15):

1. Whiskey Bitches - 8.33
2. Wyldlife - 7.83

Honorable Mentions (scores above 6.5):

Sharkmuffin, Sylvana Joyce & The Moment, Swanky Tiger, WIFEY, Crazy Pills.

Jurors: Charise Sowells (Deli Austin), Terra James-Jura (Deli Nashville), Paolo De Gregorio (Deli NYC)

Stay tuned for more results, and then for the final poll - this is just the beginning of a month long process!

The Deli's Staff
Published: January 03, 2014 |
|
aom

New Poll Coming Soon!
last poll results | about


mb - The Deli Magazine

1
Benjees — Wonder City

2
Ivory Hours — I Won't
4,014
3
YØUTH — Start Again
3,112
4
Monks of Mellonwah — Never Been Good
2,397
5
Van Damsel — Best Of Everything
10,310
6
Minus the Bear — The Lucky Ones
67,023
7
Chaser Eight — I Wanna Die
232
8
Bobby Mahoney Music — Self-Induced Exile
77
9
BulletMadeStatues — Strangers
9,133
10
The Highway — All You Do
1,063
11
We Were Astronauts — Skin
82
12
C U R B — Communication
46,264
13
Revolution in the Elbow — We Play the Game
3,075
14
Swanky Tiger — Half Light
431
15
Chumped — December Is The Longest Month
22,106
16
Froskull — Perihelion
343
17
As Elephants Are- — As Elephants Are - Breathe
14,875
18
WULFband — WULF - Fire
236,241
19
Lazyeyes — Adaptation
3,473
20
Lazyeyes — Islip
7,489
21
duke evers — Lions
6,818
22
Jungle Doctors — Dry
103,862
23
charlieandthefoxtrots — The Big Bad Wolf
2,108
24
Tiny Engines — Somos - Domestic
28,921
25
LOW ROAR — I'm Leaving
68,385
26
Halcyon Drive — Whitewash
78,625
27
Corbu — We Are Sound
88,110
28
Grayson Matthews — Let's Run
182,354
29
AND STILL I RISE — Wrecking Ball
47,413
30
Gruff Rhys — Gruff Rhys - American Interior
131,397
31
Bear Lincoln — Speaking My Language
365
32
In Letter Form — Lie To Me
986
33
Good Deeds — You Oughta Know
2,459
34
TheFaint — Damage Control
3,127
35
waitingaroundtodie — waiting around to die- low hanging fruit
43
36
Gattsby — June Afternoon by Gattsby **FREE DL**
46,518
37
Superfood — Right On Satellite
394,760
38
Sub Pop — Rose Windows - Strip Mall Babylon
14,381 - New Millenium Music

Review: The new debut single "Empires" by Swanky Tiger is a tasty little combo rock platter out of NYC. From the moment guitarist Will Rockefeller lights the fuse with a intro guitar lick reminiscent of the Black Angels or the Black Keys. You realize you are on the delivery end of a rock barrage. Where the initial guitar teased you with a taste of garage rock the band keeps you thinking and they switch it out in quick order to to expose a more honed sound. And when you feel the sweat on your palms you know that the rhythm section (driven by Mike Glendening and Spencer Hoyt) has dropped in. This is where Empires truly pushes off with both legs right into the deep water.

The overall production on Empires is smart in the sense that it doesn't get in the way of the song, yet manages to frame the motions of the band without using a pick axe. The one thing I kept coming back to was the way the Swanky Tigers vocalist Oliver slides almost sideways into some of his vocal phrasing, vaguely reminiscent of Richard Butler. Swanky Tiger invests in the musical longevity with some interesting lyrics that are a perfect compliment to the evocative and melodic vocal delivery. You could feel the bands strength and swagger come through on this track. Swanky Tiger rocks hard as well as side to side. They seem to deftly dance along the edge of the big rock chasm of hyperbole without getting anything on its shoes.


Swanky Tiger have performed at some of NYC's most iconic venues including The studio at Webster Hall, Tammy Hall, and Arlene's Grocery under their belt, Swanky Tiger is taking the New York music scene by storm. Coming together while attending boarding school in New England with influences from such acts such as The Cure and Queens of the Stone Age, the future bodes well for Lord Oliver Myles Masburn and his fellow explorers. Swanky Tiger will release their debut album, in January 2015.

Empires is out now and available HERE - Revolution 360

New York, NY) NYC-based hard rock band Swanky Tiger releases the first single, “Empires,” from their debut album, out 1/6/2015. Embracing complicated arrangements and orchestrations while still retaining that hard rock vibe, “Empires” was mastered at NYC’s legendary Cutting Room Studios, whose roster includes highly acclaimed artists such as Prince, We Are Augustines, and Iggy Pop.



1. The normal first question, guys. Where and when did you meet, and when did you decide that you wanted to play together? We met at a snooty little boarding school way out in the barren wastelands of Connecticut. We were essentially the only moderately cool people there, so we decided to form a rock band, naturally. Connor is a brandy new addition, though, and Deez found him at college.2. Who are some of your major influences?

As a band, probably The Stooges, Nirvana, The Beatles, The Strokes, Queens Of The Stone Age, Led Zeppelin. Stuff like that, I’ll say.

3. Who do you listen to now? When you’re not touring or just relaxing, who do you put on?

I listen to The Rolling Stones a lot, and I love Guns N’ Roses. Will likes Royal Blood, this I know. Deez likes Dethklok, and I don’t even really know what Connor’s hearing at the moment. We’re all over the place.

4. How would you categorize your music?

The easy answer would be “hard rock,” but Swanky Tiger music is really just Swanky Tiger music. We play what evah we want!

5. Do you prefer playing live or studio work?

Personally I like playing live the best, but thats really contingent upon whether the whole vibe of the night is agreeable or not. I love recording too, though, especially when we get the masters back and can blast them from some monstrous speaker system and hear ourselves in a fancy way, or when we can play around with sexy bass synths.

6. Do you write as a group, or as individuals?

I used to write alone a lot, but now we almost exclusively write as a group, as thats really the point of having a band. Collaboration, you know.

7. Are there any deep, dark secrets that you want to reveal first here?

Well, I’ve got a tattoo of a shark on my foot, I’d never eaten a cherry until about a fortnight ago, and I don’t like Star Wars. But none of those are really secrets. Honestly, If we had any actual band secrets do you really think we’d say them in an interview!? Naaaaw.

8. When are you playing in Pittsburgh? Pittsburghers talk funny, but we love to rock.

Probably after the record comes out in January. Or at your birthday party if you pay us enough and give us fun brownies. Either way, we’re coming for you.

9. Any thing that I didn’t ask that you’d like to share?

This. Isn’t it great? Its a melon-collie…get it? Lololol - Audio Fuzz

Swanky Tiger – Light Another Match – Video
BY TIM MAY 5, 2017

"It has been a couple of years since the US alt-rock quartet Swanky Tiger last featured.

With a very different sound to their more typical punchy rock – a live – acoustic track – Light Another Match – unveils a reflective ballad of more personal and emotive contact than they normally expose to their audience." - Emerging Indie Bands

Mondays can always be a challenge but if you crank up loud the new Swanky Tiger EP, I assure you, your mood will be lifted. Swanky Tiger have just released their 4 song EP, Mechanical Nightmares. It is four songs that will become regulars on your playlist! Their nasty rock n roll is exactly what we need more of. It brings to life the big sound of rock, angsty vocals, infused with punk, catchy melodies.

You can pick up the EP by heading over to https://swankytiger.bandcamp.com/album/mechanical-nightmares. Take a listen:
They successfully blend a style of hard rock, the edginess of punk, and catchy pop elements with alternative edges. It is refreshing to see a band bring out their own new sound and style, and not be afraid to break down the genre walls. I hope you check them out!

Swanky Tiger is:

Oliver Myles Mashburn -Vocals, Guitar
Will Rockefeller -Rhythm, Lead guitars
Michael “Deez” Glendening -Bass, Guitar, Keys
Clemens Grassmann -Drums, Percussion
Make sure to visit their social media sites and stay up to date on their latest news.

~ Marisol

Information & Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SwankyTiger
Bandcamp: http://swankytiger.bandcamp.com/releases
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SwankyTiger - Music Junkie Press