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Digital
technology gives audiences second chance to hear local classics
Titles: The Swamis and Turl Label: Lynn Point Records
Modern technology has made it easy for a band to sound good these days. Digital recording is accessible to just about anyone - even garage bands on shoestring budgets. Sounding good is one thing, but actually being good is something entirely different, which is where many college bands have missed the mark. The Swamis, however, were one notable exception. Their debut recording, The Swamis, and the follow-up, Turl, originally available only on cassette, have been re-released on Lynn Point Records. Now on CD, remixed and mastered for the first time, these two forgotten classics offer a glimpse of the sort of unabashed tomfoolery that characterized the band's semi-legendary live shows. Both records, recorded in bassist/singer John Tilson's garage, stand as masterpieces of anything-goes garage rock. Along with Tilson, guitarist/singer Dave Kenny, guitarist Daniel Moore and drummers Paul Doughty and Jeff Bills, The Swamis' sound represents an eclectic hodgepodge of musical influences. Brit-rock, blues, jazz and country are just a few of the sounds that might just turn up when least expected. Their experimental approach to songwriting somehow manages to meld itself into a style that can only be summarized as distinctly Knoxvillian. Like their predecessors, Smokin' Dave and the Taoist Cowboys, The Swamis are everything you would expect from a college rock group: irreverent, off-kilter and often off-key. Recorded in 1991, perhaps the most striking thing about The Swamis is the band's never-ending quest for humor at any cost. Witness their country parody, "Mother In Law:" "And you'd better run for cover if she takes off them there shoes/They must smell somethin' awful cause they've done turned her hair blue/She puts me on the path to heaven by giving me some hell/Lord have mercy she's my M-I-L." From the scatological humor of "Dinosaur" to the hilarious pun-laden "God's Green Elves," The Swamis pull no punches in eliciting a laugh. Turl, the band's 1993 release, finds the ex-Taoist Cowboy and future V-Roy Bills behind the drum kit. The opening feedback-drenched strains of the instrumental title track set the tone for the rest of the record. The sound is more polished, tighter and, musically, more adventurous than their debut effort. Don't let the sound fool you, though, as Turl still serves up laughs-a-plenty, albeit in a slightly subtler fashion. Moore and Kenny offer some fine guitar interplay, tempering their jangly '80s alternative tendencies with some superb lead work. The Swamis' playful and energetic approach to making music is a refreshing contrast to the pretense and glitz that currently dominates the airwaves. Their brand of smart-aleck, college boy wit does not merely tread the fine line between clever and stupid; it stomps all over it. The Swamis and Turl are wonderful reminders of a time when a six-pack, some pawn shop guitars and a few good tunes were all it took to pack the local coin laundry. For those who may have missed the Swamis' antics the first time around, these re-releases offer not only a tutorial in local history, but also a valuable recipe for your own homemade fun.
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