beatlanta.com

FEATURE FRIDAY – Swank Motel

All photos provided by Swank Motel

It happens to be a coincidence that two feature Friday segments in a row feature the two most swanky bands in Atlanta,  but this week we have an interview with Swank Motel as well as some promotional items.

Each week living inside the Atlanta music scene is greater than the next. I constantly discover absolutely amazing bands, and Swank Motel is an awesome example. They preside in the ranks of Atlanta’s post-punk garage-indie scene and quite frankly I think they belong near the top. I hear and read their name constantly while doing what I do for beatlanta but to be honest I’ve never taken the time to stop and take a listen, and I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing the band live. Over the past two weeks or so I’ve been listening to what they have on myspace and playing it for my friends and everyone seems to have the same thoughts. Swank Motel is a pummeling of jangly guitars, rugged vocals and steady drums that merge the senses in ways that leave the listener staring blankly, wondering happily at what is occurring and hoping it never ceases (yes, thats what we all thought together). Here is a song that have posted on youtube…

From the first song to the last I never pulled my ears away. The guitar solos were brazen displays of Strokes like genius and the vocals the same. Swank Motel engineers a sound soaked in talent and determination and you can barely tell they just returned from a two year hiatus. You can tell however, that they have built up an energy that they are ready to release on Atlanta, and you want to be around when they do.  Head to Swank Motel on MySpAcE and take a listen to the song Drop the Drink for the band’s elite take on fast paced garage sounds; and then hear Overdue Acoustic for Swank Motel’s more sensitive side…you’ll be thunderstruck.

Swank Motel has a number of Atlanta shows coming up including one on March 15 at Smith’s Olde Bar. We had the pleasure of asking the band a few questions and this is what they had to say:

B: When did Swank Motel form?

Well we formed in late 2006, and after playing shows most of 2007 our drummer developed a substance abuse problem that subsequently led the band into a two year hiatus. We rejoined in 2009 with our new drummer, Robby Dotson, and have been playing out for the last nine months.

B: How does everyone know each other?

We all met in high school.

B: Do you have any albums out now or coming soon that we should know about?

We have a four-track demo coming out in with our Producer Phil Jones (DogBite) which should be released and in record stores throughout Atlanta for free in the next two months.

B: Where are you recording?

We will be recording in a local Atlanta studio.

B: Have you recorded anywhere in town before?

We have once with very unfavorable results, since then all our previously released tracks have been recorded by ourselves.

B: Do you have any upcoming shows and/or tour plans?

We are currently booked through May playing shows all over Atlanta as well as a couple of Athens shows.

B: What are your goals as a band?

Right now we’re trying to play all over the city and meet as many bands and new people as possible. We’re trying to develop a name in Atlanta.

B: Describe a Swank Motel show?

We try and capture the true essence of all our songs and energy through our live shows. We’ve tended to stay away from Atlanta studios because we’ve found our self-made recordings capture as close to our live shows as we could make possible. That’s really what we’re striving for in our new demo, not only new material but something that almost feels your right there. Our live shows capture the true sound that “swank motel” is going for, we’d love to see everyone out because it really is a different experience then listening to our myspace recordings.

B: What experience above all others do you hope fans take away from the show?

We just hope fans can really take in the music for what it really is, and we feel that our live shows above all show that.

B: Tell us about your writing process.

Normally our lead singer (Mckie) writes down a basic idea and as a band we develop upon that.

B: Are there any major influences that influence your sound or made you want to start your band?

In high school we were in a big Strokes/Early Kings of Leon phase, as well as older bands like The Rolling Stones and the Kinks. I think through our music it’s definitely apparent the influences those bands had on us as well as our music.

B: Does the band share any of those influences, music or otherwise?

We all seem to be coming from close to the same tastes, sure all of us listen to music others aren’t as fond of, but we all really come to a pretty relative consensus.

B: Have you had a chance to tour outside of Atlanta?

So far we have only been playing in Athens, but we’d love to bring our music everywhere.

B: What are your thoughts on the Atlanta music? How does it treat Swank Motel?

Big fans of the Atlanta music scene it’s given birth to a lot of great bands.  We feel it has been pretty good to us for only really playing out the last nine months.

B: Are you in any way, shape or form related to Swank Sinatra? Or did you get your “swank” separately?

No, we got our swank elsewhere, a cocktail actually.

B: What are the band’s thoughts on file sharing?

Pro-file sharing, it’s been a real help getting our name out.

B: What local bands would you recommend to your fans and fans of local music?

Black Lips, Atlas Sound, Deerhunter, The Booze, and Jungol

B: What are your favorite non-local bands?

The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Velvet Underground, and The Strokes

B: Whats your favorite venue to play in Atlanta?

Masquerade has been treating us really well , we also love Vinyl, Smith’s and Drunken Unicorn.

B: How do you advertise your shows?

We try an flyer the metro Atlanta area, as well as social networking sites and word of mouth.

B: Any closing statements or thoughts?

We know we aren’t as well known as other young Atlanta bands around the area, but really encourage everyone to come check out at least one show, and we will have free demos all throughout Atlanta in the next two months that everyone should check out!

Swank Motel is Andrew Mckie – Guitar/Vocals; Jordan Parker – Guitar/Vocals;

Drew Mitchell  -Bass; Robby Dotson – Drums

GO SEE SWANK MOTEL