Swampcandy - Free Entry in The Cluny Main Bar!

Something heard at almost every one of their shows: “I didn’t know that I liked this kind of music. What do you call it?” …… The answer? “SWAMPCANDY!” 

With 270-225 shows a year since 2011 including multiple tours of the eastern US, UK and Ireland, 4 full length releases, 2 Ep’s, 1 studio release and 1 live full length video release on the way Swampcandy is not sure what sleep is. 

A band that has a crowd pounding their fists through tables one minute and sitting silently on the edge of their seat the next, Swampcandy is dirty and sweet, brash and thoughtful, simple and complex. It’s true stories that are made up just for you. It’s pig drinkin’, whiskey eatin’, foot clapping’, hand stompin’, american music. Their roots are fermented in American mud, primitive blues, pre war folk sounds, field hollers, gypsy jazz, and ragtime. Steeped in influences from Robert Johnson to Radiohead. Their sound is distilled in a boiler of mercurial energy swirling with tempo changes,dynamic peaks and valleys that hold the ear and refuse to let go. 

But that’s not all folks….. Ruben Dobbs is the guitarist/vocalist and the creative force of this 10 year old project and has no allegiance to any genre. Performing in best interest of the song is always his objective. His pallet is vast and augmented by the skills of full/part time members and other creative partners behind the scenes. Joey Mitchell is the full time upright bass/kick drum/percussionist and has played the lions share of the last 1600 plus gigs with Dobbs as a duo. All who witness a show say the the same thing “They sound like a 4 or 5 piece band”. He is a disciplined disciple of jazz, classical, and punk rock. He has the objective ear that leads to the less than typical arrangements of their tunes. He has also revolutionized the percussive possibilities of the upright bass as an instrument. Gina Cottey brings a stiking feminine element that is both strong and welcoming with her featured lead vocals and harmonies. Her ability to nail multiple harmonies in a series of single passes have left recording engineers stunned. Percussionist/drummer/multi-instrumentalist Dominic Fragman can hardly be described… no really just look him up HE.IS.A.FREAK. 

The sharpest tools in the shed are rarely seen but they include: Ahren Buchheister with a skill set that eclipses most other musicians he is responsible for pedal steel and string/horn arrangements. He is an indispensable creative aspect of the Swampcandy sound. Writing partner James Von Lens is the Gram Parsons to Dobbs’ Kieth Richards. Steven Wright, Alex de Turk and Jeremy Reichwein have been integral in capturing and producing the live and studio recordings for the last 5 years. 

They bring yet another set of objective ears to these songs and are not afraid to share insights that have sculpted the shape and sound of their recorded material. Alison Harbaugh’s Sugarfarm Productions provides most of the video content of the band going so far as to produce a full length documentary based around the unusual locations and people that contributed to the 2013 recording of Midnight Creep. Then there is Joseph Karr, Dobbs’ longest creative relationship, they have worked together in some respect or another for 24 years. He’s given Swampcandy an ascetic of dark mystery and playfulness, silhouettes, black birds, drunken bunnies, blind folded monkeys, and abstract projections during live shows and video shoots that disturb/delight the imagination have come to distinctively brand the band. 

This group of creatives give the songs a sense of inevitability… like these songs have always been here but because you took the blue pill you are just now seeing them. Now light a candle and drink some O.J. because you are in for a wild ride.