interview with THE MIGHTY SWINE
How was the band formed? I put THE MIGHTY SWINE together in 2009 after reaching out to Guitarist DAVID BYRGE and Drummer DANN NORRIS. We recorded the first album together (Everlast) and did 2 tours over 2 years in support of the release when David decided to leave. We replaced him with JOE RILEY and put out 2 singles and a video in 2012 with good reviews and started working on our next release when we decided to part ways (artistic differences). I returned to my previous band (CHASTAIN) in 2013 to record a new album with DAVID T CHASTAIN and LEATHER LEONE entitled Surrender to No One before revamping THE MIGHTY SWINE with its current lineup. STACEY DONAHUE & JEFF TONG on Guitars and RORY FACIANE on drums.
Can you tell about your band? We've put out 3 releases on Broad Horizon Records over the last 5 years as well as 2 videos. We've opened for GODSMACK, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, TEXAS HIPPIE COALITION, LA GUNS, SKID ROW, DOKKEN, and others. We did 2 tours of the Midwest and are performing at Dirtfest AUG 9 with KILLSWTHC ENGAGE,POWERMAN 5000, NON POINT, and others kicking off our LAST MAN STANDING 2014 TOUR. We were nominated for a C.E.A (Cincinnati Entertainment Award) in 2012 for BEST HARD ROCK BAND and were listed on HARD ROCK NIGHTS Best of 2009 Playlist. We have a couple things going on right now that we hope to be able to announce here very shortly.
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? Our guitarists, Stacey Donahue and Jeff Tong, are both out of the Columbus OH area and have known each other for years, They play off of each other well and get along like brothers which makes the process of touring so much easier. Our drummer, RORY FACIANE, hails from New Orleans but relocated to Nashville, TN after Katrina and now calls that home. I live in Cincinnati, OH and play the Bass and provide all the main vocals. We sort of consider ourselves from the Midwest although have fans from all over the world.
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? When I first started the band in 2009 I just wanted to write and record original music again. I had taken some time off after recording and touring with CHASTAIN to raise a family and do some other things, but I always return to music. I like playing out live as much as recording and just want to do a few more tours and maybe record one or two more albums.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? Our label describes us as Guitar Oriented, Lyric Driven, Bass Pounding, Drum Bashing Hard Rock / Melodic Metal with audible lyrics and hooks - LOL. I don't necessarily buy into labels or genres, but if I have to describe it I would say classic heavy metal. We get a lot of references to BLACK SABBATH & MEGADETH which is great because I grew up on those bands as well as JUDAS PRIEST.
Where was your first gig? Like lot of young artists starting out I just played normal high school parties and such, but my first payingt gig was my high school prom - LOL. When I was with CHASTAIN we played Bogarts in Cincinnati to a SOLD OUT crowd of over 1800 people before opening for KISS and ALICE COOPER at Hara Arena (Dayton OH) & Cincinnati Gardens (Cincinnati, OH) so I was sort of spoiled early on. THE MIGHTY SWINE played out a few local bars to get our act together but the first real gig would have been opening for ADLER'S APPETITE
Where was the latest gig? Our last gig would have been SWINEFEST in 2012 where we headlined our own festival in Cincinnati OH. As I stated earlier, I took 2013 to record with CHASTAIN and we are just about to kick off the new tour AUG 9.
Who writes your songs?/ who writes the music who writes lyrics? I typically write all the lyrics with rhythm scratch tracks and then present to the band to write their parts, but on this release I collaborated more with Stacey and it was more of a joint effort. I think I wrote about 2/3 of Last Man Standing and Stacey brought in 3 or 4 songs that he had written and we just sort of retooled them a bit.
Who has the best since of humor in the band? I would like to say that I do, but honestly, everyone in this lineup has a great sense of humor and great musicianship. There are no egos and we just all have a great time, which is how it should be. Everyone in this band is so positive and we just sort of keep each other going.
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? Heavy Metal (Classic)
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? It's what I like - what I grew up listening to. I feel like there is a lot of room musically from simple 3 chord processions to neo classical orchestral arrangements and it doesn't limit us. Heavy Metal has always been in your face, anti authoritive, rebellious, and political......it just allows me to express myself.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? ????? If I am writing them then they are originals, but I think you are asking if we play mainly covers or originals?? We are an original metal band but we do cover a few songs. I'd like to think we sort of put our own spin on them so they more of a remake than a cover. We did a remake of CREAM's Sunshine of Your Love on the first album and redid JUDAS PRIEST's Hell Bent for Leather on the last one. We usually cover Symphony of Destruction and use SABBATH's War Pigs for our encore.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they?
The Mighty Swine released Everlast in 2009.
We put out the Lust/Pagan Holiday and Love Dies/Sand Vein singles in 2012.
We just released Last Man Standing in May 2014.
Do you have any clips on YouTube?
Our first video, Lust, I on Youtube as well as other video outlets. It was #1 on Roxwel.com's Metal AND Rock Chart for over 10 weeks in 2012.
We released Last Man Standing in May which was half performance and half news clips as a sort of social commentary on the state of the world today.
Our label put out a lyrical video for Dead Man's Stare in July and we will be filming a live video for All That is Evil at Dirtfest so look for that towards the end of August.
How old are you?/What got you started in music? I was surrounded by music my whole life as my mother was a performer and a lot of people on my mothers side were very musically inclined. I grew up in the 70s so there wasn't cable, video games, or the internet and people sort of gravitated to music, whether playing or just listening. People would get together at someone's house when a new record came out and we would just sit around and drink or whatever and that was our social media. I feel like todays generation is missing out of the whole experience of music as a social event as it seems to be more isolated and personal, but then again, music IS personal so I don't know. It's just different than how we enjoyed music while growing up.
What year was the band started? THE MIGHTY SWINE formed in 2009.
Best/worst gig you've played?
Best gig we ever played so far would probably be GODSMACK in 2012 as one of he biggest shows we had done, but so many good shows.
I predict that Dirtfest will be a good one and if everything works out we will be on the road for most of the fall 2014.
One of the worst gigs wasn't really a gig so much as the travel to......after the ADLER show in Cincinnati we had to be in Atlanta to perform and then Tampa and is summer and hot. We blew a tire on the trailer outside of ATL and were down for about 2 hrs putting us behind schedule. We got that replaced and 10 minutes down the road we blew out the other tire! LOL - We got to the venue just in time but missed our radio interview and had no time to get to the hotel and try & clean up after being on the side of a hot road for hours on end. It was probably the smallest crowd we had ever played to and we were just in bad moods from the heat and running late, but it nded up being one of the mist fun shows of the tour so you just never know!
What places will you be playing in the imidate future? We are in Columbus Aug 8 and then Birch Run, MI Aug 9 for Dirtfest then off to Pittsburgh as a warmup for our Fall Tour. We are waiting to announce our October run but looks like we will be hitting some Midwest cities, New York, Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec. That will be our first tour of Canada and am looking forward to it.
Witch band is the best you´ve seen? For me personally it would be PRIEST and HEAVEN AND HELL with DIO. The diversity in this band is pretty wide so I can't really answer for the other guys. Stacey is a huge Randy Rhoads fan so I would guess Ozzy for him.
Is it always the same songs live? Pretty much, yeah. We typically perform for 45 minutes so need to have the timing down and know the transitions etc plus makes it easier on the sound guy if we keep it consistent. Generally we are playing out in support of our latest release so we like to perform the new songs as well as some of the favs off of the others along with Symphony and War Pigs.
How big crowds do you usually play for? Club Dates we usually play for 200-300 people where festivals are anywhere from 3-5000.
What are the plans for the rest of the year?
We're going to release video for All That is Evil and do a Fall/October Tour and who knows.
Our label is working on a few things to finish out the year but I really hate touring in winter due to travel issues and the toll it takes on my voice.
If we could do a west coast tour in nov/dec I would like to finish out the year like that then work on some new material for 2015.
How do you get psyched up for a gig?
Every show is different, but I just enjoy going out and playing my music for people.
I don't have any sort of ritual or routine, we just go out and do our thing.
When did you decide to go all in for the music?
1986 when I recorded with CHASTAIN. I knew we had something special and it was a special time for music.
I've never looked back. I have been fortunate enough to play with some very talented people and make a living dong what I love.
There have been some great times and some not so great, but I cannot see myself doing anything else.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? I get my inspiration from family and friends - from my own experiences. I don't listen to a lot of newer bands so musically I would have to say from older bands. As we discussed earlier, I like PRIEST, SABBATH, DIO so I guess my music sort of was inspired by that but I would say that what really drives me or inspires me is just playing with other musicians and creating something new - nothing groundbreaking, but new for us. When I hear Rory coming up with something really cool on the drums or Stacey plays something then I can feed off of that and that is what inspires me.
What are your sources of inspiration? Everyday life inspires me - current events - love - loss. I don't know - I am usually a pretty optimistic and positive person, although my music takes on a heavier, more somber tone.
What's the first step when making a new song? Usually I will come up with a lyric or have a melody in my head then I try to work that out on rhythm guitar even though I play bass. I tend to write lyrics then music but sometimes I just hear something in my head and have to get that down & work out lyrics later. Stacey will play me something & I work off of that. We are discussing the possibility of a concept album so that will be different.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I personally do not like it. The album itself was a piece of art, you could hold it - smell it - I don't know, I feel like the music has lost its value in the digital download age where it doesn't seem to mean as much, but that is my own personal experience. It does make it easier to get the music into people's hands, however, it is a lot harder to stand out or distinguish yourself. The digital age and technology certainly leveled the playing field where anyone with a decent microphone and knowledge of software can record an album, but there is so much more to making music than that. Then again, music is for the people, by the people, and each generation has their own set of rules that they follow. I know how much it costs for us to record an album and put a video and it IS a BUSINESS - if you do not recoup your investment you cannot continue to make the music. Music isn't a hobby or side project for me - this is my life - it always bugged me that people think I should give it away for free and be happy that people are listening as I don't understand how people think I can continue to create music if I cannot afford to? Again, I think it is a generational thing where as a society we have gravitated towards that (Free Downloads) but I don't see how music can, or will, survive in that model.
What would be your dreams for the band?
I would like to see THE MIGHTY SWINE record 1 or 2 more albums and do another video or two, but most of all, I would like to take this band to Europe and tour.
I'd like to see us on a bigger national tour playing to as many people as we can as I think that is where we excel. But definitely a European or S. American Tour - we have so many fans over seas that have never seen us ad it seems that other countries still really get into their metal, whereas the States have gravitated more towards Rap and Country.
What do you hold most dear? My family and friends - loved one - my personal relationships.
What would be your greatest fears for the future? I think we sort of touch on that with this record. I fear that my kids will not have the same opportunities and freedoms that I had and enjoyed. I worry about government overstepping their bounds and authority. I worry about our position in the world, real and imagined. How we are going to feed people. House people. Care for people. Protect people.
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? the soundman as he is control of how good you sound - LOL!
Have you been part of any other projects? CJSS and CHASTAIN were original bands that I recorded and toured with before THE MIGHTY SWINE. I played in a local cover band in Cincinnati for a while called Black Bone Cat with some friends.
What do you work with outside of the band and the music? I obtained my pilot's license and like to fly when I am not making music / playing.
What would you do if there was no music? Fly airplanes.
How important are your fans? Very - we are nothing without our fans. I wrote because I enjoy it and would continue to do so, but we live to go play for our fans. There is no better feeling than looking out and seeing people singing your songs back at you or getting off on the music. I enjoy talking to them before and after the shows, hearing their stories, learning about them.
How often do you rehearse? Not much - we got together for a week to rehearse for the album then everyone went back home til the album came out and we recently got together for a week in Nashville to get the set down for the upcoming tour, but honestly not as much as you would think. Logistically it is hard to get everyone together. We all practice daily and continue to write and hone our craft, but rehearse together as a band, not as much as I would like, then again, I prefer playing on stage for the fans.
Where do you rehearse? We use one of the rehearsal rooms at BMI in Nashville.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Right now I am really digging All That is Evil and Vengeance is Mine.
What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? HEAVEN AND HELL - my manager (and friend) took me for my birthday & we had great seats - it was one of DIO's last performances. They were really on that night and didn't even realize he was sick until a few weeks later.
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? The love of music and the fans. As we discussed earlier, I would be nowhere without the fans. They have allowed me to live my dream; writing, recording, and performing music - not everyone is that lucky. I guess for some it is the hope of achieving the fame and fortune that continues to drive them. I look at this as a 2 part question as I think it has become harder and harder for bands to make a living doing this and honestly it can be disheartening. I believe that the music has suffered because bands can't make a living at it as easily as they used to, while I think people continue playing because of the love and passion for creating music.
Do you have any webpages?
www.revernation.com/mightyswine
https://www.facebook.com/THEMIGHTYSWINE
www.twitter.com/themightyswine
What advice would you like to give other bands? Just keep writing and performing - stay true to yourself and approach it as a business. Get everything in writing and never assume anything - do your due diligence and have fun.
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Finances and getting heard/being seen