Swingin’ Utters is an American punk rock band that formed in the late 1980s. Having begun in Santa Cruz, California, the band moved to San Francisco where they are now based. They have been signed to Fat Wreck Chords since 1996.
As well as being classed as a “punk revival” band (reminiscent of British 1970s bands such as Stiff Little Fingers, The Damned, Sham 69 and Eddie & The Hot Rods), Swingin’ Utters have increasingly shown themselves to be influenced by Irish folk, particularly The Pogues. The Utters paid homage to their influences with a stellar cover of Cocksparrer’s I Got Your Number on the Blackout compilation Punk Rock Jukebox.
Members of the Swingin’ Utters have been involved in many musical side-projects, most notably Johnny Bonnel and Darius Koski’s Filthy Thieving Bastards and Druglords of the Avenue (formed in Oakland, California in 2004), and Spike Slawson’s Me First And The Gimme Gimmes (in which he is the singer). Drummer Greg McIntee’s side project Viva Hate was founded with Tiger Army bassist Geoff Kresge and singer Matt Wedgley of The Force. Guitarist Jack Dalrymple formed and fronted the Fat Wreck band Dead to Me after One Man Army disbanded. Dalrymple, Slawson and Koski also play together in the Re-Volts.
Swingin’ Utters tracks have been used in the soundtracks of computer games including “Five Lessons Learned”, which appeared on the soundtrack to the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 and “Stupid Lullabies” which was used as the title track to Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX. |
