History
Swallows at the 501 Club in Minneapolis, MN
Swallows came into being in the summer of 2008 when the indie rock band Thinland went through some major line-up changes.
For more than a year, Jeff Crandall, Aaron Kerr, Jason Fritts and Patrick Hennessey had been working on Songs for Strippers (and other professions), the 2008 follow-up to Thinland's well-received 2003 release Tracing the Cracks.
With its gritty, vintage rock sound and dark, moody subject matter, Songs for Strippers marked a strong departure from Tracing the Cracks' lush and etherial indie-pop and folk leanings. As old members were leaving the band and new members joining, Aaron and Jeff agreed it was time to dissolve Thinland and regroup under a different name.
On July 15, 2008, Songs for Strippers (and other professions) was released and, for all practical purposes, Swallows was born.
Swallows played their first shows that summer with the new line-up and a brand new set of material from the Strippers' album. New members Frank Spencer (guitar) and Tyson Allison (drums, keys, vocals) joined Aaron (cello/bass) and Jeff (vocals/guitar).
Songs for Strippers received solid reviews nationally and by the end of the year was named to Consequence of Sound's top albums of 2008 list.
As the new line-up worked together, the band began refining its sound, which was markedly different than the previous line-up. A rootsy blend of rock, back-porch blues and Americana emerged and began to transform the Strippers' set right out of the gate. The big rock arrangements from Songs for Strippers were scaled down and refined to work with new material the band was creating right from the beginning.
Throughout the remainder of 2008 and 2009, Swallows worked on the new material and played shows around Minnesota and the Midwest, including joining a week long summer tour in 2009 with The Sleeper Pins and Aaron Kerr's Dissonant Creatures.
At the beginning of 2010, the band's line-up would once again evolve, but this time the change was not as dramatic. Guitarist Frank Spencer decided it was time to move on and Aaron recruited drummer Ben Steen. Tyson, who had wanted to move into a multi-instrumentalist position, took over lead guitar duties from Frank and continues to play keys and sing backup. Mike Nordby (mandolin, percussion) also joined Swallows in 2010 and his presence in the band not only helped to fill out key parts in the arrangements, but also added a very visual dimension to Swallows' stage performances.
With Ben behind the kit, Swallows find themselves in a position where they can take larger stages and once again add that energetic, rock 'n' roll spirit back into their performances. The subtlety, refined by over a year of playing more intimate venues, is still there, but the groove and soul of the material have been amplified. As a consequence, Swallows' sound finally feels complete.
Swallows' are currently performing material from and working on recording songs for their upcoming release Covert Transmissions to the Elementals, which they hope to release by the end of the year. Demos, videos and live takes of the new material are available on this site.
Tyson Allison
Swallows' line-up features Jeff Crandall (guitars, vocals, keys, piano), Tyson Allison (guitars, vocals, keys), Aaron Kerr (cello, bass), Ben Steen (drums) and Mike Nordby (mandolin, percussion).