Swoon 23

Swoon 23

Swoon 23 were a shoegazer band based in Portland, Oregon in the late 1990s.

Along with fellow Portlanders The Dandy Warhols, King Black Acid and Sugarboom, Swoon 23 helped define the lush, British-influenced sound that gained prominence in the Portland music scene in the aftermath of the grunge movement.

Rejecting the aggressive riffing and macho swagger that characterized much of Northwest music in the wake of acts like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, Swoon embraced a mellower, psychedelic sound, one which owed more to My Bloody Valentine and Galaxie 500 than Blue Cheer or Mudhoney.

Swoon 23's sound was a moody wash of fuzz and reverb, with layered guitars and occasional droning keyboards forming the backdrop for lead vocalist Megan Pickerel's ethereal soprano. This approach placed them solidly in the shoegazer camp, drawing comparisons to bands like Slowdive, Mojave 3, and early Lush.

The lineup included Pickerel on guitar, keyboard and lead vocals, Jeff Studebaker and Michael "Spike" Keating on guitar, and Marty Smith on drums. The band had no bass player.

Swoon 23 released two full-length CDs on Tim/Kerr Records: 1995's "Famous Swan Song", a somewhat underproduced effort that incorporated some light, lo-fi elements, and the darker, more mature "The Legendary Ether Pony", released in 1997. The group disbanded in 1999.

After Swoon 23 disbanded, Michael "Spike" Keating formed Magic Fingers with Eric Hedford (original drummer for The Dandy Warhols) and Matt Hollywood (who had recently left The Brian Jonestown Massacre). Keating is currently a touring guitarist for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Megan Pickerel is currently in the Seattle-based dream pop band Hazelwood Motel, while Marty Smith now plays in the Portland, Oregon twee duo Slutty Hearts.

The band's complete lineup re-formed in summer 2008 for a brief West Coast tour in October of that year. After a "secret" warm up show, the tour kicked off on October 5th at the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon where they opened for (and later joined in for a one song jam of "Fast-Driving Rave-Up" ) with the Dandy Warhols. Their subsequent plans, if any, are unknown.

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/swoon23 Swoon 23 on MySpace]
* [http://www.myspace.com/hazelwoodmotel Hazelwood Motel on MySpace]
* [http://www.hazelwoodmotel.org Hazelwood Motel official website]


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