You know the feeling when you discover a new band and suddenly you forget any other band exists? That’s what happened to staff member Chelsea Gresh for this week’s #ROTW:
“When I stumble upon an artist that I really like and connect with, I become obsessed with them. I continually listen to nothing but that artist for days, even weeks, on end. It is very safe to say that is exactly what happened when I found the band SWMRS. (Did any of you REALLY expect me to write about ANYTHING other than SWMRS?)
Before the time of Discovery Weekly and the daily playlists Spotify so kindly gives us, I would listen to certain bands radios for a while and by doing that, I would find a lot of bands that I genuinely love now. I remember sitting in the break room at my old job when I first heard the song “Miley” and I was blown away. At the time, there was only really the Miley/Uncool EP on SWMRS Spotify and you can bet those were the only two songs I listened to for probably a month straight.
Then things took a little turn and I forgot the band existed due to working my life away at a grocery store UNTIL some publication posted about the release of “Drive North” and I was like “Yo! That’s the really cool band I really liked!” I listened. I loved. I obsessed over and I still am obsessing over. It was not very often that I strayed from the genres and bands I grew up listening to. “Drive North” was just so different and pushed me out of the genre I was so familiar with. I was impressed. I could not stop listening.
I hooked my first tour with the band that I worked with about a month after the album was released. Conveniently enough, the night before I had to leave for the tour, SWMRS was playing a show at The Smiling Moose in Pittsburgh, PA which was exactly where I needed to be that night. I attended the show with some of my best friends (And honestly about ten other people. What were you Pittsburgh kids doing?! You should have been there!) It was so cool to hear the songs I could not stop listening to live but it was even better to see those SWMRS boys CRUSH it live. I could not stop talking about them to EVERYONE I met.
That album was basically the soundtrack to my life for the next 4 months after that. I remember driving across some bridge on the way to Long Island, listening to “Silver Bullet” and seeing the New York City skyline for the first time in my life. I remember walking into The Garage in Minneapolis, MN for the first show of my first ever full US tour, listening to “D’Ya Have A Car”, looking up and seeing a photo of SWMRS projected on a screen above the stage and all my anxiety and jitters about the tour immediately went away. There are so many more memories I have that have to do with this album, all better than the next, but I won’t bore you with them.
This album really just gives me the best feeling when I listen to it. I’m a very nostalgic person so just hearing certain songs will bring me back to some of my happiest moments. Not only that but this album has helped push myself to new creative limits as well as dig me out of some creative ruts with my art.
The “Drive North” era is almost over for SWMRS and I could not be more sad about it but I’m very excited to see what comes next. I am expecting even more good memories with the next album. #FarewellDriveNorth”
Have you checked out SWMRS? No? Well, here’s your chance (and we highly recommend you take it):
- Today in Music History: April 7 - April 7, 2023
- EP Review: Michigander’s It Will Never Be The Same - March 31, 2023
- Deep Dive: Spotify’s ALT NOW Playlist - March 30, 2023
