Popular band amplifies Decorah bar scene
Date 4/28/2005 12:00 AM | Topic: Arts & CulturePlaying to a bar full of students, whose numbers at times swelled to over 200, The Swamp Angel Band dove into its second gig at the Americana Grille last week.
Plenty of cheap beer kept the crowd happy as the band was preparing to play on Tuesday night (April 19). After some technical difficulty with their PA system, the band started their set with a cover of Blues Traveler's "Run Around."
The well-known opener brought the crowd to its feet, and the band kept it up with popular covers of songs like The Doobie Brothers' "Listen to the Music," Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" and the Beatles' "I Feel Fine."
Along with the covers, the first set included The Swamp Angel Band original "Walkin and Talkin," and a funky original arrangement of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."
Started by Zach Zubow ('06), (electric guitar, vocals) and Phil Bear ('06), (acoustic guitar, vocals) in the spring of 2004, the band was rounded out this spring with the additions of Jake Zubow ('08), (percussion) and Matt Hazelton ('06), (bass, vocals).
With the addition of the new members, the group assumed its present name, which comes from a legendary stretch of blacktop, the Swamp Angel Road, near the Zubows' hometown of Lake Geneva, Wis.
Zach Zubow explained the band's progression and how it all got started.
"In the beginning, for me, it was for the free beer and about doing my own thing," Zach Zubow said. "It kept on getting more and more serious though each time we played, and as we added more people."
"Now we're more solid and we can put stuff together that sounds halfway decent," Zach Zubow said.
Bear explained his feelings upon joining with Zach Zubow to form the band.
"For me personally, it was a boost of confidence when [Zach] asked me to play with him in front of people," Bear said. "It kind of validated me, because Zubow's pretty good."
Now that the group is a quartet, the band plays for much larger audiences than they did in the beginning. Their first show at Americana on St. Patrick's Day drew over 300 people, essentially filling the venue to its capacity.
Bear commented on this change, explaining the band's philosophy at their shows.
"The opportunity to play for a larger audience is cool," Bear said.
"For the most part, the people are just coming to be entertained," Bear said. "And it works, because we do covers and we're the only band that caters to the bar scene."
"We don't claim to be professional," Bear said. "We just try to have fun, and it's gotten better and better each time we've played."
Like many bands who start out playing for bar crowds, The Swamp Angel Band has a following of friends and bar goers who come to their shows to see them play and to socialize.
Zach Zubow explained some of the positives and negatives of playing for this kind of crowd.
"It's nice to be able to be kind of loose, because you're playing for a drunk crowd and there isn't as much pressure," Zach Zubow said. "But sometimes the crowd can interfere with what you're doing."
Jake Zubow said, "At one point during the [St. Patrick's Day show] a friend came up and started talking to me while I was playing the drums. After awhile we were like, hey, you gotta go back to your chair."
"We love playing for our friends though," Zach Zubow said.
The band has developed an appreciative following of friends and other music lovers.
Garrett Blomgren ('06) is a regular at The Swamp Angel Band shows.
"I've seen them three times," Blomgren said. "I like the variety they have and I really like the jam aspect."
Erika Borgerson ('07), a friend and fan of the band, expressed a desire to keep seeing them play.
"They're awesome," Borgerson said. "If Swamp Angel is playing on a Tuesday Night at Americana, I'm there.
Ryan Olson ('06), an employee at the Americana Grille, commented on the band's development.
"I work here, so I've heard them a few times before," Olson said. "I'd definitely say they were more polished [on Tuesday], probably the best I've heard."
Claude Mertzenich, professor of chemistry at Luther, first became acquainted with the band through Bear, a student of his. Mertzenich represented Luther's faculty at the show on Tuesday night.
"Phil [Bear] gave me a copy of a demo they recorded," Mertzenich said. "They've got good harmony, and I love their Beatles covers."
Jean Dean, co-owner of Americana, has been watching the group since they began playing there.
"They've been practicing, they've gotten better and they've added to their repertoire," Dean said. "They've got a good following and a good crowd, who are for the most part well-mannered."
"That's why we keep having them back," Dean said.
Dean himself is a percussion instructor and is asked by the band to sit in for a tune every now and then. At the latest show Dean joined The Swamp Angel Band for a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama."
They were also joined for much of the show on Tuesday night by Matt Hazelton's dad, Dave Hazelton, an accomplished guitarist, and were preceded for the first time by an opening act, which featured Craig Arnold ('06) on electric guitar.
Dave Hazelton also recently helped the band record its first compact disk, "Inspirations."
The eight tracks recorded on the demo are all available on Loafy, Luther's student file-sharing network.
"Matt's dad helped us with the demo," Zach Zubow said. "He knows a lot about music technology."
"We recorded for like 14 hours straight that day, and got eight tracks done," Jake Zubow said. "That's pretty good."
The band's plan is to use the demo for bar gigs this summer in Lake Geneva and Madison, Wis.
"We're pretty excited about that," Bear said. "The opportunity to play for other audiences is really exciting."
Swamp Angel has also set a few tentative dates for shows in Decorah in the coming weeks. The band hopes to play at Towerstock on May 2, and at an open-mic night in Marty's on May 7.
Fans should also look for the band to play one more show at Americana before the end of the school year, at the restaurant/bar's "last day of class party."
The event is scheduled for Thursday, May 12, and barring any conflict with a local noise ordinance, will be held outdoors in the parking lot in front of Americana.
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Nate Preus
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