Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Graham, vocalist in the band Swimwear Department.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I’ve been writing songs for a while. I was talking to Ned [Gayle, bass] one time and he brought up the idea of reverse-engineering bands, like, starting with the album art or just a band name and creating the band’s identity and songs in response.
I asked myself what a band called Swimwear Department would sound like and what the songs would be about. I guess the band name was sort of a writing prompt. I think one of the guys from The Rocketboys came up with the name. Brandon or maybe Justin.
Anyway, I recorded a bunch of demos last summer and it was sort of a first-idea-best-idea kind of thing. I honestly didn’t think it would go anywhere, but here we are a year later. Jeremy [keys] and Jack [drums] jumped in. We made an album, and enough people are into it that we’ve been getting to play a bunch of cool shows.
Please tell us about your art.
I believe when writers respond to a prompt, their truth comes out. I wrote a bunch of songs about malls and swimming pools, but those songs also include my thoughts and feelings about growing up and changing. I guess the album [Turn! Over! Go Under!] is about adapting. Joanne makes a cool swimsuit. The mom lets go. The mall stores go out of business, but life goes on.
In terms of the band’s sound. I don’t know. Our friends compare us to lots of bands, but usually follow those comparisons with ‘but not really.’ You know, like, ‘Oh! You guys sound like blank, but not really.’
I like our music because people can dance to it and shout things back at us. I like the simplicity of it. Just that distorted bass, drums, keys, and vocals. I had a music professor once tell me never have more than four things happening at once, so…
Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
Time is the only resource that really matters. If you can figure out a way to free up some time, you can find a cheap or free way to make your art. You can find a cheap or free way to share your art with other people, too, especially with music! My buddy, Justin Hancock, recorded a solid sounding album on his iPhone. We distributed our album digitally through Amuse. They don’t take a cut of our sales and we didn’t have to pay them anything up front to get our stuff on iTunes and Spotify. I’m telling you, if you can sacrifice some things in order to free up some time to create your art, money isn’t an issue.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
The best way to fully appreciate Swimwear Department is to come to a show. Our shows are really fun! We play in Houston pretty frequently. Concert dates are on our website and social media accounts.
The best ways to support us (or any local band for that matter) is to attend shows and buy merch at shows. When you buy a shirt, CD or Cassette at a show, nobody else gets a cut of that money. A hundred percent of the profit goes back into our band fund to help us free up some time to record our next batch of songs.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.swimweardepartment.band
- Email: swimweardepartment@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/swimweardepartment
- Facebook: facebook.com/swimweardepartment
- Twitter: twitter.com/swimweardept
Image Credit:
Indoor shot – Sundaze Photography
All outdoor shots – Annie Mulligan
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