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_Rainy Day Saints "Diamond Star Highway" (Get Hip) _

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 Scene Magazine - Best Of 2006!

Rainy Day Saints
Diamond Star Highway

Rainy Day Saints singer and guitarist Dave Swanson has been a fixture on the Cleveland rock scene for three decades, playing bass in Death of Samantha and drums in Cobra Verde. But those gigs merely prevented Swanson from accepting his true calling: crafting bloody brilliant rock songs exploding with hooks more addictive than smack. Diamond Star Highway, the band's sophomore release, overflows with masterful, British Invasion-inspired guitar rock. What's more, it boasts the most original cover of "Sonic Reducer" ever recorded.
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Cleveland Plain Dealer

Rainy Day Saints' sophomore album "Diamond Star Highway" plays like a greatest hits of sounds and styles from the past few decades. There's the popish "I Don't Follow," the melodic "Nowhere Girl" and the alluring "Don't Look Away." But the biggest bang for your buck can be found on the unsuspecting cover of the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer." In theory, Rainy Day Saints visionary Dave Swanson must be crazy to touch such a punk classic, but he escapes any derision by swiftly gutting the track's underground roots, inserting a blues-based swagger and putting the beat on life support. Perhaps the natural reaction is to call "Diamond Star Highway" a garage rock triumph, but that's too easy. Instead, the 11-track album is simply a rock album that transcends pigeonholing.
Grade: A
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All Music Guide
http://www.allmusic.com/
Did it take twenty-plus years for the Paisley Underground scene to drift across America to the Midwest? Maybe not, but Cleveland, Ohio's Rainy Day Saints have made what sounds like the great lost album of the pop-psych revival genre with Diamond Star Highway. Guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Dave Swanson has had more than his share of experience in crafting great pop-centric rock as a member of Death of Samantha, Cobra Verde and Guided by Voices, but with Rainy Day Saints he's taken Hungry Man portions of British Invasion jangle, psychedelic melodic haze, folk-rock undercurrents and enough energy to keep the proceedings from sounding effete, and on Diamond Star Highway the results sound mighty fine indeed. There's just the right touch of swagger on "No Surprise", "I Don't Follow" is pure Rickenbacker-fueled bliss, "Infinity (Impossible Like A Train)" is a killer Dylan-meets-Stones hybrid, and the fuzzy, languid menace of their cover of the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer" takes one of the great tunes of the first era of U.S. punk and presents it with a fresh new perspective. Swanson is hardly the only star of this show — bassist Brian P. McCafferty and drummer Scott Pickering are an imaginative and rock-solid rhythm section, while Keith Pickering's guitar accents are spot on throughout. But as the key idea man, Dave Swanson deserves a round of applause for making an impressive step to front man status, and proving there are still new worlds left to be conquered in the world of garage-minded rock ‘n' roll. Would The Long Ryders and Green on Red be so kind as to reunite so Rainy Day Saints can play on a perfect bill where they'd be right at home?

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shindig-magazine.com/Phil Suggitt

Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dave Swanson has always brought a sense of melodic invention to his projects. Way back in 1986 Swanson and bassist Brian McCafferty produced some excellent driving guitar pop as part of The Reactions, whose 'Cracked Marbles' ep I play to this day. They haven't lost their edge after years of playing. The bright, well produced harmonies of Swanson and McCafferty give a neat pop shine to everything on the band's second CD.
In common with a few other fine modern bands from around the globe, The Rainy Day Saints incorporate elements of 60's psych, pop, garage, punk, folk-rock and beat-in short, everything that Shindig stands for. Rather than being a catch-all hodge-podge of different genres, Swanson and his cohorts sound comfortable in lots of styles, because they never lose sight of a good pop tune. A review of the first album wasn't far off by describing the sound as 'powerpop psych rock with an indie feel'.
The opener 'I Don't Follow' is full of great Rickenbacker-style folk rock jangle. 'Mirror Mystery' follows, a feast of guitars and catchy hooks. If you aren't sold by now, you should be! The quality remains consistent throughout. All of the eleven songs are strong, including a very different, slower and atmospheric version of the Dead Boys' 'Sonic Reducer' and the excellent garage pop of 'Nowhere Girl' or 'She's Falling Apart'.

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http://sctas.com/

Remember the early & mid-1980s? Those stinkin' greed-is-good, flock-of-hair-metal crap years? Whether you do or not, there was a wave that supposedly peaked & broke, that wave of 1960s-inspired neo-garage/psych/folk-rock bands, few of which are around today (survivors include Fleshtones, Cynics, Billy Childish & his various combos). So some assumed the whole 60s thang was tapped out and in the Historical Dustbin next to the early 80s mod & ska bands…but nobody bothered to tell Ohio's Rainy Day Saints, or maybe they don't give a hunk o' excrement. These Saints play like the primo rockin' years of the 60s and early 70s never ended without sounding by-the-numbers or over-the-top "retro-grade." For instance, in their hands, the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer" becomes a tantalizingly deliberate, lubricity-oozing, slow-blues-drenched mini-epic that Pink Floyd might've done before they got hit by that crumbly wall. "I Don't Follow" is Shake Some Action-era Flamin' Groovies if they weren't so hung-up on looking the part – SURGING Byrds-glazed jangle, plus some cool Ritchie Blackmore (circa first 2 Deep Purple discs) guitar moves, and to put the icing on the gravy, some nice Byrds-y diaphanous harmonies. "Mirror Mystery" is crunchy/crunching power-pop the way Mom usta make, provided yr mom hung out with the Plimsouls and the Creation. There's also elements of early 70s glitter-rock boogie riff-a-rama a la Mott the Hoople & Sweet. Breathtakingly originality? Not exactly, but this IS a rare item for an old fart like me: a rock (or rock & roll, if you must) with such tasty hooks, variety of tempo, and a cool-cat (yet un-smug) approach that I can play it 2wice all-the-way-thru in one sitting. Ain't too many indie-rock platters I can say that about, not these days.

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Maximum Rock & Roll

A little different from what I’ve come to expect from Get Hip--rather than play hidebound  neo-60’s garage, the Rainy Day Saints owe more to melodic pop in the Plimsouls or Psychedelic Furs vein. Yeah, you got your jangly guitars, upbeat melodies and earnest lyrics sung in perfect harmony--but it’s got some personality! Neato saxophone on “No Surprise”, the layered guitars on “Don’t Look Away”, the building drone of “Nowhere Girl” and the radically reworked cover of The Dead Boys “Sonic Reducer”. The punks aren’t going to flip their Mohawks over “Diamond Star Highway”, but weekend power poppers will find plenty here to love. 
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http://www.CoolCleveland.com


If you’re familiar with Dave Swanson’s work under the moniker Rainy Day Saints and Saturday’s Haze – technically his first solo effort – well, you know exactly what you’re in for with Diamond Star Highway.
If you’re not familiar, let me give you the quick-and-dirty: delicious power-pop and fuzzy garage rock, with quirky post-punk edges. A member of many an Ohio band (Guided By Voices, Cobra Verde, New Salem Witch Hunters, Reactions, Death Of Samantha, et. al) Swanson’s got a jones for big, fat melodies, groove-laden tunage and that psychedelic jangle of vintage Brit-pop.
That’s exactly what you get with Rainy Day Saints’ full-band follow-up to Haze. Call it truth in advertising. There’s a reason why Haze received great reviews and the Little Steven (yes, he of the “Underground Garage”) seal of approval. It’s true-to-life real rock and roll that touches on everything from Cheap Trick and Big Star, to the Barracudas, Sparks, and Todd Rundgren’s former outfit, the Nazz.
This time around, Swanson pulled together a group of “old friends,” all Cleveland band vets to create Diamond Star Highway’s 11 tracks. Rainy Day Saints currently features Brian P. McCafferty (bass), Keith Pickering (guitars) and Scott Pickering (drums) and they all rock out in what feels like a natural extension of Saturday’s Haze. It's well-produced, well-constructed... thoroughly well-done.
Highlights of this gem include the leadoff track “I Don’t Follow,” the driving “No Surprise,” “Don’t Look Away” and fantastic covers of Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer” and the Leaving Trains’ “Terminal Island.” And yes, it rocks. Expectedly. A simply great record.

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Scene Magazine-Matt Gorey

Rainy Day Saints frontman Dave Swanson did time in mythologized Ohio bands Death of Samantha, Guided by Voices, and Cobra Verde. On the Saints' stunning sophomore LP, Diamond Star Highway, he's well on the way to establishing his own local legacy. Swanson originally conceived RDS as a solo vehicle, tackling all the instrumental duties on 2004's Saturday's Haze. For Highway, he's recruited expert backing that transforms the Saints into a full-fledged combo, which deftly mixes sparkling power-pop with '60s-style psychedelia.

Swanson exhibits his gift for hooks on gems like "Mirror Mystery" and "Don't Look Away." He and bassist Brian McCafferty harmonize sweetly enough to incite full-fledged sing-alongs, while the Saints skillfully pile on harmonica, horns, and keyboards. A slithering, drugged-out cover of "Sonic Reducer" scores as well. But genre-dropping and description just obscure the simple truth: Diamond Star Highway is just damn good rock and roll.
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Goran Obradovic/Popism- http://www.torpedo pop.com

In spite of rave reviews, and a pretty intriguing title if I may add, I can’t say that I was too impressed with the Dave Swanson’s debut ‘Saturday Haze‘.
The change of my impressions might be caused by the fact that this one’s a full-band affair, in contrast to the previous “hazy” one-man-band concept, but then again, it might as well be just the great set of tunes on offer here, ranging from the classic power-pop opening pair of I Don’t Follow, full of contemporary folk-rocking jangle and Byrdsian harmonies, and Mirror Mystery, which also adds some late’60s/early’70s Who-ish power chords to it, both delivered by way of soulmates The Lolas.
She’s Fallen Apart is a noisy update of ’67 Who-mor, with an additional Barrett-like quirkiness, and while we’re at it, Waiting For You is a full-blown late’60s psychedelia, by way of Syd-meets-Country Joe’s “electric music for the mind and body”.
And taking it back for a year or two, Nowhere Girl, as suggested by it’s title, is a slightlydelic Beatlism, from 65-into-66, Don’t Look Away, recalls the same period, being an authentic sounding piece of folk-rock, while Infinity (Impossible Like A Train) is pure mid’60s r’n’beat with a distinctively punky edge.
If my own impression is to be believed, it seems as if another band member or two is to be added, Rainy Day Saints is about to become one hell of a band.
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Michael Toland-High Bias July 2006


A veteran of Cleveland outfits Cobra Verde, Death of Samantha and, of course, Guided By Voices, Dave Swanson made a solid, if unspectacular, power pop LP a couple of years ago under the Rainy Day Saints moniker. For Diamond Star Highway, he eschews the one-man-band approach by recruiting local musicians to make the Saints into a real band, and it’s a major upgrade. Swanson’s melodic sense gets even sharper here, and having a band bashing away behind him gives “Nowhere Girl,” “No Surprise” and the adrenaline-pumping “Infinity (Impossible Like a Train)” high energy for their hooks. The band also indulges its psychedelic side with “Waiting For You” and the sax-enhanced instrumental title track, and turns “Sonic Reducer,” by hometown heroes the Dead Boys, into a menacing acid dirge worthy of the Bevis Frond. Letting others play with Swanson’s toys makes Diamond Star Highway an exceptionally strong album.


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Jeff Clark      http://www.stompandstammer.com

Pristine electrified paisley underground jangle, jumpstarted for a clueless generation too dumb to care. This band does everything right except invent a time machine. I feel really self-conscious promoting archaic outfits like this, but when they put this much passion into it, it's like: Fuck the rest of y'all, this ROCKS! For clued-in appreciators of Rain Parade, Dream Syndicate, Hollies and Beatles.
You know...the essentials...

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www.babysue.com

Rainy Day Saints play the kind of feelgood guitar pop that became quite popular among underground music fans in the late 1990s. Songwriter Dave Swanson and his cohorts seem focused on writing and playing great melodic guitar pop without unnecessary frills. On Diamond Star Highway, they have succeeded. This eleven track album features nine originals and two covers ("Sonic Reducer" and "Terminal Island"). The band plays with vibrant energy...but they never try to overload their listeners with intense volume...instead allowing the tunes to speak for themselves. Co-produced with Don Depew, Highway has just the right amount of polish without blurring out the band's original sound. This feelgood album features a wealth of catchy tracks including "I Don't Follow," "Mirror Mystery," "Don't Look Away," and "Diamond Star Highway." Good stuff...zesty. (Rating: 5+)
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Stephen Haag-popmatters.com

There’s three misleading parts in the Rainy Day Saints’ name. I’ll let you figure them out for yourself, but here’s some hints: On their sophomore disc, Diamond Star Highway, there’s bright, jangly power pop, dark atmospheric rock, and badass freak out psychedelica. Maybe the name is meant to be ironic. But enough smartassery. The big news about the Saints is that they’re a full band, not just the nom de rock for Dave Swanson. The outfit—guitarist/keyboardist/singer Swanson (drummer for Mag Earwhig!-era Guided by Voices, it should be noted), bassist Brian McCafferty, guitarist Keith Pickering, and drummer Scott Pickering—sounds great, covering a wide variety of styles under the garage rock umbrella. Hey, maybe that band name isn’t entirely off-base after all. The only problem is with all this wide mastery of styles, there’s no real sense of who the Rainy Day Saints are.
They open with “I Don’t Follow”, a jangly slice of early ‘80s-style power pop that wouldn’t sound out of place on an old Bomp! compilation (indeed, the band gives a shout-out to Bomp! founder Greg Shaw in the liner notes); meanwhile, “She’s Fallen Apart” is a lost track from the recent Children of Nuggets box set. When they’re not aping genres, the RDS are invoking specific bands. “Infinity (Impossible Like a Train)” is a hard-charging harmonica-fueled rocker that barrelasses like a locomotive ... off the new Primal Scream record. And damned if the ringing “Nowhere Girl” isn’t the best answer to the question, What would the Yardbirds sounds like if they were a working garage band? Again—it sounds good, but who are these guys?
Complicating matters further are the moments when the RDS turn in songs that sound like other songs, not just other bands. The menacing, slightly psychedelic “No Surprise” is a decent update on “Highway Star” (sonically, not thematically), and the title track may be a riff on that Deep Purple classic, but it’s an instrumental horn freak-out that sounds like, of all things, Metallica’s “Hero of the Day” performed by the Mothers of Invention. Weird.
And there’s yet a fourth level of self-obfuscation—a pretty impressive feat, given that the album is only 11 tracks and 45 minutes long—as the band kicks in two cover tunes: Leaving Trains’ “Terminal Island” (a tune I’m unfamiliar with, but in the RDS’ hands it’s the disc’s folksy-ish closing number) and the Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer”, which the band plays at half-speed and turns into a dark blues song.
The Rainy Day Saints sound great and clearly know their musical history inside-out, because that mastery nearly makes up for the band’s opacity. Bands that wend their way into fans’ hearts are those that people can relate to, can find something to grab onto, and right now, the Rainy Day Saints may have hooks aplenty, but they don’t have The Hook. If you’re searching for your new favorite band, keep looking, but if it’s rock and roll ciphers you seek, your journey just ended. Rating 5
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www.ipunkrock.net  (translated by Google and not corrected…you figure it out!)

Dedicated to Greg Shaw, the new band of the hyperactive Dave Swanson, old member of Green Cobra and Death Of Samantha (group influenced by Pere Ubu and Yoko Ono), in addition to well-known the Guided By Voices, it crystallizes all his fetiches in this surprising pop disc of circa 1980. Of pop and psicodelia, and more things. Because cover of “Sonic Reducer” that closes the LP he pays to Stiv Bators and his (Jimmy Zero is reviewed in the credits) as a half improvised time, because they versionean to the band pre- grunge? of Los Angeles Leaving Trains (“Terminal Island”) but, mainly, and the best thing of everything, removes end melodía. After a first disc where the good one of Swanson used of called training “Saturday´s Haze” (Get Hip, 2003) “Diamond Star Highway” supposes an anthology of own songs of the best of Big Star, Redd Kross and Pink Floyd, everything macerated in the barrel of the passage of time, that that verifies the insolvent thing or not of the last reinterpretaciones. In its case, “Diamonds…” it knows aged like a good reserve. Recomendabilísimos.

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No Brains Fanzine-  http://www.nobrainszine.com

Rainy Day Saints have that nice typical American sound like Byrds, 70s/early 80s power pop bands. Of course Rainy Day Saints have a bit tougher indie flavored sound (think early R.E.M. stuff). 11 songs, bunch of nice melodies, jangly guitars and vocal harmonies. Weird cover of "Sonic Reducer" (Dead Boys) - slowed and dark. Album starts pretty sunny and poppy and ends pretty dark. Great one!!
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http://www.mohairsweets.mb.ca

httpA solid slice of power-pop/psych chunk out of Cleveland,Ohio featuring former (?) New Salem Witch Hunter Dave Swanson. Good stuff with big guitars and big melodies. The band's version (included here) of Ohio punk legends the Dead Boy's "Sonic Reducer" is done about a third the speed and becomes a deeper, darker though retains much of the intensity of the original. I bet live though they turn it up to full speed for the encore. Especially if Jimmy Zero turns up! (11 tracks. 45:25 playing time.)


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The Rainy Day Saints are:

Dave Swanson -guitars, vocals, keyboards, drums, bass, etc
Brian P. McCafferty-Bass, b. vocals
Scott Pickering-Drums, cymbals, and so on
Keith Pickering-Guitars, more guitars, whisk, gas pedal
Marianne Friend-sax appeal

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Live Action!

No shows scheduled at the moment....stay tuned!

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RDS Feature in the new Left Of The Dial!
http://www.leftofthedialmag.com/

Looking For the Stars in the Highway:
An Interview with Dave Swanson of Rainy Day Saints, Death of Samantha, and Guided by Voices!!




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First, let’s go back to the future. Magnet magazine just ran a long article on the seemingly dubious label Homestead, which released four Death of Samantha albums. Did you get a chance to see the article, and if so, how best can you describe the band’s fairly long-lasting relationship with the label, which housed many of the 1980’s great indie bands?

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Yeah, I read that article, and actually really liked what John (Petkovic from DOS) said in there. I think he nailed the idea that if these people are really thinking they were ripped of by the label, they don’t get out much. Every label, in a sense is a rip off, but honestly, how much money was ever made by any of those bands?!

The first album and the following EP were prior to me joining the band, but I was friends with them. At the time, Gerard was really into the band’s first single, and ended up signing them. I joined the band for the next two albums. My band at the time, The Reactions (also on Homestead), had broken up around the same time that DOS’ bass player quit, so John asked me if I would be into joining the band…on bass! I figured, I dug the band and it would be fun. Which it was. So, I became a bass player. Homestead , at the time, was probably as good as any indie label, save for maybe SST, who seemed, at least, to be more organized. Homestead had a high presence on the college rock scene, radio and fanzines, and was a respected label, especially on the East Coast. As for housing other “great 80’s indie bands,” I would have to disagree. I mean aside from Nick Cave, I can’t think of any bands on that label I actually liked. Sonic Youth? Big Black? Total crap! I always thought most of those bands weren’t “real bands” if that makes sense. It all seemed like some college prank or something. Sonic Youth always struck me as so contrived, especially when they decided they wanted to “rock out” — adopting a pseudo Manson Family chic, associating themselves with Madonna and all that nonsense. The truth is, they were jealous of Redd Kross. They tried really hard to be a cool rock band, but at heart they were still geeky art fops. You see, “Rock” on an indie label is one thing, “indie rock” is something else entirely. With DOS it was a weird time. I mean, we weren’t by any means a big band, but people knew of us, we got lots of press and were able to tour the US a few times. If we had been from somewhere besides Cleveland we may have had a better chance at something. It is interesting to note that at our peak were we doing shows where our opening acts included Smashing Pumpkins, Gin Blossoms, and Nirvana, among others.

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I remember sitting in a van in Boston with Nirvana, this must have been right after they signed with Sub Pop, and one of them saying how they weren’t like all those other Sub Pop bands that they were a lot poppier. So, they start playing, and I’m standing there thinking, wow, my definition of poppy and yours differ greatly flannel man. Honestly, I thought they sucked and their later years did little to change that. Possibly the most over-rated, yet undeniably influential bands of the last many years. It was funny, because we did some big show in Seattle a year or so before it all exploded there. We were staying at some bands’ house and this guy actually asked “So what’s the drug scene like in Cleveland?” Now, for someone who has never been into drugs, this was the oddest question I could imagine. I said, “What do you mean drug scene?” He replied that smack was really coming into it there. I just rolled my eyes and walked away. Those kids with their drugs and their flannel shirts. Gold lame cost the same at thrift stores as flannel, so there was no excuse for that kind of fashion faux pas! That whole Sub Pop era I just didn’t get at all. Then again, it wasn’t meant for me, so there ya go.


Your new record has two covers, one by LA’s long running Leaving Trains, who I saw open for Black Flag, and “Sonic Reducer” by the ever-beloved Dead Boys/Rocket from the Tomb, from your own hometown. Did you see the Rocket from the Tomb reunion tour or hear the last record? (if so, what were your impressions), and can you describe what led you to really reinvent “Sonic…” which is a keynote track that nearly every reviewer mentions? Also, it’s probably apropos to mention that Death of Samantha paid tribute to Peter Laughner from Ubu by covering his song “Sylvia Plath.”
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Well, first off, I’ve known Falling James since the mid-1980s when Death Of Samantha did some touring with the Trains. He’s got a real spark and love for rock & roll. The Leaving Trains, James in particular, are one of rock & roll’s lost treasures. As for the RFTT, I saw them play when they first reappeared and they were fantastic! Really solid and rocking, I saw them a couple months ago and they lacked focus and energy, except for Cheetah who always kills. It was just kind of going through the motions. The new songs were alright, but when compared to stuff like “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” or “Final Solution” I mean…there is no comparison! As for our version of “Sonic Reducer,” we were asked to play this Stiv Bators memorial show a couple years ago. The remaining Dead Boys were headlining it and the idea was for the other bands on the bill to do Stiv, Lords, or Dead Boys songs as a tribute thing. His parents were even there! So, we did three songs from “Disconnected” (his great solo LP) and I had come up with the idea of doing a really slow version of “Sonic Reducer.” It seems like it’s the “punk” national or something. For a while, it was like every other band coming through town did a version of that song and it was always a generic run through of the original. So I thought, hey we’ll do this slow take on it and piss off the punks, well…that backfired cause after we played it, the crowd went nuts. They loved it! Jimmy and Cheetah both said it was the coolest version they had ever heard of the song. So, we ended up recording it due to the response it got live. A few months ago we did a show and at the end of out set, I’m unplugging my pedals and I look up and there’s Cheetah standing right in front of the stage smiling and said, “What, no Sonic Reducer tonight?!”, cause we hadn’t played it that time. He just happened to be in town for a Rocket rehearsal and ended up at our show. Another time we did it and Jimmy Zero got up and played with us. I have always loved the Dead Boys. I think Stiv was one of the greatest front men of all time and to me, they were the best “punk” band of the era.
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As for the DOS Laughner cover, our drummer Steve-O (no relation to the Jackass star) said Peter Laughner came to him in a dream and kept muttering the name Sylvia Plath over and over. We saw it as a sign to record it. Shortly after that Steve-O was beaten up by Byron Coley for having linear dreams nd a hyphen in his name.
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Could you tell us about the shift from playing bass in Death… to playing drums in Cobra Verde? Was it simply a matter of boredom and change of pace, or did you think you could bring something to the kit, via bass technique and keen ear, or was it just yet another instrument to pick up and try, given your musical proclivities?
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Well, I am originally a drummer. Been playing drums since I was 5 years old thanks to Mickey Dolenz. I played drums in The Reactions, and along the way taught myself guitar. That was enough, at the time, to step into the bass slot with DOS. Drums are still my favorite thing to play with guitar a close second. DOS was the only band I ever played bass in, and to be honest wouldn’t want to be a bass player again. I mean, I wasn’t really a bass player, I was a guitar player playing bass. Those who are real bass players are few and far between and you can tell when you hear them.



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For two years, you drummed and even helped produce (if I am right) for Guided By Voices, out of a total line-up that amounts to something like 22 players. Many fans and no less than the Chicago Tribune noted that the Cobra Verde-backed Robert Pollard was a whole different beast:

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Not that the old band didn’t rock. They executed addictive pop songs such as “Game of Pricks” and “Motor Away” quite well, but they never really explored the tunes’ full potential. The new GBV, with guitarists Doug Gillard and John Petkovic slashing through every song with heedless conviction, weren’t afraid to take interesting chances with riffs, and they didn’t shy from making Pollard’s sterling creations the arena-rock anthems they were always meant to be. 
† 
With Petkovic stalking the stage like a caged animal, Gillard embroidering the songs with urgent, plaintive guitar lines and Pollard swinging the microphone cord like an energetic Roger Daltrey, songs like “Little Lies” and “Jane of the Waking Universe” transformed the Metro into the world’s smallest stadium. But it wasn’t just the guitars that made GBV’s set an arena-rock show: The elastic bass of Don Depew recalled The Who classics such as “I Can See For Miles,” and drummer Dave Swanson pummeled his kit with precise, ferocious abandon.

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Was that a satisfying and collaborative time for you, or did you feel like a hired hand, like people playing in a backing band for Bob Mould or Elvis Costello?
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“Ferocious abandon,” I like that! Well, you know it was an odd fit in some respects and made total sense in others. I understood where Bob was coming from within his songs. We both shared a lot of musical heroes and influences. We bonded over the Who, Sparks and early Genesis for sure. But Cobra Verde, the original incarnation, was a different animal than any of the previous GBV lineups. Personally, I think we made a great album with Mag Earwhig. I also think we did sort of pump new life into the old hits, but in other ways we kind of cluttered up what GBV was. It should have progressed to making GBV a different sort of band, but ultimately, to me, didn’t live up to it’s potential. Oh and please don’t ever try and compare Pollard to Elvis Costello. That’s just wrong.


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If you don’t mind, could also you recall the Cleveland recordings of Nov. 1996 with Pollard and Mitch Mitchell, which Nude as the News.com has described as:
Accomplished musicians and professionals to the core, Cobra Verde seemed just what Bob needed for the new incarnation of GBV…But after the sessions wrapped, Bob secretly felt unsatisfied with the results. Don Depew, who had engineered and mixed the sessions, didn’t seem to understand Bob’s intuitively ragged style…[Bob] ended up scrapping a lot of those songs.

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Did you feel that the songs were “too slick” or that the producer had simply chosen to highlight some of the more mainstream aspects of Pollard’s intuitive side, or something else?

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Well…in some respect I don’t think it was slick enough. Honestly, Bob’s “ragged style” was really born out of making the most out of the least in terms of recording equipment. I mean, the 4 track is limiting and those early GBV records made the most out of that. I really doubt it was a conscious sort of artistic statement, being “lo-fi.” It was what he had at his disposal. I don’t think Bob knew what he really wanted at that moment in time other than he wanted to do something different. Mitch was there and initially going to be a part of the whole thing. Then all of a sudden, he was gone from the picture. I still don’t know why. Mitch was always a super cool guy. Laid back and rocking. I always dug his style in the original GBV and was really looking forward to playing with him, but alas it was not to be. We recorded a bunch of songs…expanded, arranged, and embellished ideas Bob had. I think maybe we all had our own take on what GBV was, is, and could have been at the time. The original batch of songs had a totally different running order and was all “hi-fi” stuff. We put the songs together and I really thought it was cool. To be honest, I think that original album was a much better record. More fluid and consistent. A lot of it leaned towards Bob’s prog influences while maintaining the Who-ish tendencies. All of which I thought was a good move at the time. So, we complete the album, then a couple weeks later Bob sends me this tape with a new running order, some songs are missing and some cheap lo-fi stuff in their place. At the time, I think he was afraid of taking to big a step away from what “GBV” was and was thinking he would alienate the old fans. Ultimately, I think Mag was not the forward move it should have been, but more of a lateral one really. At that point, GBV really was poised for a bigger step and I think that step was squashed from within. When we toured, though, the fans loved it. That album was a lot of people’s first Guided By Voices experience and to this day there are those who think those were some of the band’s best shows.

One last question about the GBV experiences, since the same web site details the biographical note that, “After a late October concert in San Francisco, Bob spoke with Addicted to Noise e-zine about his desire to work with other musicians on the next album, including powerhouse drummer Jim MacPherson of The Breeders and Amps. Thinking the reporter wouldn’t print what he had whispered in “hushed tones,” Bob was shocked when everyone in Cobra Verde (except Doug Gillard) confronted him about the article.” Does this gel with your memory, or do you feel that this conflict has been exaggerated, though it does sound like Chris Mars reading that he bad been kicked out of the band while reading a magazine interview with Paul Westerberg.

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That whole thing was just retarded to be honest. I love the drama there…”hushed tones” “Bob was shocked.” It’s just silly. John did in fact read that thing on the Internet and he called me about it. I was pissed at the moment, not because Bob wanted to do something else, I mean, how many members has that band had?! I had no preconceived notion that this was the final chapter in Bob’s story; what pissed me off was the way it happened. Bob called me a few nights later to smooth things out, which didn’t happen. I didn’t “confront” him about it, I just told him I thought it could have been handled differently. To which he basically told me to fuck off. What John or Don did I have no idea. As for Doug, who knows. We did one final show, with a very drunk singer, in Columbus, and that was it. At one point on the last tour we did, Bob pulled me aside and started babbling about Doug and I “really joining his band.” I said I thought we were in his band. So, I think at that point, he was already plotting some move. To be honest, I think a lot of it came down to he and John, both band leaders by definition, just butting heads and Bob wanted him out. John wanted out anyway, and I know Bob felt he couldn’t communicate with Don. As for me, I probably wouldn’t have lasted a long time regardless. I know the fact that I don’t drink (and never have) bothered him to some extent. One time he was talking to John and asked him “why doesn’t Dave drink…I just don’t get that with him.” He knew I wasn’t ‘one of the guys’ in that respect and he just didn’t understand. Personally, though I liked a lot of their music, I never got the whole GBV frat boy thing at all. That’s not where I come from and it was a foreign thing for me for sure. There was no mysticism with GBV, no romance, sparkle or thunder…just beer (Bob Pollard and I have no hard feelings at this point, in fact on the final GBV show in Cleveland I got up and played drums on a couple songs, and the last time he came through on his solo tour, Rainy Day Saints opened the show).

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It’s interesting to note that people have approached “Diamond Star Highway” with a reference almanac of allusions, ranging from the Plimsouls to Rain Parade, from boogie Mott the Hoople and glamcentric style to paisley overtures, in part, I think, because it seems so remarkably stripped down and honest, like some the best recordings on Frontier, IRS, and others in the 1980s, before the advent of omnipresent Gen X and Y winking irony and omnipresent Mac tools engineering, which is what I think partly fuels a love for things like Little Steven (who has given you kudos!). Did you intend to make an album that looked back and would register with people as an amalgam of styles?

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Umm, no. There were no intentional moves at hand, I mean I love a lot of different styles of music, granted, most of them rock based, but even within that framework, there’s a lot to go through. To me, it’s all about how things fit together. All those things mentioned are near and dear to my musical heart for sure. Mentioning Mott in the same breath as Rainy Day Saints…what’s not to be thrilled about! You know, in my mind The Monkees, The Velvet Underground, Slade, Motorhead, The Turtles, Dave Brubeck, Abba, King Crimson, Howlin Wolf…they all belong side by side. They all fit together somehow. There’s a conscious pop thread throughout all good music. To me that’s what ties it together. One of the downfalls of a lot of current music is the categorizing and specializing of everything. Most bands specialize in their genre and dare not step outside of it. There’s room for everything…well, almost everything I mean there are things that I do dislike and have no use for (death metal, hip hop, Billy Joel to maim a few). Recently, I was looking through an old 16 Magazine and there’s a paragraph on what Herman’s Hermits are up to, followed by a thing about a new Fugs album! I mean, it was just all music! The whole Gen X irony thing has helped drive more nails in the coffin of Rock And Roll. You can’t just like a band now, especially if they are a rock band. There has to be a nod and a wink, as you say, as to why you like them. Take a band like The Darkness, for instance. When that first album came out, a lot of people seemed to like them because they thought it was ironic or a parody. When they realized they were a real band, those so-called fans abandoned them. Personally, I think they are the greatest band of the last 20 + years! People have exchanged having a sense of humor for cheap irony, which of course isn’t a substitute at all. It also provides a trap door to escape from being judged. If it’s all ironic or a joke, then you can’t be held accountable. Plus, there is no one capturing the imagination anymore. If Jim Morrison or Johnny Rotten emerged now, they would be ridiculed and written off in an instance. There’s no room for legend or mythmaking. It’s all so Hollywood Minute or some nonsense. In many ways, I think Marilyn Manson really was the last rock star.


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Even within the “garage” scene, it’s all down to looking the part, whether that means pseudo mod or gas station attendant, having the most generic riffs and filling songs with every cliché you can think of. Which in and of itself is unintentionally ironic. Cookie cutter rebellion if ever there was. Is there a difference between these “garage” bands and a band like Sha Na Na? Same damn thing! The other thing I really loath about “garage” is that whole sort of Crypt Records mentality that preaches 1955-1966, and 1977 as being the only good time for music. OK, so in other words putting limits and boundaries around yourself is really hip then. No thanks punky.

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Tell me about the use of sax (let’s not forget that Death of Samantha used clarinet!) on tracks like “No Surprise” and the rather freeform “Diamond Star Highway” that remind me both of the mid-period Stooges, late MC5, and even X Ray Spex. In the late 1990s, I had a NYC area band with a saxophone player in the studio, and I always felt that saxophone is really underrepresented in rock, and that it brings a certain tension between haywire electric and old school acoustic instruments that offer very different kinds of vibe and approach, but why did you add the sax?

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Can we please forget DOS used clarinet?? Stooges, MC5…that’s A-OK in my book. You’re the first person to mention X-Ray Spex too…they were always one of my favorite bands of that era. I really loved their style and their use of sax. “Oh Bondage Up Yours” is one of the best records ever! As for the sax in general, when used properly, I love it. Andy Mackay of Roxy Music! David Jackson of Van Der Graaf Generator! Flipper! When sax is misused, however, it makes me want to stab people in the forehead. Smooth jazz, Steely Dan and so forth. Robyn Hitchcock hit it on the head in his song “1974” with the line “ghastly mellow saxophones all over the floor.” That man is a genius! There’ll be more sax on the next album as well.


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Among others, you thank Falling James (Leaving Trains, writer), Clem Burke (Blondie), and Wayne Kramer (MC5), which also reads like a list of soul-mates, and I should not neglect Greg Shaw and the Rubinoos too. Do you feel like these artists offer a kind of path of staying true to form and sensibility even as younger generations maintain a post-Grand Theft Auto, attention deficit, and sometimes shallow perspective, or do you find a comfort zone in the small community of rockers who are still the staple of small ma and pa record shops across the world?

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Well, James, Wayne and Clem are all friends and all rockers till the end of time. Clem is, aside from Keith Moon, my favorite drummer ever and one class act. Wayne was godsend to rock and roll. I mean, the MC5 in their prime are probably the one band I would travel back in time to witness. The first time I ever saw the “Kick Out The Jams” LP cover, I must have been like 13 or something, and I had no idea who they were except maybe a mention in Creem, but the way that LP cover looked. It spoke to me! It was like…this is what rock and roll is all about! The flash and glamour of it all, the sparkly shirts, the flags on the amps, the long hair! I bought the thing (.99 cents at a department store if memory serves) based on the way it looked. I wasn’t prepared for the sonic assault! Screw the politics of it and just listen to those guitars! I told Wayne that story and he just smiled. I’ll take the 5 over any of the other oft used icons (Stooges, Dolls etc) to me they were the ultimate! I love the bombast! Bomp magazine was a huge influence on me as a teenager in finding out about not only what was cool that was new, but detail on all these great older bands. With Greg Shaw, well, any guy who puts out The Flamin’ Groovies “You Tore Me Down”…come on! That alone warrants his importance. That’s one thing I really question now. Are any of the kids today trying to find the tree from which all this fell from? I mean, when I would read an article about a band I liked and they mentioned an older band that they had loved, I would want to hear that band. Still do for that matter. These roads all lead somewhere, from one band to another and back…to folk, blues, jazz, they lead everywhere you just have to keep on the path. It’s no wonder kids download everything now though. I think they’re self aware and know that a year from now, they won’t like or care about that band or album anyway, so why buy it. I grew up in a different time and am still buying records by and going to see artists I have followed for many many years and am still loyal to.


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I think ultimately Rock And Roll really is kind of at the end of its cycle. Not to be ringing the death bell too loudly, but honestly, Rock And Roll doesn’t mean that much to people anymore. It’s been used and abused, cheapened and degraded over time. For me it was, and is my life. As cliché as it sounds, it’s what gave me a reason to live, and still does! As the old guard dies off one by one, there’s no one really to replace them. Sure, there’s always great music around, and these days you just have to look harder for it. I just think it’s sad that to those being born today, Rock And Roll will just be a chapter in a history book and not a living, breathing animal. I hope I’m proven wrong! Maybe after lying dormant for years, some brave kid will unearth a microchip that has a video of The Cramps on it and it will blow his ever- loving mind to eternity!

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Debut CD/LP

"SATURDAY'S HAZE"



on Get Hip Records

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What the critics had to say about Rainy Day Saints “Saturday’s Haze”


“Great sunny power-pop” (www.readmag.com)

“a nastier version of The Move and the harder side of the Dream Syndicate” (www.fufkin.com/)

“clearly indebted to a paisley-clad ¹60s, these 13 tracks have a surprising heaviness, verging on what might be termed mod-grunge Is it possible Kurt Cobain was a closet Creation fan and recorded this on the sly?” (Big Takeover)


“Be careful: the stuff will stick in your head for days” (Chip Midnight)

“Come and get astonished” (www.slugmag.com)

“an album of limber pop rock with vocals that seduce and guitars that slobber. It spans from growling psychedelia to a warm acoustic lilt: The title cut is a fleet fist-pumper that ranks among the most infectious rock songs of the year; the organ-inflected stomper "Lookout" is driven by Swanson's surprisingly heavy-handed drumming, which adds heft to the harmonies; the pretty, plaintive "Seems Impossible Somehow" would fit right into the Simon & Garfunkel canon. It's an album that'll have rockers wishing every day were Saturday“. (Cleveland Scene)

“Cheap Trick meets The Nazz meets early Flaming Lips? Powerpop psych rock with an indie feel?  Fans of well crafted 70s rock, powerpop and loud guitars will love this album cuz Mr. Swanson is one talented motherfucker”  (www.hotstuff.se)

“Bursting with crunching melodies, they flow along pulsing guitars, soaring harmonies, oscillating bass lines and hat-heavy drumbeats, all effectively carried out by Swanson himself. His upbeat playing is flawless” (www.splendidezine.com)

“from rockin’ to silky acoustic hooks and more this is an excellent debut” (André Skinner)

“reminds me of the Monkees” (www.rocknrollpurgatory.com)

“Rainy Day Saints’ blend of psychedelic fuzz-heavy garage rock should appeal immensely to fans of '60s icons like The Who, Kinks, and all those cool American bands on the Nuggets box set, as well as admirers of '70s power pop icons like The Barracudas, The Only Ones, and The Real Kids. For the most part, Saturday’s Haze is an intoxicating non-stop hit parade that will have you dancing around the room, but Swanson is equally effective when he takes it down several notches as on the acoustic-tinged Is Really True, which has a mournful vibe not unlike classic Stones ballads such as Lady Jane and As Tears Go By“.  (Cool Cleveland)

“Dave Swanson, formerly of Death of Samantha and so many other crucial Ohio-area bands, gets to show how he does it, with an elegant almost British classicism in his indeed hazy, psychedelicate pop-rock swirls “ (L.A. Weekly)

“The tracks range from innocent-sounding folksy ditties to biting, AC/DC-influenced guitar rock, with a catchy tune always firmly at the core“. (Cleveland Free Times)

“power-pop stomp, touches of psychedelia, Stones-inflected ballads, and oversized hooks“ (Cool Cleveland)

“an effortlessly enjoyable slice of garage pop“  (highbias.com)


Links
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"Smash the system with the song! "
 

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