11.10.09 – The Swellers talk with PreachElectric.net while their tour with Paramore passes through San Francisco.

How has this tour been so far?

Nick(vocals/guitar): Very, very, very fun and there is good food!

Jonathan(drums/vocals): We went to Frightfest in Universal Studios with Hayley and Jeremy from Paramore. We went to haunted houses and got scared… together.

Anto(bass): And we got to go see the Simpsons ride!

Jonathan: And ride it.

How would you define your band?

Jonathan: Handsome.

Nick: A bunch of four guys…..that didn’t come out right.

Anto: A bunch of four guys to of which are brothers.

Ryan(guitar): And one is a Canadian.

Jonathan: And one is an English mom.

Nick: We’re just dudes that play rock songs. We don’t have any gimmicks, which is kind of unfortunate because we could be rich right now.

Jonathan: Ryan has green hair now, it’s supposed to be blue. Hayley dyed it today.

Anto: And she did a terrible job.

How do you react when you see other bands supporting you?

Jonathan: It’s really cool. Even if it’s a band you can’t tour with, it’s really awesome that all these people are supporting each other.

Nick: It’s all about respect. Like most of these bands, I respect all of those dudes. They’ve helped us out in the past and we try to help them out as much as we can. It’s really important to kind of be a family. We’re all in it for the same reason….Money and chicks, bro.

When did you decide you wanted to play music?

Nick: When I realized regular jobs suck.

Jonathan: I just like hitting stuff. I like hitting drums because they are not people! If I didn’t have drums, I would hit everybody.

Nick: You’d be a cop so you could hit people and not go to jail.

Anto: Or a UFC fighter!

Jonathan: I would be an M&M fighter. I love candy.

How do you feel about bands that are in the industry for reasons other than music?

Anto: They usually make more money than we could ever imagine.

Nick: They’re not doing music for the right reasons, so they should die as people.

Jonathan: I would kill them all.

Anto: As long as your heart is in the right place…

Nick: We’re going to have cool stories for our grandkids.

Jonathan: Those guys would be like “yeah, we met Miley Cyrus.” Like, we don’t care…Cool.

Anto: We met her best friend, and that’s what matters!

Jonathan: Emily Osment, YEAH!

What’s the worst part about being a band?

Nick: Long drives.

Jonathan: Dealing with Canadians….oh, long drives.

Nick: Everything is really fun, it’s not tough. We all get along too. The most we ever bickered was like, “I want to drive.” “No, I want to drive!!” “I want to sleep, that’s my bench in the van. Get out!!!!”

Jonathan: And Ryan is a super mean person. He doesn’t like anyone’s opinion and every time we say something, he’s just really mean.

Anto: Sometimes he slaps people…

Jonathan: With his fist.

Ryan: Watch it, Anto!

How did you choose Fueled By Ramen as you label?

Jonathan: We threw a dart at a board.

Nick: That’s a joke.

Jonathan: That’s a lie. Our hearts were in it, and their heart were too.

Nick: Their heart were too.

Jonathan: Their heart were too.

Nick: We are a bunch of four guys.

What are you doing after this tour?

Jonathan: We’re driving from L.A. to Philly in three days.

Anto: Mapquest that.

Nick: Yeah, we’re driving 4,000 miles to go on tour with Less Than Jake.

Jonathan: Don’t do drugs.

Is there anything you’d like to add?

Anto: YEAH!

Ryan: Buy our new album!

Jonathan: Yeah, Ups And Downsizing, it’s out now!

Anto: And Nick…

Nick: 9/11 was an inside job.

Anto: Yes, it was! And Houdini is fake.

Ryan: Old magic is not real.

Anto: But wrestling is real.

All: Kendo stick! Kendo stick! Kendo stick!

Anto: I would like to swim with dolphins one of these days, so if someone can hook that up, that’d be great.

Jonathan: My nickname is Dolphin because my neighbor in Maryland had a speech impediment and called me Dolphin. He was young, so my parents called me Dolphy for years!!

Anto: You can call Nick, “Nicholas” if you’d like.

Jonathan: AND, I like brownies and I wish I didn’t eat them as much because I have acid reflux and Hayley has it now, too. And she has to take Nexium, which I have to take. So, stop acid reflux! Don’t support it! It hurts my throat!

Nick: Thank you!

Jonathan: Bye!

Interview and photos by Ali Carcache