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We’re excited to be speaking today with San Diego based indie alt rock band Night Swims; greetings and salutations, gang! Before we get the proverbial show on the road, could each of you introduce yourselves to our ever-lovin’ reading audience?
Hello, I’m Michael Thomas and I am one of the guitarists and lead vocalist
I’m David, I play bass and sing back up. We both also produced the debut album, ‘Idle/Wild’.
Congrats on the release of the debut album for Night Swims which is entitled Idle/Wild! Michael, what was the genesis of the Idle/Wild album? Is there a VH-1 Behind the Music story about the creation of the album that you could share with us?
These were songs that were meant to be a vehicle to tell my story up until this point. I used this music as a way of introducing myself to listeners as I had never previously released any of my own material. I began writing it during Covid. I had set forth an idea for a solo project and these were going to be the songs that’d make up the first release. Quickly, I realized that this was going to be much bigger than just a solo offering so I reached out to Dave to help assist in recording and he basically became a de-facto member of what would become Night Swims. We then began taking my songs and shaping them into full band orchestration, and after one failed attempt at recording the album, we finished it on the 2nd try with Ben Moore at Singing Serpent who worked wonders.
David, for your money what is the showstopper tune among all of the gems on Idle/Wild?
Hide Your Dreams is the song that comes to mind first for me. The song had many faces and changed multiple times leading up to the recording, but it just came together in the most perfect way. To me it represents so many elements that Night Swims has to offer musically, especially when you hear the build going into the end of the song.
Michael, who was the producer on Idle/Wild and what did that collaboration look like in the studio?
We self produced the album with the assistance of our engineer Ben Moore. It was a genuine collaborative process, but we had most of the album already well fleshed out prior to entering the studio,
David, buzz from within the industry and among music aficionados has been incredibly strong for Idle/Wild. Does this feel like validation for all of the hard work you and the other band members have put in?
The gracious feedback we have received is much appreciated and has definitely validated the work we have put in as a band. There were many times throughout the process of recording that we questioned at one point or another. But we knew what kind of a record we wanted to make, and made many correct decisions for the music to get us there. There is no doubt we put our time in on this one to get it right. The payoff has made it worth it.
Michael, what made Neverless the perfect single choice off of the Idle/Wild album out of all of the amazing tunes you had to choose from?
Michael: ‘Neverless’ just felt like it hit most of the boxes for what we wanted from our first single. Something upbeat but still spacious, and a solid hook which I felt like the chorus delivered. I mostly wanted it to be a song that could help guide people to the other songs on the album. It’s a warm, inviting tune.
David, was there anything that didn’t make the cut for Idle/Wild that we might see on another release in the future?
David: There were many songs that Michael would bring to the table that were concepts but the songs for ‘Idle/Wild’ were set in stone pretty early on as we started developing demos. Michael was very thoughtful in picking out meaningful songs that fit well with each other on the record. It makes ‘Idle/WIld’ a full composition of music and not just individual songs thrown on a record.
Michael, what does the touring schedule look like for Night Swims this summer going into fall? Are you guys pretty booked out?
Michael; We are booked in September and putting together our live dates for the remainder of the year now. No extensive touring immediately planned, but we have some goals established for this next year that are coming to fruition
Michael, how did Night Swims come together as a band? Is there a Secret Origin story you could share with our readers?
Michael: As said previously, Dave joined during the initial process of writing and arranging, and Nate joined us in June ’21 before we began playing live in July. Tucker, our new guitarist, joined us in March of this year.
A question for all of you! Who inspires you musically?
David: I have to go with Dave Grohl on this one. He has this amazing talent of being able to elevate the musicians around him for not only his own band, but for the vast array of artists / bands that he has worked with throughout his career.
What does the creative process look like for Night Swims when working on new material, David? Does everyone in the band contribute to the finished product?
David: There is certainly no shortage of new material on the docket for Night Swims as Michael is constantly writing. We’re taking a more inclusive approach this time around as we get ready to record our next batch of songs. We have made it a point to surround ourselves with very talented musicians in the band. With that said, once we have a song concept in mind, it is important for everyone to be able to add their stamp on it and showcase their creativity.
Final – SILLY! – Question (for all of you!): Favorite movie about the music scene – This Is Spinal Tap, The Thing Called Love or Almost Famous
David: Empire Records”. I think I’d fit in well at that record store if someone gave me a job there!
Michael l: I love Heartworn Highways for documentary and That Thing You Do for fiction.
