Artist Biography
Roots rockers Swampmeat Family Band hail from the United Kingdom, though anyone listening to their music could be forgiven for imaging they were from the United States. The group's sound is straightforward rock & roll reinforced with the tough edges of the blues and the lonesome twang of vintage country. Led by Dan Finnemore, formerly with Low Cut Connie, the band's scrappy early recordings as a duo are collected on 2016's Gin & Tonic, while their later albums as a quartet (including 2018's Too ManyThings to Hide and 2020's Muck!) filled out their attack while reinforcing their rootsy spirit.
Founded in the Midlands in the United Kingdom, Swampmeat Family Band grew out of a two-man group known simply as Swampmeat. Featuring Dan Finnemore on vocals and guitar and T-Bird Jones on drums, Swampmeat played stripped-down roots rock with a garage rock edge and pronounced country and blues influences. Between 2005 and 2009, Swampmeat released a handful of recordings on CD-R; however, the group was put on hold when Finnemore chose to relocate to the United States. He ended up in Philadelphia, where he joined the raucous rock & roll combo Low Cut Connie. Finnemore appeared on Low Cut Connie's first three albums -- 2011's Get Out the Lotion, 2012's Call Me Sylvia, and 2015's Hi Honey -- before he amicably left the act to move back to the U.K.
Once again settled in the Midlands, Swampmeat was reimagined as a quartet, Swampmeat Family Band, with Finnemore and Jones joined by guitarist Tommy Hughes (ex-Terror Watts) and bassist Richard March (previously with Bentley Rhythm Ace and Pop Will Eat Itself). They closed out the group's first era with the 2016 release Gin & Tonic, which collected highlights from Swampmeat's out-of-print CD-R releases, and launched the new four-piece Swampmeat Family Band on the 2018 album Too Many Things to Hide. Good reviews and the group's energetic live show helped to spread the word about the combo, and they sounded tighter and more eclectic on 2020's Muck!, which dialed up their twangy side without compromising their rock moves. ~ Mark Deming
Hometown
United Kingdom
Genre
Rock