By Bob Doerschuk
© 2014 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
Whatever Merle Haggard and his pals did or didn’t smoke long ago in Muskogee, Oklahoma, one couple there managed to raise Colton and Zach Swon on a diet of strong values and good music. As toddlers, the brothers debuted with Exodus, the Swon family’s band. Zach was just 9 or 10 when he took over its drum chair, with Colton already entertaining up front and in the spotlight.
After they cut down on touring and concentrated on building a residency at Wagoner, Oklahoma’s Civic Center, the band broadened beyond its Southern gospel style. They covered everyone from Michael Jackson to Elvis to Frank Sinatra, complete with appropriate stage costumes. Their typically sold-out shows soon propelled Colt and Zach into a duo career. They moved to Nashville, began writing their own songs and won national exposure as members of Team Blake on NBC’s “The Voice.”
With the Oct. 14 release of their self-titled debut album on Arista Nashville, produced by Mark Bright and The Swon Brothers, their momentum accelerated. Whether riding a dance beat prickled by banjo and a few well-placed turntable scratches on “95” (written by Ryan Hurd, Frank Rogers and Brad Tursi) or surfing surging dynamics on the ballad “Breaking” (Derek Southerland and Jamie Moore), their voices trade solo spots and twine in tight synchronicity, often free of vibrato but always rich in expression. This “Swon song” augurs a bright future.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
ACTOR WHO’D PORTRAY YOU IN A BIOPIC
COLTON: “Paul Rudd or Owen Wilson.”
ZACH: “Jack Black.”
WHAT YOU’D BE IF NOT A MUSICAL ARTIST
COLTON: “Coach in the NFL.”
ZACH: “”Football player in the NFL.”
MOMENT YOU’D LOVE TO RELIVE
COLTON: “Suiting up to play football.”
ZACH: “Singing with Bob Seger.”
SOMETHING WE’D NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU
“Zach gets pedicures and Colton hates velvet.”
On the Web: www.SwonBrothers.com
On Twitter: @TheSwonBrothers