The band began in 1990, with the members brought together by their shared love of punk, whose popularity had begun to decline after hair metal, synth pop and new wave began to top the charts. The band’s lineup has seen constant changes throughout their career, with Jorge Herrera being the only long lasting member. It was not until 1991 that the band managed to stabilise enough to record their first EP, “40 Ounce Casualty.”
After this release, The Casualties toured heavily, building a loyal following in their hometown of NYC, US. Further lineup changes occurred and it was another three years, in 1994, that the band were to release another record, their second EP, “Drinking Is Our Way of Life.” This EP never saw a formal release but it was incorporated into their retrospective “Early Years: 1990-1995” which came out in 1999.
In 1996, they travelled to London, UK to perform at the Sun Festival. From here they started to build fans in the UK, expanding their fan base. In 1997, their debut full-length, “For The Punx” was released, followed by an extensive tour in support, opening for the band, The Varukers.
The Casualties constantly toured throughout the next decade, travelling all across the US and Europe. In 2000 and 2001, they released the albums, “Who’s In Control?” and “Stay Out of Order,” before moving to Side One Dummy Records to release “Die Hards.” These albums helped build the band’s popularity, eventually building to achieving a main stage slot on the Vans Warped Tour. Moving to the Season of Mist record label, they released their ninth album, “Resistance” in 2012.
Originally formed under the moniker Johnny Peebucks and the Swingin’ Utters in 1987, the band remained with the name until 1994. Comprised of singer and frontman Johnny “Peebucks” Bonnel, guitarist/accordionist Darius Koski, bassist Kevin Wickersham, and drummer Greg McEntee, the group moved from Santa Cruz to San Francisco soon after their formation and began recording material for the labels Side One, IFA Records, and New Red Archives.
Johnny Peebucks and the Swingin’ Utters’ debut release surfaced in 1992 as the full-length “Scared”, however it was the record’s follow-up, “The Streets of San Francisco”, that propelled the California-natives to punk-rock notoriety. Released in 1995 under the Swingin’ Utters moniker and produced by Lars Frederiksen, the album won the Best Debut Album Award at the Bay Area Music Awards. In both promotion and support of “The Streets of San Francisco”, the band were invited to tour as a part of the first annual Vans Warped Tour, as well as alongside Rancid on a national tour.
Following a move to Fat Wreck Chords, Swingin’ Utters’ third full-length album “A Juvenile Product of the Working Class” was released in 1996. Taking the name from the Elton John song ”Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting”, the record proved another popular release, and paved the way for their subsequent album “Fiver Lessons Learned” in 1998. Following the release of their self-titled, fifth studio album in 2000, the band embarked on a national tour with The Damned and Dropkick Murphys, before heading to Europe with Rancid. A sixth album arrived in 2003 entitled “Dead Flowers, Bottles, Bluegrass, and Bones” before Swingin’ Utters took a six year break from recording and touring.
In their absence, fellow punk rock band compiled the tribute album “Untitled 21: A Juvenile Tribute to the Swingin’ Utters”, released by Red Scare Industries. In 2010 the band returned to issued the EP “Brand New Lungs”, followed in 2011 with the full-length “Here, Under Protest”. Released in early 2013, the group’s eighth studio album “Poorly Formed”, marked the arrival of bassist Miles Peck, and was supported by an Australian tour alongside Dropkick Murphys and Frank Turner.
Although they’ve been going since the early 90s, the street punk band The Casualties are still going strong and gave an incredibly tight performance in their recent show, staying true to their punk origins. Although Jorge Herrera is the only remaining original member, as he’s the front man, he’s managed to maintain the majority of the groups dynamics, and their sound was if anything, improves and refreshed by the new members of the band that have gradually joined over the years.
They opened the show with their oldest EP 40 Ox, Casualty, which was great as their demonstration that they hadn’t lost sights of their roots over the years. They then performed a selection of tracks from their later work, such as We Are All We have, and Resistance. Their performance was electric, with their punk energy being driven into crazy dance moves, a lot of jumping, and even some crowd surfing on their part. Their punk outfits also added to the performance, and their enthusiasm to remain stuck in the era was contagious, and everyone was dancing around in true punk style.
The got everyone in the audience singing and dancing along over the top of them bashing out crazy talented riffs and trills on their instruments. It was electric from start to finish.
Swingin’ Utters make working man’s punk anthems. Their blue collar hits that have been described as ‘Street Punk’ take influence from early British punk acts like The Sex Pistols and Stiff Little Fingers and still manage to get crowds fired up today. The group have steered themselves through the decades to get to where they are, and their sound is sharper, tighter and better as a result.
Nothing can match the energy of a good punk show and Swingin’ Utters bring it in bundles. Members of the band stumble round stage, colliding like atoms and releasing an infectious vibe. The tight rhythm section never drops a beat and propels the songs on with a relentless pace, matched by the fiery guitar work that gives the songs its meat. Singer Johnny "Peebucks" Bonnel leads the proceedings with his gruff voice and more than a hint of John Lydon’s snarling demeanor about him. Taking their influence from the greats, Swingin’ Utters can help but have a cracking up-tempo live show that will never fail to get crowds fired up.