This trio from Portland, Oregon, calls itself Portland's favourite opening band. Band members play guitars and a stand-up bass; drums are included when needed. Using only those instruments, Swingin' Amiss has the sound of music from old, like the song "Bill Bailey," which appears on Speakeasy. The other eight pieces that appear on the album are original tunes but could just as easily fit right in at a speakeasy.

Speakeasy is a collection of songs with varying styles and sounds. The members of Swingin' Amiss prefer to concentrate on the song itself and the music as opposed to establishing one particular band sound.

Band manager Chester Aacorn says there has not been a band like this in a long time. He is right in that most bands in pop and rock music today could not survive in a power outage, but with mostly acoustic instruments, Swingin' Amiss provides a sound not often heard in this electronic age. The bass really makes a difference.

With the mix of varying music styles, Speakeasy offers something for almost everyone.

by Sherrill Fulghum
Rambles.NET
21 April 2007