INTERVIEW: Swank Sinatra

Swank Sinatra in their own words are like “Andy Kaufman fighting every 70′s rock band in The Thunderdome” and they couldn’t have a more accurate self description! These guys are pretty gnarly and I dig it. I recently had a chat with Swank Sinatra‘s very own Brandon T. Pittman. Come along as we talked about song writing, public restrooms and Bruce Wayne…

Jake Hougaboom: How did the band start? How long have you guys been playing together?

Brandon T. Pittman: Swank Sinatra was formed in 2004. I had just moved back from Florida and my best friend Bob’s high school band had just broken up. We at first wanted to do a super-hero themed stage show, but ended up turning it into this Rock n’ Roll thing we do now.

JH: Swank Sinatra  is a pretty badass name. How did it come about?

BTP: Thanks. We were having a conversation about said super-hero themed stage show, something along the lines of a “wonder twins” catch-phrase. Originally one of us was going to go by “Swank” and the other was “Sinatra.” That concept fell through, but we kept the name nonetheless.

JH: Who are some of your influences?

BTP: Thin Lizzy, Frank Zappa, Andy Kaufman, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Ween, etc.

JH: Tell me a little about the song writing process. Any sort of ritual you guys go through?

BTP: We collaborate most of the time musically. One of us will bring a skeletal idea of a song, and we will start jamming on it and eventually come up with a solid formula. Lyrics are, for the most part, handled by Bob Place and myself. Randy Garcia is to thank for crafting our studio sound. It is one solid team effort at this point.

JH: What is the best part about touring?

BTP: Eating at local places unique to the city your in.

JH: Conversely what is the part you like least about touring?

BTP: Using public restrooms.

JH: What’s one of the craziest stories you have from the road or a show?

BTP: This is the hardest question. We have puked on stage, passed out on stage mid-song, put on passion plays in the middle of drums solos, have been assaulted during sets, made lemonade and peanut butter for the crowd; there is plenty of footage online of us doing and experiencing a lot of crazy stuff in the years we’ve been doing this. There is more that will become legend.

JH: Who’s a better billionaire playboy – Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne?

BTP: Bruce Wayne, any day.

JH: If you could fight anyone dead or alive who would it be?

BTP: A fight on Earth: Andre the Giant. A fight in Space: William Shatner.

Andre the Giant or Shatner, you are a stronger man than I am sir. You can catch Swank Sinatra at The Radio Room on Friday with Royal Tinfoil and Signs of Iris. You can also purchase Swank Sinatra’s album El Terrible  here for just $5!