Virginia Beach - I remember sitting over at my friend Justin Lamb's house one afternoon in high school.  We had some lame ass project we were working on for an English class and had ended up taking a break and discussing music.  At the time I was a tried and true metalhead to the core.  I played in a shitty metal band, I dressed like a reject from a Slayer cover band, and I listened to only one thing: metal.  Justin saw that I dug the pounding beats and primal rythms, so this one day he broke out a stack of 7”s and changed my whole life.  He took one of the vinyl discs out and put it on the turntable, and I heard Swingin' Utters for the first time.  It wasn't the only band I heard for the first time that day, but it was one that stuck with me.  As I saw that orange disc spin, I was enraptured by the balls out fury of it all.  “What was that?” I asked.  “That,” said Justin, “Is Johnny Peebucks and the Swingin' Utters.”

So here I am over a decade later with the unquestionable honor of interviewing THE Johnny “Peebucks” Bonnel outside the Jewish Mother at one of its final punk shows.

33: Swingin' Utters started way back in '87 or '88?
Johnny Bonnel: Probably '88 would be a little more accurate.

33: When you started back then I understand you were a cover band?
JB: Yeah, we weren't taking it that seriously, that's why we had that name.  It was Johnny Peebucks and the Swingin' Utters.  Kind of a joke name, and when you're a cover band you can't really take music that seriously. 

33: So what changed?  What got it serious?
JB: Soon as Darius joined, I think.  We didn't really know how to write songs, so we were cutting our teeth on some of the classics: the Clash, Sex Pistols, the Descendents, the Replacements.  Soon as Darius joined he had already written songs when he was a teenager.  He just vented them to us, and we were just blown away.  We knew he had tons of talent, and it sort of took off from there. 

33: What changes have you seen in the band over the decades - from The Streets of San Francisco to Dead Flowers, Bottles, Bluegrass and Bones?
JB: Well, we've gotten older, better songwriters, more experimental, but not getting too experimental so that you're losing fans.  I've noticed that most of the musicians in the band are really talented people even outside of music.  It's sort of an honor to know them for this long. 

 33: Seems that most of the members of the band have been with you since the beginning... 
JB: Yeah, me, Darius and Gregg since the beginning.

33: Spike joined in like '98?  2000?
JB: '98. 

33: I believe there's another member - Jack Dalrymple?
JB: Yeah, Jack.  From One Man Army and Dead to Me.  That just adds more talent and more people that just blow my mind...

33: Is he still with you guys?
JB: Yeah, he's just not on this tour.  He's got a job, he's got a kid, he's got insurance that he can't lose, so we understood.  He's going with us to Europe in November.

33: A little earlier this year, in February, there was a Swingin' Utters tribute album.  How's that feel, having a tribute album to the band that you're in?
 JB: It blows me away.  It's super flattering.  It's just a really nice gesture.  My friend Matt [Grayson] from the other band I'm in, the Druglords [of the Avenues], he sort of put it together and said, “Hey, I love the Swingin' Utters, and I feel you guys need a tribute album.”  I was like, “Hey, man.  That's all your doing.  I'm not having anything to do with that, I hope you realize that.”  He was like, “Yeah, of course.”  A tribute album, the band isn't supposed to touch it.  That's sacred.  It's beautiful.  No matter who's on it, it's a beautiful gesture.  We've been blown away, and nothing but nice things to say about Matt.

33: Any favorite song off there?  Any favorite cover?
JB: I like Off With Their Head's version of "Next in Line".  It's probably my favorite one.

33: So you guys owe a lot to the roots of punk, growing up in the '70s and then getting started in the '80s.  You stay true to the street punk, working class kind of ethic.  What do you think of the state of punk rock today?
JB: Well, it's so big now that it's not really an underground thing.  Tours like this sort of remind me of underground.  I realize there are other shows out there that are probably being played in the same town in a gigantic venue that call it a punk show.  We know how big it is, and we know how big that it's gotten.  We're not going to fool ourselves and think that we're this underground movement that's gonna change the world.  It's got no heart anymore, the new shit, I don't see any heart.  I see it like a quick way to make money.  It's kind of gross.  But there's still bands out there that stick true to it and have good heart and have good intentions, but the majority of it is shit.

33: What would you say is the definitive punk rock album?
JB: I would say Pink Flag by Wire.  That's probably my favorite album of all time.  The quality of it and the length of the songs, some of them are less than a minute.  The speed of it, the weird lyrics, the weird titles, all of it's fucking great.  It's simple too, a simple album that just blows me away. 

33: I've seen a lot of other articles reference the Pogues as an influence.  Are there any other working class, Irish-folk influences...maybe like Billy Bragg or something like that?
JB: Yeah, Billy Bragg, I was really into him back in the '90s.  I'd go see every show when he cruised through town.  Yeah, the Pogues were the main influence to that kind of Irish thing going...that's even gotten taken too far.  They're so gung-ho Irish when everyone should know we're all fucking mutts in America.  To be proud to be an Irish-American is okay with me...I just can't take it that far.  I believe I'm a mutt.  I've got tons of backgrounds from different countries, different ethnicities...I'm not claiming any kind of Irish pride or anything like that.  I think some of the bands take it a little too far.  Now they can fake Irish accents and do this music that is Pogues-influenced or Dropkick Murphys-influenced and not have anything to do with the heart of it and why you're creating this music.

33: The new album's going to be Here, Under Protest?
JB: Yeah.

33: So why so long between albums?
JB: Man, I have to say it's because we weren't touring, and we were working.  We just didn't have time to practice and get shit done, and we had side projects that we were doing.  I think it was way too long in between because Swingin' Utters is our main priority, and the side projects are always second to that.  Yeah, it was just a mistake, I think.  A big mistake.  Hopefully we can make up for it.  "Brand New Lungs" to me is sort of the epitome of the new stuff we're doing...back to our older style, less country influence.

It's not often that you run into a band that's been around for over 20 years and still has an almost unchanged lineup, especially in punk rock.  But that's what we've got here.  The Swingin' Utters have strove to stay true to their working class roots, and they can still kick out the jams with as much gusto as any of their 19-year-old counterparts in the scene today.  Keep your eyes peeled for the new album Here, Under Protest.

MySpace.com/SwinginUtters

SwinginUtters.com

By Director, Genre Lead, and Editor: Andrew Wolfe

The Wolfe was born to a small litter in the mountains of West Virginia and transplanted to suburban Virginia Beach in the iconic year of 1984.  Left to the public school system, he soon became immersed in the varied subcultures of suburbia. Quickly he became a connoisseur of the rich substrata of disaffected youth in post-Reagan America.  Having to leave corporate tool-hood behind, the Wolfe prowls the silent alleyways in search of the next great spark of local music - the incendiary device that will reignite creativity in a music world gone wrong (apparently in the throes of Bieber Fever).

And other fun facts ...

Age: 33
Place of Birth: Parkersburg, West Virginia
Gender: Raoul Duke
Religion: Gonzo
Likes: Good music.  Drinking.  Smoking.
Dislikes: Ignorance.  People who take themselves too seriously.  People who say "I just wanted to touch bases with you."  It's "base" asshole, not a baseball reference.