On Saturday, August 29th, New England Country Music was fortunate enough to catch up with the Swon Brothers before their show at the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun. If you’ve ever seen them live, you know the bros are constantly making jokes and calling each other out on stage, so I decided to have a little fun with them myself. “So, how did you two meet?” I asked, trying to sound as serious as possible. The guys shot each other looks of panic and stared at each other in complete silence for a moment until I told them I was kidding. Zach and Colton handled the joke well and burst into laughter, pretty relieved that they didn’t have to explain that one. The ice had been broken and we were ready to get down to the real questions, most importantly, their highly-anticipated new music.
The Swon Brothers released their self-titled album almost a year ago, in October 2014, but haven’t stopped working hard on new material. The guys have been doing a lot more songwriting for their next album, but writing together isn’t always a breeze. “We actually disagree a lot,” Zach said, but they both agree that overcoming their differences has made them better songwriters in the end. In addition to learning from each other, Zach explained how working with many other songwriters has helped them grow. “Just in the past year, we’ve gone from here to here,” he said referring to how their writing has improved exponentially. Naturally, the brothers have their favorite writers to work with, but they don’t restrict themselves to that select few; they’ve worked with many co-writers and are eager to keep learning. Although they’ve been constantly on the road touring, it hasn’t hindered the Swon’s productivity on the new album. The pair will write just about anywhere and there’s no saying when inspiration will strike. “I’ll get an idea and record a voice memo or note in my phone for later,” Colton said. The Swon Brothers have been working diligently on new music, and already have about half an album’s worth of songs, but they’ve set the bar high and don’t want to release just anything. Not because they’re perfectionists, but because they believe their fans deserve nothing short of the best.
Being out on the road and seeing the masses of people that show up to their concerts has really inspired the brothers to go above and beyond expectations. “The fans have given us so much,” Colton said, before mentioning some fans who showed up hours early to get in line for the show that night (7 hours to be exact). Seeing dedication and support like that is what drives the brothers to put out their best work, even if that means the fans will have to wait a little longer for another full album. But the rest of the Wolf Den and I were in for a treat, as is anyone else who finds themselves at a Swon Brothers concert in the near future – the duo has been playing some of their new stuff to test it out, and they always request that the fans let them know what they think by tweeting about it.
Their fans absolutely love that the guys connect with them on social media so frequently, and vice-versa. The brothers explained how even though their ‘Swontourage’ (a name they made up themselves, by the way) keeps growing, they still don’t find the crowds overwhelming. “Every concert feels like home,” Colton said. They think of their fans more like friends, and they’ll stick around after their shows for as long as it takes to meet everyone, sign merchandise, and take photos. The Swons understand the importance of going the extra mile for their fans because they see how far their fans go for them; one fan in particular has literally gone 10,000 miles. The superfan has been supporting the bros since their appearance on The Voice and attended her 18th concert that weekend. She noted that their humbleness, generosity, and kind-hearted personalities is what keeps her coming back for more.
Those are among some of the traits which they can attribute to their mentors, Blake Shelton and Brad Paisley. The brothers are fortunate enough to have the stars in their corner and while they’ve learned a lot about music and the industry from the aforementioned artists, they think some of the best lessons had nothing to do with the actual music at all. “They taught us a lot about character, being good people,” Zach said. If they had to pass any advice along to aspiring musicians, that would be it. They’ve learned that being genuinely kind, to everyone, will get you farther than you’d think. Zach and Colton are honestly good people; it’s something you can see when they perform live, if you meet them in person, or if you interact with them online.
Anyone who follows the Swon Brothers on social media has probably seen the hashtag #Swoncert more than once. The fans use it, the brothers use it, it’s even part of their backdrop at meet and greets. But unlike ‘Swontourage,’ this one wasn’t intentional. Colton explained how Zach was the first to coin the term inadvertently during a show, and it stuck. Lucky for the duo, they have a pretty fun name to work with. I would’ve loved to hear more backstory on the #Swoncert, but Zach was interrupted when his little brother called him out for continuously checking his hair in the mirror. Zach turned to me and pleaded, “it’s just at an awkward length right now,” he said in his own defense, adding that Colton is really the one who spends a lot of time on his hair. The two tease each other constantly, but it’s all in good fun.
Keeping with the laughs, the brothers shared some random fun facts about each other. Colton told me how Zach is insanely talented at tetris. During downtime, he often competes against the other band members and always dominates, proudly referring to himself as the “tetris master.” (Sidenote: Zach is currently seeking skilled individuals to compete against as his bandmates aren’t enough of a challenge. Feel free to contact him via Twitter if you’d like to take him on.) As for Colton, he is a superfan of The Office and his room is filled with memorabilia from the show. But one can never have too many Dwight Schrute bobbleheads, so if you ever find yourself looking to buy a gift for the little Swon, it’s a no-brainer.
The Swon Brothers are a couple of extremely talented musicians with the charm and personalities that round out the total package. From what I’ve seen and heard so far, there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re on track to a long, successful career. I can’t wait to hear more from the duo and look forward to many more Swoncerts in the future!
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