Skip to content
Riot Fest
Tickets
Search
  • RIOT FEST
    • Tickets
      SEPT. 16–18, 2022
    • Lineup
    • News
    • Photos
    • Lockers
    • Street Team
  • Magazine
  • Upcoming Shows
  • Merch
  • FAQ
  • Newsletter
  • Search
10 Questions with Swingin’ Utters

10 Questions with Swingin’ Utters

September 9, 2016 (June 6, 2017) // Riot Fest
Swingin Utters
Swingin’ Utters by Joe Leonard

Swingin’ Utters have been mainstay in the punk community for nearly three decades. Having emerged out of the San Francisco Bay Area in the late, ’80s, by the time of their 1995 album The Streets of San Francisco, they turned the hearts of critics and fans alike for their infectious blends of traditional, working class punk, country, and roots. Since then, they’ve maintained a policy of pushing the bar and never doing the same thing twice,  incorporating varied and unexpected influences and sounds from record to record, most recently on their 2014 Fat Wreck Chords release, Fistful of Hollow.

With Swingin’ Utters heading to Chicago to play Riot Fest & Carnival on Sunday, September 18, we asked guitarist/vocalist/accordionist Darius Koski and lead vocalist Johnny “Peebucks” Bonnel to answer our 10 Questions. Read on for their unusual preferences in snack foods, excellent choices in literature, and more.

What is the first album you ever purchased?

Darius Koski: The Grease Soundtrack (on cassette!)

Johnny Bonnel:  Buzzcocks, Singles Going Steady

Name one band that changed your life. How?

DK: The Beatles. The first album I listened to (over and over and over again) was Magical Mystery Tour. They were the first band I was really actively aware of, and nobody comes all that close to them to this day (for me at least).

JB: The Clash. The way the Clash combined many different kinds of music and experiments with studio sound was true art. Having Bo Diddley and Lee Dorsey open on their tours was great. They never forgot their influences and wanted to show the world why they do what they do. It’s very respectful and beautiful.

What was the first concert you ever attended?

DK: I’m afraid it was the Thompson Twins/Flock of Seagulls. The Weather Girls (“It’s Raining Men”) opened. Yup.

JB: My brother took me to see The Kinks at Berkeley Greek Theater.

What was the last concert you attended (that was not your own)?

DK: Tyler the Creator

JB: The Pears at The Hemlock in SF.

What is your favorite tour snack?

DK: Alcohol is my favorite snack.

JB: Raw ginger.

What is one book we should read?

DK: The Idiot by Dostoevsky.

JB: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Tell us your best festival survival tip.

DK: Drink water? I don’t actually tend to go to festivals unless I play them.

JB: Survival tip? Water. Festivals aren’t supposed to challenge survival.

If you were running for president during this election, what would be the top item on your platform?

DK: Protecting the Environment

JB: Compassion for people and environment.

Imagine the world is ending at midnight. What are your plans for the rest of the day?

DK: I’d probably like to have sex, but that’d be some heavy shit to deal with, so would that even be possible? Who knows. Although it’d be a situation where you might want to be somber, sober and reflective, I’d most likely get really, really fucked up.

JB: Spend the rest of the time with my wife and daughters.

What is the best song ever written?

DK: It could be a different answer every day. Today I’ll say [The Kinks] “Waterloo Sunset.”

JB: F.Y.P., “Paranoid Chant”

The Related Rabbit Hole

Premiere: Introduce Yourself to Kirby Grip with “Green Sky” Coheed and Cambria Are Back With New Single “Shoulders” ‘Dig Me Out’ Turns 25: How Sleater-Kinney’s Biggest Record Broke Every Boundary‘Dig Me Out’ Turns 25: How Sleater-Kinney’s Biggest Record Broke Every Boundary
About The Author
Riot Fest

Punk Rock (& more) Music Fest | I'm sorry we didn't book the exact bands you wanted, in the exact order you wanted, in the exact location you wanted, for free.

Posted in 10 Questions, Archive, Chicago, Denver, MusicTagged Darius Koski, Dostoevsky, Gregory David Roberts, Johnny Bonnel, punk, Riot fest & Carnival, riot fest & rodeo, Shantaram, swingin' utters, the beatles, the clash, The Idiot, The Weather Girls (“It’s Raining Men”)

Post navigation

  Previous PostNext Post 
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • TikTok
  • Mail
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
Riot Fest Tickets
Riot Fest Presents Shows
July 7, 2022
Cobra Lounge
Like Pacific + Action / Adventure

Like Pacific + Action / Adventure

Grumpster

Four Stars

Tickets(Opens in new window).
Like Pacific + Action / Adventure
July 10, 2022
X-Ray Arcade
Frank Turner

Frank Turner

SOLD OUT
Frank Turner
July 10, 2022
Concord Music Hall
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls

Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls

The Bronx

Pet Needs

Tickets(Opens in new window).
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls
July 11, 2022
X-Ray Arcade
The Bronx

The Bronx

Poison Hand

Avenues

Tickets(Opens in new window).
The Bronx
August 4, 2022
Cobra Lounge
The Velveteers

The Velveteers

Tickets(Opens in new window).
The Velveteers
August 6, 2022
SeatGeek Stadium
Coheed and Cambria

Coheed and Cambria

Alkaline Trio

Mothica

Tickets(Opens in new window).
Coheed and Cambria

MORE SHOWS

Greatest Hits

  • Foundation
  • History
  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
InstagramTwitterYouTubeTikTokFacebook

Copyright © 2022 Riot Fest Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Search for:

Send me emails so I don’t have to go to your website to look for shows.

Name
Email me about
Music I like
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Riot Fest "It's Shit" Merch Dump with Shirts, Hoodies, Stickers and More
Riot Brand
This is default text for notification bar
Learn more