Kelseyville >> After playing together in a band called the Confessions in the early 1980s, Norman Collins and Randall McGowan parted and lost touch. Little did they know that more than 20 years later, they’d be back where they started, entertaining the masses side by side once again.
Half a dozen years ago McGowan called up Collins out of the blue to ask if he would step in during a gig. Collins agreed. They’ve stuck together ever since, forming the Swinging Chads in 2010, who used to perform every Friday in downtown Napa.
Although Collins, on guitar, and McGowan, on bass, are the founders of the group, in 2014 Johnny Young on electric guitar and drummer Ken Ingles joined up to record an album at Ingles’ Ukiah-based recording studio. They approached recording a little differently than many bands, treating it more like a rehearsal than anything else. The four of them stepped into the booth and they started calling out chords, feeding off one another and strumming on. The result was a lively and sometimes spontaneous sound.
For years the Swinging Chads performed as a mostly cover band, playing oldies and blues, but their CD consists of all original songs, with four tracks written by McGowan and seven by Collins. The album is titled “With the Swinging Chads.”
They’ve been working hard to spread the CD far and wide, getting it on YouTube, Spotify and the like. They were even on a television show in Pacifica. Although it’s taking a while to catch on, the feedback has been positive. The band will sometimes receive reports from Radio Airplay that someone in Israel heard a song off “With the Swinging Chads.” And with the tour they’re planning to add next summer, they’re optimistic the CD will pick up traction.
Collins described their sound as Americana and roots based, akin to artists such as Rodney Crowell, Tom Petty and John Mellencamp. Those musicians are inspirations to the group, along with the guys they grew up listening to on the radio — the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.
Mostly, their music is influenced by the six string. “That’s how I write songs, I come up with a good guitar riff,” Collins explained. “If it has a fun rhythm and a good guitar riff you have a good song, as far as I’m concerned.”
The Swinging Chads are highly flexible, switching in and out band members at will. Sometimes they’re a three-piece, sometimes five musicians take to the stage. It all depends on who’s available.
They have to be willing to go with the flow, since none of the four members live in the same place. Collins hales from San Francisco, McGowan calls Lake County his home, Ingles is over in Ukiah and Young is constantly traveling. They all attend to other projects as well, so there are instances when one of them has to miss a show.
Take tonight for example. The Swinging Chads will be performing at the Riviera Hills Restaurant and Lounge in Kelseyville, but Collins is already committed to playing a show in the bay. McGowan will be going on tonight without him.
Their schedule keeps them plenty busy, which not all bands can say. Sometimes, groups are lucky to score a gig a month, Collins pointed out. “We have a lot of fun when we play and we play pretty much whatever we want,” he added. “We’ve been fortunate that we’ve been able to play quite a bit.”
The Swinging Chads perform tonight beginning at 6 p.m. The Riviera Hills Restaurant and Lounge is located at 10200 Fairway Dr., Kelseyville.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
