Chris “Swiss” Swinney (Fire Sale)

Fire Sale is a Punk Rock super-group made up of Matt Riddle (Face to Face / 22 Jacks), Chris Swinney (The Ataris), Pedro Aida (Ann Beretta) and Matt Morris (Wuttin Tarnation). Their recent two-song single, A Fool’s Errand B/W We Dance for Sorrow, was mixed/mastered at The Blasting Room (owned by Bill Stevenson of The Descendents) and has hand-painted art by Mark DeSalvo known for classic album covers from the likes of No Use for A Name, Pulley and Urethane.

A Fool’s Errand starts with a dynamic bassline that pushes the melody all over the fretboard. With plenty of “woahs” to go around, fans singing along in front will be squished against the stage by the inevitable circle pit. Matt Riddle says of A Fool’s Errand: “I wrote the music to this song while I was extremely ill about 10-12 years ago. The bassline came about by testing myself to see if I could still play at all. It has a weird picking style, kind of a banjo-ish thing; thumb and first two fingers. It’s a pretty simple chord progression, but when I showed the guys, they seemed to really like it. Pedro wrote this killer vocal melody with rad harmonies, Chris tracked the guitars, and Matt laid down these insane drums and I was like, “wow!”‘

B-side We Dance for Sorrow is a mid-tempo bop that has a “hey! hey! hey!” chorus so catchy, you’ll be singing it to yourself day and night. Chris Swinney says of the B-side, “‘We Dance for Sorrow” started off as just the verse. I have had that riff knocking around for years, but could never turn it into a song. One night last year, I couldn’t sleep, so I went out to the studio. I wrote the chorus progression and the chromatic bridge riff. When the other guys wrote their parts, it really took shape. We have written and recorded a lot of songs over the last couple of years, but this is one of my favorites. It has a cool melancholy vibe to it, perfect for the fall.”

Fire Sale‘s latest single marks the third release for the recently re-launched Indie label, Negative Progression Records (N.P.R.) Over the course of 18 years, N.P.R. became known for discovering, developing, and supporting young bands, taking them out of the garage, and helping them hit the road. The label (which went on to sell over 100,000 records, host a stage on the 2003 Vans Warped Tour and release 30 titles) became a trusted curator in the underground Punk scene, bringing to the world a number of albums now regarded as classics. Now, after an eight-year gap where label founder Seth Hyman focused exclusively on his career as an attorney, N.P.R. is back not to relive the past, but to stay true to its original mission and find your next favorite band. I recently got a chance to conduct an interview (once again) with Chris “Swiss” Swinney from Fire Sale. Check out out comprehensive interview below, which has been lightly edited for general clarity.

Who are the current members of Fire Sale and what is each member’s role within the band?

Chris “Swiss” Swinney: “Chris Swinney – guitar, Matt Riddle – bass, Pedro Aida – vocals, [and] Matt Morris – drums.”

Would you mind naming some of both the past and present projects long-time fans might recognize from each member?

Swiss: Chris Swinney – “The Ataris, Underminded, Brazil, The Widow Jenkins, Chronic Chaos, Matt Riddle – Face to Face, Pulley, No Use for A Name, Implants, 22Jacks, Pedro Aida – Funsize, Ann Beretta, River City High, The Iron Roses, Shot Clock, [and] Matt Morris – Darlington, 41 Gorgeous Blocks, Just Like Them, Wuttin Tarnation.”

What can you tell us about Fire Sale’s newly-minted label deal with Negative Progression Records?

Swiss: “Negative Progression Records (N.P.R.) is an amazing label. They really believe in the band and have been instrumental in many aspects of Fire Sale’s growth. They work very hard and we feel honored to be a part of the label. They had a lot of success back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s… they recently re-launched and want to work with us after hearing our first two singles. N.P.R. is like a family. The plan is to release a series of two-song 7-inches and a full-length in the future. We are still growing the band.”

Last time we spoke, I remember you mentioning the band was working on a full-length for your then-label, SBÄM Records. What is the current status of this album?

Swiss: “That was the original plan. We had planned on releasing a full-length with SBÄM… but they had recently signed a lot of bands and we were worried about getting lost in the shuffle. SBÄM is a great label and great people… but we felt we needed a label that could really help us grow. Seth [Hyman] at N.P.R. wanted to sign us and really come up with a strategy to grow the band. Even though we love SBÄM, we decided to sign with N.P.R. and come up with a new plan. Also, having a label based in the USA was enticing. Working with Seth and N.P.R. has been a great experience and we can’t wait for the future. Lots of cool stuff in-the-works.”

How would you say Fire Sale’s overall sound, style, and musical approach has grown and progressed since your last release, 2021’s self-titled EP?

Swiss: “I think as we continued to write and work together… the process has become more collaborative. The first two [singles] were songs I had written the music for and I was very involved in producing the drums. [Matt] Riddle wrote his own bass and Pedro [Aida,] of course, wrote the lyrics and melodies, but the new stuff feels more like a band. Riddle wrote “A Fool’s Errand.” I re-interpreted the scratch guitars he played and added my own juice… but the song came from him. Matt Morris did his thing, also. Now, it doesn’t matter who comes up with the initial skeleton of the song… we all play what we want to play. Even [though] we write and record remotely… it feels more like a band jamming together. Pedro is a great editor, also. I am not always thinking about vocals when I am writing… sometimes, he says my chorus is a better verse and vice versa.”

What were some of your primary sources of inspiration and influence while creating your A Fool’s Errand EP?

Swiss: “I can’t speak for Riddle on the music portion of “[A] Fool’s [Errand],” but I had the intro and verse riffs for “[We Dance for] Sorrow” lying around for a very long time. I teach guitar full-time and when I have a break, I jam and always have my voice memo recording. I think I have like 80 unused riffs right now on my phone. I send the guys new ideas weekly… enough for them to tell me to “chill” because we have to many new songs. “[We Dance for] Sorrow” came together one night in my studio. It just flowed out of me. It was one of those songs that took, like, 45 minutes to write. Sometimes, it takes a long time… but that one just happened. And after the guys all put their stamp on it… it was great! One of my [faves,] for sure.”

7. In addition to or aside from the band members, who else was involved in the creative processes behind A Fool’s Errand?

Swiss: “Seth at Negative Progression Records always had notes for us. It’s nice to have someone outside of the band that is invested and will give you a non-biased opinion. I, also, always let my wife and a couple truanted friends hear stuff before it is done to see what their thoughts are. We, also, worked with Jason Livermore and Bill Stevenson [Descendents, Black Flag] at The Blasting Room on the mixing and mastering. Pedro & I are both producer/engineers… but once again, it is nice to get those outside ears on the project.”

8. What is the correlation behind the album title itself and corresponding cover image? Who designed said artwork for A Fool’s Errand?

Swiss: “Our buddy, Mark DeSalvo, hand-painted the cover art for the EP. Mark has worked with so many great bands… NOFX, Lagwagon, No Use [for A Name], etc. We had a few different ideas, but we loved what the final product consisted of. “A Fool’s Errand” is like doing something that will probably not work out the way you want… like fishing in a public pool haha. Mark had the idea of a raven that made its nest out of match sticks… like if one of those ignited… the whole nest would go up in flames! So, it was a fool’s errand to build the nest that way. We all really thought it was a rad idea and the art is amazing!”

How would you attempt to describe the writing, recording, production, etc. creative processes linked to the making-of Fire Sale’s A Fool’s Errand EP?

Swiss: “It’s a crazy process. We all live in different states… so, we rely on technology a lot. We write and record to a click track in our home studios and, then, it all gets mixed together. For instance… I will write a song and record it to a click… grid it all out in my [digital audio workstation] (D.A.W.)… then, send it to [Matt] Riddle… he will add his bass… then, send to Pedro [Aida]… he writes lyrics and record the vocals… then, [Matt] Morris gets it last and records drums. It takes forever, but it really gives us a chance to scrutinize every little thing and make the song perfect. When everything is done… it gets sent off to The Blasting Room and that’s it!’”

Are there any new, under-appreciated or largely unknown bands from your area you think our readership and your fanbase might see it worthwhile checking out?

Swiss: “[There] are some amazing bands on Negative Progression Records. Gone Stereo, Greyed Out, The Last Second Save, etc. There is, also, a great band out of Illinois that I dig called Blackcat Manor. Also, Paper Arms from Australia. They aren’t active currently, but I absolutely love them. Their singer, Josh [Mann], was, actually, going to sing in the very early stages of Fire Sale… but it didn’t work out. Pedro’s other band, Shot Clock, is pretty rad, also! Another band I really love that just signed to N.P.R. is called Time Spent Driving.”

What can fans expect to hear about and experience in the coming months on your That One Time On Tour Podcast (T.O.T.O.T.)?

Swiss: “I have been on an indefinite hiatus for a couple months. Things with the band got busy… and just life in general was hectic. I love doing the podcast… but if I kept doing it at the pace I was, I would have burnt out. I plan on releasing a lot of new episodes this summer. Hoping to have a lot of past guests back on the show. I get emails all the time [from] people asking me if the show is over and I assure you it is not over, it just had to take a backseat for a while. I, also, want to speak with other folks from the broader entertainment industry; like, actors, directors, comedians, etc. T.O.T.O.T. will always be pretty Punk/Hardcore-heavy… but I would love to branch out a bit.”

What’s planned next for Fire Sale?

Swiss: “We are currently finishing up tracking and editing on two brand new songs that will be out later this year on Negative Progression Records. We are once again working with Jason & Bill at The Blasting Room for mixing and mastering… and Mark DeSalvo will be doing the art. We are very excited to share these two new songs with everyone. We are planning more shows/short tours and I will be guest DJ’ing the beginning of June over at Faction Punk on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. SiriusXM has been a real champion for Fire Sale and we appreciate their support immensely. And we are always writing… you can never have too many songs! It would be rad, if you checked out our two new songs, “A Fool’s Errand” and “We Dance for Sorrow.” We worked really hard on these songs and are super-proud of them. They are available everywhere you can stream music. Also, if you like vinyl… you can get it on wax! Order the 7-inch here“