September 14th, 2007 By Justin Williams
Interview: Steve “Spotty Dog” Swertfeger of Old Union
We at It’s Evansville are fans of original music being performed around town. While it’s comfortable to hear a cover band playing the songs you’ve known for 10 years, it’s nothing that is going to be memorable or expand your musical boundaries. With that in mind, I was excited to hear that Nashville-based Old Union would be in town this weekend for a show. Old Union has an energetic southern rock sound that pays homage to bands like Cream and The Allman Brothers. Old Union releases their new album, Motels and Highways, in Nashville tonight, and we got a hold of guitarist (and Evansville native) Steve “Spotty Dog” Swertfeger to ask a few questions about the bands history, music and future.
How long has Old Union been together?
We got together in 2001. I met some of the guys at a bar in Nashville, and we decided to get together for fun and started playing. After a couple of different lineup changes, we found the right chemistry and have been going strong since.
What are the band’s musical influences?
We are all big southern rock fans. That’s the one thing we all have in common, but our influences range far and wide: funk, jazz, rock, old school country. We like anything with soul. The Allman Brothers is probably the common band between all of the Old Union members. We often get told that we sound like the Allmans. A lot of that is because there are a lot of guitar harmonies in our songs.
Where did you find inspiration for your new album?
From everywhere. Our last album was put out in 2003. We’ve been chomping at the bit for several years to put out something new. From our fans, each other, family and friends, the music we listen to, it really comes from everywhere.
What took so long to get the new album out?
I think the main reason is money. We tried to do the same thing last year with John Carter Cash (Johnny’s son) producing it. We did 3 songs hoping to catch the attention of some major record labels, but nothing panned out. Our budget for the album with John Carter was $25,000, which we didn’t have and nobody wanted to give us either. Music is a cut throat business. The album we have now is as good as anything we’ve ever done. I am really proud of this one!
What’s your favorite song off the new album and why?
I think my favorite song is “Ragged Blue”. It’s the only song on the album I play slide on, and the whole over all feel of the song is epic. But with that said, I’m really proud of everything on this album.
What’s the goals for the band heading into 2008?
Our first goal is to pay off the album, but the main thing we want to do as a band is get out on the road more this year. We also will hopefully get signed to a good record deal. I guess the main thing is getting as much exposure as we can get right now.
Old Union will be playing The Duck Inn Saturday night at 10PM. If you’d like to get a free copy of their new CD, Motels and Highways, go up to the band and tell them you saw the interview on It’s Evansville. They have a few copies reserved for our readers.
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Nice interview. I am intrigued almost enough to go to the Duck. I really like Southern Rock. If any body goes to the Duck, let me know what you think.
Old Union Rocks! Everyone needs to check these guys out at the Duck Inn this Saturday. You won’t be dissapointed.