A Brand New Day for Swollen Members

Prevail from Swollen Members was recently interviewed by Niagara This Week. In this short promtonial article Prevail discusses Brand New Day, being himself, Battleaxe Records and more. You can check out the full article below. Swollen Members are currently out on the BattleAxe tour. To find out all of the tour dates CLICK HERE. From Niagarathisweek.com:

VANCOUVER — Brushes with and a subsequent recovery from a prescription drug addiction helped breath new life into west coast hip-hop group, Swollen Members.

"I'm happy, proud to say Madchild is marking almost three years sobriety," said Prevail, who along with Rob the Viking are Swollen Members. "It's been a reflective time for us. We've come out on a better end for it."

The group is set to release its 11th studio album, A Brand New Day in mid-June.

"We're allowing ourselves to be who we are Prevail said. "It's had an absolutely positive effect on our music."

That attitude partially stemmed from a cover shoot for the album.

"I showed up for a photo shoot wearing a felt fedora and a polka dot tie. I had a duffle bag with me with a change of clothes. I asked if Rob and Mad if they wanted me to change. (They) looked at me at the same time and said, 'no, just be yourself'."

Swollen Members will be in Niagara Falls on Friday, May 9 at The Spot, 5890 Main St., with support from Slaine and Supreme Villain. Madchild will also perform a set of material from his solo albums. Show time is 9 p.m.

Since bursting out of the Vancouver underground hip hop scene in 1992, Swollen Members have racked up its fair share of awards, including four Junos and a host of MuchMusic Video and Western Canadian Music Awards.

"When we started in underground hip hop, it was like a private club. If you were in you were in."

Today it's different, Prevail said.

"Artists are striving to solidify their position. From that, access grows."

The Canadian scene, he added, has been kind to the band.

"We've built this together. We've created something together. We listen to the feedback."

The new album also marks the rebirth of the band's own label, Battle Axe Records. The band still has a relationship with Suburban Noize, which released the majority of the bands albums, starting with 2006's Black Magic right through to 2013's Beautiful Death Machine.

"It was Mad's label from when we began."

The difference between now and in 1992 when the label originally started is that the company is still affiliated with Suburban Noize, something that pleases Prevail.

"Kevin Zinger (Suburban Noize co-founder) is great. For the guys in California (Suburban Noize is based in Burbank) the musicians are family. They really celebrate their groups. They go above and beyond. They care about their bands."

Tickets for Swollen Members at The Spot  $53.50, including service charge. VIP packages, which include band photos and meet and greets, are $104.50. Tickets can be purchased online at ticketpro.ca. The show is an ages 19-and-over event.