SUPER HAIRY

The duo Super Hairy (aka Jonny Swift and Zack Tomlinson) have released their second EP, Groomed. The EP is available for free download (at http://SuperHairy.bandcamp.com). Super Hairy creates the best kind of dark electro-pop. In case you missed their set at Double Door back on (September) 12th, you can still watch it here (http://gigity.tv/event/455/). - The Deli Magazine - Chicago

Publisher: The Loyola Phoenix, Loyola University Chicago's campus newspaper

Get your groom on: The men of Super Hairy, Loyola’s newest on-campus band, invite you to share the hair

Published September 14, 2011 | By Hannah Jarvis

From the dark depths of a basement-turned-studio in Andersonville, I had the pleasure of interviewing Super Hairy, a musical duo consisting of two Loyola seniors. Combining heavy electronic beats with dirty distorted guitar riffs, Jonny Swift and Zack Tomlinson have created a band that converges the trending genre of electronic music with their love of classic rock. And it also makes you want to grow a fierce mustache and get your groove on.

Tomlinson, an information systems major, plays a Fender Telecaster, while Swift, the vice president of Loyola’s Sigma Pi fraternity and a double major in music and political science, plays keyboard and a medley of other electronic instruments. The two have been making music for over five years, and together have created a sound that adds a new meaning to electronic rock.

Phoenix: How did Super Hairy originally form?
Jonny Swift: We originally started because of our musical history together in high school, in [their high school band] Empire. Freshman and sophomore year in college we started jamming with my electronic drum set, and then I got my keyboard. We started finding some beats and decided that we wanted to start another musical project. We wanted to incorporate our newfound taste for electronic music into our rock background.
Ph: How would you describe your music?
Zack Tomlinson: “The New Rock and Roll” is the name I thought of when I started my radio show at WLUW, when I was trying to think of the name for this genre. There’s so much electronic music — techno, club music, dubstep — what we do is we morphed from a rock ‘n’ roll band into an electronic band that still uses rock ‘n’ roll influences. We use guitar and bass, real instruments, not just electronics.
Ph: Where did the name Super Hairy come from?
ZT: It started out as a joke.
JS: It did. I was fighting the name for a while. I didn’t want to be known as Super Hairy, but it is actually pretty sweet and really original. Basically we named it because, well, we are really hairy. No one forgets it and it’s funny as hell.
Ph: Well do you have any hairy role models?
JS: Definitely Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.
Ph: Who are some of the musical artists that inspire you?
ZT: Well, let’s see. We started out listening to Justice. It’s not just clubby electronic, it’s more hard, more…
JS: … Dirty, heavy, hairy. Ratatat, Pretty Lights and Glitch Mob on the electronic side. And then the Black Keys, Jack White and Led Zeppelin on the rock side for sure.
Ph: Jonny, can you tell me more about your instruments?
JS: I run Ableton Live on my computer, which is a digital audio work station software that allows you to run midi-keyboards. I have a Novation launch pad that I control the structure of the songs with, the midi-keyboard that changes sounds based on what you choose on the computer and a new vocoder keyboard [a voice synthesizer] with a microphone for making robot noises.
Ph: How would you describe your creative process? Are there different roles in your music making?
ZT: Jonny usually lays down a basic track that has drums and bass, maybe a few synth parts and a melody or something. I’ll write a guitar track that goes with it, or a bass track. And then basically we just keep layering it.
JS: I usually try to come up with a couple different parts of the song, and we just jam on it.
Ph: How do you come up with the names for the songs?
JS: “Big Bill” is named after my dad. We always used to sneak out and think that Big Bill was going to be waiting with a shotgun for us.
ZT: But really he was our big musical support in high school. He was in a band when he was younger, so he would always come down and give us pointers. Other than that we kind of base it on how the song - Loyola Phoenix

Super Hairy Press Release

May 8th, 2011 [CHICAGO, IL] -- Electronic Rock duo, Super Hairy, released its debut EP at The Palace in Chicago on May 7, 2011. This exclusive event drew fans from across the Chicago metropolitan area. Jonny Swift (Keyboards) and Zack Tomlinson (Guitar) performed five original songs and two remixes, igniting an enthusiastic, dance-frenzied crowd.

"I've heard Super Hairy play a hundred times before, but this was their best show yet," said Bri Moore, a student at Loyola University. "Super Hairy’s bass-driven beats, combined with heavy guitar riffs and melodic synth lines, had the crowd moving non-stop.”

Super Hairy’s music sounds like a dance-ier version of Electronic duo Ratatat, utilizing dueling guitar and synth lines and soaring harmonies. Super Hairy likes to classify this genre of music as 'the New Rock and Roll.'

Super Hairy’s music will be featured in “CLU,” a television drama series based on the murder mystery due out this fall, and a horror movie, “Absinthe,” set for release in 2012. Both the television drama and the movie are produced by Izzo Productions and directed by Justin Thomas Billings.

“I’m so glad I have the opportunity to use Super Hairy’s music in my upcoming projects,” said Billings. “It fits perfectly with the thrilling aspects of both “CLU” and “Absinthe.” Super Hairy truly is the future of music, and I am very excited to have the chance to expose a whole new audience to the captivating sounds of Super Hairy.”

"Super Hairy is definitely a band to watch on the rise in the Electronic Music scene," said band manager, David Brown. "The release of their self-titled debut EP, which can be downloaded FOR FREE at www.soundcloud.com/superhairymusic, will leave many wanting more of their familiar yet unique style that blends computers and instruments, as well as Electronic and Rock genres. But until the release of their first full-length album (expected this fall), these six bangin’ tracks will keep both Electronic and Rock music fans intrigued, entertained, and most importantly, moving," Brown declared. - Self-published press release

Publisher: The Music Junkies

Genre: Jamtronica, Electronic Rock

Junkies' Description: “First off, we love when bands have a name that doesn't fit their sound at all. When we hear that a band’s named Super Hairy, we would originally think it’s bluegrass or southern rock. But no, actually it’s a jamtronica band...a very good jamtronica band at that. If you’re not familiar with this genre, jamtronica, also known as livetronica, is newer emerging genre that sounds like it travelled from the future to your eardrums. This genre puts a band’s talent to the test because they have to be able to adapt to the emerging technology that’s used for electronic music, yet be extremely talented with the instruments that puts any successful jam band on the map. Super Hairy has passed with flying colors. Flying colors because that’s what you’ll see before your eyes when you listen to their trippy electronic tweaks layered over their catchy grooves. Their music is like taking an LSD trip through the universe, but you’re still sober. Not only that, they're a duo, yet it sounds like ten guys. The Disco Biscuits, Lotus, and STS9 may be the well known jamtronica bands at the moment, but Super Hairy will be at their level soon if they keep these beautiful mind licking tracks coming.” - The Music Junkies

Publisher: Windy City Banter

Check out this new band Super Hairy play their new song at the Abbey in Chicago. Starting with a very mellow electronic sound, the song slowly builds into a much heavier hitting anthem. The heavy hitting anthem is pretty addicting. Check it out below! Videography by Aaron Scharaga of Champagne Jelly. - Windy City Banter

“Nice one guys (“On Top,” Super Hairy single). Really enjoy all the organic elements you guys use, good to see more electronic artists incorporating them.” – Virtual Boy, popular experimental electronic duo from Los Angeles signed to Alpha Pup Records - Virtual Boy

Genre: Jamtronica, Electronic Rock
Junkies' Description: “First off, we love when bands have a name that doesn't fit their sound at all. When we hear that a band’s named Super Hairy, we would originally think it’s bluegrass or southern rock. But no, actually it’s a jamtronica band...a very good jamtronica band at that. If you’re not familiar with this genre, jamtronica, also known as livetronica, is newer emerging genre that sounds like it travelled from the future to your eardrums. This genre puts a band’s talent to the test because they have to be able to adapt to the emerging technology that’s used for electronic music, yet be extremely talented with the instruments that puts any successful jam band on the map. Super Hairy has passed with flying colors. Flying colors because that’s what you’ll see before your eyes when you listen to their trippy electronic tweaks layered over their catchy grooves. Their music is like taking an LSD trip through the universe, but you’re still sober. Not only that, they're a duo, yet it sounds like ten guys. The Disco Biscuits, Lotus, and STS9 may be the well known jamtronica bands at the moment, but Super Hairy will be at their level soon if they keep these beautiful mind licking tracks coming.” - The Music Junkies

Genre: Jamtronica, Electronic Rock
Junkies' Description: “First off, we love when bands have a name that doesn't fit their sound at all. When we hear that a band’s named Super Hairy, we would originally think it’s bluegrass or southern rock. But no, actually it’s a jamtronica band...a very good jamtronica band at that. If you’re not familiar with this genre, jamtronica, also known as livetronica, is newer emerging genre that sounds like it travelled from the future to your eardrums. This genre puts a band’s talent to the test because they have to be able to adapt to the emerging technology that’s used for electronic music, yet be extremely talented with the instruments that puts any successful jam band on the map. Super Hairy has passed with flying colors. Flying colors because that’s what you’ll see before your eyes when you listen to their trippy electronic tweaks layered over their catchy grooves. Their music is like taking an LSD trip through the universe, but you’re still sober. Not only that, they're a duo, yet it sounds like ten guys. The Disco Biscuits, Lotus, and STS9 may be the well known jamtronica bands at the moment, but Super Hairy will be at their level soon if they keep these beautiful mind licking tracks coming.” - The Music Junkies

Published September 14, 2011 | By Hannah Jarvis
From the dark depths of a basement-turned-studio in Andersonville, I had the pleasure of interviewing Super Hairy, a musical duo consisting of two Loyola seniors. Combining heavy electronic beats with dirty distorted guitar riffs, Jonny Swift and Zack Tomlinson have created a band that converges the trending genre of electronic music with their love of classic rock. And it also makes you want to grow a fierce mustache and get your groove on.
Tomlinson, an information systems major, plays a Fender Telecaster, while Swift, the vice president of Loyola’s Sigma Pi fraternity and a double major in music and political science, plays keyboard and a medley of other electronic instruments. The two have been making music for over five years, and together have created a sound that adds a new meaning to electronic rock.
Phoenix: How did Super Hairy originally form?
Jonny Swift: We originally started because of our musical history together in high school, in [their high school band] Empire. Freshman and sophomore year in college we started jamming with my electronic drum set, and then I got my keyboard. We started finding some beats and decided that we wanted to start another musical project. We wanted to incorporate our newfound taste for electronic music into our rock
background.
Ph: How would you describe your music?
Zack Tomlinson:
“The New Rock and Roll” is the name I thought of when I started my radio show at WLUW, when I was trying to think of the name for this genre. There’s so much electronic music — techno, club music, dubstep — what we do is we morphed from a rock ‘n’ roll band into an electronic band that still uses rock ‘n’ roll influences. We use guitar and bass, real instruments, not just electronics.
Ph: Where did the name Super Hairy come from?
ZT: It started out as a joke.
JS: It did. I was fighting the name for a while. I didn’t want to be known as Super Hairy, but it is actually pretty sweet and really original. Basically we named it because, well, we are really hairy. No one forgets it and it’s funny as hell.
Ph: Well do you have any hairy role models?
JS: Definitely Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.
Ph: Who are some of the musical artists that inspire you?
ZT: Well, let’s see. We started out listening to Justice. It’s not just clubby electronic, it’s more hard, more…
JS: … Dirty, heavy, hairy. Ratatat, Pretty Lights and Glitch Mob on the electronic side. And then the Black Keys, Jack White and Led Zeppelin on the rock side for sure.
Ph: Jonny, can you tell me more about your instruments?
JS: I run Ableton Live on my computer, which is a digital audio work station software that allows you to run midi-keyboards. I have a Novation launch pad that I control the structure of the songs with, the midi-keyboard that changes sounds based on what you choose on the computer and a new vocoder keyboard [a voice synthesizer] with a microphone for making robot noises.
Ph: How would you describe your creative process? Are there different roles in your music making?
ZT: Jonny usually lays down a basic track that has drums and bass, maybe a few synth parts and a melody or something. I’ll write a guitar track that goes with it, or a bass track. And then basically we just keep
layering it.
JS: I usually try to come up with a couple different parts of the song, and we just jam on it.
Ph: How do you come up with the names for the songs?
JS: “Big Bill” is named after my dad. We always used to sneak out and think that Big Bill was going to be waiting with a shotgun for us.
ZT: But really he was our big musical support in high school. He was in a band when he was younger, so he would always come down and give us pointers. Other than that we kind of base it on how the song feels.
Ph: Where have you played so far?
ZT: Most of them have been here at the Palace [Zack’s house in Andersonville], but we’ve played at the Elbo Room (2871 N. Lincoln Ave.), which is cool because it’s a pretty famous place, it’s been around for a
long time. Also, U.S. Beer Company (1801 N. Clybourn Ave.) and then the Abbey Pub (3420 W. Grace St.).
Ph: What would be your dream venue?
JS: Lollapalooza would be awesome. I’d like to play at the North Coast local stage next year. Really any big venue in Chicago would be awesome.
Ph: Do you see Super Hairy in your long-term goals?
JS: I sure hope so. It’s the number one thing I would want to do as a full-time job. If I didn’t have school and my fraternity to think about, I could put a lot more time and effort into it. If we could do it full-time I think we could make a lot more strides, and I know we both definitely want to do that as a profession.
Ph: Why do you guys want to create and record your music?
ZT: Music is the most important thing in my life. I listen to music all the time, trying to find new artists, new stuff. And playing and performing has always been something that I’ve loved. The crowd ex - Loyola Phoenix

Published September 14, 2011 | By Hannah Jarvis
From the dark depths of a basement-turned-studio in Andersonville, I had the pleasure of interviewing Super Hairy, a musical duo consisting of two Loyola seniors. Combining heavy electronic beats with dirty distorted guitar riffs, Jonny Swift and Zack Tomlinson have created a band that converges the trending genre of electronic music with their love of classic rock. And it also makes you want to grow a fierce mustache and get your groove on.
Tomlinson, an information systems major, plays a Fender Telecaster, while Swift, the vice president of Loyola’s Sigma Pi fraternity and a double major in music and political science, plays keyboard and a medley of other electronic instruments. The two have been making music for over five years, and together have created a sound that adds a new meaning to electronic rock.
Phoenix: How did Super Hairy originally form?
Jonny Swift: We originally started because of our musical history together in high school, in [their high school band] Empire. Freshman and sophomore year in college we started jamming with my electronic drum set, and then I got my keyboard. We started finding some beats and decided that we wanted to start another musical project. We wanted to incorporate our newfound taste for electronic music into our rock
background.
Ph: How would you describe your music?
Zack Tomlinson:
“The New Rock and Roll” is the name I thought of when I started my radio show at WLUW, when I was trying to think of the name for this genre. There’s so much electronic music — techno, club music, dubstep — what we do is we morphed from a rock ‘n’ roll band into an electronic band that still uses rock ‘n’ roll influences. We use guitar and bass, real instruments, not just electronics.
Ph: Where did the name Super Hairy come from?
ZT: It started out as a joke.
JS: It did. I was fighting the name for a while. I didn’t want to be known as Super Hairy, but it is actually pretty sweet and really original. Basically we named it because, well, we are really hairy. No one forgets it and it’s funny as hell.
Ph: Well do you have any hairy role models?
JS: Definitely Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.
Ph: Who are some of the musical artists that inspire you?
ZT: Well, let’s see. We started out listening to Justice. It’s not just clubby electronic, it’s more hard, more…
JS: … Dirty, heavy, hairy. Ratatat, Pretty Lights and Glitch Mob on the electronic side. And then the Black Keys, Jack White and Led Zeppelin on the rock side for sure.
Ph: Jonny, can you tell me more about your instruments?
JS: I run Ableton Live on my computer, which is a digital audio work station software that allows you to run midi-keyboards. I have a Novation launch pad that I control the structure of the songs with, the midi-keyboard that changes sounds based on what you choose on the computer and a new vocoder keyboard [a voice synthesizer] with a microphone for making robot noises.
Ph: How would you describe your creative process? Are there different roles in your music making?
ZT: Jonny usually lays down a basic track that has drums and bass, maybe a few synth parts and a melody or something. I’ll write a guitar track that goes with it, or a bass track. And then basically we just keep
layering it.
JS: I usually try to come up with a couple different parts of the song, and we just jam on it.
Ph: How do you come up with the names for the songs?
JS: “Big Bill” is named after my dad. We always used to sneak out and think that Big Bill was going to be waiting with a shotgun for us.
ZT: But really he was our big musical support in high school. He was in a band when he was younger, so he would always come down and give us pointers. Other than that we kind of base it on how the song feels.
Ph: Where have you played so far?
ZT: Most of them have been here at the Palace [Zack’s house in Andersonville], but we’ve played at the Elbo Room (2871 N. Lincoln Ave.), which is cool because it’s a pretty famous place, it’s been around for a
long time. Also, U.S. Beer Company (1801 N. Clybourn Ave.) and then the Abbey Pub (3420 W. Grace St.).
Ph: What would be your dream venue?
JS: Lollapalooza would be awesome. I’d like to play at the North Coast local stage next year. Really any big venue in Chicago would be awesome.
Ph: Do you see Super Hairy in your long-term goals?
JS: I sure hope so. It’s the number one thing I would want to do as a full-time job. If I didn’t have school and my fraternity to think about, I could put a lot more time and effort into it. If we could do it full-time I think we could make a lot more strides, and I know we both definitely want to do that as a profession.
Ph: Why do you guys want to create and record your music?
ZT: Music is the most important thing in my life. I listen to music all the time, trying to find new artists, new stuff. And playing and performing has always been something that I’ve loved. The crowd ex - Loyola Phoenix