The Swellers Movies

It is no secret that here at Hip in Detroit we love The Swellers and we have been following their career for years. It is also no secret that a few of us here at Hip grew up with guitar player Ryan Collins and know him pretty well. So well, that it blew our minds when we found out that there are Swellers movies we never knew existed. 

This past weekend Ryan mentioned that over the last few tours Anto has made a few films while they were driving from city to city. He comes up with a plot, picks a couple of actors from each band on the tour and works on filming it from city to city to pass the time. Once he returns home from each outing he adds graphics, sound, music and creates a short film. 

So far they have recorded 3 films in total called "Total Behavior", Political Punishment and Les Incorruptibles. What Ryan did not tell us is that these movies have some pretty big guest stars including bands Everytime I Die, Anti-Flag, Pulled Apart By Horses, Fall Out Boy, Fake Problems, Daytrader and even Anthrax. There is more ketchup blood in these movies than you could imagine and it gives you an inside look at what really goes on backstage before and after some of your favorite bands hit the stage. 

I personally liked Political Punishment the most. The shooting scene where the guys get hit with at least 50 bullets each had me laughing so hard I was crying. I am very excited that The Swellers are about to record and tour because I think that means we may get more of this classic cinema. We had no idea Anto was so funny and clever. Very cool guys! 

~S