Mick Sweda
Mick Sweda is a songwriter, guitarist and singer born in Gowanda, New York on April 18, 1960.
Mick Sweda | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 18, 1960 Gowanda, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Labels | Capitol Warner Bros. Iron Works RedCake |
| Associated acts | Bulletboys King Kobra Stormtrooper |
After attending college on a drama scholarship and touring the east coast with various bands, Sweda moved to Los Angeles where he spent time in various musical projects, including the band Stormtrooper whose Armies of the Night EP surfaced in 1985.
In 1984, he was approached by Carmine Appice to join his new band King Kobra, which had been signed to Capitol Records. Sweda recorded two records with King Kobra (Ready to Strike and Thrill of a Lifetime) and toured extensively, opening for bands such as Iron Maiden, Kiss and Ted Nugent. Sweda left the band in 1987 and started BulletBoys with Lonnie Vencent and Marq Torien. The band signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988. Upon the release of their eponymous debut, the band toured extensively opening for bands such as Cheap Trick, Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne and others, as well as headlining theaters. BulletBoys recorded two more records for Warner Bros. (Freakshow and Za-Za) and supported both records with tours before Sweda left the band in 1993.
After recording demos for a wide range of artists in his studio and doing session work, Sweda formed a new band called Brain Stem Babies which included Jason Hook and Jeremy Spencer. They played scattered shows but spent the majority of their time recording records which Sweda made available on his Monsters Making Music label. The band parted ways in 1996 and Sweda, along with BSB bassist Jon Winquist, recruited Troy Patrick Farrell ('White Lion') to form Lolligag. They played occasionally in Los Angeles but again spent more time recording and disbanded in 1998. Sweda continued to record with John Porter and Marty Horenburg at Cello Studios in Hollywood but then began to concentrate on personal matters.
Sweda currently lives in LA where he works in his studio (Redcake Digital) and continues to write and record. His 2007 release, Songs in the Key of Cool, is a rock record for kids and parents alike. He was approached by King Kobra to participate in two records for Frontier records and contributed guitars to a number of songs on each. He has most recently written and recorded "Merry Christmas, little baby" with Tilli, a singer-songwriter, and it was featured on Rodney Bingenheimer's show on KROQ. He is also working with singer-songwriter Shane Tassart on The Hot Summers record they have planned for some time and expect to release it in summer 2017.
