Review Fix Exclusive: Kurt Stifle Talks Origin in Music And More

Review Fix chats with Kurt Stifle and the Swing Shift’s Kurt Stifle, who details his origin in music and the what makes his band a special one.

The Los Angeles band, seemingly born out of a need for music experimentation and diversity, pride themselves on crafting a sound that draws from the past 60 years of pop music. Comprised of Kurt Stifle (Vocals, Guitar), Steve Reed (Bass), and Bob Lee (Drums), they’re heavily influenced by classic rock icons such as Cheap Trick, Black Flag, and Bob Dylan. Each one of their tracks submerges listeners in a unique journey through musical history, while the band remains grounded in modern experimentation. Their latest album, “The Pilgrims’ Guide to the River of Salvation” is a stylistic voyage of sound, a rock opera that possesses all the camp and humor needed to entertain, while maintaining the musical integrity one would expect from musicians of their caliber.

Review Fix: How did the band get together?

Kurt Stifle: I was putting together a bunch of songs, and I needed a rhythm section. So I asked Bob Lee if he wanted to participate in the recording project and sent him the demos. He liked and came aboard.

After a few rehearsals, Bob recommended Steve Reed for the bass. So initially Bob and Steve joined up for recording. After the album was cut, I asked Matt Lake if he wanted to back me up on guitar so I could focus on vocals for live shows, so here we are.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Stifle: Since an early age, listening to the Beatles, Doors, Tom Jones, from 1967 onward. I started playing guitar at 16, and joined up with the Nip Drivers when I was 17.

After I left the Nip Drivers, I took many years off. I started up again around 2012. I felt like a fresh beginning, and I fell in love with making music again.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Stifle: Depends, but I usually start with a riff, or a beat. Sometimes a phrase or song title and build up from there. Sometimes it’s quick, a few hours and a song is done, sometimes it’s very slow. Months

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Stifle: Life in general… anger, love and everything in between.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Stifle: Perhaps heavy rock in the traditional sense with a punk rock influence. Then I throw in some jazz and horn section for a kick.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Stifle: That’s to be determined.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2018?

Stifle: We’re recording more tracks, and are starting to do some live shows. We would love to do some touring at some point later in the year.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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