Danny Green Quartet
Blasting The Burning of Rome at the beer fermenter - Photo by Alexis Embrey Photography
The rumor mill was buzzing after veteran rocker John “Swami” Reis made the surprise announcement recently that he was ending Swami Sound System, his weekly radio show on FM 94/9. He initially didn’t explain his decision, but in an interview with CityBeat, he says he’s too busy to do the show and that he’s taken it as far as it can go.
“It was never one thing that just happened and changed. There’s been just a series of things over the past couple years that kind of gradually made it harder for me to continually be there for the show,” he says, noting that he’s been raising a kid and playing with newly reunited band Hot Snakes.
Even with more free time, Reis will stay busy. Hot Snakes have upcoming West Coast dates planned, he hopes to release an album by his band The Night Marchers later this year and his label, Swami Records, will also put out an album by indie-rockers Mrs. Magician.
“I really liked doing the show, so I’d like to keep the door open,” he says. “The fact of the matter is, the Swami Sound System will exist for me every day of my life.
Wherever I play music, that’s it.”
To read an extended interview with Reis, head to our music blog, Check 1, Check 2.
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The Burning of Rome are getting ready to release a new album, With Us, and Pizza Port Ocean Beach is crafting a beer to go with it—an aggressively bitter West Coast-style IPA, says brewmaster Yiga Miyashiro. To give the beer a freak-show aura, he’s been blasting the new album in a 24-hour loop from a boombox placed next to the fermenter. The band will celebrate the beer’s release at Pizza Port Ocean Beach at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16. Pints will come with a free track download.
Email peterh@sdcitybeat.com or follow him on Twitter at @peterholslin.
