THE SWINGIN
NECKBREAKERS
STORY AND PHOTO BY MORGAN WALKER
THE
"OFFSPRING the most
friendliest
butt
squirtin
GUTTERMOUTH
COMPARATIVE MOUTH SIZE (WIDTH
AT WIDEST POINT DURING SCREAM)
Thomas Jorgensen.
Little Richard
Mick Jagger.
Steven Tyler
Tina Turner.
..4 and 5/8ths inches
4 and 3/8ths inches
The Swingin' Neckbreakers are an innocent, as
opposed to cynical, evocation of a much more
innocent time. Through rain, sleet or snow, this is
music you can count on for a time when you can't
count on much. Their unselfconsciousness and
4 and 3/4ths inches cheerful unpretentiousness is infectious; they
make you want to do all those corny 60s dances
like The Twist and The Jerk-and somehow you
don't end up feeling like a jerk.
4 and 7/8ths inches
..5 inches
If you live in a certain zip code in the area of
Trenton, New Jersey, there's a good chance your
mail is delivered by one of America's great rock
n' roll singers. When he's not fronting his band
The Swingin' Neckbreakers (and playing bass
with brother John on drums and a guy named
Shaggy on guitar), Thomas Jorgensen is walking
his route for the United States Post Office.
This little piece of trivia sheds light on why The
Swingin' Neckbreakers are such a perfect repre-
sentation of classic, red-blooded American shake,
rattle n' roll. The Swingin' Neckbreakers are such
a convincing homage to the reelin' and rockin'
bands of the early rock era that you might think
they'd be walking encyclopedias of the period,
with shelvesful of 45s catalogued by year and
Billboard chart position. But it's precisely because
they're not calculated at all that they pull it off.
These guys are total naturals. They have no sense
of the irony of playing '66 when it's 96. They play
rock n' roll because they like it. And they just
happen to be really good at it.
100 Тиклик
Tom Jorgensen delivers more than the mail.
He's got a set of pipes to rival any of the early
greats (see photo), and his songwriting is as
clever as an early Ray Davies. His brother John
plays drums well enough to keep the beat, but
just crudely enough to capture the classic back
beat lag of a true Merseyside geek. Shaggy is the
quiet and dependable type-like George Harri-
son in the early Beatles-the kid who joined up
with the big guys and can always be counted on
to play what needs to be played.
In the studio, The Neckbreakers are lo-fi and
raunchy, letting the mics overload in all the right
places. Live, they crank out the three-minute
gems like they're going out of style, except they
have been out of style for three decades. And
this is the real achievement: By bringing alive
another time, they become timeless. Like a letter
found in the lost mail department and delivered
after thirty years, The Swingin' Neckbreakers
can't help but brighten your day.
guitar player 'cuz:
a) He's played in so
many famous bands.
b) He was trained at
THE SWINGIN' NECKBREAKERS FUN
FACT QUIZ (ALL ANSWERS ARE "C")
They play so many
Shaggy became their
great covers 'cuz:
a) They want to show
how big their record
collection is.
b) They want to pay
tribute to their idols.
c) They didn't have
enough original songs
to fill a whole album.
John plays vintage
Ludwig drums 'cuz:
a) He wants to be his-
torically accurate.
b) It's the only way he
can get that "sound."
c) It was a Christmas
present from his folks
when he was eleven.
The Neckbreakers
got their start as:
a) A famous record
producer's pet project.
b) Opening band for?
and the Mysterians.
c) Fill-in band for a
New Year's party.
a music conservatory.
c) After auditioning
guitarists for four
years, he was the only
one they could find
who was content to
play basic rock n' roll.
The pinnacle of Tom's
skating career:
a) 540' tailgrab.
b) Railslide down
the front steps of
the Trenton Post
Office building.
c) Making a skate-
board in shop class.
The Swingin' Neck.
breakers have never
played a show in:
a) An airport.
b) Paris, France.
c) Their hometown.
friendly people
VANDALS
the
Live Fast
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NO PHOTO AVAILABLE
DIARREA
never
sounded so!
good punk
for your
buck
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