Listen to These White Walls

When Adam McHeffey (guitar, banjo, vocals) first heard Kari Spieler (guitar, vocals) in 2009, she was playing a cover of the Jackson 5's “I Want You Back” in their college co-op, where Adam volunteered.

"I thought she sounded amazing, but she was selling her CD for ten dollars, and that was just too much for my wallet."

Though both Adam and Kari performed regularly around the campus of SUNY Purchase College, it wasn't until the final weeks of their senior year that they met in Kari's bedroom and recorded "Johnnie," a song Swear and Shake performs to this day.

The bedroom demo of "Johnnie" began to circulate, finding its way to Shaun Savage (bass) and Thomas Elefante (former drummer), both childhood friends of Adam. That summer, with ever increasing momentum, Swear and Shake recorded their first EP, aptly titled Extended Play. Extensive performing followed the release of Extended Play, playing venues in New York City and Brooklyn, and on the weekends performing to neighboring cities.

In the summer of 2011, Swear and Shake recorded Maple Ridge, named after the barn in which it was recorded. Produced by Ben Goldstein (current drummer), Maple Ridge was released in the summer of 2012. The reviews speak for themselves:

"…Maple Ridge - the first step in what would be an unusual hybrid of on- location and studio recording, leading to what would become one of 2012's most ear-catching indie records." (David Weiss - Mix Magazine)

"Their new musical venture…paints a fresh new color to the somehow predictable indie folk landscape." (www.Frostclick.com)

"Maple Ridge... is exactly what a full-length debut should look like." (folkyourself.com)

Swear and Shake most recently has shared the stage as direct support for The Lumineers, Delta Rae, and G Love & Special Sauce. They're scheduled to set sail upon the Caribbean Sea to play aboard Rock Boat XIII in February, 2013, and to be officially showcased at SXSW in Austin, TX, in March, 2013.