MARSHALL FORD SWING BAND www.marshallfordswingband.com

The living room clock of Marshall Ford Swing Band songwriter-guitarist Greg Harkins has the 3 and 9 switched. The clock runs counter-clockwise, but Harkins sees no problem with it. In fact, the clock’s irregularity perfectly fits into the makeup of the Austin swing band’s aesthetic.

“We’re heading into the past, man,” Harkins says with a smirk.

Harkins and his band mates have been evoking that past since 2008. They pride themselves on playing Western swing music the way the legend Johnny Gimble — MFSB singer-pianist Emily Gimble’s grandfather — plays, the way Bob Wills and Hank Thompson used to when they ruled the Texas scene. They’re unique in their modern execution of the antiquated art.

“It’s fun to play,” Harkins says of Texas swing music. “It’s got hip changes. You can’t help but tap your feet and snap your fingers to it.”

Named for the predecessor of Lake Travis’ Mansfield Dam, the band’s roots were planted in 2003 by Harkins and fellow guitarist Jeremy Wheeless. Raised on Willie Nelson’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and Bob Wills’ “For the Last Time,” the two guitarists’ interest in swing music took them to Johnny Gimble’s swing camp in Taos, N.M., where they met Emily and knew they had to start playing with her regularly.

“The first time I heard Emily sing I couldn’t believe the voice coming out of her,” says Wheeless. “She just had such a professional sound, something like an old jazz singer from the ’30s or ’40s, but she was so young.”

The two persuaded Emily to move from Waco to Austin and brought in bassist Kristopher Wade and drummer James Gwyn to complete the quintet. Since then, it’s been delighting fans with its upbeat swing and twin-guitar magic in Austin and beyond. Bismeaux Studios studio manager Sam Seifert says Wheeless and Harkins’ ability to nail the twin-guitar technique has made a huge difference for the band.

“Jeremy and Greg offer something that has become a lost art, but it’s a true staple of Western swing music,” says Seifert. “Their parts sound like twin guitars should, the way that Junior Barnard’s and Tiny Moore’s playing used to.”

Fans of the Marshall Ford Swing Band will get a heavy dose of Emily’s sultry vocals, Jeremy and Greg’s playful guitar phrasings, and Kris and James’ tight rhythm section on this year’s IT’S ABOUT DAM TIME, the band’s first full-length studio album. Recorded at Austin’s famed Tequila Mockingbird Studios and produced by Danny Levin, the album showcases the band’s healthy dose of original tracks — each member contributed at least one song — along with some of Western swing’s most beloved standards.

Altogether, the album proves to be a welcome introduction to members of Marshall Ford Swing Band, modern day carriers of western swing’s torch.

“A lot of people I know will play swing music,” says Emily, “but it’s not the same as with these guys. We pull off Western swing very well. It’s special.”

Media Contact: Heidi Labensart, 512.478.0578; heidi@mcguckinpr.com ###