Swan‘s Way: Local Songwriter Lives for the Stage

June 18, 2003

When Traverse City singer-songwriter Don Swan takes the stage, people stop what they are doing, watch and listen attentively. That says a lot in an era where many performers find themselves as background noise amidst the conservations of venue patrons. Swan has something many performers lack: Stage Presence. His good looks and Stewart/Segerish voice all add to the package.
Swan leads his recently formed band the Radio Flyers (Ed Roth on guitars, bass player Dan Babiarz and drummer Devon Niebert) to F&M Park in Traverse City on June 25 from 7 to 9 pm. The Radio Flyers will perform a combination of cover songs and originals. The group also performs June 27 & 28 at The Outer Limits (Formerly Ernie’s) in Mayfield.
By music industry standards Swan may not seem to be successful. He doesn’t have a major label deal. He doesn’t have any hit songs. He doesn’t drive a fancy new car. Yet, Swan is one of the most successful musicians in town for the simple reason that he gets it. For Swan, it is all about the music; it is simply about the song.
“I have had women tell me they won’t date me because they don’t like the car I drive,” said Swan. “That’s okay with me -- I don’t want to date anyone that sizes someone up by the car they drive. For me, I assess someone from their heart, not their wallet or purse. For me I take to the stage for the song, to entertain, not to drive a certain car.”

PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK
Swan had a high paying job in the airline industry at Metro Airport in Detroit. He left job security and a solid paycheck behind in 1994 to come to the area to look after his parents who had retired in Leelanau County. He has worked odd jobs (primarily waiting tables) in the area ever since.
“Yeah I live paycheck to paycheck, but I love what I do,” said Swan. “Sure I don’t have a fancy car, a prestigious job or even a pension. My retirement is in my heart and soul, it is in the words that I write and the songs I sing. My thought is I can’t take anything with me when I leave earth, but I certainly can leave a part of me behind in the form of the songs I write.”
Swan is committed to a life as a musician or what some might refer to as a life of a “starving artist.”
“I am not starving. Sure I want more and I want people to hear my songs and see me perform. But I don’t consider myself starving -- rather blessed that people are taking notice of my songs and my singing.”
People are taking notice. Swan led his band the Radio Flyers into Little Bo’s on a Friday night this past March during a relatively slow period at local clubs. The result? A packed house, a full dance floor and record bar sales.
“It was great to have the bar manager tell us it was their best sales night in two years,” said Swan. “To have people on the dance floor non-stop for four sets was a incredible experience.”
Swan and the Radio Flyers combine a mix of covers and originals at their live shows. What sets Swan and his band apart from others is that they do unique covers that many bands wouldn’t tackle, songs from The Doors, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, a rousing rendition of Jethro Tull’s “Locomotive Breath,“ Rob Thomas/Carlos Santana’s hit “Smooth,” and the Puddle of Mudd hit “Blurry.”

AUDIENCE DEMANDS
“Look I want to be in a band that performs just originals, but that is tough when you first start to find musicians on the same page and committed to your songs like you are, so you are forced into covers also because the audience will demand them,” said Swan. “I won’t just sing any song I have to relate to what the songwriter is saying. I have to connect with the song -- feel the song‘s soul before I sing it.
Swan spends a lot of time writing. He has 35 copyrighted songs and hopes that someday one or more will be hits.
“It would be really cool if someone else bought one of my songs and sang it and it became a hit. For me that would be the crowning jewel. I am realistic and know that 41-year-old guys just don’t make it big in the business as a singer. The labels are not looking for guys like me, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t write a hit for someone else.”
While Swan might be too old by industry standards, his stage show says otherwise. Few musicians today have the passion, energy and stage presence that Swan brings every night. His performances are theatrical and intense.
“I guess I have been singing and acting my whole life,” said Swan. “I have five sisters, so I had to do something to get attention, so I was always singing and in my home when I was growing up it was a lot of Motown.”
Swan found himself signing in youth choirs and in the Catholic Church. He grew up in Dearborn Heights and in high school tried out for the school production of “The Wizard of Oz.“
“I played the role of the Tin Man,” said Swan. “It was a fitting part for me because I had spent a lot of time searching for my heart.”
When Swan moved to Traverse City in 1994 he drove past the Old Town Playhouse and noticed the sign said “auditions.”
“I went right and in and the folks at the Old Town Playhouse took me in. They were my first friends in the area and remain my friends today. This can be a tough town, especially if you don’t have money, so it was a good feeling to be accepted by them and for them to encourage me to use my talent.”
Swan has been in eight performances at the Playhouse including three musicals: “A Chorus Line,” My Fair Lady” and “Music Man.”

GOING NOWHERE
His first band in the area was somewhat of a struggle.
“I met up with this guitar player and we connected, became friends and formed a band,” said Swan. “I was writing originals and wanted to be in a band committed to performing original music. Well one of the guys in the band didn’t like my songs and left rehearsal. Well I thought he quit and was out. That night the other guys called me and said my music was going nowhere and they fired me.”
It was a tough moment for Swan, but he forged ahead writing more songs and performing at open mic nights in the area. Eventually he met up with Ed Roth and the two put together the Don Swan Project that evolved into the Radio Flyers.
What about his future?
“My goals are pretty simple. I would like to make enough money to pay off my parents‘ property. I just want to have fun with my music and I want others to have fun with it as well. As long as there is a stage and I can be on it I will be happy.”
For Swan it has been challenging to find musicians that have the same commitment and drive as him.
“This is my life, it is my passion and I think for a lot of people it is just a hobby, a sideline,” said Swan. ‘That’s okay but this isn’t a hobby for me, so I am still searching for the right mix for my Don Swan Project.”
He isn’t abandoning Radio Flyers, but Swan realizes that the band is primarily a cover band and his fellow bandmates have day jobs, and some are even in other bands.
Another important component for Swan is his songwriting vision:
“I write from the heart and with a hook,” said Swan. “You might say I write for the ladies. If you can connect with them and get them to the dance floor then you have something. It helps that I have a someone special in my life to encourage and support me, it makes it easier to write with her in my life.”
Swan hopes to release his “Don Swan Project“ CD later this summer with 13 originals.
Sometimes the best music isn’t on a highly produced CD from a major label. Sometimes the best songs are not being played on formatted radio, sometimes the best concerts aren’t the big boys playing for $75 a ticket. Sometimes what you are looking for musically is in your own backyard, at the corner pub or at the local coffee shop or park. Case and point: Don Swan, whether you catch him with the Radio Flyers or with his Don Swan Project, one thing is for sure you won’t leave disappointed.

Don Swan and his Radio Flyers perform at F&M Park in Traverse City, June 25 as part of the Music In The Park Series sponsored by the Traverse City Parks Department. The show is free; bring your blankets, lawn chairs, dancing shoes and anyone you know that is in a bad mood. The band also plays June 27 & 28 at the Outer Limits in Mayfield. For info, contact Swan at (231) 935-5206.