The Godevils play both acoustic and amplified alt-Western funky punk-folk music. Shows often start off with banjo, acoustic guitar, upright bass, and drum brushing, playing songs about dying prospectors, vampire cowboys, and people with lives ruined by current social maladies. Shows usually end with electric bass, guitar, and drum tunes about skeletons, stinky river banks, and the semiotic inadequacy of human expression.
The Godevils are Jeffrey Falla on banjo, guitar, and vocals; Hilary Johnson on bass violin, electric bass, piano, and accordian; and Jeremy Swisher on drums, trumpet, and backing vocals. Matt Falla on drums and guitar. Here is a brief biographical history of our band:
Jeffrey Falla played in local rockabilly and punk bands during the late 1980s and early 1990s before taking a ten year hiatus to earn his Ph.D. In the summer of 2004, after performing with the Enola Gays on their final tour, he teamed up with longtime friend and band mate Jeremy Swisher to record songs he’d written through the years.
Hilary Johnson is classically trained in piano and bass violin. During her high school days she was first chair in the Duluth Youth Orchestra. She also writes music for performance and dance. Recently she composed a segment for an alternative fashion show at the Bedlam Theatre.
Jeremy Swisher has performed with numerous musicians and bands for the past fifteen years, most recently with The Enola Gays and June Panic. He has done session work with Secretly Canadian record label and runs Upauat Recording Studio in Grand Forks, ND.
Matt Falla has been a part of the Twin Cities punk scene for over ten years. Bands he has played include El Punkeke and the Aliens (as a bass playing Alien) and Onward to Mayhem (guitar).