Formation of Swing

In 1985, Scott Weiland and his friends in their band Soi-Disant — guitarist Corey Hickok and drummer David Allin — first encountered Robert DeLeo playing live at various gigs, deciding to track him down after witnessing his shows. Weiland, DeLeo, Hickok and Allin would eventually form a band called Swing. Allin left after a few years. The remaining members saw drummer Eric Kretz play in a Long Beach club and convinced him to join them. Guitarist Hickok eventually left the band in 1989; in need of a replacement and auditioning many guitarists, Robert suggested his older brother, Dean . At the time, Dean was a successful businessman who had left behind his previous musical career but still played guitar as a hobby. The band managed to convince Dean to play for Swing, completing the original lineup. Shortly afterwards, the band changed its name to Mighty Joe Young. They recorded a demo tape around 1990. The Mighty Joe Young demo features tracks that would go on to be re-recorded for the band’s first studio album, as well as some musical styles that would not be featured on any of the band’s studio albums, such as funk and yodeling .