How does an insurance salesman end up recording music with members of Rebelution, Tribal Seeds and Long Beach Dub Allstars? Like many things in life, it started with the unexpected.
For years, it seemed like Mick Attardo’s path was clear. His previous dreams of rock stardom had been left behind, and he was enjoying great success in his new job.
“After giving up trying to make it in bands five years prior, I was really focused on my insurance career and barely even played guitar,” he explains to The Pier. “But after the loss of my brother in January of 2023 it was really just a kind of therapy for me. I started gradually playing around on the guitar again and one of my friends overheard me and suggested I go record at a studio.”
Attardo reached out to Lewis Richards, the acclaimed SoCal producer who has worked with Dirty Heads, Long Beach Dub Allstars, Fortunate Youth and many others. To the singer’s surprise, Richards was on board.
“Two days later I was in the studio recording,” Attardo recalls. “First it was just a couple old songs, then Lew asked if I had any more so we did two more.”
Things continued to evolve from there as Attardo tapped into the sounds that had influenced him in his formative years. Completely organically, the foundation of South Swell Syndicate began taking shape.
South Swell Syndicate’s Long Beach Roots
“Growing up in Long Beach, my biggest musical influences were classic rock, reggae, and hip hop,” Attardo explains, adding that punk and ska were also major parts of his youth. “Obviously when Sublime came out they showed how it was possible to combine styles of multiple genres and create a whole new thing; merging audiences that normally wouldn’t be at the same show. You see that a lot more with festivals now but not really back then and still not really many artists do it well in my opinion. For that reason they were my biggest influence why I started playing guitar and writing songs at 15. Back then I wanted to continue to evolve the thing that Bradley created before he died. But as I got older I started going off in different directions. I began to not like the idea of trying to copy someone else. I wanted to do my own thing. But you can still hear the Sublime influence in a lot of my songs.”
South Swell Syndicate certainly captures the balance Attardo alludes to, nodding to Sublime and some of other influences while still feeling totally original and authentic. Over the last year Attardo has been slowly releasing singles from the project, steadily building momentum and racking up streams.
“I find inspiration for songwriting in everyday things. I try to always have my antenna out and be a receptacle for the universe to flow through me. I’ll be in the water waiting for a wave or I’ll smoke a joint and go for a long walk with my dog and something will just pop in my head and I’ll go from there,” he explains. “Songwriting is a weird mysterious process that I don’t fully understand how it works, but I love doing it and I feel like I have something to offer people to maybe help them in the same way music has helped me.”
Members of Tribal Seeds, Rebelution and Long Beach Dub Allstars Contribute to South Swell Syndicate
Adding to South Swell Syndicate’s gravitas is an impressive lineup of contributors. Attardo – who humbly calls himself a “regular dude messing around writing songs in my bedroom” – credits Richards for bringing in several notable musicians.
“He suggested we get Zeb (Tribal Seeds) to do drums/percussion on the first four songs we recorded last year, Eric Hirschhorn (Rebelution) on sax and Ronnie King on keys. On this new batch I recruited Ian Foreman (Long Beach Dub Allstars) on drums by just messaging him on instagram. I was like ‘Hey man I need a drummer for some songs. Are you free in January?’ He was super cool about it and totally killed it and now we are friends.”
The results speak for themself, as South Swell Syndicate’s music far exceeds anything you’d expect from a new act. “Go Where I Please” is a laid-back, chill reflection about blocking out life’s distractions. “Jimi” exudes that Sublime influence, with a punk-ska energy that feels like something off of 40oz to Freedom. “All About the Music” offers alluring sax and an intoxicating melody, while “Colitas” — “a double entendre about a sneaky girl who wants to either smoke my weed…or something else” — might be the most captivating tune of them all.
“I try to write using a lot of different styles and themes to show my diversity and range,” Attardo admits. “Some songs are more serious, some are more carefree.”
The Next Evolution for South Swell Syndicate
Even with a full-length album due in 2026, South Swell Syndicate remains a work in progress. Attardo hopes to put together a full band for touring and performances, but admits its a challenge to do so while also maintaining his “regular” career.
“I write songs when I have time. I try to play as much as I can, but life has its ups and downs,” he notes. “Sometimes I get discouraged because I’m basically doing it all on my own. If I had a band I’d do it more, but I can’t seem to find guys who want to be a permanent fixture.”
To that end, Attardo has a message for anyone else looking to chase their reggae rock dreams: “If you know anyone in SoCal who’s a dope player and surfs and wants to be in a band have them hit me up!”
