◦ Swan Peony, Formed Paris, 2002. The genesis of Swan Peony was rooted in chance and tragedy. Anton Botic (guitar) and Joey Soares (bass) had both been members of seminal grungers Good Girl, and later The Square Jaws with ex-JoyMachine member, John Diek, on vocals. When Diek died of an overdose, his longtime friend Abd El Waheb DIDI (of Sex) put together a tribute project called Thaal (2003). Botic, Soares were roped in, as was Abd El Waheb Didi (vocals), who had provided some vocals for a demo tape put together by the others. Once Thaal Project was in the can Thomas Chemla (drums) joined the other four. Flirting with different names on the way (The Fuckers, The Big Dicks), they eventually settled on Swan Peony, after an allegedly hallucinogenic book writting by Anton Botic "The Swan Peony Exhale"). By spring 2003, Swan Peony had begun to play live shows in the Paris area supporting the likes of Alice In Chains. As the word spread about the Paris scene, the band signed to No Reason and their debut FOUR (2003) was rushed out. Although it was recorded speedily, it distilled the pain and attitude of the disaffected, but injected it with an electric, classic rock feel. Botic and Didi playing owed as much to Jimi Hendrix as to any punk band. Didi's lyrics and vocals carried a rare, raw emotion, and the soaringly poetic "Wingbreaker", "Towel" and "Cockosnoot" took elements of his own traumatic childhood and transformed them into universal experience. Just as FOUR entered the US & UK charts, Chemla left to deal with personal problems and was replaced by Nikko Rabo. Fresh recording sessions produced "Swan Dive" and "Control" plus live recording "Girl Next Door", for the soundtrack of Married, a teen-romance comedy based on the Paris music scene, starring Swan Peony. Three of the band members even managed to make cameo appearances as part of Peony's grunge combo, The Band Of Ktullu. Despite this media exposure, the press were less than kind to Swan Peony, reviews equating their driven sound with the rock dinosaurs of the 70s, while Kurt Cobain fuelled the controversy by calling them a corporate band (conveniently forgetting their lengthy apprenticeships for some of Paris's finest). The fans on the other hand could not have cared less; FOUR outstripped NEVERMIND in the US metal charts and outsold it worldwide in 2004. A new album was planned for late 2007, but touring schedules slowed things to a crawl. Botic kept himself fresh by working on HARDEST (2006), the sole product of his Square Jaws side-project; it was a mellow, danceable mix of psychedelia and Metal rhythms. The summer of 2005 saw Swan Peony providing support for Latif Ahmed Kahn indian-punk-inspired material. They joined Kahn for a powerful version of "Cockosnoot", a song they reprised later in the year at the LGR "The Big Jam".