Bill Swan and Jeff Priskorn met in high school way back in 1985. Jeff grew up on hair metal, while Bill’s musical tastes, though similar, were a bit more refined. It wasn’t until after graduation that they started jamming and writing songs in Jeff’s garage and Bill’s basement.

They originally went by The Knighthawks moniker, a name that carried over from when Bill was given his first guitar by his childhood friend Chris Johnstone. Chris was beyond talented for his age and inspired Bill to engage in his first “band” experience.

Over the course of about 3 years Jeff & Bill wrote and recorded more than 50 original songs, mostly with just an electric guitar (Bill’s prized Washburn) and vocals sung through a guitar amp and recorded on the most excellent recording equipment of the era, cassette tapes and a boom box.

Life took over for a while and the boys went their separate musical ways for about 18 years, with Jeff playing and recording with Detroit-area bands Intense Silence, Curious Jack, Elixir, and Mad Rabbit. But our heroes reconnected in 2011 and commenced writing a batch of new songs. As happens, once again there was a lull until early 2022 when they reunited with a vengeance. Armed with a passion to really do it right this time, they wrote another set of new songs and commenced recording in an actual multi-track environment.

The result of over 30 years of collaboration, companionship, and life experiences, the debut album by Sometimes the Monkey, Paradise?, contains 12 original songs spanning genres from midwest Americana and alt-country, to pop, acoustic & electric rock, to even garage, all with a sense of humor and nostalgia. It was produced and recorded by Priskorn and Swan at Brompton Booth Studios in Troy, MI, and Marty Peters at Ozone Music and Sound in Southfield, MI.

Said Priskorn, “It’s really amazing that Bill and I are back to making music and finally able to do it the right way! We’ve really grown as songwriters and storytellers and I think that’s reflected throughout this album. We’re (quite a bit) older now, but the passion for the music is greater than it’s ever been for us! Even with the inevitable lulls in our relationship, he truly is my brother and I love every minute I get to spend with him.”

Added Swan, “I’ll try to explain it. There is this brotherhood, this love affair, this shared ‘subliminality’ in our ether that I feel very few any two people have. The way we can agree and disagree to make things work for the best outcome amazes me every single minute I am working with him. Between high school graduation and the present, the path he took was the one I dreamt of taking. He is by far the more talented of this collaboration. He’ll never tell me that and that’s what drives me and makes me love him more. We only care about ONE hope with our music. That we make your feet tap, your hands clap, and your day brighter. We want you to have fun not thinking, along with relating to you ‘Infectious Tunesmiths’. Love for you to enjoy the ride with us.”

Paradise? is available for sale on Bandcamp, and for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora, iHeart Radio, Deezer, and most other streaming services.

You can find more information on the band here...