Michigan Music History Podcast -- MMHP989 · Scott Baker, Gary Johnson, Fred Reif, Mike Beattie

MMHP Season 5 Ep:26--Dan 'Swivel' Sliwinski--Organizing Over 50 Years Of Michigan Music

·1 hr 22 min·5 clips

Swivel says he learned rock keyboard work by picking out guitar chords, not reading notes.

MMHP comes to air from the Bay County Historical Museum in Bay City, where the Michigan Rock Legends Hall of Fame is upstairs. The episode centers on Dan "Swivel" Slowinski from the South End. The hosts treat him like part of the local furniture. They call out his long presence in the area and the records tied to his name. Dan says he has been busy playing with the Soul Express Band. He also mentions some nursing home work. The conversation stays loose and lived-in. People keep talking over familiar ground, the way they do when everybody in the room already knows the scene. The episode moves through old band histories, shifting lineups, and local players. Dave comes up in connection with a gig story and a Door County shirt stain. Steve Nardella gets mentioned as another band leader Dan plays with. Joe Fryer is part of that circle too. Ricky Moon enters the talk through a live barbecue CD and the Hickory Ribband. Pat Cronley appears as an original keyboard player in what was called Level Five. Jeff Grasso is brought up next, along with a show at Scotty's. Al Jaquai also shows up in the story from that night. The talk notes that Jeff Grasso was on sax that evening and later added Cronley on keys. Jeff Hoggs gets a long look as a multi-talented player who can move between sax and keys. The hosts recall going to school with him and talk about a stroke that may have changed how much he can still do. That detail shifts the mood without breaking the flow. The conversation stays sympathetic and matter-of-fact. More names surface as the episode runs. The group talks about the Coral Lake, Saga Tech, and a pickup in 1975. There are references to the Jitters and Jitters Warehouse in Traverse City. An all-star picture project comes up next. The archive instinct is always there. They talk about photos of Dan and Bobby G playing together, and about getting EJ and the Echoes back together in Bobby's studio. Eddie Kurth appears in an old picture. Richard Lay is remembered as another organ player in that orbit. The episode ends with the feeling of people sorting a life through records, photos, and old gig memories. It never rushes to tidy things up. It lets the names and places stack up until the scene feels real. That is the whole point of the visit. The result is less a formal history lesson than a working conversation among people who still know where the bodies are buried, musically speaking.

As heard by us

A loose, name-rich tour through Bay City music history with collector-level detail.

Dan "Swivel" Sliwinski reads as a well-connected figure in Bay City music history, and the episode leans into that. Recorded live from the Michigan Rock Legends Hall of Fame inside the Bay County Historical Museum in Bay City, it moves through bands, players, local rooms, and…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want Bay City music history told by the people actually in the room, recorded live from the Michigan Rock Legends Hall of Fame.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Michigan Music History Podcast -- MMHP989