Made men: Mafia Swim Club

Updated Wednesday, August 30, 2006 - 4:00am by John Benson

Location 

Shifter's Bar & Grill

Mafia Swim Club is making you an offer you can't refuse.

Cement shoes aside, this Sandusky area outfit is quickly making a name for itself as a modern rock cover band on the rise.

"We're not one to really go out and toot our own horn and brag it up and make a big play out of it," said Brad Linton (guitar, vocals). "We just kind of take the gigs where we can get them and if there is 50 people in the room that show up, we know they're going to walk away thinking 'Damn.'"

He added, "But chances are when they walk out of that bar, they're not going to remember the name of the band."

It's this reality that Linton said differentiates Mafia Swim Club from many of its peers. Originally formed nearly a decade ago as The Distractions, the outfit has changed personnel and names (The Retractions and The Spazz). The current incarnation -- or mob -- came together earlier this year.

But instead of aspiring to rock stardom and glory, the band -- Linton, "Crazy" Rick Lombardy (drums, vocals), Mike Papazian (bass, vocals) and Tommy Speir (guitar) -- embraces a simple approach to keep its musical passion alive.

"We love it," Linton said. "It's something we do. I write music and so does Mike. The music on our Web site is all our original stuff (but) we're really not in it to become rock stars. The rock star thing is not happening but we don't care. We're musicians at heart. That's what we've been all our life."

Linton, who is employed at the Sandusky Register, said the band's music ranges from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Nine Inch Nails and attracts audiences from teenagers to baby boomers.

"I haven't really heard any band that could really come close to what we're capable of doing," Linton said.

When asked why rock fans should think about spending an evening with Mafia Swim Club, which performs Sept. 8 at Margaritaville and Sept. 9 at Shifters, Linton said, "Why not? You check out other bands around here, why not check out us? We're good and we know what we're doing. It's that simple. I think a lot of local talent here gets overlooked. There are a lot of really good players out there."

Mafia Swim Club

The only thing John Benson knows how to do is toot his own horn. E-mail him at jbenson@funcoast.com.