Will Swan

William Swan (born December 5, 1985) is an American songwriter and musician born in Sacramento, California.

He is best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the American post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance and as the founder and owner of record label Blue Swan Records.

He is also a guitarist in the metal band Secret Band, progressive rock band Royal Coda, and was a guitarist in the now defunct Sianvar.

Will Swan was born in Sacramento, California, on December 5, 1985, where he was born and raised.

He is part African American and part Mexican.

He became interested in pursuing a music career after seeing Green Day at Fillmore West in San Francisco at the age of 12, in December 1997.

Will Swan began his music career as the founder and lead guitarist for the post-hardcore band Farewell Unknown with vocalist Joel Rabara, percussionist Drew Ochwat, guitarist Alvaro Alcala, and bass guitarist Eric Lodge.

Swan co-founded the Sacramento based post-hardcore band Farewell Unknown, releasing the album The 40 Day Fake Out in 2004, before disbanding.

The band released one studio album, The 40 Day Fake Out, on October 19, 2004.

In 2005, he formed the band Dance Gavin Dance and released their debut extended play (EP), Whatever I Say Is Royal Ocean (2006), later signing to Rise Records.

After disbanding in 2005, Swan and Lodge both recruited drummer Matt Mingus and vocalists Jon Mess and Jonny Craig to form the post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance in 2005.

Dance Gavin Dance formed in Sacramento, California, with members Jonny Craig, Jon Mess, Sean O'Sullivan, Eric Lodge, and Matthew Mingus, along with Swan.

The band released their debut EP, Whatever I Say Is Royal Ocean on November 14, 2006, later signing a recording contract with Rise Records.

They released the singles "And I Told Them I Invented Times New Roman" and "Lemon Meringue Tie", subsequently releasing their debut full-length studio album, Downtown Battle Mountain on May 15, 2007, through Rise and charted at No. 46 on the U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums chart.

In 2008, Craig and O'Sullivan departed from the band and were later replaced by vocalist Kurt Travis and guitarist Zac Garren, releasing their sophomore self-titled studio album, Dance Gavin Dance, on August 19, 2008.

In 2008, vocalist Jon Mess and bass guitarist Eric Lodge left the band.

Swan pursued both lead and rhythm guitar along with unclean vocals and Lodge was replaced by Jason Ellis.

Happiness was released as the band's third studio album on June 9, 2009, and was led by the singles "Don't Tell Dave" and "NASA."

In 2010, original vocalists Jonny Craig and Jon Mess and bass guitarist Eric Lodge rejoined the band, which subsequently Travis, Garren, and Ellis left the band, and Dance Gavin Dance recorded their fourth studio album Downtown Battle Mountain II, a follow-up sequel to the band's debut studio album.

In 2011, Swan, along with members of Dance Gavin Dance, formed the metalcore band Secret Band, releasing two full-length studio albums and one EP.

The album was released on March 8, 2011, and charted at No. 82 on the Billboard 200, No. 13 on the Independent Albums chart, and No. 4 on the Hot Rock Albums chart.

Along with other Dance Gavin Dance members Eric Lodge, Matthew Mingus, and Jon Mess, Will Swan formed the band Secret Band in 2011.

The name of the band derives from the idea of keeping it a secret from other members of Dance Gavin Dance, more so from vocalist Jonny Craig.

Craig and Lodge each left the band throughout 2012, leading to vocalist Tilian Pearson, bass guitarist Tim Feerick, and guitarist Josh Benton joining the band.

In 2013, together with members of Stolas and A Lot Like Birds, he formed the post-hardcore supergroup Sianvar, releasing their self-titled debut EP in 2014 followed by their debut studio album, Stay Lost (2016), each on Swan's record label Blue Swan Records.

He launched the independent record label Blue Swan Records in 2013, signing bands such as Sianvar, Stolas, Hail the Sun, and Secret Band.

In 2021, the label signed a publishing contract with BMG and partnered with Rise Records.

The band released their fifth studio album, Acceptance Speech on October 8, 2013, peaking at No. 42 on the Billboard 200, No. 13 on the Alternative Albums chart, No. 7 on the Independent Albums chart and No. 6 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart.

The band released their self-titled debut EP in June 2014.

Sianvar is a post-hardcore supergroup founded by Will Swan with Hail the Sun's Donovan Melero (vocals), Stolas' Sergio Medina (guitar), A Lot Like Birds' Joseph Arrington (drums, percussion), and A Lot Like Birds' Michael Franzino (bass guitar).

With Benton leaving the band following the album's release, Dance Gavin Dance released their sixth studio album, Instant Gratification, on April 14, 2015, charting at No. 32 on the Billboard 200, becoming their best-selling album to date.

In celebration of the band's 10-year anniversary, they embarked on their 10 Year Anniversary North American Tour with supporting acts Slaves, A Lot Like Birds, Strawberry Girls, and Dayshell.

The tour took place from November 13 to December 19, 2015.

With the band, he has released 10 full-length studio albums, including the top 20 albums Mothership (2016), Artificial Selection (2018), and Afterburner (2020), and the top top-ten album Jackpot Juicer (2022), three live albums, and four one-off singles.

After Sianvar disbanded in 2018, Swan joined the progressive rock band Royal Coda, participating on their second and third albums Compassion (2019) and To Only A Few At First (2022).

On February 21, 2020, the group announced their ninth studio album, Afterburner, with a scheduled released date of April 24, 2020.

On the same day, they released its lead single "Prisoner", accompanied with its music video.

In December 2020, the group announced Tree City Sessions 2, which was released to digital download and streaming platforms on December 25.

The live album was accompanied with a concert streaming event where the group performed a fan voted setlist on the Tower Bridge in Sacramento, California, which was broadcast on December 19.

On March 24, 2022, the band released the single "Synergy".