There was a moment — a sliver of musical time between 1997 and 1997 — when Slide Whistle Down the Stairs almost became the most important band in upstate Pennsylvania.
They called it “post-slapstick emo.”
We called it a lawsuit waiting to happen.
The Origin
Formed accidentally during a theater camp injury, SWDTS was the result of three percussionists and one bassoonist colliding during a warm-up exercise.
“They weren’t a band. They were a sound event.” — Camp director
By the time they played their first show, a 22-minute cover of “Tequila”, they already had a following. Mostly ex–ex-marching band kids and one emotionally unstable mime named Victor.
The Sound
Critics called it:
“If a Kazoo had trauma.” – Lester Fuzz, Mid-Fi Guide
“Like if Modest Mouse and a haunted calliope shared custody of a drum machine.” -Echo Simmons, Cover Mouth Mag
“Unforgivable, but catchy.” -the accordionist’s ex
Their only EP, StumbleCore, was recorded live in a planetarium with no consistent time signature. The final track is just someone apologizing in 7/8.
The Shows
They never played the same venue twice.
Partly due to principle.
Mostly due to liability insurance.
Each performance included: Unicycles, A Projector looping footage of stairs, and a guest vocalist who sang stage directions.
At one show, a trombonist threw their slide like a boomerang.
It came back, lodged in an amp, abruptly ending the show in a standing ovation.
The Fall
Their last show was in a basement that had no known address.
Attendees described it as “transcendent,” “possibly a dream,” and “illegal, in a very specific zoning way.”
They broke up mid-song.
No announcement.
Just a long squeak, followed by the slow closing of a tuba case.
Legacy
You won’t find them on streaming.
You’ll barely find them on Discogs.
But if you listen closely…
if you find yourself falling down stairs, literally or emotionally…
you might hear it.
Just a faint wheeeEEEEEEP-BOOM-tch
…like closure, misplayed.
This was No One Else Remembers Them (But We Do).
And this month… we fell for the sound. Then tumbled after it.
