Biography

Ian Folke Svenonius is an American author, filmmaker, and musician with various Washington, D.C.-based punk bands including Nation of Ulysses, the Make-Up, Weird War, XYZ, Too Much, Escape-ism, and Chain & the Gang. Between his numerous projects, Svenonius has released more than 22 full-length albums and over 20 singles, EPs, and splits. A published author and online talk show host, Svenonius' projects share a tongue-in-cheek, radical left political ideology.

His first band, Nation of Ulysses, which released its first record in 1990, was highly influential in the punk scene but dissolved in 1992. After a short-lived side-project called Cupid Car Club, Svenonius formed the Make-Up in 1995, who combined garage rock, soul, and liberation theology to make a new genre they dubbed "Gospel Yeh-Yeh". The Make-Up disbanded early in 2001, and a year later, Svenonius formed the band Weird War, who were also known briefly as the Scene Creamers. Later Svenonius led the band Chain and the Gang. Currently, Svenonius is the leader of the group Escape-ism.

In 2021, Svenonius co-released a feature film called "The Lost Record," named for the Escape-ism LP of the same name.

Svenonius' solo work includes the 2001 album Play Power under the fictional pseudonym of David Candy, the books The Psychic Soviet, Supernatural Strategies for Making a Rock 'n' Roll Group, Censorship Now!!, & Against the Written Word, and as host of Soft Focus on VBS.tv.