Lee Presson and the Nails


Lee Presson and the Nails is a swing band that formed in San Francisco in October 1994 during the late 1990s swing revival.

Formation and awards

With a five-piece horn section, the band differentiated itself from other bands of the late '90s swing revival by their high-energy performances and sinister appearance of band leader Lee Presson. The San Francisco Chronicle described the band in 1996 by coining the term "goth swing." The band won a California Music Award in 1998 for Best Swing/Cabaret Act and an SF Weekly Award for Best Swing Band later that year. Presson's wife Leslie Presley often sang in the band.
The band temporarily disbanded in 2004 Lee Presson moved to Hollywood, where he played keyboard for the Oingo Boingo tribute band Dead Man's Party.

Reunion

After a two-year hiatus, Lee Presson and the Nails performed a reunion show in San Francisco on 16 September 2006 at the DNA Lounge as part of the inaugural launching of The Hubba Hubba Revue, a San Francisco Burlesque and Variety show. After more shows, Presson moved back to the Bay Area and soon LPN was back in full swing, so to speak.
In 2010, the band released Balls in Your Face, a download-only album of ballroom dance music.
In recent years, the band has found a new audience in the steampunk/dieselpunk community, headlining in 2012 at the Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition in Santa Clara, CA in 2011, at Her Royal Majesty's Steampunk Symposium at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA from 2012 to 2015, and at Clockwork Alchemy in San Jose, CA from 2013 to 2018. They were also a headlining act at the first Steamstock music festival in Richmond, CA in 2013.
In 2019, they released a Halloween-themed album entitled Last Request.

Discography