Teddy Swims is having a full circle moment right now: He’s gotten to sing with the first band he ever really loved.
Acceptance is a punk pop band from Seattle that formed in 1998, broke up in 2006, but then got back together in 2015. It didn’t do much on the charts, but it apparently made a huge impact on young Teddy. Now, he’s singing with them on a remix of their 2005 song “So Contagious.” The song is out now, and will also appear on a 20th anniversary “reimagined” edition of their 2005 album Phantoms, which is coming out next month.
Teddy wrote on Instagram, “Acceptance is the first band I fell so deeply in love with! I remember hearing ‘In Too Far’ on NFL Street 2 and unchecking every song on the playlist so that song would play over and over! I then changed my entire MySpace layout to songs and videos of this band and this album Phantoms.”
“I used to go to my dads and watch their aol acoustic sessions over and over again every day hoping to one day be as amazing as [their singer] Jason Vena!” he continues. “I used to sing this song ‘So Contagious’ to my first girlfriend every night to bed over the phone!”
“This album, this band, this song shaped everything I am!” he concludes. “Thank you so much for having me on this 20th anniversary @acceptanceband. I love you guys so much.”
In the comments, the band wrote, “Absolutely no words, man… We love you and are just so, so honored to bring this one out with you. Thank you for putting your heart into this with us.”
In addition to Teddy, the reimagined album, called Phantoms/Twenty, features guest vocalists on every track, including members of Boys Like Girls, All Time Low and Pentatonix. It’s out Sept. 12.
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