Conversations with Jeff “Swampy” Marsh

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff “Swampy” Marsh.

Jeff “Swampy”, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in Santa Monica in 1960 and raised in Southern California most of my life. Still live in Venice where I’ve lived since 1986.
Here are a bunch of random (interesting?) facts about me:
I have two children and four grandchildren
My mom has been married seven times
I have three half-brothers, I know of, one I only discovered I had when I was in my 30s.
My grandfather was Les Brown, the founder and bandleader of Les Brown’s Band of Renown (musical director for Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby and others).
I’ve had more jobs than I can genuinely remember, from Construction work, fiberglass fabrication, ATM servicing, Bartender, Aerospace, Draftsman, janitor, car detailer, Telemarketer, retail sales, computer distribution, and computer executive.
I was vice president of sales and marketing for a computer accessories company in 1989 when I quit the business without any plans of what to do next. Within three months, I had a job as a background artist on The Simpsons, and never looked back.
I lived in worked in animation in England from 2000 to 2006.
I’ve worked on The Simpsons, Rocko’s Modern Life, King Of The Hill, and co-created Disney’s Phineas & Ferb, Milo Murphy’s Law, Pete The Cat for Amazon, and Hey AJ for Disney Jr., just to name a few.

I’ve been Surfing off and on since I was nine years old, and more regularly since we moved back to California from England in 2006.

I began volunteering with A Walk On Water alongside my son, Django, about 12 years ago. I’ve been the head of water safety for AWOW for about the last 10 years I believe. My work with A Walk On Water, along side my son, has been one of the most rewarding and meaningful things I’ve done in my life, and one of the things I am most proud of.

Here is more info from the internet:
https://www.google.com/search?q=jeff+swampy+marsh&oq=jeff+swampy+marsh&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCggAEAAY4wIYgAQyCggAEAAY4wIYgAQyBwgBEC4YgAQyBggCEEUYQDIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIGCAYQRRg9MgYIBxBFGEHSAQgzMjYzajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been bumpy to say the least, too many bumps (and potholes) to list, but I have discovered that all the bumps just make help you develop a better suspension system. Either the bumps are the reason you never succeed, or they help you learn to be better prepared to handle what life thrown at you .

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a guy lucky enough to make cartoons for a living. My job is mostly just being silly… Making jokes, drawing funny pictures, telling silly stories, whiting comical songs, doing funny voices, and somehow getting paid for it. I’m also lucky enough to have learned from so many of the fans of the show, just how much all of our silliness has meant to people. How many folks have benefited from the laughs we create, how many families have bonded over our stories and songs… I am a very lucky individual to get to do what I do.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was an outgoing kid. Moved around a lot. Had a very chaotic upbringing. Sometimes very poor and sometimes very privileged. Been on welfare at times, but also attended the WhiteHouse Christmas Party with my grandfather (when Nixon was President). Met some of the most famous folks in the world growing up, but also started working at 14 to pay for my own stuff. But always stayed positive. I’ve always loved drawing. Dropped out of community college before the end of the first year to go bum around Europe and never went back. Had no real education for any of the jobs I’ve done. Played in bands for years, but never made it in the music biz and attended the actor’s workshop for a couple semesters, but never perused acting in earnest. Fell into most jobs I had more out of necessity than anything else.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mmonogram