Ten in the Swear Jar

Jamie Stewart
Stewart in 2009 Former Ghosts interview
Background information
Born	1978 (age 38–39)
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Experimental rock
Years active	1996–present
Associated acts	Xiu Xiu, Former Ghosts

James Cyrus Stewart (born 1978) is an American musician and writer best known for his role in experimental rock band Xiu Xiu. He has appeared in other bands including Former Ghosts and Sal Mineo.

Stewart was born in 1978 and raised in Los Angeles. He was in several bands before Xiu Xiu, beginning in his youth. While in school, he played in a parody band and a Bauhaus cover band. After high school, he played bass in a group with guitarist Kenny Lyon and members from bands such as Devo, Geza X, The Screamers, and Sparks. Stewart has said that this experience was particularly formative for his career, but he did not realize this then. He later quit the band and moved home to attend college. During this period he came out to his parents, although this was not received warmly.

At home, Stewart briefly played in several other bands before being kicked out, and a high school friend suggested that he start his own band, which became IBOPA. His father also played in the band, and Stewart also played with Korea Girl during this period.Metro Silicon Valley described IBOPA as a collision of "dance, lounge, disco, and ska" with the horror of Red Asphalt, and noted the band for bringing attention to South Bay music. IBOPA was briefly signed to an Elektra Records subsidiary in 1999, and broke up in July 1999 when the label dropped most of its artists. The band announced that five of its members—Stewart, Cory McCulloch, Kurt Stumbaugh, Tim Kirby, and Don Dias—would continue into a new acoustic and experimental band called Ten in the Swear Jar.

Ten in the Swear Jar (XITSJ) continued IBOPA's "unusual approach" with eccentric and erratic music.Metro's David Espinoza described the band as "futuristic in instrumentation and erratic in mentality" with the traditional instrumentation backgrounded by baritone saxophones, banjos, accordions, and synthesizers. He added that the band's sound was minimalistic and that the unusual instruments were not used to excess. XITSJ disbanded in September 2002 and Stewart formed Xiu Xiu.