Cary Swinney was born on September 10, 1960 in the small West Texas town of O'Donnell where killing snakes, throwing dirt clods, and pouring gasoline down ant holes were common forms of entertainment. At age 11, Swinney picked up his Dad's nylon string guitar and started learning some chords. About that same time, Swinney's older brother brought home an album by John Prine. (Swinney considers Prine to be his greatest influence). Swinney wrote several songs that year. In 1989, Swinney was invited to an old stucco farm house located 10 miles north of Lubbock. The house, as it turns out, was a haven for Lubbock's subculture. There, Swinney met a Lubbock-based (and now Austin-based) fiddle player named Richard Bowden (currently with the Austin Lounge Lizards). After hearing some of Swinney's material, Bowden encouraged him to "come out of hiding". In 1996, Swinney walked into Lubbock's Brazos Studios. There he met Alan Crossland, engineer and owner of the studio. The two agreed that it would be best if Swinney performed the songs LIVE. The tape was cued up, and the songs were sung. Forty original songs were recorded. Of the forty, Crossland chose the thirteen that ended up on Human Masquerade. Featured musicians include: Lloyd Maines on pedal steel, lap steel, dobro, and acoustic slide guitar and Richard Bowden on fiddle, viola, and mandolin. Swinney is currently working on his second album.