The band was initially formed in 1985 in Irvine, CA, by two pairs of brothers, Josh and Travis Agle, and Steve and Mike Jacobs.
Mike played percussion (congas) on the first single, Fire and Dogs, then was replaced by Gary McNiece, who also performed on the first album.
After Gary left, a session musician laid down percussion tracks for their second album until Dave Warren stepped in to fill the void.
After t-ray departed for San Francisco, the band continued as a three piece with Travis making appearances at the odd live show in their later years.
Members of the Swamp Zombies found themselves in splinter and spinoff bands such as The Tiki Tones, The Huntington Cads, The Calypso Cats, Tombstone Bullets, and Trucker Up.