Who?
Peter Seccombe on rhythm guitar and vocals. James Nicholls shredding the fiddle and harmonies. Robbie ‘The Shiny Man’ Thompson laying down banging bass lines and every so often stepping up front to play guitar and sing. Phil Nixon, rock and roll lead guitar. Miles Stapleton, human drum machine.
Where?
We’re a Sheffield based band, however we’re all from all over the north of England.
Why?
Bob Dylan for his lyrics; The Beatles for their harmonies; The Doors for their showmanship; Cream for their licks. The Felice Brothers. BJM. Holy Moly and the Crackers. Firedog Empire.
How?
The band formed on a road trip to London. Me and the original accordion player, Lawrence went to visit some friends. We had recently learnt a song called Take This Hammer, something Lead Belly covered, but we had come across it via a band called The Felice Brothers. We drank wine and walked around the capital singing and, after meeting a friend, he soon learnt the words and we became very drunk.
The next morning, whilst sleeping off hangovers, our friend went to a lecture…late. When arriving late he took a spot next to someone he had never met before. They asked, ‘what were you up to last night, you smell like alcohol and folk music’.He said, ‘drinking wine and singing Felice Brothers songs’. They said, ‘the Felice Brothers? I’m going to watch them tonight and have three spare tickets. Do you want to come?. So we went to the gig and were absolutely blown away. We called Robbie and James there and then and asked if they wanted to start a band that would take over the world. That was 9 years ago.
Past?
Pete was a hired killer…gun for sale. Robbie worked in a library polishing shoes. James could have been a millionaire but lost it all on slow nags. Pip ate sweets off the floor and Miles only owned one pair of socks, until recently.
Present?
The Skinners have had a lot of different sounds; starting out as an out-and-out busking folk band. Then having to learn electric instruments to play onstage meant a natural shift in the sound landscape towards folk rock. The new single Do What You Want is an out-and-out rock and roll sound and we feel very comfortable there, taking a lot of influence from Cream, The Doors and the BJM. The band’s line up has changed to include a lead electric guitar instead of the Rhodes featured on the last album.
Future?
We’d definitely like to release more music and play some festivals this summer, Green Man and End Of The Road in particular.
Did you know?
In the early days of the band we spent a lot of time in California, busking on Santa Monica Boulevard. Through this we started talking to a manager who had previously worked with Nelly. When arriving at his office for the first time, there was a platinum disc of Nellyville framed on his wall. Pete saw this and said to him: “I made a packet off that album as well, I used to copy the CD and sell it for a pound at school.”
That same manager got us a gig at the Spare Room in the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. This was the swankiest pad any of us had ever been in. Half a pint of beer was $25 and the bar staff and waiters looked like supermodels. During the set in walks Rod Stewart with his entourage which consisted of his wife, his 5 beautiful daughters and a bodyguard who was 6 foot 7 and built like a brick toilet. It was funny at that point to say we had started the band a year before, busking in the streets of Scarborough, to then playing in LA in one of the most amazing venues to Rod the MOD. So he calls us over, we start chatting and after about half an hour the bodyguard says, as we’re looking at Rod in the eye, ‘Rod’s had enough now’. We suspect they had a secret signal to get rid of the hippies.
What’s next?
We have festivals booked throughout the summer and a UK tour in August, check out the dates. We’re gonna be everywhere showing off the new single. We’re currently writing a new album so there’s gonna be plenty of new songs in the set to get ready for recording at the tail of this year. But what we’re most looking forward to is Phil (our new guitarist) learning to eat properly with a knife and fork, he’s been practicing a lot and we think he’ll have it mastered before the year is through.
Live4ever:
With a jauntiness reminiscent of Young Knives and Supergrass in their adolescent years, Do What You Want is a compact chunk of light hearted joy. If The Coral and The Zutons formed a supergroup and opted to go full folk it would surely sound like this. The stomping drums alongside the frenetic fiddle complement one another well, but the spiky garage guitar is the real standout as the wonderful harmonising on the chorus gives the track a full bodied flavour. If it doesn’t a raise a smile you should check your pulse.
