Skafish is an American,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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-based
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band, fronted by Jim Skafish, cousin of Chicago area DJ
Bobby Skafish
Bobby Skafish ( ) is a long-time radio personality in the Chicago area.
Career
* 1976–1983 WXRT
* 1983–1993 WCKL (FM), WLUP
* 1993–1994 WKQX (FM), WKQX
* 1994–2006 WXRT
* 2007–2015 WDRV
Background
Bobby Skafish who grew up in Hammond, ...
. The band was formed in 1976 and had their first performance that November.
In 1977, ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine printed a review of the band's performance as the opening act for
Sha Na Na
Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. After g ...
at Chicago's
Arie Crown Theater
The Arie Crown Theater is an entertainment venue named after Lithuanian immigrant Arie Crown, who was the father of Henry Crown, the American industrialist and philanthropist, and situated on Lake Shore Drive, Chicago. It opened in 1960, with se ...
.
Finding Skafish to be a "peculiar appetizer for the straight, conservative crowd" that Sha Na Na attracted, the reviewer stated that "
rge numbers retreated to the lobby halfway through Skafish's set, while others approached the stage, threatening with missiles, gestures and denunciations."
Jim Skafish himself was described as "a 20-year-old musician from Gary, Ind., who appears to be in transition between man and woman ... dressed androgynously, hair in a pageboy," who at one point in the show "strips down to a woman's bathing suit and nervously applies lipstick to the face."
While describing the band's music as "strange, inward-directed lyrics
etto a repetitious and often dissonant accompaniment", the reviewer noted that Skafish "gave the impression that he had something to tell the audience about itself. ... Yet it remains to be seen whether Skafish has something to say and to whom."
First album
The band's first album on
I.R.S. Records, ''Skafish'', was recorded during the summer of 1979 in South Chicago's PS studios, a facility more widely known for soul, funk and pop music. Personnel on the album consisted of Jim Skafish on keys and vocals, Barbie Goodrich on vocals, Ken Bronowski on guitars and vocals, Larry Mysliwiec on drums, Larry Mazalan on bass guitar and Javier Cruz on keyboards. The sessions dragged on through the summer of 1979, eventually going wildly over the shoestring budget production style that was the I.R.S. founder
Miles Copeland III
Miles Axe Copeland III (born May 2, 1944) is an American music and entertainment executive and former manager of The Police. Copeland later managed Sting's musical and acting career. In 1979, Copeland founded the I.R.S. Records label, producin ...
's trademark, so successful for projects like early
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...
and
Wishbone Ash
Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular albums included ''Wishbone Ash'' (1970), ''Pilgrimage'' (1971), '' Argus'' (1972), ''Wishbone Four'' (1973), ''There's the Rub'' (1974), and '' ...
albums. Release of ''Skafish'' was delayed for many months under financial constraints, and the project was eventually mixed on low budget and released by IRS just before the band left for an extended European tour with The Police,
XTC
XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...
,
English Beat,
UB40
UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...
,
Steel Pulse
Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ron ...
and other post punk, ska and reggae bands. Public acceptance of the album was marginal, mostly due to the sub-standard mix that heavily diminished the album's power and originality.
In 1980, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine published a review of a concert where more column space was devoted to the opening act Skafish than to the headliner,
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origina ...
.
While on this tour, the band filmed their segment for the Copeland/Lorimar production of ''
Urgh! A Music War
''Urgh! A Music War'' is a 1982 British concert film featuring performances by punk rock, new wave, and post-punk bands and artists. Filmed in August to September 1980 it was directed by Derek Burbidge and produced by Michael White and Lynd ...
''. The segment, shot at a Roman theater in Frejus France, featured the controversial song "Sign of the Cross". The band lineup for the movie was the same as the album, with the exception of Chicago bassist Lee Gatlin taking the place of Mazalan.
After Europe, the band did a few short U.S. tours, headlining and opening for acts such as
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
, The Stranglers and others. In 1983, they recorded a second IRS album, ''Conversation'', at Pumpkin studios owned and operated by
Gary Loizzo
Gary Alexander Loizzo (August 16, 1945 – January 16, 2016) was an American guitarist, singer, recording engineer, and record producer. He is best known for being the lead singer with The American Breed.
Biography
Gary Loizzo formed a band calle ...
(two-time Grammy-nominated singer for
The American Breed
The American Breed was an American rock band from Chicago in the 1960s. The band was originally called Gary & The Knight Lites before adopting the name The American Breed in 1967. The band had a number of charting songs in 1967–68, the be ...
and producer for
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Styx
In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...
,
Survivor and
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. The ...
. Personnel were Skafish vocals and keys, Ken Bronowski guitar, Barbie Goodrich vocals, Javier Cruz keys, Lee Gatlin on bass and Larry Mysliwiec (who was currently touring drummer for Iggy Pop) on drums. ''Conversation'', co-produced by Copeland, Skafish and Loizzo, broke from the post punk style of ''Skafish'' toward a beat-based dance style, and was not well accepted, commercially.
Following ''Conversation'', the band did a few West Coast tours, and called it quits in 1985. Jim Skafish continued to perform as Skafish for a few years with a string of pickup musicians, eventually going solo.
Later activities
Jim Skafish still records and performs in the Midwest. He has recently produced a jazz style Christmas album (Tidings Of Comfort And Joy, 2006), and he promotes and distributes Skafish products, such as What's This? 1976-1979 (2007), to a small but loyal cult fan base. Mysliwiec is currently a Midwest policeman, Bronowski still performs, records and is currently a professor of AV production and art at
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
. Barbie Goodrich died on 10 June 1995 after a long battle with cancer. Javier Cruz currently works in the IT department of Jane Addams Elementary School in Chicago, and from time to time performs with the South Chicago cover band Life (of which Jim Skafish was a member for a time during the early 1980s). Additionally, Javier Cruz records from time to time.
Discography
Albums
* ''Skafish'' IRS SP 008, I.R.S. Records (1980)
* ''Conversation'' IRS SP 70038, I.R.S. Records (1983)
* "Tidings Of Comfort And Joy: A Jazz Piano Trio Christmas," La Befana Records (2006)
* "What's This? 1976-1979" 829 Records (2008) 829 Records (2008)
* "Bootleg 21-35" 829 Records (2012; download only)
Singles
* "Obsessions of You"/"Sink or Swim" IRS IR9011, I.R.S. Records (1980)
* "Wild Night Tonight"/"Secret Lover & Lover In Masquerade" IRS SP 70967 (1983)
Compilations and soundtracks
* ''IRS Greatest Hits Vols 2 & 3'' (SP 70800): features "Disgracing The Family Name"
* ''
Urgh! A Music War
''Urgh! A Music War'' is a 1982 British concert film featuring performances by punk rock, new wave, and post-punk bands and artists. Filmed in August to September 1980 it was directed by Derek Burbidge and produced by Michael White and Lynd ...
'' (A&M SP6019): features "Sign Of The Cross (Live)"
* ''These People Are Nuts'' (IRS 82010): also features "Sign Of The Cross (Live)"
References
Sources
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Punk rock groups from Illinois
Musical groups established in 1975
Musical groups from Chicago