The Skunks are a
three-piece rock band formed in 1977 in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
. The band debuted in early 1978 at
Raul's, quickly became a mainstay of the
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
music scene. They rapidly expanded their fan base beyond early
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 ...
/
new wave into clubs whose audiences crossed the spectrum, including the
Armadillo World Headquarters
Armadillo World Headquarters (The 'Dillo or Armadillo WHQ) was an influential Texas music hall and beer garden in Austin at 525 Barton Springs Road – at South First Street – just south of the Colorado River and downtown Austin. The 'Dillo f ...
, the
Continental Club
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' (al ...
,
Dukes Royal Coach,
Club Foot
Clubfoot is a birth defect where one or both feet are rotated inward and downward. Congenital clubfoot is the most common congenital malformation of the foot with an incidence of 1 per 1000 births. In approximately 50% of cases, clubfoot aff ...
,
Liberty Lunch
Liberty Lunch was a live-music venue at 405 W. 2nd Street in Austin, Texas that operated until 1999. It was rumored to have been called Liberty Lunch in the 1940s as an eatery, perhaps reflecting the World War II Liberty Bonds and patriotic sentime ...
, and many others in the late 1970s and early 80s. The Skunks music channeled classic rock influences, such as
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
and
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
with Seventies cult figures such as the
New York Dolls
New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...
and
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...
.
History
The Skunks made their Austin debut at Raul's club in February 1978, after having played a series of dates in Dallas and Fort Worth in January of that year with another Austin band, The Violators. The original band members were
Jesse Sublett
Jesse Sublett (born May 15, 1954)"Biographical Note" a, Wittliff Collections, Alkek Library, Texas State University–San Marcos (retrieved September 18, 2009). is a musician and writer from Austin, Texas. As a musician he is best known for his lo ...
on vocals and
bass, "Fazz" Eddie Munoz on
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
and Billy Blackmon on
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
. After recording their first eponymous album, the so-called "''Black LP''", Eddie Munoz left for Los Angeles at the end of 1978 and joined
The Plimsouls
The Plimsouls are an American rock band known for their hit single "A Million Miles Away" which was featured in the movie ''Valley Girl''.
History
The band was formed in Paramount, California in 1978. They recorded two full-length albums and an ...
.
Jon Dee Graham
Jon Dee Graham is an American musician, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas, United States. Graham was named the Austin Musician of the Year during the South by Southwest (SXSW) music conference in 2006. He was inducted into the Austin Mu ...
replaced him on
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
in January 1979, thus forming the definitive Skunks lineup.
Their first single release, "''Earthquake Shake''", was recorded for $10. Copies are known to fetch hundreds of dollars when they appear at auction. Infused with a powerful guitar attack and Sublett's active, up-front electric bass. The Skunks sound is best represented in songs like "''Cheap Girl''" and "''Push Me Around''", both of which appeared on the first Austin punk compilation album, ''Live at Raul's.'' The Skunks were inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
The Violators Co-Headlined their opening gig at Raul's with a band, which featured, along with Jesse Sublett,
Kathy Valentine
Kathryn Valentine (born January 7, 1959) is an American musician who is the bassist for the pop punk band the Go-Go's. She has maintained a career in music through songwriting, recording, performing and touring as well as additional academic and ...
who would later join the
Go-Go's
The Go-Go's are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belind ...
,
Carla Olson
Carla Olson (born July 3, 1952) is a Los Angeles-based songwriter, performer and record producer.
Biography
Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Olson moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1978 where she formed the Textones, whose debut album ''M ...
and Marilyn Dean. The Skunks and The Violators are generally recognized as Austin's first two punk bands and this gig as the first Austin punk show. The core fan base that formed at Raul's would provide the alternative voice in an evolving Austin music scene that would eventually be called "The Live Music Capital Of The World", spawning the
SXSW
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
and
ACL festivals. Some local Austin punk bands sprouting from this scene included The Explosives, The Dicks, The Huns, The Big Boys, Terminal Mind, Sharon Tate's Baby, and
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been ...
.
The Skunks were one of the first Austin punk bands to tour nationally, they played
CBGB's
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
in August 1979 and
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decembe ...
in 1980 and opened for
The Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
,
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 ...
,
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...
,
Ultravox
Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
,
The Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
,
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
,
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...
and many others. During their sets they were often joined onstage by touring artists such as
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
,
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946)
is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''.
Called the "punk poe ...
,
Joe Ely
Joe Ely (born February 9, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose music touches on honky-tonk, Texas Country, Tex-Mex and rock and roll.
He has had a genre-crossing career, performing with Bruce Springsteen, Uncle Tupelo ...
, as well as members of
The Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
,
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...
and
Blondie.
Formation
Founders Jesse Sublett and Eddie Munoz started played together in the glam blues band Jelly Roll from 1975 to 1977 before recruiting Billy Blackmon and forming the initial lineup of The Skunks. After Munoz's departure in 1978 he was replaced on guitar by Jon Dee Grahm who remained with the band until the summer of 1980 and was replaced by Doug Murray, formerly of Terminal Mind. Blackmon left the band in 1982 and was replaced on drums by Doug Murray's brother, Greg Murray, a lineup that lasted until 1983 when conflicting opinions within the band led to their break up during pre-production of their second LP on Republic Records. Austin rock critic
Margaret Moser
Margaret Moser (May 16, 1954 – August 25, 2017), or Margaret Moser Malone, was an American journalist, music enthusiast, critic and historian, groupie, and backup singer. She was best known for her work as the director of the Austin Music Awar ...
writes: "In Austin’s punk rock history book, the Skunks are the first page. From the time they played the original alt-rock nightspot, Raul’s, through lineup changes that eventually brought them right back to the beginning, this trio toughed it out. Bassist Jesse Sublett, guitarist Jon Dee Graham, and drummer Billy Blackmon’s muscular power punk is still as potent and danceable now as it was 20 years ago."
Jesse reunited what is considered the classic lineup of Sublett, Graham, and Blackmon in 1985 for a reunion show at Austin's Liberty Lunch. Starting in 2000 this lineup began playing annual reunion gigs at The Continental Club in Austin, Texas.
[http://malford.ci.austin.tx.us/library/news/nr20080403.htm]
Discography
Studio albums
* ''The Skunks aka the Black Album'' (Rude Records, 1980)
* ''The Skunks aka the Purple Album'' (Republic, 1982)
Live albums
* ''Earthquake Shake'' Live CD (Skunks Records, 2001)
* ''Earthquake Shake'' Vinyl LP (Rave Up Records, 2002)
Compilation albums
* ''Live At Raul's'' (Raul's Records, 1979)
Extended plays
* ''Cheap Girl'' (Skunks Records, 1980)
Singles
* ''Earthquake Shake'' b/w ''Can't Get Loose'' (Skunks Records, 1979) (re-released by
Last Laugh Records in 2011)
* ''The Racket'' b/w ''What Do You Want'' (Skunks Records, 1981)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skunks
Rock music groups from Texas
Musical groups from Austin, Texas
Musical groups established in 1977
1977 establishments in Texas