Skankin' Pickle was an American ska punk band formed in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

that was active from 1989 to 1997.

Biography

Skankin' Pickle first formed in December 1988, made up of students from Westmont High School and Los Gatos High School. The band played their first show on April 28, 1989, consisting of lead songwriter and performer Mike "Mr. Clean" Mattingly on bass and vocals, saxophonist and vocalist

Mike Park Mike Park is a Korean American musician and progressive activist. His musical ventures include Skankin' Pickle for whom he both played the saxophone and sang, The Chinkees, The Bruce Lee Band, and Ogikubo Station, as well as an acoustic solo ...

, guitarist and vocalist

Lynette Knackstedt Lynette Christine Knackstedt (April 26, 1970 – December 7, 2007) was an American punk and ska musician, as well as a member of the band Skankin' Pickle. Early life Knackstedt was born in Santa Clara, California. She graduated from Los Gato ...

and drummer Chuck Phelps. The group recruited trombonist Lars Nylander several months later, then continued as a five-piece until the addition of second trombonist Gerry Lundquist in early 1990. In 1991, Park formed Dill Records, based out of

Monte Sereno Monte Sereno (Spanish for "Serene Mountain") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 3,479 at the 2020 census. The city is located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, about southwest of San Jose, ...

, to release Skankin' Pickle's material, beginning with their debut album, the half-live, half-studio ''

Skafunkrastapunk ''Skafunkrastapunk'' is the debut album by American ska punk band Skankin' Pickle, released in 1991 on Dill Records and subsequently re-issued in 1995. Track listing All songs written by Skankin' Pickle except where otherwise noted. # "Road Z ...

''. Dill Records would later go on to release early material by Mu330, Slapstick, The Rudiments and Less Than Jake. Throughout their career, Skankin' Pickle adhered to a strict

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

ethic, performing only all-ages shows, $5–$7 cover charges and selling their CDs for no more than $8 (Park would carry this DIY ethos over to his future bands and record labels). Skankin' Pickle toured full-time throughout the early 1990s, playing shows with such acts as Bad Manners, The Skatalites,

Mustard Plug Mustard Plug is an American ska punk band from Grand Rapids, Michigan, consisting of Dave Kirchgessner (vocals), Brandon Jenison (trumpet), Jim Hofer (trombone), Nate Cohn (drums), Colin Clive (guitar/vocals), Mark Petz (tenor saxophone) and Gr ...

Sublime Sublime may refer to: Entertainment * SuBLime, a comic imprint of Viz Media for BL manga * Sublime (band), an American ska punk band ** ''Sublime'' (album), 1996 * ''Sublime'' (film), a 2007 horror film * SubLime FM, a Dutch radio station dedic ...

, Let's Go Bowling, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Rancid, The Queers, Primus, Mr. Bungle, Bad Religion and Green Day. The band strove to make their live shows as energetic and entertaining as possible, with the members dancing manically about the stage and engaging in such antics as baton-twirling and onstage wrestling matches. In 1994, ''

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards ...

'' voted Skankin' Pickle as one of the best unsigned bands in the Bay Area. The band released their final studio album, ''

The Green Album The Green Album or Green album may refer to: __NOTOC__ * ''Days of the New'' (1999 album), colloquially known as the ''Green Album'', by Days of the New * ''The Green Album'' (John S. Hall and King Missile album) * ''The Green Album'' (Kottonmout ...

'', on Dr. Strange Records in 1996, a collection of cover songs and newly recorded versions of previously unreleased tracks. Shortly after its release, Mike Park chose to leave the band (news of which he announced in the album's liner notes), being replaced by Mike Liu of the Santa Clara ska punk band Janitors Against Apartheid. The group went through more member changes in the following months until only Knackstedt and Nylander remained from the "classic" line-up, though continued to perform as Skankin' Pickle for their final tour in Europe in June 1997. Following this tour, the title of Skankin' Pickle was retired as the current line-up (featuring former members of

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incom ...

and The Rudiments) continued touring, re-inventing themselves as the ska punk/pop punk band the

78 RPM's 78 may refer to: * 78 (number) 78 (seventy-eight) is the natural number following 77 (number), 77 and followed by 79 (number), 79. In mathematics 78 is: *the dimension of the Simple Lie group#Exceptional cases, exceptional Lie group E6 (mathema ...

Post Skankin' Pickle

Knackstedt and Nylander continued playing in the 78 RPM's, recording two albums before disbanding in 2003. Following his departure, Mike Park founded his own independent record label Asian Man Records and later went on to form the ska punk bands

The Chinkees The Chinkees are an American ska punk band fronted by Mike Park (formerly of Skankin' Pickle). The group debuted with 1998's ''The Chinkees Are Coming!'', and followed with 1999's ''Peace Through Music'' and 2002's ''Searching for a Brighter Fu ...

and The Bruce Lee Band before branching out as a solo acoustic artist. Gerry Lundquist became a member of the St. Louis ska punk ensemble Mu330 in 1996 and Jay Vance formed the

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

-themed rock band Captured! by Robots. Mike Mattingly created former band Neosoreskin and the Deviled Egg Heads Music label. He currently performs solo shows and continues to write, record and release albums under the name Tingly, including the acoustic album Beautiful View. On December 7, 2007, Lynette Knackstedt died in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

from a drug overdose. On April 19, 2008, a benefit show was held for her at 924 Gilman Street, featuring a number of local bands and headlined by Mike Park. The evening concluded with Park and Lundquist joining Monkey on stage and performing Skankin' Pickle songs. The benefit concert raised a net profit of nearly $2,000, which was donated to the Ohlhoff Recovery Programs, a Bay Area rehabilitation foundation. On November 20, 2010, Park, Lundquist and Nylander, backed by the band

, performed at the San Francisco stop of the '' Yo Gabba Gabba!'' live tour, playing a cover of the Marcia Griffiths/ Bad Manners song "Feel Like Jumping".

Musical style

Skankin' Pickle was unique for their unconventional melding of various genres: though primarily recognized and categorized as ska punk, the group frequently utilized elements of traditional ska, punk, funk,

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier pu ...

, rock,

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typi ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...

, rap, hip-hop, speed metal and polka into their music. Though after the departure of front man Mike Mattingly, Mike Park was generally regarded as the front man, songwriting responsibilities were evenly distributed throughout the band; lead vocals were usually split between Park, Knackstedt, Nylander and Mattingly/Miller, though the remainder of the members had sung lead on at least one recording. Lyrically, the band also showcased diversity, ranging from silly, comedy-oriented songs ("Fakin' Jamaican") to serious and sociopolitical ("Racist World"), promoting racial equality and unity, often touching upon then-current events such as David Duke's 1992 presidential campaign ("David Duke is Running For President") and the racial controversy surrounding Ice Cube's album '' Death Certificate'' ("Ice Cube, Korea Wants A Word With You"). Most of the latter songs were written by Park, who would continue to write about themes of anti-racism in The Chinkees, The B. Lee Band and his solo work.

References in other bands' work

On Alkaline Trio's Halloween at the Metro DVD, Matt Skiba references Skankin' Pickle while playing "Goodbye Forever": "Remember last April when we saw Skankin' Pickle; Somehow the singer showed the Fireside exactly how I feel" Canadian punkers Fucked Up have a diss track about fellow Canadian rock band Billy Talent in which they reference Skankin' Pickle twice - a nod to Billy Talent's previous ska punk incarnation known as Pezz. On

's rarities box set " Everything Under the Sun", front-man

Bradley Nowell Bradley James Nowell (February 22, 1968 – May 25, 1996) was an American musician and the lead singer and guitarist of the ska punk band Sublime. Born and raised in Belmont Shore, Long Beach, California, Nowell developed an interest in mu ...

mentions Skankin' Pickle in an interview with WBCN Boston (Disc 2, Track 12):
WBCN - "...so, welcome to town. Playing TT's tonight, in Cambridge..."
Nowell - "With Sprung Monkey."
WBCN - "With Sprung Monkey?"
Nowell - "I mean Skankin' Pickle. I'm sorry, I always confuse the two."
WBCN - "Heh, heh, heh... It's easy to do..."
Nowell - "Skankin' Pickle is way better than Sprung Monkey..."

Band members

1989–1993

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 string ...

, vocals *Gerry Lundquist - slide trombone, vocals *Mike "Mr. Clean" Mattingly -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, vocals *Lars "Slim" Nylander - valve trombone, vocals * Mike "Bruce Lee" Park -

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

, vocals *Chuck "Mod" Phelps - drums

1993–1996

*Lynette Knackstedt - guitar, vocals *Gerry "Hulk Hogan"/"Lungs" Lundquist - slide trombone, vocals *Ian "Guru" Miller - bass, vocals *Lars Nylander - valve trombone, vocals *Mike "Bruce Lee" Park - saxophone, vocals *Chuck Phelps - drums

Post-''Green Album'' (early 1996)

*Lynette Knackstedt - guitar, vocals *Mike Park - saxophone, vocals *Gerry Lundquist - slide trombone, vocals *Jay Vance - bass, vocals *Lars Nylander - valve trombone, vocals *Chuck Phelps - drums

Discography

Albums

Demos

Singles/EPs

References

External links

* Skankin' Pickle on Allmusic {{Authority control 1989 establishments in California 1996 disestablishments in California American ska punk musical groups Asian Man Records artists Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups from San Jose, California Punk rock groups from California Third-wave ska groups