Skeleton Key is an American rock band based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, United States. The band was conceived in 1994 by bassist and singer Erik Sanko, the only constant member of the band. His intent was to create a sound "luxurious, yet affordable," using antique microphones, primitive guitars, and unconventional percussion.

History

The band’s first release was the ''Human Pin Cushion'' single with

Dedicated Records Dedicated was a British independent record label that released music between 1990 and 1998 by Spiritualized, Spacemen 3, Global Communication, Beth Orton (in the U.S.), Chapterhouse, Cranes and others. It was based in London and founded by D ...

. In 1996 the band released an

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ous EP on Motel Records that

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

said "shows how pop culture and high culture can bring everyone to the same place." The following year saw the band release their first full-length album, ''Fantastic Spikes Through Balloon'', on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. The album was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in 1998 for its

Stefan Sagmeister Stefan Sagmeister (born August 6, 1962) is an Austrian graphic designer, storyteller, and typographer based in New York City. In 1993, Sagmeister founded his company, Sagmeister Inc., to create designs for the music industry. He has designed al ...

-designed artwork, which featured holes punched through the booklet of liner notes and, for promotional copies, a steel spike housed within the spine enclosure of the CD jewel case. In early 2011 the band successfully raised over $9,000 on the online crowdfunding website

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, K ...

, used to finish production of their next album. Later that year, they signed with Arctic Rodeo Recordings and announced an upcoming release. On March 7, 2012, a promotional video of the band in the studio was released via Visions Magazin.

Band members

Current

* Erik Sanko –

Bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

* Craig LeBlang –

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 ...

* Benjamin Clapp – "Junk" percussion * Bob Vaccarelli –

Drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

Former

* Chris Maxwell – Guitar * Rick Lee – "Junk" percussion * Matthias Bossi – Drum kit * Sean Sankey – Drum kit * Nic Brown - Drums * Tim Keiper – "Junk" percussion *

Steve Calhoon Enon was an indie rock band founded by John Schmersal, Rick Lee, and Steve Calhoon that was active from 1999 to 2011; for most of its history, however, Enon was a three-piece outfit composed of Schmersal, Toko Yasuda, and Matt Schulz. Though si ...

- Drum kit/Junk percussion

Discography

* ''Human Pin Cushion'' Single (1995,

) * ''Skeleton Key'' EP (1996, Motel Records) * ''Fantastic Spikes Through Balloon'' (1997,

) * ''An Ellipse'' (2001, Exquisite Corpse Records) * '' Obtainium'' (2002,

Ipecac Recordings Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles, ex-lead singer of DUH, ex-employee of Mercury Records) and Mike Patton ( Faith No ...

) * ''Live at Metro'' (2004, Re:Live) * ''The Lyons Quintette'' EP (2005, Do Tell Records) * '' Gravity is the Enemy'' (2012, Arctic Rodeo Recordings)

Awards

Independent Music Awards 2013: ''Gravity is the Enemy'' - Best Eclectic Album"12th Annual Independent Music Awards Winners Announced!"
Independent Music Awards, 11 June 2013. Retrieved on 4 September 2013.

References

External links

Official SiteThe Unofficial SiteSK on MySpace
{{Authority control Alternative rock groups from New York (state) American industrial rock musical groups American experimental rock groups Musical groups from New York City Ipecac Recordings artists