Skeleton Key is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, 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

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

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, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

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 pres ...

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 alb ...

-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, ...

, 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 Erik Sanko (born 27 September 1963) is a bass player from New York who has played in The Lounge Lizards and currently active in Skeleton Key. Biography In the past he also worked with notable musicians including Marc Ribot, John Cale, Yoko Ono, ...

–

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 ...

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 without ...

* 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 stri ...

Benjamin Clapp Benjamin Clapp (born October 13, 1977) is an American musician from Boise, Idaho. He has performed, composed, and recorded music with numerous artists, most notably Erik Sanko ( The Lounge Lizards) and Skeleton Key, Tom Marshall (Phish) and A ...

– "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 drumsti ...

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 - 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 ''Obtainium'' is an album by Skeleton Key, released in 2002 by Ipecac Recordings. The image on the CD is a representation of the bones of the inner ear, including the cochlea. The name is a play on the fictional element unobtainium Unobtaini ...

'' (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 M ...

) * ''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