Skegss on Gardening, Chilling, and Making “Under The Thunder” in Isolation
by Emily Elvish
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Australia produces a lot of amazing music, but there are very few artists out there as beloved, as irresistible as Skegss. Since their 2014 debut, the Byron Bay trio have been spinning garage rock into laid-back storytelling, capturing adolescence like no other band has before them.
Everything about Skegss is acidic, in the most addictive way possible. Heavy reverb, fuzzed-out guitar, Benny’s stinging vocals, and choruses that can bring out the sun in the middle of a storm, the boys are creating songs that burn in summer nostalgia. The music of Skegss will set you free, no matter how trapped you feel.
With their latest single ‘Under The Thunder’ already hitting the airwaves, we see the boys turn a corner, bringing a bit more groove into their once piercing sound.
We caught up with drummer Jonny to break down this new direction, and the poetically garage energy that is Skegss. Still not sure what we mean? Just “have a listen for yaself…”
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Hey guys, how are you guys? We’ve all heard the new track ’Under The Thunder,’ congrats on it! I’ve heard that the song actually started out as a bit of an AC/DC gag?
Well thanks, cheers! Yeah, I think Benny was watching an AC/DC docu maybe and then mucking around singing with the Bon Scott voice and ended up with the song haha.
I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but the song feels a bit slower, with more of a groove feel than your past work. Is it ever a bit daunting exploring different styles or feels in your music especially when Skegss has such an iconic sound?
Nah, it’s fun to jam a bit of a different groove and to mix up the feel a little bit. It’s cool having a few more cruisey songs like this that suit smaller more intimate venues, and with all the restrictions happening it looks like these might be the only type of shows we’ll be playing until things get back to normal.
With the new music you’re releasing, have you approached the writing and recording of it differently to those earlier tunes?
No, the writing and recording process has pretty much always been the same, been practicing before hitting the studio maybe a little more than back in the day though.
“We demo all the songs well before going into record, then we listen and jam on them for a while — they are pretty much finished before recording.”"
Was there a large demoing process, or did you go in with the tracks already written?
Yeah, we demo all the songs well before going into record, then we listen and jam on them for a while — they are pretty much finished before recording. It makes going into the studio more of a live performance or hopefully gives the songs a bit of a live feel.
Is there a particular concept or message behind these new releases?
Have to listen and work it out for yaself :)
So, break down the Black Tie series for us! How did it go down?
Yeah, we played a few shows at the Picture House in Brunswick Heads, it’s the coolest little theatre. The audience had to dress up to get in, we had about 50 people inside seated, which was a different vibe than usual shows but it was fun. Also had outdoor seating with the show projected onto a screen. It rained most of the nights but the people didn't seem to mind too much haha. It was our first live show for the year, hopefully we can do some more in this style.
You kept yourselves busy during isolation. Did you learn to love the live streamed gigs, or are they just too different from the real thing?
Pretty over live streams for now.
How did you guys spend your downtime in lockdown? Did you learn any new skills, or reach over into bread-making territory?
Just been chilling, bit of gardening and stuff about the house, nah no bread making soz.
The Skegss artwork has been the stuff of legend for years. Would Jack [Irvine] and you guys ever be keen on branching out into a gallery showing or something like that?
Jack made the inside of a big truck into an art gallery once and cruised around with us for a tour, just parked it up out the front of venues, it was sick. He’s a crazy artist.
There’s a lot on the horizon for you guys! What should fans get excited about in the coming months?
Thanks heaps, hopefully less corona.