Skatz ence what it is to be blasted by true, gut-wrenching, heart-pulling, dance-grabbing music gifted to us by people who really MEAN what they’re saying.
I’ve been lucky/unlucky enough to see two bands recently playing what could generally be referred to as ‘that jumpy about folky stuff’; the reason for my forward slash is that the two bands were at opposite ends of the spectrum. One was the kind made up of middle aged, middle class people who’ve seen it done, worked out the chords to Wild Rover, got their mates together, read the words from lyrics.com, found an accountant who could sing the tune with no discernible emotion to be their front man and managed, with the help of an enthusiastic drummer, tight bass player and a selection of very recognisable songs, to get half of the audience clapping and jigging. To give an artistic analogy, they are the watercolour painters, perhaps
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OK, art analogies aside, here’s the nitty gritty. Skinny Lister, like their biography rightly states ‘are not your average, modern day, gentrified English folk group. Fronted by Dan Heptinstall and Lorna Thomas, a vocalist with a lusty cackle and flirtatious presence, the London based five-piece hail from across England.’ Their biog may need updating, Dan and Lorna married recently, possibly to the chagrin of every hot-blooded male in the naeven painting by numbers perpetra- tion! Songwriter Dan is from Yorktors of the art world. shire, bassist Dan Gray is from Skinny Lister, on the other hand, Tyneside, Lorna from Leicesterare the full on, living-in-a-ware- shire. Together with long-time house studio, throwing multi-col- shanty singer Sam ‘Mule’ Bruce and oured oil paints at huge canvasses Lorna’s brother Max they are a fivethen scraping and shaping them piece destined for great things. with all manner of brushes, rags and garden implements in a frenzy of It’s only been a few years since their creative passion kind of painters. mixture of perceptive and bucolic The kind who live their art, im- English ballads and roaring shanties merse themselves in it, shout and set off on their rum-fuelled party dream and fly and sweat their muse. train journey to recognition, taking in the nations canals and waterways, bursting spontaneously into song in pubs and clubs and kicking the collective musical backsides of festival-goers into a frenzy of dance and drunkeness. Dubbed by PRS as ‘The Hardest Working Band of the Summer 2011’ (30 festivals in all); and they don’t seem to have let up The differences are palpable. Like since; it’s no surprise that at The Justin Beiber vs Johnny Rotten (as Donkey pub where I saw them they he was, not the traitorous, butter- looked a little bleary eyed and only selling scab he’s become). played for about an hour after their 2 support bands. I guess they could Maybe the sort of fans who were have played for twice as long and jigging at the first gig sadly couldn’t we’d still have screamed for more. tell the difference, which is a shame. “We travelled hundreds of miles If not, I wish they too could experi- together in a Land Rover with a