Musick that Needed Work - S: Skafish

 Skay as in slay, not ska as in...well, ska.  

I believe the first time I was aware of Skafish was when I saw Urgh! A Music War. They did “Sign of the Cross" & were weird in that way that I really enjoy, so I sought out their debut self-titled & then their next release, Conversation. Then they just disappeared off my radar. 

Skafish was a Chicago based punk band fronted & named for the inimitable Jim Skafish.. 

Without batting an eye, Jim sez he's 
       "the sole originator and godfather of punk in Chicago."

Altough not what was considered "punk' at the time, the band’'s stage shows catapaulted them into the world of punk.. Over six feet tall with an unforgettably enormous nose & sagging man-boobs, Jim often came on stage dressed in vintage ladies' bathing suits or tube tops. When the band opened for Sha Na Na at the Arie Crown Theater, Jim took the stage done up like a middle-aged woman, eventually stripping down to a one-piece bathing suit as he applied lipstick.

After the Sha Na Na show the band found their audience at early Chicago punk clubs like La Mere Vipere & O'Banion's. In 1978 they played CBGB, the first Chicago band to do so. They were one of the early signees to Miles Copeland's fledgling I.R.S. label.

I.R.S. released Skafish's self-titled debut in 1980. The album is a triumph in innocent naivete & honest oddity. The band toured internationally to promote the record. This was the time that their performance of “Sign of the Cross” was included in the Copeland-produced concert film Urgh! A Music War. 

Conversation followed in 1983. It was savaged by critics who thought it was generic 80s dance music with lyrics that weren't up to snuff. But if you listen closely, this isn't genereic 80s dance music. It's definitely Skafish in depth & the lyrics are definitely Jim's usualy psychotherapy as music. Jim was never totally happy with the album. He believes that I.R.S. warped the production because they wanted a more commercially viable record than he intended. The band never recorded again. After taking one last shot at touring, they packed it in for good in 1985.

Skafish's music was always much less abrasive & more complex than what people tended  to associate with punk. There were lots of key & time signature changes, with synths & keyboards washing over jittering guitar & bass. The vocals were always front & center. The lyrics were as tortured as the music was genial: Skafish was much more a new wave art-music project than a punk band. 

 

Skafish - Skafish, I.R.S. Records XSP008, 1980.
decryption codes in comments

Side A -
Introduction / Joan Fan Club
Maybe One Time    
Obsessions of You    
We'll See a Psychiatrist    
Romantic Lessons

Side B -
Work Song    
Guardian Angel    
Disgracing the Family Name    
No Liberation Here    
Take it Out on You

 

 

 

 

Skafish - Conversation, I.R.S. Records SP70038, 1983.

Side One -
Secret Lover
Wild Night Tonight    
Made Up in the Dark    
Victims of the Night
She Lives for Love    
Mother is Waiting

Side Two -
Lover in Masquerade
She's Taking Her Love Away
Might Move in Next Door    
Bad Feelings Have Died    
In Another Time, in Another Place

 

The fix is in,
NØ