Tours
followed with the likes of Morphine, The Jesus Lizard and Girls Against
Boys. Inevitably, however, Skeleton Key’s self-described “skronk
rock” failed to capture the buying public with its noncommercial
appeal. The band was placed into major label limbo, with various
members going their separate ways and Sanko
releasing
an introverted solo album on NYC indie label Jetset.
The long awaited 2nd full length Obtanium finally made it onto
shelves earlier this year, with a new home on Mike Patton’s (Mr.
Bungle) Ipecac Recordings. Despite some last minute lineup shifting, Skeleton
Key seems poised to once again take the musical world by surprise. Erik
Sanko spoke to Altercation recently about the ups and downs of
creativity.
Describing the music of Skeleton Key is akin to trying to define the inner
workings of a clock – despite the oddities, a constant pulse hides
at the core. For close to six years, bassist and singer Erik Sanko has
remained that pulse. A previous member of art house favorites The Lounge
Lizards, Sanko collaborated with the likes of Yoko Ono and John Cale before
launching Skeleton Key in the mid 1990’s. Backed by a duo of drummers
(including one playing a variety of junk yard items), manic guitar and
Sanko’s yowling vocal delivery, it became clear very quickly that
the band were on to something.
After releasing a self titled EP on Motel Records, Skeleton Key was scooped
up by Capitol. Buzz on the album Fantastic Spikes Through Balloons
was high, with the record even receiving a Grammy nomination for its layout
and design. Tours followed with the likes of Morphine, The Jesus Lizard
and Girls Against Boys. Inevitably, however, Skeleton Key’s self-described
“skronk rock” failed to capture the buying public with its
noncommercial appeal. The band was placed into major label limbo, with
various members going their separate ways and Sanko releasing an introverted
solo album on NYC indie label Jetset.
The long awaited 2nd full length Obtanium finally made it onto
shelves earlier this year, with a new home on Mike Patton’s (Mr.
Bungle) Ipecac Recordings. Despite some last minute lineup shifting, Skeleton
Key seems poised to once again take the musical world by surprise. Erik
Sanko spoke to Altercation recently about the ups and downs of
creativity.
Interview by Justin Habersaat.
Altercation: How did
you end up on Ipecac? I know you’ve done some collaborative work
with The Melvins in the past…
Erik: It was through the recommendation of Buzz (Osbourne, Melvins’
guitarist). He told Mike about us, and we already had this record in the
can. So it wasn’t too difficult for them to just put it out. I’m
happy that I have a new home.
A: How did you hook up with The Melvins initially?
E: The very first tour that we ever did was with Helmet, and we met them
on tour. I didn’t know any of the guys prior to that, and we got
on pretty well with each other.
A: How was it working with them on their album The Crybaby?
E: That song was actually one that I had previously written. The fellas
in Skeleton Key didn’t really like it, so I thought it was a good
way to get it recorded (laughs).
A: How is Patton as a label owner (laughs)?
E: Oh, he’s great! We’re both music fans and have a lot of
mutual friends. He has his feet pretty well immersed in the downtown avant-garde
scene, which is where I came from. And obviously in the rock music scene,
so we have a lot of common aesthetic. He’s great.
A: How long was Obtanium in the can before you released it?
E: Part of it was done for over a year, and some was done right before
we released it. Mike and I decided that we didn’t like some of the
old songs, so we put together two new ones. One of the songs that we scrapped
on the new album had been written strictly to appease the A&R guy
at Capitol. It was so humiliating. It’s something that every musician
goes through, and none of us should have to. He said “Erik, you
need to give me a song that I can sell with a straight face.” (Laughs)
You know, gee, thanks.
A: I remember spinning you guys a lot on college radio. Have you
been well received there?
E: Yeah, we’re doing pretty well. It was 9th most added the first
week that it came out. I’m happy people remember us after so much
time.
A: Was the delay largely due to legal issues with Capitol?
E: Yeah, absolutely. That was also why the band kind of fell apart before
the new configuration. Two lawyers getting paid on an hourly fee are in
no hurry to get anything done. The more antsy you get, the slower they
go. Another big mistake we made is that our A&R guy and our lawyer
are best friends. When we got into the contract, we thought it would work
to our favor. When it came time for us to get out of our contract, it
didn’t pan out that way. Who do you think the lawyer would rather
remain on good terms with? The stupid little art fag band, or Capitol?
(Laughs)
A: I was shocked that you were picked up by a major in the first
place. How did they sign you?
E: I knew the A&R guy before he was in the business. He actually used
to be Helmet’s manager. Page Hamilton (Helmet) was a huge supporter
of ours from the very beginning, and I guess he got his manager interested.
And there was a bit of a buzz about the band when we first started. At
one point there were fourteen different labels vying for our attention.
Pretty flattering, but it obviously had nothing to do with us. Once the
frenzy started, it just kept going.
A: I know you write the majority of Skeleton Key’s material.
Do you think that your solo album would have been a Skeleton Key release,
had the legal nonsense been halted earlier?
E: No, it was different. It was a lot more stripped down, more little
fragile and precious songs. I don’t know if they would work for
Skeleton Key, which is pretty bombastic. Some of it could certainly work,
and there will be some more appearances of similar material in future
Skeleton Key stuff. That album came about at a time when I was really
depressed about the band falling apart. I’m just some goofball guy,
and the band was a huge part of my identity. When that fell apart, I was
absolutely devastated. I wasn’t even really aware of it at the time.
It made me really sad. No girls or anything (laughs). But now I’m
married, and I’ve got this cool record! Things are looking up (laughs).
A: I know your trash kit drummer Rick Lee played on the new album,
but I haven’t seen him lately on stage. Is he still in the band?
E: You know, that’s a good question (laughs). We hang out all the
time, but…I asked him to come on tour and he initially agreed. I
don’t know what happened. He got really weird about it, he didn’t
want to be perceived as a band member. It’s a shame. He was at one
of our shows recently saying how great we were, and Patton was yelling
at him “why aren’t you up there playing, you idiot!?”
(Laughs) He’s got some kind of stigma, he’s very concerned
with how he’s perceived. Rick does things on his own terms. To tell
you the truth, I’m looking for someone to replace him. So if you
know anyone….
A: We’ll spread the word. I loved the crazy-ass guitar player you
used to have. Will he be rejoining the fold?
E: I don’t think so. He’s played on a few of my solo shows,
but he hates touring like crazy. He’s been in touring bands for
twenty years or so, and he’s got a bad back. It was killing his
ear, he wasn’t into it anymore. He does TV commercial music now.
He’s making more money now than he’s ever made, he’s
psyched.
A: I’ve always been struck by how visual you guys are as
a band, especially in terms of your album art. How hands on are you with
the design?
E: This new one I did by myself. Fantastic Spikes was done with this great
designer named Stephan, who was actually a fan of the band before we even
met him. He’s super brilliant, and that was eventually nominated
for a Grammy. So I felt some pressure doing the design for Obtanium, but
also really excited. My legitimate education was in art, I went to art
college. So I’m very sensitive to how it was going to look. I wanted
it to look like how I thought it sounded.
A: That’s an interesting concept.
E: I actually have a condition, where something in the brain or some enzyme
isn’t fully developed. As a kid, I had a strong correlation between
sound and color. I would hear a sound, and say “well, that’s
obviously this color.” It’s a genuine medical condition, I
wasn’t just being a hippie (laughs). So for Obtanium, I was insistent
on using this night vision film because that’s what I thought it
sounded like. Kind of a bluish green. In my adult little brain, the art
and the music were physically connected.
A: Did you take the photos yourself?
E: My wife did. We borrowed a video camera from Danny Elfman, and shot
the band members in my bathroom. We didn’t know who the drummer
was going to be at that point, so we put my pet rabbit in there (laughs).
Sadly, the rabbit can’t hold sticks. Then we ran the video through
a TV set and had my wife take photos of that. Very clever in a low-fi
way (laughs).
Continued
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