Skank

"SKANK", as it is known in its current manifestation, is the cathartic reconciliation between founding brothers, lead singer and lyricist Skunk and the quite reclusive but visionary bass guitarst, Kyle Koter. Their mutual passions for music stem from childhood bonds, mutual loss and alienation; they transcend all things commercial and conventional. Kyle recently confessed during a brief intermission, "The reaction we have seen recently (playing live) kind of proved our old theory, 'Be real, be honest...be yourselves'. If they get it, cool...if they don't...fuck 'em...they weren't supposed to! I think they get it now."

SKANK's idea of playing to, and not for, a crowd go back to a Heineken soaked, hot and humid garage just north of Chicago, and way south of High School. Through bands like HOURGLASS and FREAKS OF NATURE, Skunk, Kyle and then guitarist Brian Thomas worked their apocalyptic noise, a raw sound caught somewhere between hardcore punk and old school metal, until it exploded into a crescendo of local praise. Their fake Id's were acquired so they could play at local bars, but the booze and girls would kill the project before it got off the ground. In early '93 Brian crushed the band's dreams...and his wrist, hand, forearm and elbow in a drunken car accident after a local show. He spent the next few years in and out of rehab centers and would never play guitar again.

Kyle tried to find his own creative outlets with other bands, but nothing ever felt right. His musical dreams were fading quickly. For years he had been trying to establish his vision within a band, but he had been let down time and again by less ambitious musicians. Skunk had been a passenger in "Captain Hook" as he now refers to band's former guitarist, "ill-fated Chevy Blazer". After the accident, and the subsequent collapse of the band, he sank into a nasty bi-polar funk. He walked away from music, but continued to craft notebooks full of lyrics. Skunk started his own company in the late 90's, and began building custom motorcycles. Everyone thought music was a part of his past. After a winter '99 "House of Blues" show, Skunk had a long conversation with country/rocker David Allan Coe outside his tour bus. The content of the conversation remains a secret, even to the members of SKANK. All we know for sure is that Kyle received a 2:00 am phone call that morning, and they were working together again the next day.

In early 2001, they met a guitar player by the name of Johnny Nuzzo. Upon first introduction, it was apparent that Nuzzo was their man. The three had an instant chemistry that Skunk and Kyle had not experienced since the early 90's. Johnny was a long lost brother. From musical interests and influences, to the love of the same movies and all the dirty things between, Skunk and Kyle knew they had found SKANK's destined guitar player. Skunk remembers, "It was fuckin' nuts...you know...when we first heard Nuzzo play. I don't know what to say, words could never describe the talent that fucker possesses. The feelings I struggle to capture with paper and pen...he articulates with a guitar, you know."

Things started out very slowly. Johnny and Kyle had both been influenced by the same artists, but it took them awhile to find each otherss styles. It was now late 2002 and the search for a drummer was going nowhere fast. Not having a drummer was killing the band. The blueprints were there for some great material, but without the talents of a serious drummer backing them up, they thought all was lost.

Enter the talents of Mike G., a hard hitting drummer that tears of the kit. As with Nuzzo, Mike had (even though undoubtedly more extreme) the same exact tastes. From the first time they jammed together, they knew they had just found the missing piece. Mike was everything the band was looking for, someone eager to put his talents to use and could help the band hone their sound. SKANK was now complete.

Skunk liquidated all but two of his custom bikes and converted his basement into SKANK Studios. The band enlisted the talents of long time friend Steve Sulikowski to help them record a few of their early demos. In the summer of 2003, the band was ready to head into Alien Studios to record some of the tracks they had spent the last year working on. The end result was a 3 song demo titled “WHITE COLLAR CRIME” featuring the songs “MAGGOTS”, “CIRCLE OF PAIN” and “SPIDER MOUTH”.

Since the release, SKANK has been steadily gaining critical acclaim, die hard fans and airplay all over the US. “MAGGOTS” becomes a favorite anywhere it’s played and was recently designated “Most Downloaded Song” by nextceleb.com.

These four guys have made unmeasurable sacrifices to make the SKANK concept into a reality. There is no way to turn back now, SKANK is in their blood; it is who they are. Like the SKANK motto says…”SKANK OR DIE!!”