The Skivies

The art-damaged psychedelia perpetrated by the infamous Butthole Surfers is pretty much impossible to imitate. No one who's seen the band live has ever been the same after experiencing the maddening sonic onslaught and disturbing projections. The Skivies (due at 15th Street Tavern this Friday, August 4, alongside Action Friend and Prolly) explore similar realms of nightmarish experimentalism. Singer and provocateur Cozmo Brown twists and tweaks his vocals with a large electronic box that he calls "the Brain" (and that is clearly inspired by "Gibbytronix"). With sinister lyrics about social dysfunction and the folly of humankind, Cozmo and company's inspired mélange of progressive rock and mind-altering eclecticism mates Suicide's pioneering use of electronics with Chrome's evil, atmospheric guitar tones. The result is a sound that would make the members of Mr. Bungle do a double take. Live, the band's improvisational song structures allow a freedom that keeps its sets fresh and intriguing. Possessing a keen sense of theater and the absurd, the Skivies make beautiful music for ugly children.
- The Westword

Their moniker may sound jokey, but the Skivies are more than a novelty. The humor on Between Appliance and Apparel has a dark edge that matches the heavier-than-expected music.

Despite vocalist/gadgeteer DJ Von Feldt's opening declaration that "I feel like 40/But I'm only pushing 28," the lead track, "Goat Head," exhibits no signs of exhaustion. To the contrary, the song barrels ahead at an aggressive pace, goosed by random sound effects that add a hint of aural anarchy to the proceedings. "Voyeur With a Cataract" is just as uncontrolled, with guitarist Zahari Tzigularov amping up the story of a woman who "watches porn with the subtitles on," while "Hearding Cats" uses racks of riffs sure to freak out the feline of your choice.

Those are the chances you take when you put on the Skivies. - Westword

link: http://www.westword.com/2007-12-20/music/moovers-and-shakers-2007/4

The Skivies, Between Appliance and Apparel (Self-released). The Skivies have finally captured their hard-edged, contortionist, trippy soundscapes on record. Burroughs would applaud their edgy lyricism and surreally poetic song titles. This is creatively ambitious metal with punk's disregard for convention — a fine mating of dadaesque aesthetics and heavy music steeped in imagination and mathematically precise, but never tightly controlled, rhythms. — Murphy - Westword

"With the band's psychedelic rock style... you've got a night where you may have to go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall, to call you a cab at the end of the evening..." - Kaffeinebuzz.com

"The Skivies is a truly strange band that doesn't fit in anywhere. They have a kind of dark, avant garde rock sound and the only band I can compare them to, without much accuracy, is Chrome and Helios Creed's solo material. - Tom Murphy, Spirit of 1848 Records

"The Skivies playing is tight, which is a must in my opinion if you're going to play this style of music... The music itself seems to produce an overall 'effect' as opposed to setting up any tonal conflicts/resolutions. Overall, I enjoyed the rawness of this track and will definitely give it a third, fourth, and fifth listen... It's pretty amazing." - SonicAwareness.com