First heard Skinny Lister's acoustic set at Warped Tour 2012 (Holmdel) the other day by mere accidental passing. While waiting for something to happen, I faintly heard the sounds of what I like to call "Sailor Punk" in the distance. A strangely exuberant woman dressed in a large-brimmed hat and floral print sundress who we likened to Flavor Flav [read: hypeman] greeted my buddy Jeremy and I as we walked over to the small truck-side stage; loosely formed in 2009-10, Skinny Lister is essentially the brainchild of brother/sister Lorna & Max Thomas - the quintet is then rounded out by Dan Heptinstall, Sam "Mule" Brace, and Dan Gray on stand-up bass. Skinny Lister self-released two EP's while on their 2010 tour(s), Grand Union EP and Homemade Tour EP, which were recorded on either a canal boat or at friends and family's houses across England.
While sh*t like this could very easily be cast off as a cheesy gimmick, Skinny Lister are indeed, in the vein of MC Hammer, "too LEGIT to quit;" man, two fellas were proudly sporting yellowish sweat-stained wife-beaters, work-strained overalls, and handlebar moustaches! I had a bit of a hard time tracking one down, but I eventually snatched up a copy of Skinny Lister's mysterious $5 "Warped Tour EP" and informally met a few of the band members in the process. It features five tracks pulled from the band's debut full-length: Forged & Flagon, which is now out overseas but supposedly won't see a proper American release until October. "Warped Tour EP" is a short and sweet affair, when it comes down to it... chock-full of Folk-driven Sailor-Punk jams about backyard partyin' and drinkin' that vaguely remind me of Mumford & Sons or some old Flogging Molly. Skinny Lister are often accompanied on the road by Skinny Sisters, their "rum-dispensing, skirt-hiking, leg-shaking, five-strong, all female, party-starting troupe" and sometimes cover Max & Lorna's dad, Party George's good ol' hits.
Earlier this year I spent an afternoon following Skinny Lister on a tour of vintage clothing shops in the East End of London. They played to audiences that they outnumbered with all the gusto as they had when I'd seen them at the Larmer Tree and Beautiful Days Festivals last summer. You've got to love a band like that haven't you.
ReplyDeleteThat's an awesome story, Chris! Yeah, I only had a very brief encounter with a couple of Skinny Lister's members, but they seemed like great dudes! Skinny Lister will do great things!.. I'd also be honored if you were to Follow my blog!? Thanks for the input/story, man!
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