The Skulls Club: AK47 ~ Duesseldorf, Germany I sat down with that legendary band after their show in Duesseldorf last month. What an honour! I’m still speechless so I should let those guys do the talking: Sean Antillon (Drums), Billy Bones (Vocals), James Hardslug (Bass) and Kevin Preston (Guitar) gave me an inside view on the history of punk rock: Sabine: Can you give us a brief band history? Billy: Us here, we are doing this for 2 years. We kind of got together, kind of happenstance. I guess so to speak. It’s kind of a long story. If you go to our website you can actually see how it happened. It‘s hard for me to say. Sean: James and Billy Bones met through a mutual friend that me and Billy Bones had played with previously in the early 90ies. We had a version of the Skulls with the original guitar player. And Kevin was going to school with Bones‘ daughter. And he found of that her dad sang a song that his band did a cover of. So he followed her home and said: We got to start the Skulls! So they started playing together. So the band didn’t end up working out between Billy Bones, Kevin and James and a friend of theirs. There was another show going on of the same year 77 The Controllers and The Dogs and a friend of mine called like this rock friend of mine and said: Do you like the Controllers and the Dogs? And I said: Yes! He: They are playing a show tonight. Me: When are we going?! I hadn’t seen Billy Bones for 7years and they were listening to a recording we did in about 1993/94. And Kevin’s idea was: Hey, let’s play one song if they will let us use the equipment. And that was the beginning. And James... Billy: I met him at a show. He just got out of doing a thing with the Adicts and he was into do something and we kind of put it together. It’s really bizarre how it happened. And again if you look at the website you can read the story. It’s a pretty amazing story. And he actually covered one of the songs and asked me to come down and see him do with his band. Left out XXX. And asked me to get up on stage to do it with him. Stage...I guess floor. And I did it. I hadn’t done it for a long time. When he said: Can I cover one of your songs? I said: Cover them all. And then it was there again. Like when it started in 78/77 with the original Skulls. Then from there it kind of just snowballed and we get along great. We’re having the time of our lives. James: It’s beautiful man, it’s beautiful. Sabine: This is your first time in Europe, right? Why did it take you so long to get here? James: Two years. I don’t think that’s very long. If you are saying since 1977 there is a reason for that. The original Skulls in 1977 kind of began and quickly ended again. And the legend for what it was, today we found it quite flattering, kind of lived on because it was one of the very first punk bands on the scene. And this legend kind of lived on and it’s coming with this new band. It’s coming with us. Which is cool. It really hasn‘t taken 25 years to get to Europe. It’s taken 2 years because we feel this is a new band. And I know a lot of bands that are together for longer than 2 years and that are still trying to get here so I would turn the question round and say: We got it very quick, I think. And we’re very pleased and flattered. This is just our 3rd show and the amount of people that came to us and supported us, spending their money on our merchandise when they could have bought anything else, they were saying beautiful things about us and a guy just came up to me and said: I‘ve heard of your band for years but I have never actually heard or seen you. And I’m blown away. And it’s that kind of stuff that so cool for us. We’ll be back if time, energy, good health and, of course, money allows. Doing a tour like this costs the band a lot of money. We rely on it and we rely on our merchandise. We’ll keep coming back as long as we can. Billy: The original Skulls were a ball of energy and chaos. Sort of in your face. It’s funny. Those guys, it’s the same feeling that I had back then. I played with some awesome people. Two of the guys have passed away. Mark, Freddy’s husband and the original Skulls‘ guitar player, and Stan Gun, the drummer. It was very short lived. It wasn’t even a full year. But we did a in your face boom and it was over with. It’s really flattering that people remember, you know. I think, it’s a very good thing for Mark. I’m sure he knows what’s going on. Yeah, it’s very special to me and these guys make it happen. I give it all I got. Sean (laughing): We love you too, Bones! Billy(laughing): I love you Sean! James: I’ll suck your dick later. Sabine: Is touring in Europe different? Sean: Definitely. It seems like people here are really getting into it. It’s not that they don’t in the US but it’s really a lifestyle. And they appreciate bands when they come over and tour and play. Whereas in the US if you are from Europe or even Japan if you come to the US you might not get such a good response. You know, we give the same show here as we do in LA and everyone goes nuts and buys our stuff. Hollywood’s maybe a little more jaded. They all stand back like; you gonna have to cut your throat to make us go yeah! Billy: Everyone is a musician there and everyone is a critic, it seems like. We like playing for the kids. They really seem to like us. I mean, it’s so cool. Those kids from Solingen came all the way down to see us perform today. Like 10 or 15 came down. That’s really cool. Sean: One of them gave me the shirt of his back tonight and said: This is for you. This is my band. This is a momento for you. I love you, here you go. And I went: You gonna freeze! And he went: No it’s ok, I got another one. And I said: Thanks. Have a safe trip back home. And he said: Huh? And I said: Trainride safe. And he went: Huh? And I: Alles klar! And he: Ah, ok! Auf Wiedersehen! Sabine: The new record is out. Is is also out in Europe or just in the US? James: Everywhere. It’s called The Golden Age of Piracy. It’s on Dr. Strange Records and it’s distributed through Mordam. And they tell us it’s available worldwide. So if you wanna hear something from the new album without having to buy it, go to our website www.theskulls.us There we have a little piece of every song you can hear and two whole songs, top quality. We just give them to you. Sabine: Does the audience appreciate the new stuff or do they prefer the old stuff? Kevin: There are a few old songs that people want us to play. Otherwise we won’t get off stage and there a new songs that people are starting to sing to. I think we did a pretty good job continuing the tradition. Sabine: Did you see Pirates of the Carribean? Everyone: Yeah! Billy: Absolutely! Sean: I’m a Johnny Depp fan. Well, he rides motorcycles and so do I. He‘s really great. Interruption: The Blow Jobs are saying goodbye. James: There’s a story behind that guy (Carsten, Blow Jobs singer). I was at my home in California and the phone rang and it was Johnny from the Stitches: James, I got a guy here in the store that wants if he can buy an original album of Therapy For The Shy. Well, they’re completely gone. Totally mega rare. I: Who is he? Johnny: Some guy from Germany. A big fan. And he wants to know where he could get one. So I said: Where are you now? And he said: In Final Solution, which is a record store. I said: Is he there? And he said: Yeah. I said: Stay there! And I had one spare in my collection. And I thought, you know what, if there’s a fucking guy from Germany who came all the way over here who likes it so much that he gives someone as much grief as possible to call me then that’s great and I took my copy. I didn’t tell them. I just told them to stay there. I hopped into my car. I drove all the way to the record store. And there was Carsten standing in the store and I just walked up and gave it to him. The only one in existence. You can’t get them. They are out of print. I gave him one of my personal copies. And he said: Oh! How much? 50$? A 100$? And I’m like: Dude, you know, have it. Take it. From the Skulls. A gift from us all. We appreciate that you are having that much interest in us. If you wanna help show up at our show. And he didn’t only show up at the show. He plays the show and brings a lot of friends with him. And again it’s weird. It’s like an instant trust. Not like a relationship that you have spent years building. These people in Germany and Belgium, everywhere! They just open up to you and they are like hey.. cause we all share this... it’s sounds kinda cliche but this sort of rock’n’roll-punkrock... it’s a common threat. Just a little story. That’s how we know him. And here we are in his town. He’s returning the favour in a way. Sabine: How would you describe the sound on the new album? Sean: It has definitely evolved. Billy: Yes, it’s evolved but it still has the same energy. It fucking rocks, man! James: It does fucking rock! But don’t get confused with the line up. Both records, the first and this one, both have the same line up. The original Skulls never really put out an album. Sabine: Any last words? Sean: Germany rocks. We love the people. We love the beer. James: I think it’s only right that we should thank everybody. Because without everybody helping out, letting us sleep at their houses, feeding us, doing interviews, you know, it’s because of you that we do what we do. Sabine: And it’s because of you that we do what we do, you know. Billy: That’s a good trade off. James: That’s definitely a good trade off. It’s what keeps everything cool and you know, I don’t know how many times people get thanked but they need to be thanked because we’re grateful. Photos from the Skulls, AK47 show by Sabine.