WINGSPAN Tuesday, August 4 2009
Issue 4
Shake, Skadilly and Roll
Skadily from left: Lizzie, Josh, Simon, Ben, Peter, John and Mark
BY SOPHIE MADDOCKS PUNCHY, vibrant seven-piece band, Skadilly are excellent ambassadors of their self-coined artistic style ‘skaz’ – that’s ska, jazz and pop all rolled into one. Before they exploded onto the WINGS2009 main stage, WINGSPAN went backstage to quiz them on everything; from their infectious enthusiasm for trilbies and skinny ties; to the origins of the band’s curious name. Upon entering the back-stage tent before the show, I was struck by all seven individual’s confidence, dynamism, and the ease with which they teased each other – clearly nothing’s off limits in this band! Simon, the band’s trombonist, has always been an avid Scout since being introduced to Scouting by his dad at the age of six, alongside bassist Josh, an Explorer with 99th Reading Scouts. Unfortunately Josh and
Simon haven’t been able to convert anymore band members! For a band who formed less than a year ago, Skadilly have played to crowds as big as 3,000. Their biggest achievement to date? Defeating 29 competitors to win Maidenhead’s under-18 Battle of the Bands competition. “Battle of the bands was mega,” said lead singer, Ben. This band seems immune from pre-show jitters or apprehension; and talk with exuberance about previous performances, clearly itching to blast out their unique niche: a fusion of rock pop, jazz and ska, reminiscent of The Rumble Strips or Dexys Midnight Runners. The band have exhibited true showmanship in preparation for the gig; with band members Mark and Olly on holiday they’ve had to draft in singer songwriter Lizzie Massey on lead guitar, and drummer Mark Chevassut. Despite only practising the new line up once, the band ex-
udes a sense of togetherness. The temporary lead guitarist, Lizzie, actually competed against Skidally in battle of the bands, achieving second place as a soloist, nevertheless she stepped in at the last minute: “I said ok and learnt the songs. You know what they say - music unites!” Part of Skidally’s charm is their visual presence on stage, trombonist Simon values the mood they create at gigs: “We have fun on stage and this reflects on the audience”. Onto the most important part of the interview…how did the band devise their name? After making up some imaginative but fictitious stories, they confessed the truth: bassist Josh took the word ‘ska’ and added a list of random letters to the end until it sounded right. Of Skadilly’s three recorded songs, arguably their most popular is Here We Are. It’s currently being recorded together with the tracks Stuck With Stuck With You and Nothing
New, Nothing More - their next move will be to release their top tracks as an EP. Skadilly’s song writing process is mature and organic: any one of the band members forms an underpinning chord sequence and the group build on it, with each member writing their own part. Incorporating improvisation on the brass instruments makes each performance unique. Lead singer Ben is sure the band’s song lyrics are a product of trumpeter John’s rhyming dictionary – but he was quick to deny it! What does the future hold for Skidally? “See where the band takes us,” said trombonist Simon. Despite moving to different schools and colleges in September, the group’s aspiration is to stay together: according to trumpet player Jon: “Uni isn’t the end!” Turning the stale rock format on its head, Skidally effortlessly navigate genres; their confident showmanship is underpinned with real musical proficiency.
Today’s Highlights Page 2 - WINGSPAN explores Windsor
Page 3 - GDV review
Page 4 - Meet the professionals of ScoutMed