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 Punk is all about D.I.Y and not caring about pedestrian stuff like business plans and sponsorship, right? SOPHIE BENJAMIN found otherwise when she caught up with drummer MATT TURNER from young Gold Coast punk band SKINWALKERS.
Teenage punk bands are like hangovers – a common and expected product of good times, but annoying nonetheless. Skinwalkers formed about two years ago, somewhere in the suburban sprawl between the Springwood IKEA and Surfers Paradise. According to Matt they’ve been “banging heads together and putting music out,” ever since, inspired by new bands like Gallows and old favourites Metallica and The Clash.
They’ve also been under the watchful eye of music industry veteran and Big Sound programmer Graham Ashton, who has presumably steered them through the wanky mire that is the music industry. They travelled to Melbourne to record their debut EP with producer Kalju Tonuma, who has worked with the holy trinity of Aussie rock royalty (Barnesy, Farnsey and Crowded House) as well as nu-metal moshlords Superheist.
Skinwalkers are passionate, organised and enthusiastic and their music isn’t too bad either. Gang vocals, screams and sick riffz are all present and accounted for in lead single We Are The Streets. However, their MySpace is choked with endorsements and logos from big brands such as Billabong and Monster Energy Drink. Matt informed me that there would be an excellent chance of pro-surfer Mark “Occy” Occhilupo making an appearance at their Gold Coast show, and Monster Energy Drink reps at their Brisbane one.
The irony of being a small-time punk band with big-time brand sponsorship isn’t lost on Matt, but he’s not defensive about their business decisions.
“It seems the opposite to what some people see as the ideals of punk rock, but in the end music is music and needs have to be met somehow.”
“It seems the opposite to what some people see as the ideals of punk rock, but in the end music is music and needs have to be met somehow.
“We don’t think that having sponsors takes anything away from us. They not only help to support the band, but help support the issues we support. That’s not something we can get anywhere else.”
One of the issues the band are passionate about is youth homelessness. An ABC documentary on Sydney youth homelessness shelter The Oasis piqued their interest on the subject, and resulted in the boys travelling to the shelter and volunteering. They’re donating half of the proceeds from the film clip for We Are The Streets to The Oasis and hope to return later on in the year to film their own doco on the place and their experiences there.
A few days after the interview, I received a friendly follow-up email from Matt confirming the details of their EP launch shows and extrapolating on the conflict between punk ideals, the romance of fame and the unavoidable need for money. It read as follows:
“Funny how we were talking about how the punk scene can disapprove of sponsorship last night. After our interview, we were asked by a punk group in Brisbane if Monster could help their festival so maybe things have relaxed a little with some of the punk ideals.
“I guess everyone has to realise it is not the ‘70s, ‘80s or ‘90s any more.”
SKINWALKERS launch their debut EP WE ARE THE STREETS at Miami Shark Bar on Friday Jun 4 (with Flatline Drama [Syd], The Final Fall and The Lost Arcade) and The Globe on Saturday Jun 5 (with Flatline Drama, Driven Fear and Army of Champions). All presale tickets receive a free copy of the EP. www.myspace.com/skinwalkersband
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