Southern Culture on the Skids

This is the funnest rock and roll band ever! I first saw them at VZD's in OKC after Dirt Track Date (a great record). I had never heard of them before though they had been around awhile. The place was packed and the show was awesome. They threw pieces of fried chicken into the crowd - actually they had a girl from the audience come up and throw it. A few days later, I went out and found Ditch Digggin' and For Lovers Only, which I liked just as much as Dirt Track Date, although they are a bit different - not quite as polished as Dirt Track but very well-made records with a clean sound. They came back to OKC after Plastic Seat Sweat and played at the Will Rogers Theater. An even bigger show. Again with the chicken. I got to hang out with them a little bit at a party after the show - they're all real nice. They came back to VZD's again after Zombiefied (more chicken). Although they play nothing but ultimate rock and roll dance music, there wasn't much dancing going on at this show. Since they are usually classified as "alternative", most of the crowd packed onto the dance floor like sardines and just stood there (about half of the tables were removed), even as Rick announced each song with something like "Here's another twisty one!", begging people to dance. I'm proud to say I was among the six or seven who got right up in front of the stage and danced (how could I help it?). I don't think they played anything off of Zombiefied except the title track (which is a cool song). Mary sang a Wanda Jackson song, Funnel of Love, which stuck in my head for days. I didn't find out what song it was until I got the Mike Ness record, Under the Influences, which has an interesting cover of this great song. Rick is one of the coolest (and hottest) guitar players around - he has mastered many styles of rock and roll guitar. Their last record, Liquored Up and Down Lacquered Down, took me awhile to warm up to, it has a very polished sound, but it is a great record, like all of their records. You get a good dose of Mary's voice on the beauitiful song, Just How Lonely.

And finally - a new record - Mojo Box (JAN 2004), awesome, as expected. Cousin Crispy has left and the SCOTS are once again a power trio.

The SCOTS really are the funnest band in the world!

SCOTS Links:

Official SCOTS website

SCOTS pages at their management's website

SCOTS fan club site

iMusic Showcase

Rooted Magazine Interview

Enteractive Interview

Chapel Hill Music SCOTS Page

Ozone SCOTS Page

Chris's SCOTS Page

Kilowatt's SCOTS Page

SCOTS Discussion List at Onelist

The Records: (get some!)

This is just the stuff I know about on CD. The official website has an extensive discography. Yes I have all these - yes they are all great.

For Lovers Only (1992) Safe House
Amazon

Ditch Diggin' (1994) Safe House
Amazon

Peckin Party (EP) (1993) Feedbag
Amazon

Girlfight (EP) (1993) Sympathy for the Record Industry SFTRI 266
6 Songs: Girlfight, Whole Lotta Things, El Mysterioso, Twistin' (On a Red Hot Spike), Hey Chuck Berry, Wheels. I think the actual title of the CD is just Southern Culture on the Skids
Amazon

Dirt Track Date (1995) Geffen
Amazon

Santo Swings (EP) (1996) Estrus
May be out of print. Not listed on Estrus' website.
Amazon

Plastic Seat Sweat (1997) Geffen
Amazon

Zombiefied (1998)
Available directly from the band or as an Australian import. Well worth tracking down. It's one of their best records. Its kind of a Halloween record, with lots of spooky songs.
Amazon

Liquored Up and Lacquered Down (2000) TVT Records
Amazon

Mojo Box (2004) Yep Roc Records
Amazon
I found out about this one when I saw the review in the 02/19/04 Rolling Stone, which my sister passed on to me. Those idiots gave it 2 stars out of 5. I guess they have no ears! This is actually one the best SCOTS records ever, with sparse production and lots of guitar. I give it 11 out of 10 stars!




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