We recently connected with Joey Skidmore and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Joey, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Although I’d had a couple of albums out with the retro garage band, the Red Headed League, I hadn’t really done my own thing in a while–actually since 2017. I basically felt like just a side-man with those guys. So I rounded up Tony Valentino of the Standells (one of the pioneers of the fuzz guitars, Mark Stein from the ’60s psychedelic band Vanilla Fudge, Elan Portnoy from ’80s psychedelic-garage band the Fuzztones, one of my best friends, Manga on drums, and some other friends like Ken Lovern, who’s the resident organist at the Green Lady Lounge, and a New York bass player named Jeremy Chatzky to form a new project called “the Nuclear Banana.” Anyway, I called up Roscoe, or Eric Ambel, in Brooklyn New York, and asked if he’d produce it. He agreed, and we set a weekend for everybody to converge in New York at JFK Airport. Manga flew in at his own expense from Paris France, Tony Valentino flew in from Los Angeles, I flew in from Kansas City, etc.

Although Tony almost didn’t make it, due to an unexpected trip to the emergency room the night before–remember, this guy has been rocking and rolling since the EARLY 1960s–we finally found each other at the airport, and although there was some confusion about where we were staying, we got into the studio the next day and got the basic tracks done!

Covid delayed everything and we ended up working long distance to finish up the album: recording in Kansas City, Paris, France, L..A. etc. So everything moved slowly along, but we finally got the album finished to our satisfaction! Next problem: due to a shortage of plastic, and other supply-chain problems there was a huge backlog of record labels and artists waiting to get their vinyl pressed. That also seemed to take forever, and we barely got our records pressed in time for the album release party at the Skid-O-Rama Fest! However, it finally WAS pressed, on beautiful, banana-yellow vinyl, and it has been getting airplay and press literally all over the world–New York, Los Angeles, Canada, the U.K., Switzerland, France…and for the first time ever I have even been played in Tokyo, Japan, thanks to the Mike Rogers show. So apparently this is the only show in Japan that plays indie releases, or anything that isn’t corporate. L.A. may have 3 or 4 million people, and perhaps 60 or 70 radio stations, but Tokyo has, like 14 million people, and only FIVE radio stations, so I consider myself lucky! We’ve also been played on Sirius XM on Rodney Bingenheimer’s Underground Garage.

Joey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Making any kind of splash in the music business is a long-shot, but I’m just one of those guys who has kept plugging away year after year, and it seems like it’s finally starting to pay off. I’ve learned to spread out more, so-to-speak, sometimes I play guitar, sometimes I sing, sometimes I make films and music videos. I’ve even been playing in a crazy, avant garde, cosmic band with a horn section called the Black Crack Revue, or BCR. But my first love is really rock and roll. I like some of the new artists out there, like Maneskin, and Beck Black, but my first love is really for all those classic bands from the ’60s and ’70s, like the Rolling Stones!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Of course, money is always nice, but that’s really not what this is all about! We all have to have enough to survive on, but what really drives us is when you have a good crowd, and they really react to what you’re doing on stage, and show they love you! Hearing your own music on the radio is great too–although it doesn’t happen very often. I think the critical acclaim is the other thing besides the crowd that really drives me! I can handle a mediocre review if it is honest, well thought-out and not snarky; however, when you get a really GREAT review, and the writer really “gets you” and understands what you are doing, and where you are coming from, that is really gratifying!

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Non-creatives never understand what drives us, and it seems like most people care about little but making a lot of money, and climbing the ladder up the social strata, so-to-speak! Fortunately, my wife is a creative–a super-talented artist named Iryna Stroganova! So not only does she get me, but we’ve combined our businesses into one. So instead of Joey Skidmore Music & Film, and Supernova Art Studio, it’s now Supernova Productions! So we do art-fairs, festivals, concert-promotion, film and music videos, the whole shabang!   

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joeyskidmore.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skid_o_rama/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joey.skidmore.35
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/joeyskidmoreband
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083099302642

Image Credits
1. Photo by Iryna Stroganova 2. Photo by Luc A. Alvarez 3. Photo by Patrick Lamb 4. Photo of Joey and Mark Theis of BCR by Patrick Lamb 5. Photo by Todd Zimmer 6. Photo by Jackie Skidmore