Interactive Interview with Skumlove
posted July 10, 2008, 12:03 pm by dscanland | Filed Under Interviews | 
47 Comments
Tags: Skumlove, Songs of Lust and Corrosion, Interview
Music Emissions would like to thank Devilgurl for bringing us the cleverly dark and industrious metal band Skumlove. None at the site had heard of the band but now most of the metal, industrial and hard rock fans are enjoying a new band. The band has a new album dropping this month called Songs of Lust and Corrosion.
We are going to try something a little different. We are going to have an open discussion with the lead singer affectionately known as Skum. Now, I encourage all of you to head over to the Skumlove artist profile and read up a little on the band, check out a couple tracks on the album pages and post your questions below. Skum will check in on a daily basis and answer any and all questions. We’ll keep this thing going as long as there are questions being asked.
I’d like to start this interview off with a question: Why Skumlove? Where does this self-loathing name come from?
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My father named me. My Last name is Love and as a young punk/metal kid my father thought my long hair and dress atire was dirty and filthy so he called me Mugritas whish is spanish for Skummy or little dirt bag so my friends could on to it then I started writing for a local rock mad under Skum Love. the rest is history.
damn my spelling is horid but 3 hours sleep what do you expect.
above woulds could should be “caught” and local rock mad is “local rock mag”
So you were destined to be in music. At what age did you have your first song written?
ummmm I always wrote lyrics and stuff I played drums for a brief moment in a punk band and really wrote my first song with lyrics and music at maybe 13 or 14.
I grew up quick and was out on my own by 15 on the streets of Hollywood.
Skummy, what kind of jobs did you have before Skumlove was created?
As a kid delivering Avon books door to door.
I worked in a yogurt shop when I was 15.
and at night worked in night clubs all over Hollywood including The Whisky and The Roxy and Gazzaries.
I also worked as a body piercer for over 13 yours now in Venice beach. Ater theI worked on tour for bands like Danzig, Fear Factory, Professional Murder Music, Ozzfest and many many more.
Ever though I have SKumlove I still work for a living.
When you worked on tour for all those bands, who were the easiest ones to get along with….and who did you learn the most from?
I learned a lot from all of them and Always got a long with the bands but usually butted heads with tour managers…or shall I say butted my fist against their face. that happened many times.
Danzig was one of th first to take me on a huge tour. Fear Factory was the very first tour I did but only 3 shows insmall clubs.
I even remembering guitar teching for John 5 who is a great guitarist adn guy. I think I was 15 or 15.
I ment 16
You are going again with Glenn Danzig on his Blackest of the Black Tour this year…Can you tell us what some of your duties as his assistant will be?
ummmmm just doing production and stage making sure everything tuns smooth. but Glenn Danzig will tell you I am there to make him laugh.
an “evil” court jester,huh?
When do we get to hear some new material?? Are you currently writing any new stuff?
The image of a band is often an important aspect to their music (fortunately or not), especially in the gothic genre. How does Skumlove choose to represent themselves as a band? And does that portrayal of an image reflect in your music?
Of coarse it does Kev_stev, who wants to go to a show where the band looks like a regular guy that just pumped your gas or a guy waiting for a but.
You have to rock it! I come from the school of bands like Alice cooper, Misfits, Rob Zombie and Kiss. you beed to rock and give a performance maybe not as crazy as Gwar but give a show especially in todays economy you need to make the fans Dollar worth the price of admission.
I know alot of bands are either fashion styles bands like Emo stuff or the oposite running around with scragly beards and regular street clothes. We try to dress what feels write to our music and feel comfortable. but we have lights and banners and try to play to the fans and make them have a show. look at our videos on youtube to give you an idea.
these questions are from a friend….
what was your first gig as Skumlove like? where was it? and how did it go?
first show was at the Dragonfly in Hollywood
we played with some other locals who were debutng their first shows and opening for PMM.
when we went on it as so packed I could barely make it to the stage and I was so nervous becasue this was the first time I was doing my own music.
and I had Dino Casarez of Fear Factory on guitar, Frank Merkurio from Cypress Hill on Bass Justin of PMM and now of thrill kill kult and Skinny Puppy on drums a keyboardist named The Boy and my partner in crime who was my co writer Robyn Sin on lead guitar.
From the first note it felt good right and natural.
Influences… you’ve mentioned the likes of Danzig and Fear Factory. Where does the industrial sound come from? Are you a Ministry, KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails fan?
Ummm yea I loved bands like Nine inch nails and KMFDM and of coarse Ministry.
But a lot of the “industrial” sond that we have adopted was a mind set to be an Industrial band but more is that wall of sound production style that I love punk and rock music and wanted that party dancable energetic sound and take it one step further by filling in the gaps between the guitars, drums and bass with keyboards and sounds and samples to make it sound bigger then life.
some of the bands I listen to on a regular basic is 16 Volt, Ministry, Monster Magnet, Motley crue,
Ratt, Static-X, Iggy Pop and randome music from the 70′s rock and 80 metal and new wave.
I think we kinda incompass a lot of those styles in our music and you just never know what really to expect but yet we keep our music moving in the same direction and kinda not stray too far from the Skumlove fomula.
Skumlove is getting bigger and better, where do you see your band in the next couple of years?
Fantastic…Honestly Im not a fan of the genre…
Sure, I can enjoy a Ministry track from time to time…and even *arg cant believe Im going to admit it* Manson and Zombie. But truth is, a long time ago, hams just like Manson and Zombie ruined that shelf of music due to their abuse of Media clammering. Always trying to sell their face, product and antics, rather than trying to make grooving blistering tunes. Thats exactly what you guys seem to have going.
My question…
What’s the greatest feeling you’ve ever had as a performer…and likewise vice versa…What’s the worst feeling?
Skumlove is getting bigger and better, where do you see your band in the next couple of years?
………………………………………..
hopefully making a living on MY OWN TERMS with my music.
I think thats the goal of many of us. We write music first for ourselves then if others like it and find it marketable and sellable then thats the goal. But if you write not for yourself and only for th salebility then in my opinion you are doing it for the wrong reason.
……………………………………….
What’s the greatest feeling you’ve ever had as a performer…and likewise vice versa…What’s the worst feeling?
……………………………………….
everytime is a great feeling onstage. of coarse nothing beats the very first show but everytime is a great feeling of acomplishment.
and some would say a back sound mix or crappy club would be the worse but to me that makes it a challenge and I still just do my best…
also to comment on your statement, I agree bands like manson started spending less time on the music and more on the persona and it ruins the music.
Zombie is a big favorite of mine but when he started making films his music suffered.
Music is therapy for me so it is important to me as a person. when you loose that you should just give it up.
lasxrcista earlier asked about new material.they wanted to know, are you writng new songs yet?
What about Europe? I am sure that there is a market for you guys in northern europe and Germany.
ooops I didn’t see it.
When do we get to hear some new material?? Are you currently writing any new stuff?
…………………………..
we been trying out some new songs live lately and they seem to be getting a great response.
Like ANTI AMERICAN IDOL and SON OF A GUN and DIG YOU LIKE A GRAVE.
The kool thing about these songs are that they were written without electronics and I am sure at time to get them on an album they will have some samples and keyboards etc. but they stand very well on their own.
…………………………………..
What about Europe? I am sure that there is a market for you guys in northern europe and Germany.
………………………………….
Well th new Album will be released in europe and Germany and Canada. Basicly everywhere but the U.S. except as an import or through our site or Itunes, etc. So it will be great to see what those countries think.
GONNA TRY TO GET THE OTHER MEMBERS ON HERE SO IF YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR GINA, RATTAN, DB OR DRACO POST THEM UP!
I WANT THEM TO HAVE PART IN THIS AS THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN A WHILE OR SHALL I SAY EVER FELT LIKE A REAL BAND.
This for the brothers,DB and Rattan…
there are a few well-known and indie bands with brothers that hate each other and feud all the time or have stopped speaking to each other…
How well do you two get along? Has Skummy ever had to referee a family feud?
DB answered : As for my brother and I, we get along fine. Skum hasn’t had to referee anything except maybe his feelings of being alone.
there are more head butting with DB and GINA but lately it has subsided but I feel it’s healthy.
lol plus maybe one day we can get em in a ring for a death match
JUST FOR ALL OF YOU HERE PRE ORDER OUR CD TODAY AND YOU’LL GET IT FOR $6.66 ONLY (NORMALLY $12.00-$20.00 AS AN IMPORT)
THATS RIGHT FOR ALL OF YOU MUSIC EMISSION FANS
JUST EMAIL ME NOW AT SKUMLOVE@AOL.COM TO FIND OUT NOW!
Hmmm…after a lot of thinking…I’ve come up with this question for everyone in the band.
;D
How much writing of new songs are you guys doing as a band and who has worked on what songs?
Oh…and also…is D the only one crazy enough to like his mac n cheese a little burned? ;]
(I’ll never forget about that)
LETS SEE IF THE OTHER GUYS CAN ANSWER THIS….IF NOT I WILL DO IT LATER
OK OK Rattans’ in the house!…Now the party could start haha. So, as far as the new music goes, everyone has put in their 2 cents in one form or another…for example…I’ve added 1 note to 3 songs lol…ok seriously, Hmm, I mean so far there’s only what, 3 brand new trax that you know of, that we play live…IDOL, GRAVE & GUN, which is actually a bit of a re-work…but as skum said earlier, they’re still not done…we need to add all the blippity bleeps…there are other new ideas in our secret stash, but with the new CD out, we gotta play the hell outta those trax 1st…then kinda ease our way with some new ones…
And to answer the question earlier, me an DB are all good in the hood…it’s the other guys you gotta worry about…I mean with all the drama they pull. Shit! Sometime’s i gotta bust out with my Tae Kwon Jujitsu and give them the Chop Saki Flip…that usually sets them straight…
I know your record label is Canadian…which is kinda ironic considering what happened in last November…when Skummy was banned from entering Canada,when you were scheduled for a couple of gigs up there…
2 questions for the band first:
What happened at the Border? and how did you cope without a lead singer?
And then to Skummy…Tell your side of this story…what happened on this side of the Border with you? How did you cope without your band?
Well we flew differant flights.
I frew to buffalo because after bitching at th guys to get their passports in order I didn’t have mine. It was lost in a packed box from the recent move at the time.
So I flew to Buffalo and was gonna Taxi over.
Long story short, I was not allowed in and was threatend with arrest becasue of past Arrests.
I called the guys which were already out partying
and stuff and I was pissed sad and just tired from the flight. I am sure the guys will answer this and bust my balls.
So I went back to buffalo and sat in a lobby till 6am and begged for a flight back to L.A. but ended up in Vegas.
Plus I had all the merch and some Equipment and the sampler and shit.
it was a rough weekend for me no sleep for 40+ hours
I’m going to try and answer some of the questions in this one comment.
___________________________________________
AnaLove asks “How much writing of new songs are you guys doing as a band and who has worked on what songs?”
As far as writing goes, there are only two new songs that we have collaborated on as a band, “Anti-American Idol” and “Dig You Like a Grave.”
“Anti” is a song that Skum had lyrics for, a chorus melody, as well as a riff for that chorus. Gina came up with the verse riff, and I pretty much smoothed out the chorus melody that Skum had. As far as I can remember, all of these ideas fused together really easily.
“Dig” is a song that Skum had lyrics for already I think but didn’t have any music. I had a riff for a long time that I didn’t really know what to do with so I finally gave it a home with Skum. What’s interestingl about this song is that the original arrangement I had for the music was much different than what you hear now, which is a much better arrangement.
There are other news songs (“Filthy,” “Son Of A Gun,” etc) that Skum has but they were pretty much written before Gina, Rattan, Draco, and I joined the band. So band input has been limited just a changed of bpms, lead solos, strumming patterns, and bass lines. In the future though it looks like there will be more collaborations between all of us.
___________________________________________
devilgurl asks “What happened at the Border? and how did you cope without a lead singer?”
As far as Gina, Rattan, and I are concerned (and to an extent Skitch since he was in the band at the time) we got into Canada pretty easily. Gina did get held up at the border but I think it was only because he filled out his paper wrong (you’re going to have to get his side of the story with that though).
Skum kept contacting us letting us know what was going on, so we were aware that there might be a problem with him coming in. That first evening there the band split up with Gina and Chris from Misfortune Records heading out to the border to meet Skum, and Skitch, Rattan, and I hanging out in Toronto. Us 3 had a blast just hanging out, talking to the locals, going to bars/clubs, drinking, etc. On the way back to our hotel we’re in a cab and we hear Skitch’s phone ring. We tell him not to answer it because it’s probably Skum and it’s probably going to be bad news, but he did anyway. We were right. And as soon as Skum told us he wasn’t coming in, that Skitch and I would have to take lead vocals, it pretty much put a damper on everything. Not to mention it pissed us off a bit
Back at the hotel, all of us had a big meeting of what we were going to do. After discussing a few scenarios we decided to fuck it all and do the shows because Chris already spent x amount of money already, we were already there, and because we’re fuckin Skumlove. We were still pretty pissed off because now instead of hanging out and relaxing the next day we had to do a lot of work and troubleshooting.
Other than this incident the whole tour was a blast. We had a great time hanging out with some label mates, hanging out with people we met there, we drank a ton of alcohol (and I do mean a TON), and the shows were not bad at all. It was also fun reading/hearing Skum’s sorrowful texts and phone messages. Even though we were having a good time, we were still pissed and were not answering his calls/texts.
_________________________________________
hstisgod asks “What’s the greatest feeling you’ve ever had as a performer…and likewise vice versa…What’s the worst feeling?”
The best feeling would be playing up on stage and seeing people out there digging your stuff. Any kind of art or music is a personal thing, and to just see anyone relating to whatever it is one is portraying…..it’s just a great feeling.
The worst feeling is when you’re performing and you just don’t care. When things become very boring. There can be x amount of people at the show, but when you have that feeling, it doesn’t matter.
___________________________________________
dscanland wants to know about influences and what age did I have my first song written?
As far as bass players go, the two bass players I really dig are Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue and Paul Simonon from The Clash. Nikki because he keeps things really simple and he’s a good songwriter. Paul because he really locks down a good groove. Not to mention he looks fuckin cool on stage.
As far as music goes I listen to a lot of different bands. Sticking to one genre is pretty much suicide because it’s limiting and keeps you boxed in. In order to survive one has to keep both eyes and ears open. One needs to be aware of everything that is going on around because things are constantly changing. Listening to many things keeps you one step ahead of everyone else.
I attempted to write a lot of lyrics when I was still in elementary school. I do have copies of the majority of them and I have to say that though there are a few gems, the rest is pretty much crap. The first actual song I wrote music and words for was proabbly when I was about 17 years old. I had put a band together called The Bonepeople which was psychobilly and wrote a song called “Nighttime Frolic.” I can still play a little bit of it today.
___________________________________________
what was your first gig with Skumlove like? where was it? and how did it go?
My first Skumlove show was sometime in Aug or Sept 2007. It was at a place called Safari Sam’s on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood and we played with Acumen Nation. It was a really good first show and the afterparty was pretty cool too.
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AnaLove asks “is D the only one crazy enough to like his mac n cheese a little burned?”
Actually no! Rattan also likes his Mac N’ Cheese burned just as much as I do. In fact, that’s where I learned how to make really good burned Mac N’ Cheese.
Skummy…Is DB always this talkative?
I knew they would get on here finally and answer some questions. I knew I WASN’T GONNA BE ALONE….HEY GUYS YOU THERE? HELLO?
LOL
Skum kept sending me emails to answer the questions so there you go. I had to catch up you know….
fielding more questions from others….these come from Stefany in Ohio:
Is there any bad blood between Skitch and the rest of the band?
And is Skumlove ever coming to Ohio?
ummmm no bd blood he just didn’t have the dedication to be in a band like ours. He is a great kid but emphasis on Kid. we wish him well but I really just move on after someone leaves the band. We wish him well and hear he is getting married. Ohio we hope to get to every state and country we can. But hopeto see a lot of fans on the Blackest of the Black tour while I am out there hangin out.
I haven’t spoken to Skitch since a couple days after he left the band. All I know is that he has a new job and shorter hair. I have met some really cool people through him when he was in the band though.
haha…ya, the Canada trip…hmmm…it’s your own damn fault for feeling so alone skum!!!!!…haha…sometimes shit happens, but you roll with the punches. I do wanna add that since skum had all the electronic/backing trax, a big chunk of the time spent was figuring out how we were gonna jerry rig the click track/backing track…Good thing DB had his CD walkman…cuz it helped…long story short, It took some downloading, burning, buying adapters and some blind faith that the sound guy (jake) at the venue in toronto would be able to work with what we got…and thankfully he did…as far as the sound guy in montreal? hmm that’s another story haha…very cool bar though…all in all a memorable trip.
As for Skitch I haven’t heard from him really…last time, I left a comment on myspace to say what’s up. that was a while ago. but we don’t really keep in touch…i don’t take it personally…he’s a cool dude…we got along…everyone just has their own path…and like DB said earlier, I’ve met some cool people through him…and if there’s anything he’s taken with him from this experience…he knows not to pass out when he parties with skumlove hahaha!
Oh, and on a more serious note about the music…a majority of the writing is with the other guys so far…my job as of now is to just throw in ideas…weather it’s just a slight change of a riff or a re-format of the song structure…I am however working with skum with the samples and electronics…a least that’s what it looks like…
and yeah! mmmm half burnt mac-n-cheese!…you know, you can also add ground beef and a little bit of chopped basil…and you got yourself some home made hamburger helper…and for the health conscious, add some meatless ground OR turkey meat…flavor it up with some spices and you got yo’self a feast! haha
well it seems like this was a fun weekend and you got some great answers.
Enjoy
and thank you Dennis!
Thank you SkumLove for putting us
into your busy schedule!
Thank you,too,Dennis!
and thanx to Devilgurl for setting this all up for us.
My pleasure. It seems like it was quite a success. Thanks for your time Skum! Good luck with the new album.