Southern Culture on the Skids: NO CHICKEN, NO SHOW
Southern Culture on the Skids
If you have never heard of Southern Culture on the Skids you must be living under a rock. If you have never seen Southern Culture on the Skids perform, well that is a crime that can quickly be remedied.
Difficult to describe but easy to love, SCOTS music runs the gamut from rockabilly, country, blues, pop, R&B, surf guitar, and even a little punk rock thrown in for good measure. The band’s singer and guitarist Rick Miller says the music can best be described as, “Toe sucking geek rock.” But I prefer this analogy: “It is like a southern plate lunch, at the bottom of the plate it all runs together.”
Their songs, which are largely on the topics of sex and food, may seem like a parody of the south but Rick sets the record straight. “Some of our songs poke a little fun of southern culture and although we do have some fun with that, it is all good natured. We try to celebrate things that are positive and interesting. People need to have a sense of humor about the show, the way it’s presented live. It’s more of a celebration of southern culture than anything else.”
I was treated to some real southern culture when we spoke. I can’t remember the last time I heard the term “Six of one, half dozen of the other” used so often in the course of one hour.
Miller formed SCOTS in 1985 in Chapel Hill, NC. The current line up of bassist/vocalist Mary Huff and drummer Dave Hartman, both of whom had grown up together in Virginia, happened just two years later. Miller was born in Michigan, moved to NC when he was two and other than a brief sojourn in California, has stayed in NC his entire life. “There is no place like the Southeast. I don’t think we could live anywhere else. We live in a very progressive town.”
Growing up in a town with a half-black, half-white population and one AM radio station, Miller was exposed to a mix of country, rock ‘n’ roll, R&B and gospel which helps to explain SCOTS style.
In 1995 and 1997 they released two albums for DGC records, a subsidiary of Geffen records. The first of those was Dirt Track Date and it featured hits like “Soul City”, “Eight Piece Box” and “Dirt Track Date” but an unlikely tune on the album called “Camel Walk” was what received air play and got their name out to a much broader audience. The partnership had its positives and negatives for them. “When you continue to please them and not yourselves, that is no way to go. We could do it better on our own, we stayed in control and we prevailed.”
Rick is very humble about the band’s continued success after more than 20 years together. “The mark of success is a lack of success. One reason we can stay a band is that we don’t have high overhead. Most of my friends split to NY and California where they work constantly just to make rent. Business wise we haven’t done anything stupid.”
In those 20 years, they have released over 10 cleverly titled albums such as Too much Pork for Just One Fork, Dirt Track Date, Liquored up and Lacquered down, Doublewide and Live. And the album covers have always been as great as the titles and the music found within.
They have also maintained a pretty rigorous touring schedule. “From the mid-90′s until about 2004, we were doing about 200 shows a year. We’ve slowed down a bit now, I have a son now to be home for.”
I laugh a little thinking of how European audiences react to their set, but Rick assures me that they seem to really enjoy it. “They are very well educated with American music. Everyone knows a little something about the South, that translates a little bit. ” Their fans are as diverse as their music. For example, in this month alone they have played a BBQ joint in SC, a 50th birthday party for a fire chief on Sullivan Island and after Bellingham will play a handful of popular clubs from the Tractor Tavern in Seattle to the Mercy Lounge in Nashville, TN.
One of the coolest things about SCOTS is their open taping policy, they WANT you to tape their shows and whether visual or audio, all they ask in return is that you send them a copy if it is of good quality AND that you don’t sell it. “It’s the best kind of advertising. We’ve been doing it for so long, the whole social networking thing started with stuff like this, word of mouth is the best type of publicity,” Rick said.
If you have never been to a SCOTS show, don’t be surprised when the chicken starts flying. Anyone who has seen them before knows that chicken being thrown at the audience during the encore is a very endearing gesture. A bucket awaits them at every show just in case the audience demands it. In fact it is a clause in their contract: “No chicken, no show.”
When asked if they miss southern food while on the road, Rick said their favorite food when touring is actually Vietnamese. They try to eat local and drink local in every town they play. Although they prefer cheap American beer, while in the Northwest they take in the micro brews because really, how could you not?
SCOTS are no strangers to Bellingham, they used to play at the 3B with regularity back in the day.
“It’s like northern culture on the skids up there in Bellingham. We always enjoy playing there and the after parties are great.”
I suggest y’all grab your dancing shoes and catch them (and some chicken) at their Nov. 8 show at the Nightlight. For more information, visit www.scots.com.
