Skating Polly | |
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![]() Skating Polly performing in September 2018. From left to right: Kelli Mayo, Peyton Bighorse, and Kurtis Mayo. | |
Background information | |
Origin | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States |
Genres | |
Years active | 2009–present |
Labels | El Camino Media |
Members |
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Website | https://www.skatingpolly.com/ |
Skating Polly is an American rock band formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, in 2009. The band was founded by multi-instrumentalist step-siblings Kelli Drew Mayo (born March 29, 2000) [1] and Peyton Mckenna Bighorse (born July 11, 1995), [2] who were 9 and 14 years old respectively. Kelli's brother Kurtis Lee Mayo joined the band on drums in 2017 so that Peyton and Kelli could focus on guitar and bass respectively. The band is noted for their alternating instruments among each member, poetic lyrics, intense live shows, melodic arrangements, and an eclectic array of songs that vary in style from riot grrrl to grunge to piano-based indie pop.
Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse met after Mayo's father began dating Bighorse's mother. Bighorse is of Native American (Cheyenne and Arapaho) descent. [3] The girls' families eventually moved in together and they began playing with various musical instruments that their parents owned. The band's first setup consisted of Bighorse on drums and Mayo on basitar, a three-stringed bass instrument most notably used by alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America. (Mayo's father made her a basitar after she complained that a traditional six-string guitar hurt her fingers.) The girls played their first show at their family Halloween party in 2009, with Bighorse playing simple drum beats while Mayo played basitar and improvised vocals. [4] They named their band Skating Polly because they considered it "ironically juvenile." [5] Mayo soon taught herself to play basic piano and drums while Bighorse taught herself guitar. They began writing songs at a furious pace, trading off instruments and lead vocal duties. They were eventually discovered by Chris Harris, owner of the small indie label Nice People Records based in Norman, Oklahoma. Harris showed Mayo's father how to utilize home recording equipment and the duo began recording their first album, Taking Over the World, in their living room. [6]
Shortly before Taking Over the World was released on Nice People Records in November 2010, Mayo and Bighorse met Exene Cervenka of the seminal punk band X after a show in Oklahoma City. Cervenka was surprised by their extensive knowledge of punk rock music. She began corresponding with them via email and, after hearing Taking Over the World and demos of new songs, began discussing them in numerous interviews. [7] (She stated in a Los Angeles Times interview that, if she were in charge, she would have Skating Polly play the Academy Awards.) [8] Cervenka eventually offered to produce the band's sophomore album. In the meantime, Taking Over the World was well-received locally and the band began to perform at clubs throughout the Midwest. [9]
Cervenka came to Norman, Oklahoma in December 2011 to produce what would eventually become Skating Polly's second album, Lost Wonderfuls. The entire album was recorded in four days at Hook Echo Sound studios. Blag Dahlia, lead singer of the notorious punk band Dwarves, mixed a version of the album which was set to be released by a startup label in the Spring of 2012. However, the band's deal with the label fell through after the release date was repeatedly pushed back. The band went back into the studio to work on new material. Meanwhile, Kliph Scurlock, drummer of The Flaming Lips, became a fan of the band and offered to remix Lost Wonderfuls while a new record deal was being finalized. [10]
Lost Wonderfuls was eventually released by the Los Angeles-based label SQE Music in April 2013. Scurlock mixed the final versions of all songs except the title track. The album is a mixture of punk rock, riot grrrl, folk music and twee pop influences and was well received. The band released music videos for the songs "Placer", "Carrots", "Kick", "Lost Wonderfuls" and "Blue Obvious." Many well-known musicians and artists have praised the band, including Rosanne Cash, Sean Lennon, Django Django, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Ty Segall, Wayne Coyne (The Flaming Lips), Kate Nash, Wavves, Lori Barbero of Babes in Toyland and the actor Viggo Mortensen. Kliph Scurlock has perhaps been the band's most ardent supporter, as he can be seen wearing their T-shirt at various Flaming Lips concerts such as Freak Night, OKC Zoo Amp 2012, and Indianapolis 2013, in the documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me , in a Super Bowl commercial for Hyundai, and in the Gruff Rhys American Interior documentary.
In the fall of 2013, the band traveled to Olympia, WA to record their third album, Fuzz Steilacoom with K Records founder Calvin Johnson. The album was released in spring 2014. Allmusic noted that the band had "subdued some of their twee-pop tendencies in favor of a raw, raucous, and more immediate sound" and praised the album as "brimming with creative wit, youthful abandon, emotional fervor, and classic punk spirit." Several songs received airplay on college radio throughout the U.S. Rodney Bingenheimer of KROQ began playing songs from the album on his influential Rodney on the ROQ program. The band toured throughout 2014 to support the record. The album was co-produced by Allan Vest, of Oklahoma indie rock band Starlight Mints, and Chris Harris. Dub Narcotic Studio engineer Bob Schwenkler co-produced one song on the record, "Dead Friends." The album was named after Steilacoom Road in Olympia, WA (Sleater-Kinney is also named after a road near Olympia), where the duo stayed while recording the album; the word "fuzz" was added because Skating Polly felt like the most common element among all the songs was that they sounded loud, distorted, and fuzzy. [11]
In 2015, Skating Polly toured in Europe in support of Babes in Toyland. In the fall of 2015 the band moved to Tacoma, Washington. The band spent the fall of 2015 recording The Big Fit in Lawrence, KS with Kliph Scurlock. The album was released in spring 2016 and received acclaim, particularly from the UK press. Kerrang! described the album as "overflowing with power, passion and songwriting excellence" and Paste deemed the album "one of the strongest punk records in recent memory." Shirley Manson of Garbage also praised the album in the press. On January 27 of 2017, the band announced on their Instagram the addition of Kurtis Mayo, the girls' brother, on drums to expand the band's full potential. [12] The band collaborated with Louise Post and Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt for the three song EP New Trick, released in 2017. In 2018, Skating Polly released their fifth studio album, The Make It All Show.
Since the release of Lost Wonderfuls, the band has garnered a considerable amount of airplay on indie and college radio stations across the United States and in certain places in Europe, particularly France. The band has toured extensively across the U.S., providing support to Deerhoof, The Flaming Lips, Band of Horses, Mike Watt, Kate Nash, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Emily Wells, Generationals, Holly Golightly, and Wavves. The band played 7 shows at SXSW in 2013 and recorded two Daytrotter sessions. [13]
Skating Polly's song "A Little Late" appeared during the credits of Viggo Mortensen's 2020 film Falling. The members of the band attended 2020 Sundance Film Festival where Falling premiered.
Skating Polly's sixth album, Chaos County Line, was released on June 23, 2023. [14]
Skating Polly is often compared to bands associated with the riot grrrl movement such as Bikini Kill and Babes in Toyland, but many songs bring to mind artists such as Kimya Dawson and Beat Happening. The band, however, denies being a part of riot grrrl. Skating Polly does not have a front person in the traditional sense, as both Mayo and Bighorse typically write and provide lead vocals for their own songs. The band is known to cover other artists and has put its spin on songs by Spacemen 3, Neutral Milk Hotel, Dead Boys, Portishead, Perfume Genius, The Left Banke, Ol' Dirty Bastard, M.I.A., AC/DC, Nina Nastasia and Syd Barrett. [15]
Current members
Timeline
Notes
X is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles. The original members are vocalist Exene Cervenka, vocalist-bassist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer D. J. Bonebrake. The band released seven studio albums from 1980 to 1993. After a period of inactivity during the mid-to-late 1990s, X reunited in the early 2000s and continued to tour.
The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd, Derek Brown, Matt Duckworth Kirksey and Tommy McKenzie (bass). Coyne and Drozd have remained the band's only consistent members since 1991, with Coyne being the only remaining founding member following the departure of bassist and keyboardist Michael Ivins in 2021.
Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the riot grrrl movement, with feminist lyrics and fiery performances. Their music is characteristically abrasive and hardcore-influenced. After two full-length albums, several EPs and two compilations, they disbanded in 1997. The band reunited for tours in 2019 and 2022, with Erica Dawn Lyle on guitar in place of Karren.
Exene Cervenka is an American singer, artist, and poet. She is best known for her work as a singer in the California punk rock band X.
The Distillers are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by vocalist and guitarist Brody Dalle. Dalle co-wrote, played guitar and provided lead vocals for nearly every track on the band's three albums. After the breakup of the band in 2006, Dalle and Distillers guitarist Tony Bevilacqua went on to form Spinnerette.
John Nommensen Duchac, known professionally as John Doe, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, poet, guitarist and bass player. Doe co-founded LA punk band X, of which he is still an active member. His musical performances and compositions span rock, punk, country and folk music genres. As an actor, he has dozens of television appearances and several movies to his credit, including the role of Jeff Parker in the television series Roswell.
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Allison Wolfe is a Los Angeles–based singer, songwriter, writer, and podcaster. As a founding member and lead singer of the punk rock band Bratmobile, she became one of the leading voices of the riot grrl movement.
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Donald J. Bonebrake is an American musician who first emerged as the drummer of the punk rock band the Eyes. He is best known as an original member of and drummer for punk band X, of which he is still an active member.
Clifton Thomas "Kliph" Scurlock is an American musician. He was the drummer and percussionist for alternative rock band The Flaming Lips from 2002 to 2014.
The Controllers were an American Los Angeles-based punk rock band, who were formed in early 1977.
Beyond and Back: The X Anthology is a two-disc compilation album by American rock band X, released October 28, 1997 by Elektra Records. The anthology's tracks are split between already-released songs and demos, single versions, outtakes and live recordings.
The Modern Sounds of the Knitters is the second album by The Knitters, released in 2005. It has received mixed critical reviews.
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Alphabetland is the eighth studio album by American punk rock band X. Released digitally in April 2020, it is their first studio release in 27 years and the first with their original line-up in the past 35 years. X released the album with no prior announcement to coincide with the 40th anniversary of their debut album Los Angeles and credited songwriting to all four members for the first time in their career. The release has received positive reviews from critics.
"Destroying Angels" is a 2018 stand-alone single released by alternative rock band Garbage with John Doe and Exene Cervenka of the American punk rock band X. The song was written and recorded for 2018's Black Friday Record Store Day event in North America, with a digital release worldwide the following year.
The Make It All Show is the fifth studio album by Skating Polly. It was released on March 4, 2018. It is the first album with drummer Kurtis Mayo. Brad Wood produced the album.
Old Wives' Tales is an album by the American musician Exene Cervenka, released in 1989. Cervenka told the Los Angeles Times that she considered the album to be "for and about women."