Skeleton Coast

Skeleton Coast
Posted on March 3, 2011 by Nathan
I mentioned yesterday the Sundress (who has opened for Washed Out and rising indie stars Tame Impala) show at Dan’s, and since then I’ve had the opportunity to talk to a friend of mine who is in Skeleton Coast, one of the bands opening for Sundress, and asked him to just tell me a little bit about his group. He described it as a shoegaze/jungle pop combination, which sounds awesome. I’ll be disappointed if they don’t cover My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless in full gamelan style based on that description.

Skeleton Coast is based in Fort Worth and is made up of Ryan, Mike, Bobby and Brian. Check this show out. Dan’s, tomorrow, be there!
- Listen DFW

The quantity of quality live music in Funkytown is increasing at such a an alarming rate, local businesses are scrambling to provide new places to put it all. Bars and eateries are all turning into live-music venues; I half-expect to learn that Lola's is going to open up a third stage in the back stall of their men's room.

So when I heard there was a show Sunday at Esoterica on Foch Street, off Seventh Street, I just assumed it was, well, something other than a hair salon. But when I got there I found it was, in fact, a hair salon. Well, a hair salon/lounge/art gallery/live-music venue. No, I'm not making this up.

At least at the door, Esoterica seemed like a bar. There was a guy checking IDs and giving out wristbands. There was the usual crowd of hipsters and music lovers, as well as a good assortment of artsy types. It was kind of a neat setup actually: The chairs where one normally sits to get their hair styled were lined up in front of the stage area. It made for comfortable, height-adjustable seating while listening to the music. Esoterica has a DJ booth so there was a sound system and automated lighting already. At the back of the room, there was a bar, which is normally -- well, a bar. Presumably a few regular patrons enjoy getting tipsy while getting their hair tinted.

An unbilled act, Pure Life, went on first -- a one-guitar, two-singer folk thing. The nonguitar-playing vocalist looked bored with the whole thing, was out of time and even checked his text messages midsong. Oh, and covering Tupac folk-singer style was funny and ironic about five years ago; now, not so much. Red Starlet (minus their guitarist) and the Cleanup followed (excellent as usual) and then the headliner, Skeleton Coast.

Skeleton Coast features Mike Best (bass), Ryan Torres (guitar, vocals and keyboard), Bobby McCubbins (guitar, vocals and keyboard), and Brian Garcia (drums). The band's lyrics so far have been written by McCubbins and Torrest, but Best and Garcia also have started adding their own wordsmithing to the band repertoire. Despite who writes what, though, the lyrics remain fluid and change as they perform them.

The overall sound of Skeleton Coast is kind of hard to nail down. Think late-'60s psychedelia sound, only with a healthy dose of modern electronics thrown in. (There is also a bit of latter-day Beatles in there.) The rhythm section is tight, and the guitars energetic. The vocals are heavily effects-laden, though at times it was hard to hear what they were singing.

In fact, although I liked Skeleton Coast's music a lot, the performance was plagued with sound issues; at times, the PA was simply too muddy to hear the excellent musicianship. This is a new band, and they are working on getting all the bugs out.

Even with the bugs, though, the show was a hit, and crowd was incredibly enthusiastic. Esoterica was also a hit, and what seemed like an odd mix of business ideas turned out to be a really enjoyable place to experience art and music. Who would have thought? - DFW.com Ink Edition

Currently all the members of the avant-garde pop quartet Skeleton Coast live in the same house. Singer-multi-instrumentalist Bobby McCubbins, singer- multi-instrumentalist Ryan Torres, bassist Mike Best, and drummer Brian Garcia share a four-bedroom place near the Cultural District. Given their eccentric, theatrical sound and the fact that all the guys are in their 20s, you might assume many varieties of debauchery and rawk ’n’ roll shenanigans occur in that residence. McCubbins says, eh, not so much. “We wake up and go to work and then practice music at night and go to sleep,” he said. “Our lives are pretty fluid right now.”

Skeleton Coast was formed last March after McCubbins went to a party and met the other three members, who were playing in a traditional pop-rock guitar-bass-drum outfit called Gold Jungle. Torres said that McCubbins, whose strong vibrato vocals are sweet and piercing at the same time, brought “atmosphere and texture” to the group. And everyone in Gold Jungle was itching for a change in direction. “We knew a certain amount of energy was missing from our music,” Torres said. “I wanted to develop my vocals and do more keyboards. Bobby helped us evolve.”

Skeleton Coast’s recent performances at the salon/nightclub Esoterica and??The Grotto’s Halloween night bill with the Hanna Barbarians drew attention to Skeleton Coast’s unique soundscapes: ethereal but punchy tunes in which keyboard, guitar, and digital sound effects interweave. The band is an unusual sight live because McCubbins and Torres stand before their keyboards with guitars strapped on, quickly switching from strings to keys apparently on a whim, often in the middle of a long tune. They also share lead vocal duties, although Torres insists that McCubbins is the real star in that area. The final result has been variously described as “jungle pop” (for the tribal beats occasionally employed), “melodramatic pop,” and “Zelda meets My Bloody Valentine.” Influences include The Beach Boys, Modest Mouse, Pink Floyd, and Roy Orbison (one of McCubbins’ favorite singers).

The lyrics, co-written by McCubbins and Torres, can change from show to show depending on the guys’ mood, but they’re not interested in writing bad poetry for bad poetry’s sake. Some of the tunes have a barbed message –– “A Critic Not a Writer” is about hipsters (and possibly some music scribes) who diss music they know nothing about, and “Freeloaders” is aimed at people who take advantage of other people’s generosity.

Right now Skeleton Coast is preparing to record a two-song demo at producer Robby Baxter’s Red Star Recording Studio in Arlington. They’re taking a break from live shows to write more tunes but should return to area clubs by late December or early January. McCubbins said they’d eventually love to play for national audiences, but first things first. With the band still so new, they’re keeping their sights modest, focusing on gigging, doing an EP after the demo, and then doing a concept album, all while building a local fan base. The latter appeals to McCubbins most. “I’m excited about the Fort Worth scene right now,” he said. “There’s a lot of diversity, a lot of great music happening. People younger than us are getting out of high school and forming bands and entering the scene. It’ll be great to see what the next year brings.” - Fort Worth Weekly