Greyskull
Encyclopedia
Greyskull are a four-piece Texas
Punk rock
band originating from Dallas
, Texas
that was started in 2001 by Chris Smyers and Brad Bevill. Rooted in melodic punk rock and old renegade country, Greyskull are influenced by the great bands and artists before them like Social Distortion
, Bad Religion
, Chris LeDoux
, the Ramones
and Merle Haggard
.
Greyskull have independently released two EP's ("Better Off Dead EP" in 2003 and "Pretty in Ink EP" in 2007) and a full-length album ("State of Ruckus" in 2004).
in July 2001. The duo, who have been friends since 1993, wrote a song that same day while still learning to play their instruments. After writing songs and coming up with the band name over an IM conversation, they tried for a year to get the band off the ground. Finding a drummer that could and wanted to play punk rock proved to be tougher than expected for the "music scene newbies".
In March 2002 Allan Aguirre (Scaterd Few
and Spy Glass Blue
), decided to revive his old punk rock band, Scaterd Few, for a new record and a trip to the Cornerstone Music Festival. But Allan needed a guitarist, bassist and drummer to make it happen. A mutual friend connected Chris, Brad and Allan and the same week the Greyskull guys joined Allan Aguirre and Accidental Siren Records for Scaterd Few's last release "Omega No. 5
".
From March 2002 until July 2002 Chris and Brad worked with Allan Aguirre to record the album and rehearse for shows. After only a handful of shows in Dallas and a trip to Cornerstone, it was clear that Scaterd Few wasn't going to continue forward, however, the experience with Scaterd Few proved to be exactly what they needed to get Greyskull off the ground. In August 2002 Chris and Brad wrote four new songs and recorded their first demo (Better Off Dead EP) with their new friend Joe Sidoti (who played drums and recorded "Omega No. 5" for Scaterd Few). A few months later they added drummer Josh Dacus and were set to hit the stage.
During that time Greyskull played many shows around Texas and recorded their first full-length album, "State of Ruckus". They teamed-up again with friend, Joe Sidoti, who recorded the 14 song LP in a cabin on the banks of Lake Travis in Austin, Texas
. Greyskull then went on to play many shows in support of the full-length album from 2004-2005.
came calling. The mobile phone giant called on Greyskull to be the face of their Nokia N93i
campaign in the Asia-Pacific region. As a result, Greyskull wrote and recorded (in November and December 2006) a new EP ("Pretty in Ink EP") for the campaign, as well as, shot two music videos for the Nokia N93i video contest. Greyskull was on all of the advertising (print, TV and online) in eight Asia-Pacific countries (Singapore
, Malaysia, Indonesia
, Australia
, India
, Philippines
, Vietnam
and Thailand
). Greyskull was flown to Singapore to perform at the N93i launch event in early January 2007 and went back to Singapore to play the campaign finale concert in April 2007. Footage of Greyskull from that concert was then edited and placed on music television stations in the eight participating markets as a Nokia N93i commercial/Greyskull music video (for the song “Pretty in Ink”). Once back in the States, Greyskull spent the rest of 2007 playing numerous shows around Texas and making radio appearances.
, Pennywise
, Bad Religion
, No Use for a Name
and Descendents
. As with all bands it took a few years for Greyskull to find their own style, but the band has moved more towards a blues and country influenced punk rock sound. Social Distortion
, the Misfits and the Ramones
are obviously big influences.
Blue-collar, Texas Punk Rock is how Greyskull likes to describe their sound.
campaign
The track, "Selfish Minds", was chosen as "Track of the Day", "Track Of The Week", "Best Melody in Punk", "Grooviest Rhythm in Punk" and "Chill-Out Track in Punk" on GarageBand.com. Three songs from their debut album ("State of Ruckus") were picked to be used in the MTV Asia teen show “Rouge
”. Two songs ("Selfish Minds" and "Less is More") were selected for the soundtrack of the independent film “Celebrity Cult”. The song, "Pretty in Ink", was used in the 2008 independent movie "Fissure". And "Texas Song" was used in the 2008 independent film, "Ungirlfriendable".
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
Punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band originating from Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
that was started in 2001 by Chris Smyers and Brad Bevill. Rooted in melodic punk rock and old renegade country, Greyskull are influenced by the great bands and artists before them like Social Distortion
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and David Hidalgo, Jr...
, Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
, Chris LeDoux
Chris LeDoux
Chris Ledoux was an American country music singer-songwriter, bronze sculptor and rodeo champion.During his career LeDoux recorded 36 albums which have sold more than six million units in the United States as of January 2007...
, the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
and Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
.
Greyskull have independently released two EP's ("Better Off Dead EP" in 2003 and "Pretty in Ink EP" in 2007) and a full-length album ("State of Ruckus" in 2004).
2001-2002
Greyskull was started by Chris Smyers and Brad Bevill in Brad's apartment after Warped TourWarped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...
in July 2001. The duo, who have been friends since 1993, wrote a song that same day while still learning to play their instruments. After writing songs and coming up with the band name over an IM conversation, they tried for a year to get the band off the ground. Finding a drummer that could and wanted to play punk rock proved to be tougher than expected for the "music scene newbies".
In March 2002 Allan Aguirre (Scaterd Few
Scaterd Few
Scaterd Few was a Christian punk band originating from Burbank, California. CCM magazine described their music as "pure punk for dread people," stating that it was a cross between Janes Addiction and Charlie Mingus.-Sin Disease era:...
and Spy Glass Blue
Spy Glass Blue
Spy Glass Blue, a Post-punk / New Wave / Brit Pop band formed by Allan Aguirre of Scaterd Few, is credited for legitimizing and authenticating the Post Punk genre in ACM much in the same way that Scaterd Few defined Punk Rock in CCM...
), decided to revive his old punk rock band, Scaterd Few, for a new record and a trip to the Cornerstone Music Festival. But Allan needed a guitarist, bassist and drummer to make it happen. A mutual friend connected Chris, Brad and Allan and the same week the Greyskull guys joined Allan Aguirre and Accidental Siren Records for Scaterd Few's last release "Omega No. 5
Omega No. 5
Omega No. 5 is the latest material by the punk band Scaterd Few. It was released in 2002 on Allan's own label, Accidental Sirens. Unlike on their 1998 release the band returns to its original punk stylings, mirroring Sin Disease in both aureal intensity and lyrical depth...
".
From March 2002 until July 2002 Chris and Brad worked with Allan Aguirre to record the album and rehearse for shows. After only a handful of shows in Dallas and a trip to Cornerstone, it was clear that Scaterd Few wasn't going to continue forward, however, the experience with Scaterd Few proved to be exactly what they needed to get Greyskull off the ground. In August 2002 Chris and Brad wrote four new songs and recorded their first demo (Better Off Dead EP) with their new friend Joe Sidoti (who played drums and recorded "Omega No. 5" for Scaterd Few). A few months later they added drummer Josh Dacus and were set to hit the stage.
2003-2005
In March 2003 with the new EP out and some experience on stage Greyskull played their first show ever at Dreamworld Music Complex in Arlington, Tx. The very next night they won a Battle of the Bands contest at The Door in Ft Worth. Kane Kelly filled in on guitar for both of those shows, however, Chris, Brad and Josh played as a three-piece for their next several shows. During the few shows performing as a three-piece, Greyskull met Robbie Estill and Roy Hudson while they were playing in their band, 10w30. Shortly after meeting, Robbie and Roy joined forces with Chris and Brad to form a solid line-up that lasted from July 2003-2006.During that time Greyskull played many shows around Texas and recorded their first full-length album, "State of Ruckus". They teamed-up again with friend, Joe Sidoti, who recorded the 14 song LP in a cabin on the banks of Lake Travis in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Greyskull then went on to play many shows in support of the full-length album from 2004-2005.
2006-2007
2006 proved to be pretty quiet for Greyskull until NokiaNokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
came calling. The mobile phone giant called on Greyskull to be the face of their Nokia N93i
Nokia N93i
The Nokia N93i is a smartphone produced by Nokia. It is part of the Nokia Nseries line of high-end smartphones and is a redesign of the Nokia N93. The N93i runs on Symbian OS version 9.1, with the Series 60 3rd Edition user interface. The phone is a clamshell design with a camera and landscape...
campaign in the Asia-Pacific region. As a result, Greyskull wrote and recorded (in November and December 2006) a new EP ("Pretty in Ink EP") for the campaign, as well as, shot two music videos for the Nokia N93i video contest. Greyskull was on all of the advertising (print, TV and online) in eight Asia-Pacific countries (Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Malaysia, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
). Greyskull was flown to Singapore to perform at the N93i launch event in early January 2007 and went back to Singapore to play the campaign finale concert in April 2007. Footage of Greyskull from that concert was then edited and placed on music television stations in the eight participating markets as a Nokia N93i commercial/Greyskull music video (for the song “Pretty in Ink”). Once back in the States, Greyskull spent the rest of 2007 playing numerous shows around Texas and making radio appearances.
2008-2011
Greyskull laid fairly dormant the years following their big Asia push, and concentrated on writing songs for a new album and played some spot shows around Texas.Style
In the early days (2001–2004), Greyskull grabbed their style and influence from great 90's punk bands like NOFXNOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
, Pennywise
Pennywise (band)
Pennywise is a Californian punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California, formed in 1988. The name is derived from the monster, It, from the Stephen King novel of the same title....
, Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
, No Use for a Name
No Use for a Name
No Use for a Name is a punk rock band from San Jose, California, United States formed in 1987 by Chris Dodge , Steve Papoutsis , Rory Koff and John Meyers...
and Descendents
Descendents (band)
The Descendents are an American punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California. As of 2011, they have released six studio albums, three live albums, three compilation albums and three EPs. The Descendents broke up and reformed several times over the years, sometimes with different musicians...
. As with all bands it took a few years for Greyskull to find their own style, but the band has moved more towards a blues and country influenced punk rock sound. Social Distortion
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and David Hidalgo, Jr...
, the Misfits and the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
are obviously big influences.
Blue-collar, Texas Punk Rock is how Greyskull likes to describe their sound.
Band members
- Chris Smyers - (July 2001–Present) Lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Brad Bevill - (July 2001–Present) GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, background vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Robbie Estill - (July 2003–Present) drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Kane Kelly - (March-June 2003, December 2006–Present) Lead GuitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Roy Hudson - (July 2003 - November 2006) Lead Guitar
- Josh Dacus - (November 2002 - July 2003) Drums
Discography
- Pretty in Ink EP (2007)
- State of Ruckus (2004)
- State of Ruckus Pre-Release (2004)
- Better Off Dead EP (2003)
Misc
Greyskull chose the winner of $10,000 as part of the Nokia N93iNokia N93i
The Nokia N93i is a smartphone produced by Nokia. It is part of the Nokia Nseries line of high-end smartphones and is a redesign of the Nokia N93. The N93i runs on Symbian OS version 9.1, with the Series 60 3rd Edition user interface. The phone is a clamshell design with a camera and landscape...
campaign
The track, "Selfish Minds", was chosen as "Track of the Day", "Track Of The Week", "Best Melody in Punk", "Grooviest Rhythm in Punk" and "Chill-Out Track in Punk" on GarageBand.com. Three songs from their debut album ("State of Ruckus") were picked to be used in the MTV Asia teen show “Rouge
Rouge
Rouge may refer to:*Rouge , a cosmetic used to color the cheeks and emphasize the cheekbones*Rouge , a 1987 Hong Kong film*Rouge , an online film journal...
”. Two songs ("Selfish Minds" and "Less is More") were selected for the soundtrack of the independent film “Celebrity Cult”. The song, "Pretty in Ink", was used in the 2008 independent movie "Fissure". And "Texas Song" was used in the 2008 independent film, "Ungirlfriendable".