The Skunks
Encyclopedia
The Skunks are a three-piece rock band formed in 1977 in Austin, Texas
.
, the Continental Club, Dukes Royal Coach, Club Foot
, Liberty Lunch
, and Raul's
among many others in the late 1970s and early 80s. The band's music channeled classic garage rock influences, such as The Rolling Stones
and The Who
with Seventies cult figures such as the New York Dolls
and The Velvet Underground
, infused with a powerful guitar attack and Sublett's active, up-front electric bass, The Skunks sound is best represented by songs like "Cheap Girl" and "Push Me Around", both of which appeared on the first Austin punk compilation album Live at Raul's.
The Skunks debuted at Raul's club in February 1978. The original band members were Jesse Sublett
on vocals and bass
, "Fazz" Eddie Munoz on guitar
and Billy Blackmon on drums. After recording their first eponymous album, the so-called "Black LP," Eddie Munoz left for Los Angeles at the end of 1978 and joined The Plimsouls
. Jon Dee Graham
replaced him on guitar
in January 1979, thus forming the definitive Skunks lineup. Their first single release, "Earthquake Shake," was recorded for $10. Copies are known to fetch hundreds of dollars when they appear at auction. The Skunks were inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
Co-Headlining their opening gig at Raul's with a band called The Violators which featured, along with Jesse Sublett, Kathy Valentine
who would later join the Go-Go's, Carla Olson and Marilyn Dean. The Skunks and The Violators are generally recognized as Austin's first two punk bands and this gig as the first Austin punk show. The core fan base that formed around Raul's would provide the alternative voice in an evolving Austin music scene that would eventually call its base "The Live Music Capital Of The World," spawning the SXSW
and ACL
festivals. Some of the other Austin connected punk bands sprouting from this scene included The Explosives, The Dicks, The Huns, The Big Boys, Terminal Mind, Sharon Tate's Baby, and The Butthole Surfers.
One of the first Austin punk bands to tour nationally, The Skunks played CBGB's in August 1979 and Max's Kansas City
in 1980 and opened for such national and international acts as The Ramones , The Police
, Gang Of Four
, Ultravox
, The Clash
, John Cale
, The Cramps
and many others. During their sets they were often joined onstage by touring artists such as Elvis Costello
, Patti Smith
, Joe Ely
, as well as members of The Clash
, Cheap Trick
and Blondie
.
Founders Jesse Sublett and Eddie Munoz initially played together in the glam blues band Jelly Roll from 1975 to 1977 before recruiting Billy Blackmon and forming the initial lineup of The Skunks. After Munoz's departure in 1978 he was replaced on guitar by Jon Dee Grahm who remained with the band until the summer of 1980 and was replaced by Doug Murray, formerly of Terminal Mind. Blackmon left the band in 1982 and was replaced on drums by Doug Murray's brother, Greg Murray, a lineup that lasted until 1983 when conflicting opinions within the band led to their break up during pre-production of their second LP on Republic Records. Austin rock critic Margaret Moser writes: "In Austin’s punk rock history book, the Skunks are the first page. From the time they played the original alt-rock nightspot, Raul’s, through lineup changes that eventually brought them right back to the beginning, this trio toughed it out. Bassist Jesse Sublett, guitarist Jon Dee Graham, and drummer Billy Blackmon’s muscular power punk is still as potent and danceable now as it was 20 years ago."
Jesse reunited what is considered the classic lineup of Sublett, Graham, and Blackmon in 1985 for a reunion show at Austin's Liberty Lunch. Starting in 2000 this lineup began playing annual reunion gigs at The Continental Club 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...
.
History
The band debuted in early 1978 and quickly became a mainstay of the Austin, Texas scene, playing not only venues known for having an open-minded clientele, but clubs whose audiences crossed the spectrum, including the Armadillo World HeadquartersArmadillo World Headquarters
The Armadillo World Headquarters was the premier music hall and entertainment center in Austin, Texas, United States from 1970 to 1980.-History:...
, the Continental Club, Dukes Royal Coach, Club Foot
Club Foot
Club Foot was a large live-music venue in Austin, Texas, in the early 1980s. Located downtown at the corner of 4th and Brazos Streets, it had a reputation as a punk rock venue for its support of local and touring punk bands, but it also booked a wide variety of other types of music.-Location:Club...
, Liberty Lunch
Liberty Lunch
Liberty Lunch was a live-music venue in Austin, Texas. It began in the 1940s as an eatery and, over the years, evolved into a live-music venue. It closed in 1999....
, and Raul's
Raul's (night club)
Raul's was a live music nightclub at 2610 Guadalupe Street in Austin, Texas in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which specialized in punk rock music...
among many others in the late 1970s and early 80s. The band's music channeled classic garage rock influences, such as The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
with Seventies cult figures such as the New York Dolls
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
and The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, infused with a powerful guitar attack and Sublett's active, up-front electric bass, The Skunks sound is best represented by songs like "Cheap Girl" and "Push Me Around", both of which appeared on the first Austin punk compilation album Live at Raul's.
The Skunks debuted at Raul's club in February 1978. The original band members were Jesse Sublett
Jesse Sublett
Jesse Sublett is a musician and writer from Austin, Texas. As a musician he is best-known for his long-running rock trio, The Skunks...
on vocals and bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, "Fazz" Eddie Munoz on guitar
Guitar
The 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...
and Billy Blackmon on drums. After recording their first eponymous album, the so-called "Black LP," Eddie Munoz left for Los Angeles at the end of 1978 and joined The Plimsouls
The Plimsouls
The Plimsouls are an American rock band formed in Paramount, California in 1978.-Formation:Formed by singer, guitarist and songwriter Peter Case , the Plimsouls began as a trio in 1978 which included Case, bassist Dave Pahoa and drummer Louie Ramírez...
. Jon Dee Graham
Jon Dee Graham
Jon Dee Graham is a musician, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas. He was born February 28, 1959. Graham was named the Austin Musician of the Year during the South by Southwest music conference in 2006...
replaced him on guitar
Guitar
The 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...
in January 1979, thus forming the definitive Skunks lineup. Their first single release, "Earthquake Shake," was recorded for $10. Copies are known to fetch hundreds of dollars when they appear at auction. The Skunks were inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
Co-Headlining their opening gig at Raul's with a band called The Violators which featured, along with Jesse Sublett, Kathy Valentine
Kathy Valentine
Kathy Valentine is the American bass guitarist for the all-girl rock band, The Go-Go's....
who would later join the Go-Go's, Carla Olson and Marilyn Dean. The Skunks and The Violators are generally recognized as Austin's first two punk bands and this gig as the first Austin punk show. The core fan base that formed around Raul's would provide the alternative voice in an evolving Austin music scene that would eventually call its base "The Live Music Capital Of The World," spawning the SXSW
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
and ACL
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day American music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas at the city's central public park, Zilker Park...
festivals. Some of the other Austin connected punk bands sprouting from this scene included The Explosives, The Dicks, The Huns, The Big Boys, Terminal Mind, Sharon Tate's Baby, and The Butthole Surfers.
One of the first Austin punk bands to tour nationally, The Skunks played CBGB's in August 1979 and Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South, in New York City, which was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Origin of name:...
in 1980 and opened for such national and international acts as The Ramones , The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, Gang Of Four
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...
, Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
, The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
, The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
and many others. During their sets they were often joined onstage by touring artists such as Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
, Joe Ely
Joe Ely
Joe Ely is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist whose music touches on honky-tonk, Texas Country, Tex-Mex and rock and roll....
, as well as members of The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
and Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
.
Founders Jesse Sublett and Eddie Munoz initially played together in the glam blues band Jelly Roll from 1975 to 1977 before recruiting Billy Blackmon and forming the initial lineup of The Skunks. After Munoz's departure in 1978 he was replaced on guitar by Jon Dee Grahm who remained with the band until the summer of 1980 and was replaced by Doug Murray, formerly of Terminal Mind. Blackmon left the band in 1982 and was replaced on drums by Doug Murray's brother, Greg Murray, a lineup that lasted until 1983 when conflicting opinions within the band led to their break up during pre-production of their second LP on Republic Records. Austin rock critic Margaret Moser writes: "In Austin’s punk rock history book, the Skunks are the first page. From the time they played the original alt-rock nightspot, Raul’s, through lineup changes that eventually brought them right back to the beginning, this trio toughed it out. Bassist Jesse Sublett, guitarist Jon Dee Graham, and drummer Billy Blackmon’s muscular power punk is still as potent and danceable now as it was 20 years ago."
Jesse reunited what is considered the classic lineup of Sublett, Graham, and Blackmon in 1985 for a reunion show at Austin's Liberty Lunch. Starting in 2000 this lineup began playing annual reunion gigs at The Continental Club in Austin, Texas.
Studio albums
- The Skunks aka the Black Album (Rude Records, 1980)
- The Skunks aka the Purple Album (Republic, 1982)
Live albums
- Earthquake Shake Live CD (Skunks Records, 2001)
- Earthquake Shake Vinyl LP (Skunks Records, 2002)
Singles
- Earthquake Shake b/w Can't Get Loose (Skunks Records, 1979)
- The Racket b/w What Do You Want (Skunks Records, 1981)