SKULL PRACTITIONERS SHARE VIDEO FOR 'LEAP'
TAKEN FROM DEBUT ALBUM, NEGATIVE STARS, OUT NOW ON IN THE RED RECORDS
MARCH 11 SHOW AT WINDJAMMER, NY w/ KILYNN LUNSFORD & SKY FURROWS
Credit: John Bottomley Photography
New York's Skull Practitioners, via Rock and Roll Globe, have shared the video for LEAP - beautifully animated and directed by Arturo Baston, and taken from their debut album, Negative Stars, which is out now on In The Red Records. "The video shows a number of ghostly characters condemned to repeat the same nonsense action over and over again. The result is a distressing, rhythmic, almost hypnotic but nice-looking disturbance that intends to reflect the absurdity of most social behaviors and the monotony of modern life. I felt that the intensity of Skull Practitioners' music and the ambiguity of LEAP's lyrics would fit fine with this concept" says Baston.
Previously, Victor had established himself as the dazzling co-lead guitarist for Steve Wynn and the Miracle Three - when Wynn revived his ‘80s LA Paisley Underground consortium The Dream Syndicate in 2017, Victor took the guitar chair previously occupied by Karl Precoda and Paul Cutler. Levine was playing in DBCR, a three-piece unit. “We wanted to go to a five-piece, and needed a drummer and another guitar player,” he says. “We put an ad out on Craigslist and met Jason and Alex that way. Alex was just two weeks into living in New York. We played together for a while, and then it just sort of dissolved. Jason, Alex, and I actually had more of a shared, common musical perspective, and the three of us decided, ‘Let’s stick together with just us three.’”
Skull Practitioners recorded a limited cassette-only debut, st1, which they self-released in 2014. The four-song collection, on which Baker was the lone band member to take a vocal, marked the start of a long hunt for the right voice. “We kept looking for a new singer, and that person never came,” says Victor. “None of us wanted to sing at all. After a while, we had been together as a three-piece for so long that we had our thing, and it became difficult for someone to fit into it. So we pulled a Genesis! The best thing about it is that now all three of us will sing, and that takes the pressure off just one of us.” Levine adds, “Whoever writes, sings. It’s their expression, so they should say what they have to say.”
On Negative Stars, Levine performs “Dedication” and “What Now,” and Victor sings “Exit Wounds,” “LEAP,” “Intruder,” and “Ventilation.” The album’s expansive instrumental tracks are “Fire Drill” and Skull Practitioners’ longtime club highlight “Nelson D,” which first appeared on st1 in a live version. Each player brings something uniquely his own to the mix.
Skull Practitioners have begun to take to the stage more regularly: they have opened shows for Lydia Lunch, Hammered Hulls, Live Skull, and In the Red label mates the Wolfmanhattan Project (Kid Congo Powers, Mick Collins, and Bob Bert) and for Jon Spencer & The HITmakers at a sold out TV Eye in New York this past weekend. The band have just announced a show at Windjammer in Queens, NY, with Kilynn Lunsford and Sky Furrows.
Says Levine, “I think the band is represented at its best in a live setting. That’s where we’re in our element. Playing live, we’re out for blood.” Victor adds, “With the live thing, we just want to destroy, in the nicest, most friendly way — we’re nice people. Someone said about us, ‘These guys look like a bunch of accountants.’ People don’t really know what to expect before they hear us. I think they’re all a little surprised, maybe, and we like having that element of surprise.”
"If there’s a deficiency of bottle smashing NYC garage rock fury in your life, these guys have you covered." Rock And Roll Globe
"Skull Practitioners have earned a reputation as a vibrant live act with the gale-force power to peel your skin back. On Negative Stars, the trio captures a commendable degree of that energy and sends it raging through your speakers. Hold on tight." Illinois Entertainer
"Together they create a foundation like two tons of solid concrete that Victor can do his magic over. Solid playing and great songs with an old school SST attitude." Punk Globe
"Savagely tuneful." - New York Music Daily
Upcoming Shows (more to be announced)
March 11 Windjammer Queens, NY w/ Kilynn Lunsford and Sky Furrows
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