Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The band released their debut EP Voodoo Beach Party in 1984, followed by their self-titled debut album the following year. After these early releases, the band's line-up shifted due to a perceived lack of direction, and the band re-emerged with a new sound that encompassed a multitude of genres.
History
Guitarist and founding member Rick Miller grew up dividing his time between his father's home and business in Henderson, North Carolina and his mother's home in southern California. Miller completed an art degree at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The first incarnation of Southern Culture on the Skids formed in 1983 and featured Miller on guitar, with Stan Lewis (vocals), Leslie Land (bass) and Chip Shelby (drums). Of the band's name, Miller later said "(We wanted) some kind of name that would get us some attention, ya know? We were listening to the UNC radio (station) there and they were playing an REM song. I like REM fine, but at the end of it, the DJ says, 'Ya that was REM, the sound of the new South.' I looked at my roommate and we said, 'Gawd, if that's the sound of the 'new South' I preferred it when it was on the skids.' That's how we got the name." This line-up released the EP Voodoo Beach Party, followed later in 1985 by a full-length album entitled Southern Culture on the Skids on local indie label Lloyd Street.
Without a label, SCOTS toured steadily for a few years. Zombified (1998) was a limited, independent release themed around horror movies from drive-ins and late-night TV. SCOTS' next widely released album appeared in 2000, Liquored Up and Lacquered Down, on TVT Records. The multiple alcohol-themed songs reflected the band's previous two years, said Miller.
In their earlier days, SCOTS occasionally performed as their own opening act under the name The Pinecones, playing songs inspired by 1960s country-rock and psychedelia typical of artists like Gram Parsons, The Byrds, The Seeds and The Chocolate Watchband (amongst others). Charleston Grit says that the band makes "white trash fashion and Southern twang an art form."
The Shepherd Express said that the band's music was classified under "genre labels a country mile long", including rockabilly, R&B and surf. WNRN described the band's style as "Dixie-fried Southern rock". The Newtown Bee described their music as "surfin' southern fried psychobilly". Elmore magazine wrote that the band's musical style encompasses "an eclectic range of Americana including rockabilly, surf rock, country and R&B, with a punk edge and heaps of humor". AllMusic described the band's sound as a "wild, careening brand of rock & roll [...] a quintessentially Southern-fried amalgam of rockabilly, boogie, country, blues, swamp pop, and vintage R&B, plus a liberal dose of California surf guitar, a hint of punk attitude, and the occasional mariachi horns". According to the Virginian-Pilot, the band fuses blues, psychobilly and rock and roll.
The band's influences include the Cramps,
| Moist Records
|-
| 1992
| For Lovers Only
| Safe House Records
|-
| 1994
| Ditch Diggin
| Telstar Records
|-
| 2002
| Live At El Sol
| Kudzu Records
|-
| 2004
| Mojo Box
| Yep Roc Records
|-
| 2006
| Doublewide and Live
| Yep Roc Records
|-
| 2006
| Doublewide and Live (Deluxe Edition)
| Yep Roc Records
|-
| 2007
| Countrypolitan Favorites
| Yep Roc Records
|-
| 2010
| The Kudzu Ranch
| Kudzu Records
|-
| 2011
| Zombified (reissue with 5 bonus tracks)
| Kudzu Records
|-
| 2013
| Dig This: Ditch Diggin' V.2
| Kudzu Records
|-
| 2016
| The Electric Pinecones
| Kudzu Records
|-
| 2018
| Bootleggers Choice
| Kudzu Records
|-
| 2020
| Kudzu Records Presents
| Kudzu Records
|-
| 2021
| At Home With Southern Culture on the Skids
| Kudzu Records
|}
EPs/singles/demos
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Title
!Label
!Other information
|-
| 1984
| Voodoo Beach Party
| Lloyd Street Records
| EP featuring 4 studio tracks: "Rock-A-Hula Rock", "Swamp", "Voodoo Beach Party", "I Knew A Girl (Who Never Said No)"
|-
| 1992
| Santo! Sings
| Zontar Records
| EP featuring 4 studio tracks
|-
| 1993
| Peckin' Party
| Feedbag Records
| EP featuring 3 studio tracks and 3 live tracks
|-
| 1993
| Girlfight
| Sympathy for the Record Industry
| EP featuring 6 studio tracks
|-
| 1996
| Santo Swings!/Viva del Santo
| Estrus Records
| EP featuring 6 studio tracks; a fictional Santo tribute soundtrack
|-
| 1996
| Camel Walk
| Geffen Records
| Australian EP featuring 2 studio tracks and 3 live tracks (released September 24, 1996); the title track is from Dirt Track Date
|-
| 1998
| Zombified
| Monkey-Dog Music/Cortex Records
| Limited edition Australian tour EP featuring 8 Halloween-inspired tracks; re-released and expanded to a full 13-track CD (yet still considered an EP) in 2011
|-
| 2009
| "Come as you are"/"Lucifer Sam"
| Spinout Records
| EP on black vinyl featuring Los Side Los Straitjackets w/ "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
|-
| 2014/2015
| "Party At My Trouse"/"Hey Mary"
| Yep Roc Records
| Limited edition single (2014), and EP (2015) on purple vinyl featuring Fred Schneider
|}
Guest appearances
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Title
!Album
!Label
!Other information
|-
| 1998
| "Werewolf", and "Sinister Purpose" (featuring Zacherly)
| Halloween Hootenanny
| Zombie-A-Go-Go Records
| Compilation of 19 Halloween-inspired tracks by various artists including Southern Culture On The Skids
|-
| 2013
| "Goo Goo Muck", "Que Monstruos Son", "The Loneliest Ghost In Town", "Tingler Blues", "La Marcha De Los Cabarones", and "Demon Death"
| Mondo Zombie Boogaloo
| Yep Roc Records
| Compilation of 15 Halloween-inspired tracks by Southern Culture On The Skids, The Fleshtones, and Los Straitjackets
|}
References
External links
- Official Website
- "69 El Camino" from the TV Show Corporate Country Sucks.
- Southern Culture on the Skids collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
- Rick Miller Interview and music from the CD Zombiefied