2020 fucking sucked and everyone knows it. Everything changed so quickly and most of it wasn’t for the better. Just about the time the country was starting to close down due to the pandemic, No Skull was finishing up our self titled full length album Noskull. We eventually put the album out along with a live recording of a radio performance The Basement, a remastered version of the first full length Dreadear and an early demos compilation album Unsatisfactory. Once the stay at home order was in effect and the city closed down, No Skull slowly disintegrated.
In early 2021 while getting distracted from working on demos for a new set of songs, ex-No Skull drummer Abby contacted me saying a few fellas we knew from a rad local band called Laddermatch were looking for a new project. I honestly blew it off thinking, “ I’ll keep my ear out ” as I was neck deep in not really doing the new No Skull demos. A few weeks later one of the guys Erik contacted me saying Abby told him I was looking for people to play with, and although I didn’t think I was, I would be proven wrong.
Last week for the first time in over a year No Skull shook off the dust and blasted some tunes.
Although we’d talked for the last month in text, I met up with Dusty (drums) and Erik (bass) to play for the first time last weekend. It was a long drive from Haslett out to Orleans, but I was warmly welcomed when I arrived. We shook hands, set up gear & chatted and then with hardly any discussion about it, we blasted through an almost flawless version of Nirvana’s Dive. That’s when I knew these were the guys I didn’t know I was looking for. That’s when I knew No Skull was back from the dead, risen from the grave dug by 2020.
I believe Erik and Dusty are going to bring a fresh new take to the slow moving marshmallow and caramel sludge river that is No Skull. I’m happy to have them on board.
I want to give a huge thanks to Abby for inspiring this new No Skull line up. She was a badass drummer in AND out of No Skull, and I’ve never had an ex band member recruit the new line up. That’s a pretty selfless and mindful move and I’m grateful. Abby has a killer new band called Bloody Butterflies, check them out!
I have high hopes for this iteration of No Skull as these guys are great musicians and chill, fun guys. It’s not often you meet people you click with right away musically and personally, so I guess I lucked out with these wrestlin’ buddies.
In the next few months we’ll be working on new material, getting our poop in a group and getting ready to play out as soon as we get the chance. We have plans for a few releases, immediate and in the future, as well as other goodies on the horizon including new shirts & other merch and a possible webisode series of No Skull foolery.
We’ll keep updates coming on everything through facebook and instagram. As the world is starting to open back up we are hopeful for many good things, one of which is to be rocking for our friends and fans as soon as time allows. We hope to see you soon.
Thanks,
Ryan, No Skull
May 2021
