Skif Dank Article

Ed sent me this link about a band we grew up going to see. Over the years we've become friends with them, and on their new album, I'm playing some trumpet parts. I thought the article should be displayed here. World, I give you Skif Dank!:

Skif Dank still poppin' up on local punk scene

Written by: News-Journal Editor
May 28, 2009 10:53 AM | No Comments

Now we know -- Pete Townshend was just kidding when he penned "Hope I die before I get old" way back in 1965. Right, Pete?

Back then Townshend was a 20-year-old pup of a rocker. Do the math: Pete is now past the age of eligibility to sing the Beatles' "When I'm 64."

Here's what Marc Tomestic, drummer with the Daytona Beach rock/ska-punk/pop-punk band Skif Dank, had to say about the "O" thing: "I have contrasting thoughts. I feel old and I am old ... there aren't many bands around here who've been together as long."

That was Tomestic when I interviewed him in January 2000, for a story about how Skif Dank not-so-suddenly found themselves to be THE veteran rock band on the local original music scene.

If band years were calculated like dog years (and they should be), then Skif Dank is now 112 years old.

These days the Dank includes two members who were there when the band first pumped plutonium pellets into their horns and guitars back in 1993: Tomestic and singer-guitarist Billy Bradford. They'll be in action with longtime Dank trombone player Jon "Ceesaw" Cecil and a few new mates as Skif Dank performs at 9 p.m. May 30 at Jack's Stadium Sports Bar and Grill, 2225 S. Ridgewood Ave., South Daytona.

No, Skif Dank hasn't gigged continuously since forming in the era when grunge and Lollapalooza ruled the rock 'n' roll universe. They disbanded in August 2000, played a reunion gig two years later and have been performing and recording intermittently (OK, erratically) ever since.

Still, to put Skif Dank's achievement in perspective, consider: Subtract those two years between breakup and reunion, and the Dank's run is still twice as long as Nirvana's stay on this planet, and two years longer than Led Zeppelin's reign.

The Dank have been a monument to local rock 'n' roll two years longer than the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's museum has existed in Cleveland.

During the first leg of its run (1993-2000), Skif Dank released five independent recordings, toured the country seven times, won two Orlando Music Awards, and kept the banner of original rock flying over Daytona Beach for a longer period than almost any other band.

And they did it all while having to keep their feet in the real world of day jobs and bills due -- which to my mind says something about Bradford, Cecil and Tomestic's rock 'n' roll hearts.

It's one thing for the Mick Jaggers and the Pete Townshends of the world to keep sloggin' on (may the rock gods of Valhalla bless 'em). It's quite another to stare at your busted guitar amp and decide to log a few thousand more miles on your car's bald tires so that you can repair the amp before your next gig.

Of course, all this talk about Skif Dank's longevity would be hollow if their music sucked.

I've been fortunate to hear tracks from the band's upcoming new album. Such awesome, caffeine-laden new songs as "I Got Mine," "Little" and "1KMPH" will make Townshend shake his cane in ska-punk/pop-punk ecstasy.

"Enjoy yourself -- it's later than you think," Tomestic wrote in a recent e-mail to friends and fans announcing this weekend's Skif Dank show.

Now that's a more worthy rock 'n' roll credo than "Hope I die before I get old."