Bite Me! Skindred Interview

Benji Webbe of

by Nikki Neil

Skindred—a UK reggae rock outfit—is about to break wide open! Featuring elements of metal, dancehall, ragga, punk, and drum & bass, Skindred is unlike anything you have ever heard. With its eclectic mix of styles the band’s debut CD, Babylon, is one of the most impressive releases that the rock world has seen in years.

Hailing from South Wales, this energetic unit features former Dub War vocalist Benji Webbe and bassist Daniel Pugsley. The band is rounded out by the equally talented Mikey Dee (guitars) and Dirty Arya (bass). One of Skindred’s biggest attractions is the dichotomy between mosh-ability and dance-ability that can be heard in the music. Without a doubt, Skindred is completely unique in its approach. Listen up kids, a band this innovative only comes around once in a great while.

Are you excited about tonight’s show?

It’s the Roxy. Wow! What can I say? As a musician from the U.K., I am kind of in awe about playing this venue. I’ve been here twice before, and I’ve seen two great bands on this stage, Sly & Robbie with Black Uhuru and Soulfly, which are two bands that I really look up to. Hopefully, the vibe will be as nice as it was that night. So, yes, I’m excited to play the Roxy.

I like your enthusiasm.

That is the kind of band we are. We’re not out there trying to be the next big thing. We just really like to play music. Whether we’re playing in front of fifteen kids in the middle of Denver somewhere or playing at a the Manchester Academy with 3,000 kids screaming our name. It doesn’t matter to us. What matters is that we get to play with each other on stage every night.

How does the music scene in the U.K. differ from the U.S.?

Rock is not the predominant music in the U.K. However, in the States it has a much stronger presence and is far from being dead. In the U.K. dance oriented music is quite popular. Obviously, we take our elements of groove from that, but rock music is not the same over there. Rock music in America is much more wide stream, and kids are more turned on to rock music than pop music.

So you obviously had a wide variety of influences when you were growing up.

Oh yeah. I’m a little older than the guys in the band. Growing up I had great bands, which were basically the type of band I wanted to be in when I was a kid. Now, I’m in that band – Skindred - which uses the influences of dancehall, Reggae, and rock. The band I’m in now is the band that I wanted to be in as a kid. Look at bands like The Beat, The Specials, The Clash…bands that use different cultures in their music. I’d say that if we were of a root, we’d be of that root.

At what point did you know that music was your calling?

When I was a little boy I started singing for people, and they would tell me that I was good. So I thought, “Maybe that is what I am good at.” I spent years singing on Reggae sound systems in the U.K. My brothers were older than me, and it’s usually the case with kids that whatever their older brothers are doing they aspire to be. So, I just wanted to be a great Reggae singer but, at the same time, once I started singing in Reggae bands I did feel challenged. I also really loved punk rock music, which is why I wanted to do something that would push music forward. When I met Dan, our bass player, I was so happy to be doing something that was pushing music forward and not just following the trend. I was happy to have the opportunity to be a pioneer and do something strong and different.

I think that ‘pioneering’ is a good description for Skindred.

Thank you.

Since summer is pretty much over, can you tell me what the biggest highlight was for Skindred?

Our biggest highlight of summer…. It was upstate New York, in Syracuse I believe, at the K-ROCK show. We played at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and we played “Nobody,” which was the #1 radio request. As we started the song the crowd went crazy. There must have been at least 10,000 people there, and we had at least 1,000 kids freaking out and rocking out along with us. So, I would have to say that was the highlight of the summer for us. Cypress Hill was on right after us, which was also very cool.

How did you feel the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio?

The first time I heard one of our songs on the radio I thought to myself that it actually sounded sonically great. Howard Benson produced our album, and he’s had a number one song with P.O.D. He also produced the new Papa Roach song and has done some stuff with Head Automatica and sonically his stuff sounds great on the radio. The first time our song was played in America it came on just after Audioslave and I thought, “Wow!” I’m used to recording in a garage somewhere, so when I heard how powerful the song was it was like, “Wow!” Plus, [Nobody] is a good song. It’s a good bang your head, shake your ass type of song.

Babylon is a great album, but I was curious as to why the band decided to re-release it as opposed to putting out an album of new material?

When Lava first became interested in us I personally thought they were going to say, “Okay that was a great album. We’re going to put you in the studio, and we’re going to do a new album. Blah, blah, blah.” But instead they came to us and said, “We really believe that the World hasn’t seen the potential of Babylon yet. We believe that songs like “Pressure” and “Nobody” haven’t seen the light of day.” We sold about 50,000 copies of Babylon, when it was first released, before we got dropped by RCA. They gave us back the album and left us in the wilderness. So, when we were picked up by Lava all the band members expected to leave that behind us. We were excited that they believed the songs on the album had potential. They told us that they would put us in the studio to record 6, 7 new songs and pick some to put on the album. Today, people have the microwave mentality – too many songs and their heads turn off. So, instead of putting 20 songs on there, which would have been ridiculous, we just add some extra stuff. We put a remix on there and got some dancehall guys from the ‘70s to do some vocal parts. After talking with Lava, we really felt in our hearts that the album didn’t see the light of day and its potential was great and Lava believed in it, which is more than a lot of labels do. They didn’t just see the financial aspect. They actually believed in the songs and so we said, “Okay, if you believe in us we do as well, so why not give it a little push and why not push it in a new direction.”

That was a big compliment from Lava.

That is what we thought as well because at first I was like, “Look, I want to get this album out of the way. I don’t want to do it anymore. They want to sign us, and we have new songs that we’ve written.” But they said, “’The Fear’ has never seen the light of day and it’s a great radio song as is ‘Nobody’ and ‘Pressure’. We want to put you in the studio and you can do some new stuff and vibe up the album a little. We really want to give it a chance.” After awhile I agreed with them. It took me awhile to agree because it had been two years since I recorded the album. However, when I listen to it against other songs on the radio it doesn’t sound dated, and I’m like “Wow! There you go.” The proof is in the actual single. Plus, the live show helps as well.

The album doesn’t sound dated at all. In fact, it is actually quite fresh. It’s very cohesive, and I can listen to it all the way through. I can enjoy it from beginning to end, and there is not a song on there that I want to skip over.

Wow!

I definitely agree with Lava. It really is an enjoyable record.

Well there you go. We got the chance to record some brand new songs, and we did an acoustic version of “Pressure,” which is a hidden track. We had a lot of fun just putting it together.

You mentioned the band has written new material, aside from what is already on the album, how does the new material differ from the music that you’ve written in the past?

I’m a reggae punk rocker to the core, so whatever I do is going to be in that vein. When I worked with Soulfly I added my flavor, which was the screaming punk rock thing with the dancehall vocals. That is what I do. That’s my fit. Of course coming from such an eclectic upbringing…I loved to listen to bands like Queen and Inner Circle and really good Jamaican artists. I was listening to Thin Lizzie and Queen and loving that just as much. So, I’m always going to do that. That is what I do. I just love singing different types of melodies.

Did you enjoy working with Soulfly?

I had a great time. Max was a big Dub War fan, my old band, and it was in between the period of Dub War dying and me thinking about doing a new project. Going in the studio with Max as he was doing his new album after Sepultura was really uplifting for me. They flew me over to Los Angeles to record, and I was in the studio with Ross Robinson who, at the time, had just finished doing the Slipknot album and the Korn album, so we had the flavor of the year in terms of producer. It was a very good experience, and I had a great time.

Skindred’s music is very diverse. How do you go about composing your songs?

I just write songs. I love Reggae music, but if I was just singing Reggae or just in a straight punk rock band singing…when I listen to punk rock bands or Reggae bands I don’t think, “Oh I’d like to put the singer from Sum 41 with Sean Paul.” I don’t think like that. As a kid I listened to bands like Public Enemy because I always liked the diversity and the madness that was going on in the music. In terms of writing…for instance, Mikey came up with a riff for the “Beginning of “Sorrow” and even before we had any melodies I called that riff the “Beginning of Sorrow“ because it was just so awesome to me. We write very differently. I can be in the room with Araya (drummer) and we can start writing a whole song together, or it can be Dan and I. I get inspired by everything. Life is full of inspiration for me – like conversations, things that are going on in the World, movies, whatever.

There’s a lot of creativity going on.

Yes.

So what exactly happened between Skindred and RCA? They really seemed into the band at the beginning.

They just didn’t understand it. It was as simple as that. They didn’t understand what we were doing at the time. They thought we were that type of nü-metal, and they thought we needed something like that. As far as I’m concerned we did have a chance to record that album with Howard Benson, but I don’t think with RCA we would have done that at that time, So we went into the studio and recorded. The year or so that we were at RCA they had three different chairman. This business moves so quickly. You can be talking to a guy at Atlantic one day and the next day he is at Warner Chappel or Sony. It just moves so quickly and I think the people who initially took Skindred on loved it, but people were getting sacked left and right, so in the end we had no one in our corner fighting for us. But, I believe the music stands the test of time more than the band. This band is not about fashion or style. It’s definitely about the sound and the music.

What advice do you have for bands that are preparing to sign a record deal?

I think they should make sure that the people who are looking after them have strength in the label. Make sure that the people who sign the checks love you. That is my advice. If you don’t have someone fighting for everything for you, you are on a slippery slope downward. You might sign a deal, but if you don’t have someone who is going to fight constantly for you there is not much left from the label. At that point, I would say don’t bother. Make sure the guy who signs the checks – the big wig at the label – is into you if you really want it to last.

What is one thing that you really want your fans to know about Skindred?

That we come to uplift the people - to set the captives free. We want to uplift these people who have been physically bound up or mentally bound up for years. We want to push music forward and help people to forget about their problems for one minute in their life so they can enjoy themselves. We want to bring something new to the dance party – bring something new to the rock party. We are not trying to change music, but we want to make our mark. A lot of people may say, “Oh you’re trying to change music,” but, in reality, we’re just doing what we do. If our music can uplift people I’m happy. I want people who are metal purest to say that they like Reggae bands, or people who are purest of dancehall or Reggae to say, “Slayer is cool.” I want to make people stop putting up musical racisms. Let all that go and enjoy the beat. People say to me, “Do you think people can get into Skindred?” I say, “If you can make them tap their feet and want to dance that is what music is for.”

Absolutely. I agree. I noticed that you have a very upbeat, outgoing personality. What do you attribute that to?

I just believe that life is for living and that problems have solutions. No matter how bad it is every problem has a solution. I’m a positive person, and I’m a Bible reader. I’m a God thinker, so I think that helps.

Does Skindred have any particular goals?

Just to make people dance every night - whether it’s a venue with 20,000 people or a small punk rock club in downtown Houston – that is what we want to do. We just want to go in there and make people forget about their problems of the day and rock out.

Is there one thing that you can’t tour without?

Not really. I mean this is what we have to do. Rock musicians have to tour. It’s not like Hip-hop where you can just release a video. You have to tour. I need my toys around me. I need my music, my DVDs, my books to read…it would be difficult to tour without all that.

Do you have any good road stories?

Yes, I have one. The other day we were on the road and we played a great show. We packed up the trailer and the crew guys…well, they smoke a lot of weed. Anyway, as we hit the motorway we were playing cards and laughing and joking and drinking – just partying as we went along. Next thing we know the bus driver pulls over and he points to the back and says, “Guys we have a problem. All the stuff has fallen out of the trailer.” Then, all we hear on the CB is, “Someone just ran over a bass guitar. Someone ran over an effects petal. Someone ran over a drum kit. There are drum pieces all over the highway. There are Marshall stacks all over the highway.” So all the stuff that was in the trailer fell out and it was smashed to smithereens.

Okay, that just sucks.

Incredibly. This happened at night, so some of the guys were saying, “Oh my god, I’m going to bed. This is a bad dream,” and they went straight to bed. But, I waited and I waited and then I went to my bunk and when I woke up it actually felt like something I had dreamt. It was like a real bad dream, but then I went to my tour manager he said, “We have to sort this out. We have to go look on the side of the road.” So we did, but nothing was salvaged except a [live six] effects pedal (I didn’t quite catch the type of effects pedal-NIN), which had been run over at least 50 times and it was solid. It withstood the test of time, but everything else was squashed. So, we had a big shopping day the next day, and we played the gig the night after, which was really cool.

The show must always go on.

Of course. No matter what, the show must go on.

What is the craziest thing a fan has ever done to get your attention?

Shouted “You suck” all night. Every time we stopped a song, “You fuckin’ suck. You guys suck.” But, this is what I thought was crazy. Afterwards, he told us that he yelled that because he wanted me to look at him. So I said to him, “You embarrassed the hell out of us just to get our attention. You really think you are our favorite fan now?” So, I thought that was a really strange thing to do.

Yeah, hello? He could have gotten his ass kicked.

Even better, he showed up and was hanging out on our bus wearing our t-shirt and hoodie and saying, “Oh my god it’s you guys.” I said, “So why did you keep screaming you suck?” He said, “Because I really wanted your attention. I wanted you to notice me.” I said, “Well, that worked.”

In a way, I guess he is right because if he would have screamed “I love you guys,” you would have been, “Yeah, cool.”

Exactly. But he’s lucky I didn’t tell the other fans to kick his ass.

I’m surprised they didn’t do that anyway.

Laughs. But, I can definitely say that was one of the weirdest excuses why because sometimes people shout, “You suck,” and they really mean it.

When people do that it’s like, “Why are you even staying for the show? Go outside or go home.”

I always say, “Why go to a show and scream that a band sucks when there is usually a bar that you can go to and wait until that band is off the stage and then come back in and watch the bands you paid to see.

Exactly because you ruin it for people who are there to see the show.

Yeah. Like the other day I read that they threw bottles at 50 Cent while he was on stage at the Reading Festival. I mean big time.

Yeah, I heard about that. The crowd was not nice to him. Let me tell ya, I would not be throwing no bottles at 50.

No he got it. I don’t know what he said or what he did, but they were waiting for him. They were definitely waiting for him. The English fans were charged up and ready to kill him and they did in a sense. For me, personally, if someone doesn’t like your music they should just go away. “Here’s $10 dollars. Go get a drink. Go away. We’re going to be finished. Give us 20 – 30 minutes and we’ll be done, or go get some earplugs if it bugs you that much.”

So would you like to play Reading?

I would like to play anywhere. Lolapalloza. Ozzfest. I’d like to play Ozzfest when it goes back to being a bit chilled. At the moment it’s a bit horny for me, and I don’t mean in a sexual way.

I think Skindred would fit well on Ozzfest.

I do too, but at the moment we’ll ride out the summer and go into winter and see what is in store for the new year.

To see where Skindred is playing next or for more info check out www.skindred.com