Conversations with Joey Skidmore

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joey Skidmore.

Hi Joey, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Baltimore, but I grew up in Springfield, MO–which is about 170 miles South of Kansas City. I went to school down there and started cranking out my own DIY (do it yourself) records in the early ’80s. My first couple of 7″ records were generally scoffed at locally, but my first album started getting some attention on the coasts, especially in Europe. It was called “The Word is Out,” and was produced in a professional studio by a legendary musician named Lou Whitney. After it was featured in a (now defunct) L.A. magazine called “Option” I received requests for it from a couple of deejays in France, of all places, for promo copies. Not only did they playlist it, but they also sent me a list of about 50 or 60 other radio stations and deejays who played “new music”–what they called alternative or indie music back then.

I would sit on my living room floor for hours with large sheets of cardboard, a kitchen knife, a pen, and some duct tape, and fashion my own album mailers. The packages looked crude and primitive because they were, but before I knew it the first album was not only getting airplay, it was being distributed by a company called Semaphore, out of Holland. I followed this up with an album called “Welcome to Humansville” and had similar (limited) success. After graduating from MSU with a degree in Writing, I quit the radio station I was working for and moved to Kansas City for more opportunities.

I reformed Joey Skidmore Band in KC around 1990 or so and flew to France with a buddy named Mike Costelow to do some acoustic shows. This led to a licensing deal with a small, French, blues record label called Dixie Frog Records, a publishing deal with Warner-Chappell Music France, and several more small tours of Europe. Between 1994 and 2007, Joey Skidmore Band did shows in France, Belgium, Germany, and Northern Spain, and also recorded outside of London with British indie rock star Nikki Sudden–who was then based out of Berlin.

Nikki died in New York City in 2006, after playing a show with the Lemonheads, and two weeks after we’d played with him in Kansas City–he even stayed at our house. It was quite a shock, although there were warning signs…! He was a good, talented guy, and a good friend. The tracks we cut with him have been released and rereleased by labels including Sunthunder Records in Spain, and Easy Action Records in the UK, and I’m sure Nikki’s best material will be remembered decades from now.

In the late ’90s, I enrolled in grad. school at UMKC, studying theatre and film. This really broadened my horizons because I learned sound design, music production skills, and also directing, film-editing, and video production skills. Besides my own records, I began producing demos and albums for other artists including the French band Les Fossoyeurs du Rock (“the Gravediggers of Rock”). In 2000, I earned my Master of Arts in Communication studies, and began teaching college; In 2004 I received my MFA in Theatre–both degrees were from UMKC. The same year, I also completed a short film: the “true,” story “Legend of the Shoe Man,” an “expose” about missing persons around the Lake of the Ozarks–a hillbilly, ghost story! Haha!

Besides recording music, in the early 2010s, I also began working on a couple of low-budget indie films, including the slap-stick, rock, and roll comedy “Kiki Meets the Vampires,” starring Les Fossoyeurs & models Chrissy Mountjoy and Dilynn Fawn Harvey, Luc A. Alvarez’s short “Smoke Tribes,” and “Jim Dandy to the Rescue,” a documentary about the legendary singer Jim Dandy Mangrum and Black Oak Arkansas. Black Oak was formed in the mid to late ’60s by Mangrum and the late guitarist Rickie Lee Reynolds and broke big in the early to mid-1970s. Mangrum still tours with a version of the band today.

In 2014 I decided to try a new business venture: The Skid-O-Rama Music & Film Festival. The first film fest was held at the Screenland Armour Theatre–a big, beautiful theatre in the North Kansas City area. It’s a large, spacious theatre that is independently owned and operated. It has been restored and expanded now and includes full bar service. Besides the premiere of “Kiki Meets the Vampires,” three other indie films were screened that night in 2014, including “the Crawler,” “Starch,” and “Weenies.” The premiere sold out, but after another sold-out premiere in Paris, France, and a meager turnout for the premiere in St. Louis, MO, the film fizzled out.

Although the first film festival was a big success, the original idea of the Skid-O-Rama Fest was to pay homage to the pioneers of rock and roll! We had been unable to get the French band Les Fossoyeurs back into Kansas City to perform live the weekend of the film’s screening. At this point, most of the original ’50s rock stars were dead and gone, and with the death of Little Richard in 2020 and Jerry Lee Lewis in 2022, I think they have all passed away now! I was lucky enough to see most of them in concert. Although I never got to see Elvis, I did see Little Richard, Jerry Lee, and Chuck Berry several times. Joey Skidmore Band even got to open for Chuck Berry at Blueberry Hill in St. Louis–I think it was 1998! I’d met him in the ’80s too, and he was overtly unfriendly; however, when we played with him in 1998, he was very nice, and gracious. He even signed three records for me. I read later that he hates “idiots” coming up to him and sticking a pen in his face wanting an autograph, so I feel very lucky.

So the idea behind the Skid-O-Rama Music Fest was to pay homage to the remaining garage bands from the ’60s, the ones that hadn’t gotten as much attention in recent years as someone like the Rolling Stones or the Who (or made nearly as much money). We’ve considered different names over the years, such as the Skid-O-Rama Garage Fest, the Skid-O-Rama Psychedelic Music Fest, the Skid-O-Rama Music & Film Fest, etc. The sad part was that there were very few of the 1960s rock stars left. Even most of the great hard rockers from the very early 1970s were few and far between! To test the water, we held the first “Skid-O-Rama Garage Fest” at the Record Bar’s former location in Old Westport., Kansas City (where the covered wagon is). The headliner was “the Shadows of Knight,” a mid-1960s band whose biggest hit was the American version of Van Morrison’s song “Gloria.” Since singer Jimy Sohns had been the only original member of this Chicago band since 1968 who was still playing, Joey Skidmore Band served as Jimy’s backup band. Sadly, our friend Jimy Sohns died earlier this year.

Female retro psych/punk band the Cave Girls were also on the first Skid-O-Rama bill, besides my band (Joey Skidmore Band) opening (without Jimy Sohns). This was a moderate success, leading to us continuing the Skid-O-Rama Fest at various venues every year until Covid hit in 2020, and we had to cancel that year’s festivities (and the following year’s).

In 2016, I started a new chapter in my life–or that’s the way I see it anyway. Not only did I enroll in a Doctoral program at Baker University in Overland Park, KS, but I also made a successful attempt to gather all my old analog tapes, and digitize and remaster them for a collection called “Rolling With the Punches; the Best of Joey Skidmore.” This was quite the process because the original 24-track analog tapes are big and heavy! You can only get a few songs on each tape–and each tape probably costs about $500, and weighs twenty-five pounds–if you can even find one. Plus the tapes “shed” after sitting in a warehouse for years. You literally have to “bake” them in some kind of slow food processor–like the infamous “Veg-O-Matic”–overnight to get the electrons on the magnetic tape to bounce, and activate one more time! After that, they have to be immediately transferred into the digital domain while they still sound vibrant and have decent fidelity! I had an entire truckload full of these tapes to haul to Kansas City to complete the compilation.

“Rolling With the Punches; the Best of Joey Skidmore” was released in 2017 as a 40-song, two-disc set, with a 24-page booklet. The “B-Side” disc was “Out of the Garage; the Worst of Joey Skidmore,” which included the first song I ever recorded “Stop the Nukes!” in 1980. I tell people that the second, “B-Side” disc is for serious musicologists, and hard-core fans ONLY! A big fan and friend of mine, Marcel Roth, who lives in Frankfurt, Germany messaged me that the “B-Side” was ‘A little hard to listen to.’

In 2016, I also “connected” with Ukrainian artist Iryna Stroganova, who had been an extra in “Kiki Meets the Vampires.” Iryna Stroganova was born in 1981 in the Soviet Union in what is now the war-torn city of Dnipro, Ukraine. She graduated with a Specialist Degree–which is, I believe, the equivalent of a Master’s Degree in Graphic Design, from Dnipropetrovsk University, and did design and artistic work everywhere from Dnipro to Moscow. The way I see it, she escaped Ukraine just in time. She came to Kansas City with literally nothing but the clothes on her back, along with a few paintbrushes and art supplies. English was her third language, next to Russian and Ukrainian; however, she got a job at a Midtown pizza parlor, and saved enough money for a downpayment on a house, and a car! She started her art business, Supernova Art Studio, and began selling everything from superhero and science fiction art to eggshell mosaics. Iryna also began taking on more commission work than she could handle, including portraits and Kansas City landscapes. She also became a partner in the Skid-O-Rama Fest in 2017–which was the first year that it really started picking up steam with headliners Mitch Ryder of the Detroit Wheels, and the Shadows of Knight’s return! Mitch Ryder made songs like “Devil With the Blue Dress on,” and “Sock it to me Baby,” famous in the 1960s, and was also ushered into the “Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame” a few years ago. Other Kansas City garage groups like the Cave Girls did encores at Skid-O-Rama as well.

“Joey Skidmore Music & Film,” and “Supernova Art Studio” joined forces in approximately 2018, and renamed our entire art, music, and film business “Supernova Productions.” Iryna and I had a Halloween wedding in 2020! Even though this was prior to the development of a vaccine, since we had already been unfortunate enough to contract Covid-19 (and fortunate enough to survive it), we figured that we probably had enough immunity that we wouldn’t infect anybody, or catch it ourselves for a minute at least… We got vaccinated as soon as the vaccine was available!

In late 2016 I accepted an invitation to play with Mark Stahl’s ’60s-revivalist band the Red-Headed League, in a side-man role. Playing rhythm guitar, along with vocals, with singer/guitarist Stahl, bassist Dave Olds, keyboardist player Dan Starling, and drummer Jesse Koehn, we’ve completed two albums and a four-song 7″ E.P. together, and continue working on new material. The Red Headed League has joined the roster of bands who play the Skid-O-Rama Fest on a semi-regular basis.

Covid hit us hard! My live gigs were canceled; Iryna’s art fairs and conventions were canceled! The future of the Skid-O-Rama Festival was unsure… Between 2015 and 2019 Skid-O-Rama featured dozens of talented acts–in particular, legendary bands that had originated in the 1960s, such as original members of the Standells, Shadows of Knight, and Vanilla Fudge. However, they are few and far between. The pandemic lockdown left everybody in an anxiety-ridden, uncertain mode…

After collaborating with guitarist Elan Portnoy (who had formed the ’80s punk/garage band the Fuzztones), he suggested that we put together a new “supergroup” with Tony Valentino of the Standells, Mark Stein of Vanilla Fudge, and even the legendary Mitch Ryder on vocals, Although Ryder was unable to participate due to back surgery, the first Nuclear Banana album “Riot on Kansas City Strip” just came out the end of October (2022). The title was a spoof on the Standells’ classic “Riot on Sunset Strip,” and the 1968 teenage exploitation movie of the same name. Tony Valentino and I continue to write new material for a future Nuclear Banana release.

In 2022, our friend Phil Bourne partnered with Iryna and me to help make Skid-O-Rama a big success. Phil had popularized thin crust, St. Louis-style pizza in the Kansas City area with his excellent restaurant, Waldo Pizza, but had recently sold the place to his long-time manager. Prior to becoming a pizza magnate he had worked in the record business and says his first love is still music. Besides backing the Skid-O-Rama Fest, Phil Bourne is also starting his own record label with his first release in the works of renowned guitarist D. Clinton Thompson who had played with the late Lou Whitney in the popular band the Morells in the ’80s.

The Skid-O-Rama Halloween Fest 2022 not only starred legendary ’60s rockers the Seeds (“Can’t Seem to Make You Mine,” “Pushing Too Hard,”), etc., and Tony Valentino of the Standells (“Riot on Sunset Strip,” “Dirty Water”), but performances by Kansas City icons the Black Crack Revue (BCR), and Dan Jones and the Squids were also featured. But wait there’s more! A classic psychedelic liquid light show from John Masolini’s Psychedelic Liquid Light Show and Cosmic Galaxy, and beautiful go-go girls Melissa Bollman and Azia Gambrell wearing ’60s attire and dancing in ’60s style helped Skid-O-Rama Halloween Fest make a big splash this year! Not only were the Seeds great, but keyboardist Daryl Hooper was carried on stage in a coffin prior to playing their new single “Vampire.”

My past records were played on a variety of shows–everything from “Car Talk” and “Dr. Demento” to my cover of “Mama Told me (Not to Come)” played on “Nights With Alice Cooper.” I’m proud to say that not only is the Nuclear Banana album, “Riot on Kansas City Strip” being played locally on 90.1 KKFI, but it is also being played by iconic Los Angeles deejay Rodney Bingenheimer (Rodney on the Rock) on his “Underground Garage” show on Sirius XM. Satellite radio reaches so many more listeners than local radio stations in any city! The Nuclear Banana album is available on deluxe banana-yellow vinyl, and also as a digital download.

So I feel like I’m at another crossroads in my life. Phil and Iryna and I are hoping to take Skid-O-Rama 2023 up to the next level. We want to continue this sort of legacy series, but also figure out a way to draw in a little bit broader, more mainstream audience. I’m still playing with the Red-Headed League and promoting the Nuclear Banana album, although we’re taking some time off for the holidays. I also earned my Doctorate in Higher Educational Leadership from Baker University last Summer, so I’m just trying to figure out what to do next!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When you are trying to get a foothold in the music business, the last people to accept you are the ones in your hometown. I had to go far from home to achieve success, although now we are developing the Skid-O-Rama brand here in Kansas City and have a successful annual festival going.

However, people will forget about you REAL quickly if you’re not doing anything, so you have to keep proving yourself over and over again! Sometimes one success leads to another, and things start snowballing, but sometimes one success leads to nothing else.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Most of the attention I’ve gotten is probably because of my low voice, and although I’m a guitarist, my voice is my main instrument. However, I’m also known as a personality, and people say I have a unique look and style.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Show business and the arts is the roughest way anybody can make a living–even though it can be very rewarding at times! If you’re doing it to become rich and famous, forget it! Most people will probably ignore you for a long time.

There is no algorithmic path to making it big, in other words, there is no formula, if you follow steps A, B, C, and D then you will get the desired results. Instead, it is what I’d call a heuristic goal meaning everyone has to find their own way there; there is no one route to follow.

The people that really have a burning desire to do it, and can’t see themselves doing anything else, they’re the ones who really should keep doing it! Unfortunately, they need to be prepared for lots of disappointments and financial struggles too. If you ARE going to do it, though, you need to come up with a professional-sounding product to get out there. Be sure to ask for professional help, even if you have to cough up some dough to do it!

Pricing:

• Vinyl LPs are $29 plus postage
• CDs $10 plus postage
• Original Art by Iryna Stroganova, fair market value.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joeyskidmore.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skid_o_rama/ AND https://www.instagram.com/irynastroganova/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joey.skidmore.35/ AND https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083099302642 AND https://www.facebook.com/SuperStrogaNovaArtStudio
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JoeySkidmoreBand AND https://www.youtube.com/@theskid-o-ramafestival9706
• Other: https://thenuclearbanana.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits
Joey Skidmore and Iryna Stroganova; Photo by Manga 2. Joey Skidmore & Tony Valentino of the Standells; Photo by Mark Winsor 3. Joey Skidmore cutting guitar tracks at Castle Nefarious with the Red-Headed League; Photo by Mark Stahl 4. Joey at Yellowstone National Park; Photo by Iryna 5. Joey Skidmore, Dee Jay John Todd, and Tony Valentino of the Standells on “Under the Radar,” on 90.1 KKFI in Kansas City 6. Mark Stein of Vanilla Fudge & Joey Skidmore backstage; Photo by Mark Winsor 7. The Nuclear Banana on Banana-Yellow vinyl; Art by Iryna Stroganova (Supernova Productions), Graphic Design by Isaac W. Meek 8. Guests at Skid-O-Rama include go-go girl Melissa Bollman, our web designer Amelia Moore Trollinger, dancer Azia Gambrell, and a friend. 9. Partial cast of the Skid-O-Rama Halloween Fest: Mark Stahl, Azia Gambrell (in back), Tony Valentino, Joey Skidmore, Stephanie Shelton, and Melissa Bollman; Photo by Paul Hickman 10. Mark Stahl & Joey Skidmore of the Red Headed League; Photo by Trevor & Cindy