Joe “Guido Toledo” Welsh
Gary Charlson
Richard Streeter
Pat Tomek
Long before cell phones and the internets, but after microwave ovens and mood rings, sometime around 1983, Tracy Leonard, owner of the then popular music club Parody Hall, suggested to local KC music cat Joe “Guido Toledo” Welsh the possibility of doing a weekly Tuesday night rock jam session. A Monday night blues jam at Westport club Blayney's was doing bang up bidness, so why not?
Guido called up Gary Charlson, Pat Tomek and Richard Streeter, three talented and locally well known players (all legends that could last a lunchtime), to see if they had any interest in doing the gig.
It was during that very lunchtime at the long gone Submarine sandwich shop they decided to call themselves “Shirts & Skins” after the practice of removing your shirt in boy's gym class to become an opposing team member. Harmless, eh? Get it? Good.
Not really caring about the quality of the product they were presenting, the foursome rehearsed and found out that between each of them “playing in different bands together” over the years they had more than a hundred or so songs they could play very loud. And very fast. Very fast. And did I mention loud?
Their first gig was to be opening for Joe “King” Carrasco on a Saturday night, followed by the first regular Tuesday installment at Parody Hall the following week. Upon arrival at the gig, the band discovered that Mr. Leonard had renamed the band “The 4 Sknns” on all the posters announcing the Tuesday night jams, saying only that he thought it “sounded funnier.”
Thus, The 4 Sknns were born*.
The band very quickly earned a reputation for bad taste, foul language and vulgar humor. Naturally it follows there were large crowds on Tuesday nights. People loved it. They would show up half the time to see what these guys would try and get away with on stage.
Christmas was celebrated in pajamas with stolen property from another gig, pink flamingo yard ornaments and Spaghetti-O quiche! The band would refuse to play if people were talking. They would often scream at patrons and rifle through women’s purses.
Bob Seger's demise has been prematurely announced since 1984 (the running joke being his helicopter went down “Like A Rock”)!
Irreverent versions of songs became their trademark. The Creedence classic “Proud Mary” was played to the tune of “Space Truckin'” by Deep Purple. “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro was presented as a rap, Jimi Hendryx was transformed into a country artist (“Purple Hay”) and “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida” by Iron Butterfly became a polka. Or they played the album version. Or some nights the single version. Some nights not.
Their Creedence medley could last a half hour and they could play “Hang On, Sloopy” in a record minute six!
There were the weekend sets that consisted of as few songs as they knew on Friday (just sixteen songs extended with ridiculous jamming or long dialogues between songs) contrasted by Saturday's marathon of one hundred and fifty songs! Or so. You get the point.
Whether it was yelling profanities at the crowd, or simply rocking out with their, er, um, rocking out, The 4 Sknns were truly a killer live act in their heyday from 1983 to around 1993.
The band first attempted to break up in 1986 with a fustercluck of a farewell concert, apparently titled the “Cutoff Concert.” Yes. Yet another club owner deemed this “funny.” That show was recorded on a multiple camera video, also available here along with very rare Parody Hall footage from 1984!
The band made two aborted recording attempts. The first, in 1984, was recorded live at Parody Hall. The other was a studio attempt from 1987 with their second drummer, Randy Morrow. (He replaced Pat from 1986-1991 when the former left the Sknns to join the fucking Rainmakers.)
The Sknns were also featured on the very groovy KC music scene radio program City Spark on NPR. There is a hilarious hour long interview and performance from 1985 that is available, along with the above mentioned aborted live albums here.
When all is said and done the 4 Sknns were but a tiny stain on Kansas City culture and its regional music history. A smelly stain, yes. But a loud, fast, and funny smelly stain!
The band never recorded any original material, although all four were capable songwriters. They never even posed for an official band photo! In the entire history of the band, members can only seem to remember three actual rehearsals.
Most of their material was worked up at soundcheck, and then they would open the show with the new tune. Fearless, and probably the result of not wanting to forget the song.
They continued sporadically until 1992 or so, when they all went their separate ways.
A reunion has been scheduled for July 7, 2007 at Blayney's in Westport. It promises to be a sad affair, with the ageing rockers attempting to get it up one last time for old times' sakes. Even though Gary Charlson gamely broke his foot in a last-ditch effort to spare the ears of unsuspecting Westport club-goers, the reunion was only postponed to the July date, not canceled.
If you cannot come to the gig please visit the Buy Stuff page of this website and spend some of your hard earned money on CDs, DVDs and T-shirts. Blow some money and laugh yer ass off!
If nothing else, check out the pictures or audio pages. Loads of fun to be found there!
It is what The 4 Sknns would want you to do!
Have a good time. ALL the time!
Frank Pester
Information Minister/GrownUp Records