SKITZOFRENIKS The way to download:
PUNK ROCK JUKEBOX (Ency
ZOFRE
BAD BRAINSA
OMEGA SESSIONS
Bad Brains
"Omega Sessions"
SERIAL, BERA
Compilation
Various Artists
"Punk Rock Jukebox 2"
Slayer
"Show No Mercy"
electric
FRANKENSIFIN
The MIGHTY MIGHTY
BOSSTONES
DEVILS
NIGHT
OUT
Mighty Mighty Bosstones
"Devil's Night Out"
T
HE SKITZOFRENIKS RESIDE IN CAMBRIDGE,
Massachusetts, a semi-suburban town
right next to Boston. The group consists
of emcee CheckMark and emcee/producer
Eddie Bones. Pat One and I spent a week-
end chilling with the Skits, as well as attending
their release party. The Skitzofreniks' EP, out on
Brick Records, is called On My Own Shit, and they are
currently working on some
other projects that should
be released by the time this
is published.
120 THRASHER
I
NA NUTSHELL, WHAT DO
the Skitzofreniks represent?
CheckMark: Skitzofreniks
represent everyone who
understands why hip-hop was started: as an alter-
native to the stress and struggle of day to day life,
making something beautiful with limited
resources. We represent diversity, understanding,
and creative energy.
You seem associated with a lot of people in the
Boston area who are involved with hip-hop and
are coming up. What do you think the surge of
interest or development is due to?
CM: I believe that the surge of interest in the artists
of this area is a result of everyone out here fine-tun-
ing their skills and bringing their talent to a level that
can compete for national attention. The talent and
love for the music has always been here, and these
days, everyone is working together and supporting
each other with the understanding that the more peo-
ple help each other shine out here, the more opportu-
nity there will be for others to shine as well. Another
thing that has really helped the movement here is that
more people are learning that they can add to blowing
up the scene without having to be the actual artists.
We have a lot more people getting into the business
side: promoting, marketing, starting labels, etc., which
is such an asset to everyone and allows the artists to
focus on the music without having to also take on the
burden of "trying to get put on."
Hoagie or grinders?
CM: Wraps.
Eddie Bones: Subs.
Running Man or Electric Slide?
Both: Running Man.
Shlong or Gumby?
Both: Gumby.
If you and Eddie weren't a group or involved in
hip-hop, what do you think you would be doing?
CM: We've been involved in hip-hop for so long,
it's just become a way of life. We'll always be
involved, one way or another. In terms of a career,
EB has a degree in education, and I'm a barber.
Who knows where our music will take us? Either
way, we'll continue to make music, because music
makes us.
What's the first thing that comes to your mind if
I ask you about skateboarding?
CM: The first thing that comes to mind is my man
Vinnie Ponte, who has started a record label called
Lick 'Em Low. I promised him a while back that we
were going to work together. Time is flying by-I
gotta get up with him and make it happen. Back in
around '85, when skateboarding became really popu-
lar among mainstream America, for lack of a better
title, I got a board for Christmas. I rode it down a hill
and had no idea how to stop. I hit a parked car and got
all jacked up; that was the end of that phase. We did a
show at a skatepark once. It was dope. I was men-
tioning ollies and stuff in my freestyles, and they
kinda dug it.
How do you come up with the subject matter
and material for your music?
CM: We rhyme about real-life situations, simple as
that. Every song you hear from us was inspired by
someone or something that we encountered in real
life. EB has a wild imagination, but I really don't,
and I always need to refer to something going on
around me. So every time you hear me talk about
someone, whether it's an MC, a female, a female's
man, whoever, it was inspired by someone in my
life. The funniest thing is when they like the song
and don't even realize that I'm talking about them!
If you were stranded on a desert island and you
were granted the use of three items, what
would you choose?
EB: I'd have a beautiful Middle Eastern woman, a full
set of instruments, and a field of sugarcane so I could
make rum.
CM: Definitely a woman, a case of Bruce banners,
and a helicopter so I could get the hell out whenever
I wanted!
Any advice to the youth of today?
EB: Wear a rubber, because you don't want to end up
with a child that you don't want for the rest of your life.
-Stoic and Pat One
HOSTING
Various Artists
"Serial Killer Compilation"
DESCENDENTS
EVERYTHING SUCKS
Descendents
"Everything Sucks"
MONSTER
Electric Frankenstein
"How To Make A Monster"
hatebreed
Hatebreed
"Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire"
THE
BOUNCING
SOULS
PENNYWISE
The Bouncing Souls
"The Bouncing Souls"
Pennywise
"Full Circle"
thegetupkids
The Get Up Kids
"The Get Up Kids"
at.the.drive.in
VAYA
At The Drive-In
"Vaya"
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