Skinnerbox

Interview with King Papa Django

1997 - Tim

Tim: So, Rundown of band, what do they do.

Django: Well there’s me, I sing and play trombone, then there is Mike McDermont, on drums who I picked up while I was in Murphy’s Law, Paul Ackerman on Bass, fomerly of the Pietasters & Regatta 69, Dave Hahn, on guitar, the famous Dave Hahn a.k.a. Hahn Solo, Mr. Rolph Langsjoen, on trumpet.

Tim: Would you beat up Ronald McDonald for his boots and his afro?

Django: Nope. If I saw him hit one of my friends then I’d beat the hell out of him or if he hit me first.

Tim: What about if he stepped on you with those big ass shoes?

Django: If he did it maliciously, if it was an attack rather than an accident.

Tim: How many people have been in and out of Skinnerbox over the years?

Django: A bunch, not as much as Murphy’s Law, but a bunch.

Tim: As far as I can tell there is only one original member of Murphy’s Law in Murphy’s Law.

Django: That’s right, Jimmy, he’s like me, I’m the only original member of Skinnerbox.

Tim: Do you think that has been helpful for your sound as a whole?

Django: Having people in and out? At times it hasn’t but at this point it has because the band is the most capable it has ever been and the most unified it has ever been as far as chemistry, everyone really gets along really well, there are two less of us, there are only five of us at the moment. I don’t know, things have just been a lot smoother everyone takes care of themselves and they take care of each other which is a big change because it used to be everyone out for themselves expecting me to take care of all their shit, now it’s like I just wander around in a daze and everyone takes care of their own shit which is a major improvement to me.

Tim: Favorite band?

Django: My favorite band is really hard to say because there is so much excellent music out there.

Tim: Who influenced you the most?

Django: Once again it is hard to say. I depends really. Different songs show different influences. Stubborn Allstars is obviously most influenced by the Skatalites, the Maytals, and Prince Buster, people like that. Skinnerbox is just where all of my influences really come out.

Tim: Do you favor any style?

Django: As long as I’m having fun it’s cool, I’ll go through phases where I’ll write, like lately I’ve been writing a lot of reggae stuff, most of the time when I write, that’s what comes out.

Tim: So has the scene has changed a lot since you started?

Django: Oh yeah, you couldn’t have done this (New England Ska Festival) in 1981, first off there weren’t any American Ska bands in ‘81, maybe a couple of bands in New York, and Some in Boston, but today you see so many different kinds of kids dressing up coming to shows, they’re into all different stuff, you see kids at ska shows wearing Phish T-shirts, which is really kinda wild, it’s cool, I like it. It’s really open-minded.

Tim: Looking at songs such as “Judge Knotte” on the Stubborn Allstars record and “This A New York” on the new Skinnerbox record, it seems like you are really into getting back to the roots, what would you say to all those kids who think that the Bosstones invented ska

Django: If they think the Bosstones invented ska they are plainly just mis-informed, they should check out the roots, check out everything from the Specials, Madness, the Selector, early Selector, not new Selector, I’m not really happy with the new Selector, the original Bad Manners, and from there all the Jamaican stuff; Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker, Derrick Morgan, all that stuff, If it wasn’t for that there couldn’t be any of this. But I could see kids liking the Bosstones and totally hating all the old stuff, it’s different music. I think the new Bosstones record is great.

Tim: Were you influenced alot by Skinhead Reggae?

Django: I mean even before it was called that here, I was deep into it before I ever heard that phrase (Skinhead Reggae). One of my favorite records when I was in High School was a compilation on Trojan called Monkey Business it was a really great album. But I’m into alot of stuff from 40’s R&B and Jazz and Doo-Wop Classic Rock, theres all kinds of influences.

Tim: Punk Rock influences?

Django: Somewhat, the Clash and the Buzzcocks. I spent 2 and a half years in Murphy’s Law, and six weeks touring with Rancid so it’s kinda hard for it not to rub off on you.

Tim: What was it like touring with Rancid and what would you say to all of those people who say that Rancid sold out?

Django: I would say that, I don’t know what their motivation is (Rancid), but in general it’s just kids talking shit, and being jealous. I mean, you play music, you want people to hear it, and as many as possible, because that’s really your only reward, when you see kids dancing and diggin’ the music, that’s what you do it for. I think that any musician in the position where you can move forward and play in front of larger crowds you know anyone is going to do it. As long as no one comes up to you and says I’ll give you X amount of dollars to do this which is against your beliefs then fuck that, but if you are doing what you are doing, you might as well get paid for it, I don’t see anything wrong with it, you’re just lucky.

Tim: Being on tour with Rancid and being on the Beavis & Butthead movie soundtrack with Rancid you guys have gained alot of exposure, have you noticed the impact of that?

Django: I haven’t seen the impact of it. Stubborn Allstars have played about one show since then and I don’t think that people make the connection, yeah there are the die hards but they already know and they’ve already been there. Whatever, I’m cool, we went on tour and everywhere we went people were into us so we have a good time so whatever.

Tim: Do you think that bands like the Specials and the Selector are capitalizing on the new revival of ska?

Django: We went on tour with the Specials and they were definitely into it every night. Skinnerbox went on tour with them for about two weeks last year, and they’re just so professional we learned so much by just watching them, they’re totally into it. It’s amazing that they can still play those songs 20 years later and just be into every night, all night long. Sometimes I’m like ‘I don’t want to fucking sing this song again’, and they just rocked out every single night.

Tim: (Rolph enters) Say hi Rolph.

Rolph: Hi. Are you guys from CBS?

Tim: CBS, no, I wish I was CBS, then I would make money.

Rolph: Oh, O.K.

Tim: Would you like life as a gigalo?

Django: No.

Tim: Favorite cartoon character.

Django: Bobby. Some of the best advice I ever had, I got when I was a little kid basically, younger than you, and his name was Bucket, and he said to me, “Jeff, it is whatever you think it is”...

Tim: Only in a British accent.

Django: Yeah (saying the same thing impersonating Bucket), and I’ve always kept that in mind.

Tim: What do you think it is?

Django: It’s pretty fun.

Tim: Words of advice for anyone starting bands?

Django: Work your butt off! If you have a feeling that you know what you want to do do that as much as possible to the exclusion of all other things.