Dinny Skip Interview
Q: Can you talk about your musical history?
A: Sure. I started playing bass guitar when I was a wee lad after my dad played me “Inside Looking Out” by Grand Funk Railroad. I got really good at it after a while and then realized I could never be rich and famous with a hot wife if I was just “the bass player” in a rock band. It isn’t the ‘70s anymore. So, I started singing and writing my own music and fronting bands, probably around 17. It was around that time where I discovered Les Claypool of Primus which completely changed my world. I wanted to be him. Bla bla bla I went to college and studied music where I would eventually form Mother Motion in my sophomore year. We put out one full length album in December of 2016. You can definitely hear my rock n’ roll roots and Primus/Mr. Bungle influence on that record. After dissolving numerous bands, I gave up on trying to form my dream band and went solo. It was only natural. I hated making original music with other people. That shit sucks. I hated having to rely on other people to get shit done the way I wanted to. That’s when I started realizing that the good ole days of rock were pretty much dead and the only way to survive was to start making beats and learning how to produce electronic music. Enter Dinny Skip. It was surprisingly an easy transition going from guitar-heavy rock music to laptop MIDI stuff. I actually enjoy doing it way more. So, from then on I spent the majority of my time alone in my room learning the ins and outs of Logic and sound design and electronic production. Even though I’m a bass player, everything on The Stabber Pad is digital except for the guitar parts and my vocals, which were recorded in my dad’s closet. The stuff I’m working on now, which won’t be released until after The Stabber Pad II is really badass. Probably my best work so far. But I’m getting ahead of myself. If you haven’t listened to it yet, go check out The Stabber Pad right now. Part two will be coming out in a few months.
Q: There are numerous styles on your album The Stabber Pad. How do you go about the creative process as a solo artist?
A: Basically, I lock myself in my bedroom for long periods of time until I come up with some cool shit. Almost every song on The Stabber Pad started out from a bass line which would eventually turn into a huge production. A lot of the compositional aspects are made on the fly, whether it’s during the actual songwriting process or throughout random times during the day. Honestly, I think I might have some weird form of OCD or some shit when it comes to writing music. Like if I don’t hear a particular sound or rhythm in a specific part of a song, I start feeling really uncomfortable. Real shit. It’s fucking weird. Anyways, my creative process varies from song to song and what I’m trying to achieve. “About a Bot,” for example, is about getting rejected by human girls, so I build a robot girlfriend and program her to love me. I had to think of a way to fit such an odd story to music. That song took a while to piece together. Longer than all the others. It went through countless revisions, whereas “Onspring Offspring” was finished in a few days. By the way, be on the lookout for an “Onspring Offspring” video. We are shooting later this month which should be fun. “Hell Hooks” was completely inspired by whole tone music and is a pretty bizarre song. I don’t really remember how that song came about, but I do remember I was up writing at like 2am in an LSU practice room and hearing an opera singer down the hall practicing “Pierrot Lunaire” by Arnold Schoenberg. I started playing along with her on the piano which is how I came up with that little lick for the chorus. “Just a Bite” I remember writing when I was like 18. Just graduated high school about to go to college. I remember going to a party that summer and there was this gorgeous chick with beautiful long, black hair, long legs and black high heels. I was drooling over her. After I got a few confidence shots in me, I finally mustered up enough courage to go up to her and say something. I said, “hey, can I get you a drink?” or something like that. She looked up at me from her phone and said, “bite me” then walked away. The rest is history.
Q: What was the thought behind making a two part EP rather than one LP?
A:Simply put. Shrinking attention spans. It’s much easier to digest a five-song EP from a new artist you’ve never heard of than to spend an hour listening to a full length LP. And as a career move, it’s better for engagement to release a lesser amount of music more frequently than more music less frequently. Nameen?
Q: Can you talk about your musical history?
A: Sure. I started playing bass guitar when I was a wee lad after my dad played me “Inside Looking Out” by Grand Funk Railroad. I got really good at it after a while and then realized I could never be rich and famous with a hot wife if I was just “the bass player” in a rock band. It isn’t the ‘70s anymore. So, I started singing and writing my own music and fronting bands, probably around 17. It was around that time where I discovered Les Claypool of Primus which completely changed my world. I wanted to be him. Bla bla bla I went to college and studied music where I would eventually form Mother Motion in my sophomore year. We put out one full length album in December of 2016. You can definitely hear my rock n’ roll roots and Primus/Mr. Bungle influence on that record. After dissolving numerous bands, I gave up on trying to form my dream band and went solo. It was only natural. I hated making original music with other people. That shit sucks. I hated having to rely on other people to get shit done the way I wanted to. That’s when I started realizing that the good ole days of rock were pretty much dead and the only way to survive was to start making beats and learning how to produce electronic music. Enter Dinny Skip. It was surprisingly an easy transition going from guitar-heavy rock music to laptop MIDI stuff. I actually enjoy doing it way more. So, from then on I spent the majority of my time alone in my room learning the ins and outs of Logic and sound design and electronic production. Even though I’m a bass player, everything on The Stabber Pad is digital except for the guitar parts and my vocals, which were recorded in my dad’s closet. The stuff I’m working on now, which won’t be released until after The Stabber Pad II is really badass. Probably my best work so far. But I’m getting ahead of myself. If you haven’t listened to it yet, go check out The Stabber Pad right now. Part two will be coming out in a few months.
Q: There are numerous styles on your album The Stabber Pad. How do you go about the creative process as a solo artist?
A: Basically, I lock myself in my bedroom for long periods of time until I come up with some cool shit. Almost every song on The Stabber Pad started out from a bass line which would eventually turn into a huge production. A lot of the compositional aspects are made on the fly, whether it’s during the actual songwriting process or throughout random times during the day. Honestly, I think I might have some weird form of OCD or some shit when it comes to writing music. Like if I don’t hear a particular sound or rhythm in a specific part of a song, I start feeling really uncomfortable. Real shit. It’s fucking weird. Anyways, my creative process varies from song to song and what I’m trying to achieve. “About a Bot,” for example, is about getting rejected by human girls, so I build a robot girlfriend and program her to love me. I had to think of a way to fit such an odd story to music. That song took a while to piece together. Longer than all the others. It went through countless revisions, whereas “Onspring Offspring” was finished in a few days. By the way, be on the lookout for an “Onspring Offspring” video. We are shooting later this month which should be fun. “Hell Hooks” was completely inspired by whole tone music and is a pretty bizarre song. I don’t really remember how that song came about, but I do remember I was up writing at like 2am in an LSU practice room and hearing an opera singer down the hall practicing “Pierrot Lunaire” by Arnold Schoenberg. I started playing along with her on the piano which is how I came up with that little lick for the chorus. “Just a Bite” I remember writing when I was like 18. Just graduated high school about to go to college. I remember going to a party that summer and there was this gorgeous chick with beautiful long, black hair, long legs and black high heels. I was drooling over her. After I got a few confidence shots in me, I finally mustered up enough courage to go up to her and say something. I said, “hey, can I get you a drink?” or something like that. She looked up at me from her phone and said, “bite me” then walked away. The rest is history.
Q: What was the thought behind making a two part EP rather than one LP?
A:Simply put. Shrinking attention spans. It’s much easier to digest a five-song EP from a new artist you’ve never heard of than to spend an hour listening to a full length LP. And as a career move, it’s better for engagement to release a lesser amount of music more frequently than more music less frequently. Nameen?
Q: Can you talk about the themes that will run through the EP’s and how they are connected?
A: It was tough deciding how to split up The Stabber Pad into two parts. These were songs that I’ve been sitting on since I was 18 (I’m 22 now) waiting to find the “perfect band” to play these songs with. I soon realized that would never happen, which is part of the reason I went solo in the first place. Certain songs belong with each other, if you know what I mean. I entertained the thought of putting all of the weird, dark songs together on one EP and then the more accessible songs together on another, but that would just confuse people. Or be too much of one thing at once. Instead I went with a balance of three “dark” songs and two “happy” songs per EP. The Stabber Pad discusses robot love, random bullshit, rejection, and chicks with long legs and long hair. Some themes to be prepared for in The Stabber Pad Part II are birth control, obsession, the after life, and a ten-minute long song about a psychedelic experience I had.
Q: Do you perform live? And if so, how are your performances created in that type of environment?
A: As Dinny Skip, not yet. I’ve seen waaaaay too many artists jump straight into playing live shows without having any type of foundation first. That’s great if you have no performing experience, but in my opinion, horrible for career and fan building. I mean, think about it. You’re at a concert and really connect with an artist or band or whatever and pull out your phone to find them on social media and all they have is a crappy Facebook page with 200 likes from their friends and family. You’re gonna forget about them in a week, am I right? You’d be surprised as to how much a professional online presence does to people’s perception of you. I’m taking a different approach with Dinny Skip. I’m not performing live until I have a music video or two under my belt, a website with merchandise, active social media accounts, and a decent online presence. So that way I have a better chance of scoring fans at my live show. As to how I’m going to pull off a live show as a one man act, I’m working on that as we speak…
Q: What else should we know about Dinny Skip?
A: Well, I’m definitely not from another planet. I’m for sure not an alien trying to penetrate the human race or anything. I have a mom and a dad and a brother. I’m pretty sure that’s what they’re called. Um. Besides that, I’m entirely a one man empire. I write, record, engineer, and produce all of my own material. I direct my own photo shoots and videos, design my website and merchandise, run social media campaigns, etc. I’m not trying to brag or anything (yes I am), I just think it sheds a new light on what I’m doing. I mean, you kind of have to wear multiple hats at once starting out or else nothing’s gonna get done. I will definitely need some help in the future though. Other than that, I’m a total badass on the five string fretless bass, I eat a bowl of Cheerios every morning, Battlestar Galactica is my favorite TV show, Dua Lipa is gorgeous, I have two cats named Luci-fur and Mixer, I rock K-Swiss, ya momma fat, I think tomatoes are absolutely disgusting, Lil’ Pump is a musical genius, if I was taller I’d be way hotter, and in addition to building a music career, I work four other jobs to support my crack addiction.
A: It was tough deciding how to split up The Stabber Pad into two parts. These were songs that I’ve been sitting on since I was 18 (I’m 22 now) waiting to find the “perfect band” to play these songs with. I soon realized that would never happen, which is part of the reason I went solo in the first place. Certain songs belong with each other, if you know what I mean. I entertained the thought of putting all of the weird, dark songs together on one EP and then the more accessible songs together on another, but that would just confuse people. Or be too much of one thing at once. Instead I went with a balance of three “dark” songs and two “happy” songs per EP. The Stabber Pad discusses robot love, random bullshit, rejection, and chicks with long legs and long hair. Some themes to be prepared for in The Stabber Pad Part II are birth control, obsession, the after life, and a ten-minute long song about a psychedelic experience I had.
Q: Do you perform live? And if so, how are your performances created in that type of environment?
A: As Dinny Skip, not yet. I’ve seen waaaaay too many artists jump straight into playing live shows without having any type of foundation first. That’s great if you have no performing experience, but in my opinion, horrible for career and fan building. I mean, think about it. You’re at a concert and really connect with an artist or band or whatever and pull out your phone to find them on social media and all they have is a crappy Facebook page with 200 likes from their friends and family. You’re gonna forget about them in a week, am I right? You’d be surprised as to how much a professional online presence does to people’s perception of you. I’m taking a different approach with Dinny Skip. I’m not performing live until I have a music video or two under my belt, a website with merchandise, active social media accounts, and a decent online presence. So that way I have a better chance of scoring fans at my live show. As to how I’m going to pull off a live show as a one man act, I’m working on that as we speak…
Q: What else should we know about Dinny Skip?
A: Well, I’m definitely not from another planet. I’m for sure not an alien trying to penetrate the human race or anything. I have a mom and a dad and a brother. I’m pretty sure that’s what they’re called. Um. Besides that, I’m entirely a one man empire. I write, record, engineer, and produce all of my own material. I direct my own photo shoots and videos, design my website and merchandise, run social media campaigns, etc. I’m not trying to brag or anything (yes I am), I just think it sheds a new light on what I’m doing. I mean, you kind of have to wear multiple hats at once starting out or else nothing’s gonna get done. I will definitely need some help in the future though. Other than that, I’m a total badass on the five string fretless bass, I eat a bowl of Cheerios every morning, Battlestar Galactica is my favorite TV show, Dua Lipa is gorgeous, I have two cats named Luci-fur and Mixer, I rock K-Swiss, ya momma fat, I think tomatoes are absolutely disgusting, Lil’ Pump is a musical genius, if I was taller I’d be way hotter, and in addition to building a music career, I work four other jobs to support my crack addiction.