SKERIK | SERVING THE MUSIC

What is Critters Buggin? Who is Skerik? These questions are useless. If this is what you want to know, then you're barking up the wrong tree. More importantly, if that’s what you desire, to file the Critters under a neat title, pack them up and simply understand them, well, then you may truly never get it.

When trying to wrap one's brain around the insanely unique Seattle outfit Critters Buggin, it is best to leave convention in the muck of mainstream music. While speaking with Tenor Sax freak Skerik, of the Avant four piece Buggin band, and perhaps leader of the entire free music world, he instantly makes note of this, “Well, It’s always been a drag, especially in this country, or western countries, the labeling process, it’s such a pre-occupation with people. I remember I moved to France a long time ago, when I was 20, I lived in Paris, and I went into the record store and everything was just alphabetical, that seemed to make a lot more sense to me.”

And for anyone who’s ever walked out of a Critters performance scratching their head, and stumbled inspiringly into Tower Records looking for another taste, where do you look? Jazz? Rock? Ambient? Hip-hop? Free improv skronk bumpa freak out space travel? I certainly don’t know, but again, trying to think of these musicians in a traditional sense is futile. As Skerik elaborates on the categorization of America, the need for a nice name continues to lose its importance, and it’s appeal, “We’ve always had a problem with that, relating to the media. You know I see artists of all kind, whether it’s in fine arts, music or whatever, the successful ones, meaning the successful ones in dealing with the public are ones that can describe their art. But we’ve never been able to describe it very well, hence we’re not very successful, but it doesn’t matter, it’s probably just for the better because it allows us just to focus on the music and play whatever the fuck we want to play. Which is what people need in this day and age of TRL [MTV’s Total Request Live], Brittany Spears, and style over substance.”

YES Substance. After spending some time with this musical mercenary, substance might as well be his middle name. Just as every note Skerik plays, from his off-the-chart squeaks, to the sonic rapture of a smooth, deep interlude it has a purpose, and so does every word he speaks. He is ALL substance. No mindless chitchat, no wasting time, no crap! Even the name screams substance. He goes by one word, Skerik, unless of course he is answering to Nalgas Sin Carne, a name dreamed up during the recording of their debut album Guest. Skerik enlightened me with a quick explanation, “Nalgas was born in the studio while recording our first album. Matt our drummer is half Mexican, so he was telling us words that are naughty to say when you’re a kid. Nalgas. . . Ohh very bad. You don’t want to let your mom hear that. So it was a nice bad name. And I was a militant vegetarian too, so it was like Sin Carne, without meat.” ‘Butt without meat’ or Skerik, it really doesn’t matter. And that’s the point; it’s all about the music. His name is not the issue, his sound, and conceptualization of performing is what counts. For a while Skerik was coming up with a new alias for every record he was on in a desire to move attention away from what the media wants, a nice pretty rock star with a catchy name, to what is actually being played. Oddly enough, by so completely defying convention Skerik has created the ultimate, underground rock icon, fully equipped with devoted alienesque fans that will literally bow to their intergalactic leader, and an outlandish stage persona that could only be described as Skerik.

The man is extremely intelligent, well spoken, and committed to his art form. Skerik lives in music. He epitomizes improvisational TRUE music, music just for the sake of music. By staying off the mainstream map, turning down record deals, and avoiding a niche, Critters Buggin have been able to maintain their creativity, but in turn have maintained a meager monetary existence as well. But this doesn’t bother Skerik He is well aware that a man with such obvious talent could get rich with his horn, but if money were his goal, there is no way he would be standing on the threshold of being one of the most important musicians of our time. “Like this smooth jazz marketing shit. I wish people could feel it a little better, and make more intelligent decisions. If you want something smooth, take out the moo, and get some fucking Kind Of Blue (Miles Davis), get something with some substance. Because your going to get smoothed out but it’s also going to enrich your soul. It’s like eating a candy bar when you’re hungry, that’s not going to do anything for you, ‘but hey you’ll feel full for a second’ but it’s not doing anything for you. Why not do something for yourself. You deserve it! ALL PEOPLE DESERVE GOOD MUSIC!”

Skerik’s sax might not always be easy to interpret, in fact it most likely won’t be, but I guarantee that it will fill you up. So where did this meal of a musician learn to cook up such infectious sax sounds? Skerik was born and bred amidst the industrial beats of Seattle, honing a natural talent that begged for utilization. “I had good band directors, who really kicked my ass, and pulled me aside, and said, ‘you can do something with this, don’t fuck it up.’ They really sat me down, because I was a real bullshitter, and told me, ‘Actions over words’ and that was probably the best thing I ever learned from a music teacher.”

This speaks volumes of how Skerik developed his uncanny sound. Taking advice such as Actions over words, instead of scales, styles, and appropriate techniques have given the world this genius. Skerik never studied under any one long enough to have their ideas branded on him. He grew independently, playing constantly, creating his own style, becoming the mad sax scientist we are now blessed with. In commenting on the stagnant state of music in America he made reference to the schooling of musicians, “99 percent of the people teaching saxophone, or jazz, are doing more harm than good. And I believe strongly in education, and inspiring kids, but the Berklee school of music and all that stuff, it’s just cookie cutters. ‘Here’s all your melodic minors, here sound like him. Here’s smooth jazz, that’s making money for instrumentalists, so learn that style.” It is this molding, and cloning of teachers that has led us down this musical path, a road that is afraid of individuality, a musical world dominated by boy bands and one hit wonders, whose sole concern is dollars.

The longest running band for Skerik has been Critters Buggin, which was put together in 1993 with what Skerik accurately described as “one of the best rhythm sections in the world,” consisting of Matt Chamberlain on drums, Brad Houser on bass and Mike Dillon on percussions and vibes. It is the intricate interaction between the three rhythmic maniacs that creates a deep, low-end foundation allowing Skerik to travel outbound with both his Sax and his keyboard. The four musicians making up Critters Buggin are so familiar with each other and the material that a telepathic connection is formed on stage, which in turn allows for some of the more bizarre aspects of a Critters Buggin show.

An engagement with the Critters is unlike anything else out there. Not only do you get some of the most intense, and amazing music being offered, you literally get a completely spontaneous, improvisational, theatrical performance. “We never use a set list; everything that comes up on stage is natural. It’s unmanipulated; we don’t have a plan at all.” Being able to actually pull of a show with no map is again a testament to the musical ability, and relationship of the band members. Add in impromptu appearances by characters such as “The Baron,” “Sr. Ball’s,” and “Orbitron” and even the freakiest fans are sure to be caught off guard. At the heart of these actors on acid is a need to unify everyday life with stage life. “We’re an instrumental band, we don’t have lyrics, and if something is really buggin’ us, or we need to make a statement, we make our statements with humor. Like this whole ‘jam band’ things, it’s such a horrible moniker, so we use Sr. Balls to make a little statement, and just have fun. And just do something other bands don’t. So many bands take themselves so damn seriously. I mean I am so in to just doing something completely stupid and ridiculous just to do it.”

But it’s not just fun and games, far from it. It is art, not just music, or a bunch of guys just having a good time. It is a mission, they have a goal, and this is their life’s purpose. Every rendezvous involving Skerik revolves around a very important goal. “Everything is serving the music. It’s the whole thing of getting out of a rut. The theatrical thing can spur something. If people are asleep we need to WAKE EM UP! [CLAP! CLAP!], do something to keep it alive, keep our relationship alive, the relationship between the band and the people, that’s paramount.”

Just as any art form relates to society, Skerik’s music is not conditioned or controlled; it is coming straight from his soul with out any filtration creating a direct and real reflection of the outside world. His Sax acts as his voice, creating textures that speak from his heart. “I’m committed to reality. I’m not a junky, I think it’s good to experiment, but there is so much beauty and inspiration in love and people, and there are so many things to do in life that deal with reality, with the whole ugly beauty thing, there is plenty there, so I am definitely into having anything I do represent that.”

This connection with our world, the beautiful, the ugly, and everything in between can be seen in a Critters Buggin experience. It is hard if not impossible for our instant gratification, narrow-minded pigeon hole society to enjoy, let alone understand the music. It makes you twitch at times, as the name suggests, which is in fact quite a bit like our world. But it’s not all tweak, at times it soothes, and hypnotizes, but in the blink of an eye it can all turn to harsh drumbeats, and piercing saxophone darts. Which again makes perfect sense when looking at the world, things can go bad quickly, but rest assured just as the day or week can turn around, the music will morph again, and before you know it, your hips are shaking and a smile is on your face.

In serving the music, and acting as an instrumental poet remaining true to the art is of the utmost importance to Skerik. “I’m just trying to avoid the commercial drag net side of the music business, which is always around the corner, and it can cheese out the best projects. That’s what I love about hanging out with Les [Claypool], he’s got his cheese barometer, always long and strong.” The desire, and ability to maintain, and cultivate the true creative process has kept the Critters in the poor house, but has given birth to perhaps the TRUEST representation of spontaneous music alive. In order to keep their creative integrity The Critters have paved their own path. They have elected to go it alone, no manager, no record company, no useless promo packages; it’s all Buggin all the time. “I mean we’ve had offers, but all it would take would be for a manager to say or put out one thing that was cheesy, and it would make all the rest of the hard work they were doing for us not worth while. There is nothing wrong with the slow road, although it’s kind of antiquated these days, everyone’s so success driven, and money hungry, it’s kind of sad.”

Skerik is a blast of fresh air in his ongoing musical mission. So many artists claim to be ‘hard core’ or only concerned with their music, but the moment a record deal, and wad of cash are waved in front them, they end up like the Spin Doctors. From the many bands Skerik has helped form, such as Crack Sabbath, SadHappy, Blotallica, Tuatara, Elemental, and Ponga just to name a few, to the cast of characters he chooses to be involved with, like Les Claypool, Mike Clark, Stanton Moore, and Roger Waters the man is music through and through. He has never associated himself with anything but the highest quality musicians, and in turn has created his own subculture.

It is Skerik’s commitment to music and endless desire to play that causes people like Claypool and Waters to search him out. “I want to play everyday. It’s like Critters doesn’t play all year round, so I can’t just play three or six weeks a year, there are fifty-two weeks a year, so thank God I know Stanton Moore, and I can play with that little fucker. I love kicking his ass, and having my ass kicked. And then meeting Charlie Hunter, what a great honor. Fred Wesley though, that’s the high point. Playing with Fred, that’s a total dream come true, he defines the modern horn section, he wrote the book on it.”

Another dream come true for Skerik was sharing the stage with rock icon Roger Waters. While touring for the first time in years, the front man for Pink Floyd was taking on local talent to play sax, Skerik became the obvious choice in the northwest. Skerik remembers, “I was a huge Pink Floyd fan as a kid, and they are one of the only rock bands in history to use a saxophone in a non-cheesy way. Unlike the Peter Gabriel album that has the worst example of recorded saxophone, Hugh Padgam needs to have one of his fingers cut off for recording that incredibly horrible, cheesy, reverbed out alto sax that’s on Intruder or whatever that album is with his (Gabriel’s) face dripping. That’s basically what us sax players have had to deal with, that legacy of cheese.” In light of Skerik’s inspirational style it comes as no surprise that Water’s was glowing with accolades for him. After sharing the stage together, Waters praised Skerik saying, “You were the first person to play it right, [the famous sax solo in "Money"].”

With a head chocked full of music, and a horn to blow it out of, what musical adventures await Skerik in the future? Well one thing is for sure, he will continue to spread his talent, and remain off the mainstream radar. “I want to do a lot of different things with Les. I want to play with him (Les) and Amir Questlove from The Roots. And I want to do a crazy super-group with Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine, so if you see Santa Claus tell him that’s what I want for Christmas. That’s a band right there.”

Skerik doesn’t view himself as the cult like leader he is; in fact he is quite humble. His desires are true to his ethos, he wants to bring good music to hungry ears. “I just want to always be associated with the art side of music, or life more importantly, whether I’m doing music or whatever it is. I just hope I can be part of the inspiration.”

It would be foolish to try to predict where we will find Skerik, he is his own entity. From performing with the many bands he fronts, to playing the supporting sax role, Skerik is all over the place. In fact he is covering so much ground in this uncertain world that it almost seems as if the rotation of our planet is somehow connected with this outer space super hero. In talking about the latest Critters Buggin tour which found them co-billing with the 4,000 year old tradition of the Master Musicians of Jajouka, he uneasily commented, “I find it completely bizarre that this Arab American tour has happened with this disaster right in the middle of it, I mean where is that coming from, we were supposed to play in New York the day after it happened, it’s been very stressful.” But at the same time it lends credence to the fact that music can be our source of happiness and perhaps in a time where we need the arts more than ever, maybe it can become our reality. If only the world could take note of the ability for cultures and differences to be nurtured, instead of destroyed. But again, Skerik doesn’t see himself on such a grand scale. He is really just trying to instill some pleasure and a true experience with his music.

Skerik left me with words that seem to epitomize the man, and will continue to resonate for quite some time, “There is a real joy and meditation to playing music that is an individual thing, I wish more people played music. BUY AN INSTRUMENT, tomorrow, and just play for yourself, play one note, you’ll feel better. And you’ll make other people feel better.”

Words: The Kayceman
Photos: SuperDee, Phil Thenstedt, goldengod