Skin Deep

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Interview : Anton from Skin Deep

When and how was your band created?
In the late summer of 2003. The drummer back then asked me and bass player Micci if we would like to form a band the three of us. We didn't decide on any specific plan, except that the style would be "rock" and that we would work on our own songs if we come up with any.

Where is the name of the band coming from?
We had a piece of paper taped on the wall at the rehearsal place were we would write down suggestions for the band name. Somebody had written down the word "Deep" and I added the word "Skin" to it. Our songs have mostly been more of the superficial kind, so we thought "Skin Deep" would describe our band well as it is easy to remeber too.

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
I was a huge Kiss fan as a child (our bass player Micci is even more so). I was completely blown away by the totalness of their thing; their catchy songs, makeup & clothing, their impressive stageshow with huge pyrotechnic effects and stuff like that. They were the spark that made me pickup the guitar at the age of 12.

When I grew older there came others; Led Zeppelin for instance. If you go further than the obvious greatness of this band it is the incorporation of folk and ethnic music influences - while still maintaining that intense, emotional attitude - that really sets this band apart from other rock bands of that time.

I also love U2, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and a lesser known band called Hedningarna. Easy, relaxed vocal jazz is also great at times.

What are the positive and negative aspects of being a musician in Finland?
Okay: first I have to remind you that I have absolutely no idea how it is like to be a musician somewhere else. The small size of the country of course is a fact that comes to mind first as a limiting factor. Opportunities can be scarce. Even for very good musiscians it can be difficult to make a living out of music.

How could you define your style of music?
Rock. Quite traditional old-time rock that is a "little rough on the edges" in a punky way. That describes what we do. Since we have chosen mostly a cover-oriented direction we can't honestly claim to have any unique style.

During the years how has your musical style changed?
I think that I have come to realize that simple is often better. As for my personal taste that varies from time to time. Coming to think of it I enjoy anything with a piano more and more nowadays.

How do explain these changes?
When you are young and enthusiastic you think that you can re-invent music. When you're older you are content with small stylistic nuances and come to accept the small habits and tendencies that make you sound you.

What are topics you treat in your songs?
The usual, most typical rock'n roll topics ;-)

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
I get tired of all of them once in a while. We have 35-40 songs to choose from and rotation keeps them fresh. Perhaps "It's My Life" by Gene Simmons can be mentioned as one of my favourites.

Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
They are both interesting, but in different ways of course. Both recording and performing are unique events every time. The thing I like about performing is the interactive nature of the event and the energic vibe, the atmospehere of exitement and anticipation.

Recording on the other hand is more like exploring new territory: when things go well it is a pleasure in discovery. For instance you find your self playing harmonica or bottle-neck guitar - though you had no intention to do so :)

During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
The moment when you feel that finally all the pieces have fallen in place and that you honestly feel that you can consider it a finished piece of work.

A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song?
This is a tough one. There are so many good songs that it is impossible to answer that. Mabe "Hats off to Roy Harper" by Led Zeppelin :-)

What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
It enables possibilities for starting bands that didn't exist before the internet. Both in terms of creating contacts over vast distances, distributing new music and promoting gigs etc. Email and especially a web-based calendar has been a great help in daily organizing and communication between band members in our band.

If you are interested on my stance on "internet piracy" I could go for hours on that topic alone. To keep a long story short:

a) In my opinion, the recording industry should have by their own initiative tried to find ways to distribute legal music over the internet. This should have happened long before Napster and Kazaa and likes, and without the awful, cumbersome DRM copy protection systems.

In my opnion, the industry gave unauthorized internet distribution an advantage situation for perhaps decades to come by not offering any practical, top-quality - and legal - alternative, and they are now reaping the results of their reluctant attitude. The likes of iTunes is a first step, yes, but like proper, physical records adequate digital files shouldn't contain so called "copy protection". The irony is that the crap they are offerening is quality-wise even inferior to the copies distributed without authorization, let alone the real boxed package with physical media, cover art, booklets etc.

b) they should have given their customers the benefit of doubt and instead educated them on the issue of royalties and immaterial rights for artists and producers. The witch-hunt tactics they chosen instead have backfired for the advocates of rights of immaterial work. People are not dumb nor do they enjoy exploiting others work for free, but since consumers are often given the impression that they are regarded as criminals by default it is a stretch to try to convince the public that the industry is in fact acting with good intentions.

What are your projects?
I'm the tenor in a nine man disco cover band. I also gather all ideas of my own on tape and the computer. That is mostly unfinished songs with a guitar riff, two or three parts of a song with some melody I am humming on top of it.

The problem is however, that being a family man and having a day time job it is difficult to really find the time to really work on that material. I'm also a very modest talent-wise in writing lyrics, so I could use some outside help there.

What "image" do you have of French music?
I have been exposed to so little of French music that it is hard to build a complete picture of it. The little music I have heard on radio has been very intresting. There used o be a program called "Kauriin Kääntöpiiri" on Radio Mafia (now known as "Yle X") that played music from all parts of the world, and based on the music sung in French on that program, I found that there was a much richer world of music beyond the common stereotypes typically associated with France.

Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
"Lambe an dro" by Matmatah. This was one of those songs that I heard on the radio and emmideately fell in love with it. That was the nineties - I havent't had any more recent encounters with French music I'm afraid.

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2006