ARTICLES
Read articles realting to Human Skab, old and new.
The Enigma that is Matt Love
An interview with co-director/filmmaker/band member Bret Woods for the 2013 annual Chicago International Movies and Music Festival.
Interview with Bret Woods
An interview with co-director/filmmaker/band member Bret Woods for the 2013 annual Chicago International Movies and Music Festival.
Interview with Frank Gunderson
An interview with co-director/filmmaker/band member Frank Gunderson for the 2013 annual Chicago International Movies and Music Festival.
Interview with Matt Love
An interview with co-star/band member Matt Love for the 2013 annual Chicago International Movies and Music Festival.
“On Not Being Young Anymore.”
by Jonathan Dennis on Thursday, 25 March 2010.
“Human Skab is (perpetually) a 10 year kid. He makes music that reminds me what it was like being a 10 year old kid. He can’t really play guitar (he tries his best though, hey: I still can’t play guitar). His key concerns are the extinction of the dinosaurs, smashing windows with rocks and wrestling; perhaps the way all 10 year old boys should probably be. Like the Happy Flowers, but real.”
“Possibly Genius of Pus Herewith.”
by Tim Dark of de Recensent.nl, March 23, 2010.
“Who has not? This I did. Who has not? This I did. Who has not? This I did. Who has not? This I did. Who has not? This I did. Who has not? This I did…”(Article in Dutch)
“Human Skab: Forever Young.”
by Spencer Grady on Monday, March 22, 2010.
“Pieces (these are hardly mere songs) like “Drunk And Staggering Around” and “We Need To Destroy The Soviet Union”, are surrealist snapshots of the inside of a febrile imagination, tackling curious and wide-scoping subject matter. More retrospective exhumations are in the pipeline, along with an album of new material (comprised of fresh recordings of classics from the back catalogue) as well as a DVD of footage from the Human Skab reunion tour.”
“Help for Haiti: Some Familiar Faces to Perform, Along with a Dash of Brazil.”
by Molly Gilmore on March 12, 2010.
“The Human Skab also dates to that decade and reformed late last year when the British label Family Vineyard reissued its albums Stay Thirsty and Thunder Hips and Saddle Bags. ‘We regrouped because this label wanted to reissue our old music,’ said Travis Roberts of Elma, who formed the band with other kids when he was just 8 years old.”
“Friday, March 12: Indie Rockers for Haiti.”
by Matt Driscoll on March 10, 2010.
“In Olympia, a show featuring Calvin Johnson’s Hive Dwellers, old-schoolers Pet Products, Al Larsen, The Human Skab, Mary Win, Redbird Fever, Wimps, Big Idea and Brazillian “superstar” Lulina will aim to do just that Friday at the Olympia Eagles Hall. Every cent of the $8 cover will go to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund.”
“Human Skab: Thunder Hips and Saddle Bags.”
by Electronic Voice Phenomenon on Wednesday, March 3, 2010.
“Reissued from its humble beginnings as a limited distributed cassette, the world receives another blissful opportunity to immerse themselves in their youthful transgressions through the work of Roberts and his roughnecks. Thunder Hips and Saddle Bags not only surpasses the expectations one would have as it pertains to a child’s musical creations, it reminds us just how much has changed in 25 years.”
“Agitated Atmosphere: Human Skab – Thunder Hips and Saddle Bags.”
by Justin Spicer on Friday, February 26, 2010.
“All you need to know of Human Skab is portrayed by his dirty skin, lack of attire, and rebellious Mohawk as he mugs for the album’s cover photo. A child as tough as the metal he imbibes and as resilient as the pots, pans, pianos, and guitars he and his boisterous neighborhood band beat to tell the stories of the soured logging town he was born and raised.”
“Human Skab: Thunder Hips and Saddle Bags.”
by Boomkat.
“. . . Playing buckets, spoons, pots, pans, toy guns, gardening tools and even the microphone that came with the toy version of Snake Mountain (as in Skeletor’s lair), the young Skab (aka Travis Roberts) laid down wildly discordant improvisations about the joy of smashing neighbours’ windows and the horror of radiation poisoning. These recordings came to the attention of the press and captured the imaginations of various journalists, from the Sub Pop zine to Spin magazine. . .”
“Human Skab at Family Vineyard.”
by Family Vineyard.
“These rare recordings have never been made widely available until now. This reissue includes the complete 1986 cassette. The CD and MP3 version contain a bonus 1987 radio interview. The 16-page booklet in the 500 edition LP and CD contains liner notes by Roberts and Cousin Franky along with many full-color photographs and news clippings.”
“Thunder Hips and Saddle Bags.”
by Andrew Hamlin on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010.
“A prepubescent kid with a growly edge to his voice comes on, saying John Wayne is dead. ‘You think/You think think think think think think think/John Wayne is dead…’ He eventually tails off into a tangent. The non-vocal noise sounds mostly like pebbles plopping into mud.”
“Human Skab: Thunder Hips and Saddle Bags.”
by Cargo Records on Monday, February 22, 2010.
“…Human Skab clearly was not a group effort; it was a dictatorship, the work of one boy-man, one extremely well defined creative force. If we get any laughs out of this, we adults, we owe it to a kid who had the nuts to take himself incredibly seriously.”
“Dusted Reviews: Human Skab’s ‘Dead Baby Blues’.”
by Emerson Dameron on Thursday, February 18, 2010.
“…Human Skab clearly was not a group effort; it was a dictatorship, the work of one boy-man, one extremely well defined creative force. If we get any laughs out of this, we adults, we owe it to a kid who had the nuts to take himself incredibly seriously.”
“Picking Human Skab 23 Years Later.”
by Dave Segal on Friday, July 31, 2009.
“You could say his music is a bit minimal, but he had some fans in high places, including Jonathan Poneman.”
“From Elma to Evergreen by way of Afghanistan.”
by Phan Nguyen, Counter Point Journal Issue 2 (May 2009):4-8.
“These contractors that I worked with, they don’t care if the Afghan people are fucked over. They just want a job. They hope we stay over there as long as we can so they can keep working and making phat bank.”
“Picking Human Skab 23 Years Later.”
by Mr. Fab on Monday, April 11, 2005.
“The year: 1987. The place: Washington state. The parents of a 10 year old boy called Human Skab release a cassette of his original compositions like “Mining The Radiation” and “We Need To Destroy The USSR.”
“Underground.”
by Judge I-Rankin’ published in SPIN (1987).
“Who is Human Skab and why is he saying things about Russians, Skeletor, Hitler, and John Wayne?.”
“Indie Skab Press from the 1980s.”
by Judge I-Rankin’ published in SPIN (1987).
“This 10 year old kid knows how to punk rock real good.”