Roll of the Dice: 12 Questions with Skappository

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Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A Pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.

Skappository is a Long Island based punk-ska outfit made up of Tony Morace (vocals/guitar), Christian Lesperance (lead guitar), Jess DiBellis (keytar), Mike Nigro (bass) and Cody Phillips (drums). The quintet just dropped their self-released debut EP, “Up Yours”. The band agreed to sit down for a round of Roll of the Dice. We rolled a TWELVE

1) I don‘t know if Skappository is a great name, a scary name, or a little bit icky, but I won‘t forget it. How did you come up with the name? It had to come from the keytar player Jess, right?

(JESS) Yeah you got me. I think it’s all of the above. We had the working project name of Wacky Inflatable something or other – you know those stupid floppy inflatable tube people at used car dealerships? Yeah, whatever those are called. I remember not liking that name after our very first rehearsal and after a very enthusiastic Stepbrothers-esque moment (“DID WE JUST BECOME A BAND??!!”), I remember saying this is great but we need a better name. After a few minutes of random and mediocre suggestions we said what if we do the cliche “Ska” in the name thing? That’s when it hit me: we should bring ska back to prominence by shoving it up everyone’s ass! And let’s face it, “Skadomy” might just be a little too risque, so Skappository was the obvious next logical choice right? Everyone laughed and no one actually protested so it just stuck. It’s definitely a polarizing name that catches attention, and you either love it or hate it. And yes, we’ve received some hate mail regarding our name

2) The band formed during the start of the pandemic, correct? How did it come about?

(CODY) Technically it started in December of 2020, so I guess that’s halfway through the pandemic? I had been playing with Tony for a few years in a hardcore punk band called Sheep Surveillance, and when that died out, Tony came to me saying he wanted to start a ska-punk band with me. I honestly didn’t think too much of the genre at the time. I just figured, “Hey another band with my buddy.” So we put out some ads in Facebook musician groups and thats how we found Mike and Christian. We met Jess prior to the nexus of Skappository at one of Tony’s solo gigs at the Long Island Puppet Theatre. He was wearing a party mask and going around playing his accordion, so we reached out later and turns out he fit like a glove. A really moist, soaking wet glove.

3) What are your musical backgrounds, what kind of bands/music did you each play before?

(TONY) Before getting into ska and punk I played mostly indie, folk, singer/songwriter type stuff. It wasn’t until the summer after my senior year in high school I started singing and playing in punk/hardcore bands.

(JESS) So I’ve been around the block, and by block I mean the LI music punk and jam band scene, the greater NYC ska and reggae scene as well as some other small clicks. Started playing piano when I was a wee lad and around early high school co-founded the ska/funk/punk fusion band Harold’s Trousers. We tore up all over Long Island with our contemporaries Arrogant Sons Of Bitches, as well as the rest of the 3rd wave explosion. The mid-2000’s brought me more traditional ska experience when I started playing and touring regularly with the legendary King Django. I played in his group for around 10 years, going on several national tours, as well as one to Europe. During the pandemic of 2020, I embraced my roots and revisited ska punk, the first love of my youth, to help cofound Skappository, and resigned my keyboard stand as a full time Keytarist.

(MIKE) I was in punk/ska/metal/indie rock bands, which are mostly what I’ve always been into, before we started Skappository. I was really into Nine Inch Nails for a while too, and live Irish music is rarely unenjoyable. 

(CODY) When I first knew I loved music, I was listening to those cringey emo/metalcore bands like Falling In Reverse, Bring Me The Horizon, etc. As I got older, I grew to love a more psychedelic realm of music – you know, music that makes you go “Oh, these guys were reeeaally fuckin’ high!” But my general taste/play-style of music is screamy in-your-face metal.

(CHRISTIAN) My first concert was Metallica / Danzig / Suicidal Tendencies in 1994. That’s when I fell in love with Glenn Danzig and have worshipped him ever since. So basically, no other forms of music live outside of the Dark Lord’s sonosphere, nor would they be worthy of my attention if they existed.

4) What are some of the band’s musical influences and do you play any covers?

(TONY) As far as this band goes, I draw a lot of inspiration from two-tone/third wave ska and try to blend it with some old school punk and Oi! We’ve been paid compliments by fans who have compared us to other artists like The Suicide Machines, Rancid, The Specials and even Mr. Bungle. We can definitely say all of those are big influences for our members, and love it when we hear those comparisons.

(CHRISTIAN) As far as covers, we regularly play our own mashed-up version of “54-46 (That’s My Number)” live, which was originally a Toots & The Maytals song, and then further popularized by Sublime in the 90’s. The recorded version of that should be coming out very soon. We also released a cover of King Django’s “Precipice” on Stubborn Records recent compilation, “Still Stubborn, Vol. 3”. You can check out that song on the Stubborn Records bandcamp, along with a bunch of other great bands that recorded their own versions of the label’s releases. We have some other surprises up our sleeve in the way of cover songs, but you’ll have to wait to hear those.

5) Speaking of other bands, are there any bands that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?

(BAND) All our friends in bands fucking rock, but the NYC/LI scene would be bereft of excitement without bands like Winterwolf, The Pilot Program, Stop The Presses, Cherry Pop, The Pandemics, Scum Shots, RBNX, Barbicide, Shrug Dealer, Playing Dead, Hopeless Otis, Moon Tooth, But Pyrite, Vinny & The Hooligans, Pin Cushion, Aqua Cherry, The Stress, Action Park, Megawave, JT Turret, The Skags, Top Shotta Band, The Knottie Boys and Dub Corps. We also just recently played some great shows with Joystick from New Orleans, Joker’s Republic from Jersey, The Simulators from Connecticut, and Italian Blood from Baltimore. We love everyone on this list and they deserve to be heard!

6) You self-released your first EP Up Yours! last fall which was well-received. Have you noticed any increased notoriety or interest in the band since your album came out?

(CHRISTIAN) For sure, yes. We’ve released our music on all the download/streaming platforms, and people are definitely listening. We’ve also noticed a steady increase in audience numbers at our shows, and no matter what, people are always moving to our music when we play live. So that always tells us we’re reaching people and creating some type of emotional outlet for them. We recently played Punk Island in Brooklyn, and the crowd was insane – I’ve never felt that type of intense energy that was given back to us as we performed. We all agreed it was one of the best shows we’ve ever played. It’s also nice when bands and artists that we grew up listening to reach out and take an interest in what you’re doing. That’s happened a few times now, and no I won’t namedrop.

7) Is the band currently working on new music and are there plans for a full-length release anytime soon?

(CODY) We currently have three new tracks that are about to go into mix with our buddy Craig Livingston, who did all of the mixing and mastering work on our debut EP, “Up Yours!” We’re also about to go back into the studio to record a few more of our originals and some select covers that we think deserve the Skappository treatment. We also have some live studio recordings in our back pocket, but nothing solid for a full-length record just yet – unless there’s a record label out there that wants to pony up! That shit’s expensive!

8) You seem like a fun, light hearted band, but with songs like “The Blood I Bleed”, you have something to say too. Who writes the lyrics to your songs?

(TONY) That would be me. I wanted to combine the fun upbeat sounds of ska with the raw honesty you find in punk and hardcore. Despite the tongue-in-cheek name, we do have a serious message for our audience to hear, whether they like it or not. “The Blood I Bleed” is about all the racist fucking pigs out there – not just the ones with a badge, but especially the ones with a badge. They can go fuck themselves. This world can be a horrible place sometimes and while we should work to make it better, sometimes it’s okay to pull the stick outta your ass sometimes and not take it all so seriously.

9) As the owner of a Yamaha SHS-10 myself, the fact that you have a keytar player is pretty rad. I know at one point the band was looking for horn players, but having a keytar player more than makes up for it. Is the band still looking to add more members?

(JESS) Well, I wouldn’t say it more than makes up for it, but I’m glad you did because I don’t wanna come off cocky, but basically I agree. Keytars are fucking rad – that’s just facts. We share a bond and a responsibility to the world that most mortals cannot bear, we wear this badge of keytardom, a shining beacon of rock, and it is up to us and only us to appease the rock gods with our glistening keys of sonic bliss. That being said, as a band we were originally more than open to the idea and actively sought out horn players, but as time went on and we fleshed out our sound we realized they would have less of a permanent home and more of a featured spotlight type of place. This doesn’t mean we’re against it, we’re just happy with the current dynamic. But if the stars aligned and the right musicians fell into our laps, then so be it. It just has to feel natural and not forced. Actually, our friend J.T. Turret of the aforementioned Arrogant Sons of Bitches has played trombone live with us a few times, and that has always been a good time. I will also mention that we definitely have some surprises up our asses for some future releases, so keep your eyes and ears ready for some sweet featured guest spots that will blow your fucking minds.

10) It looks like you are currently playing a lot of shows around the New York area, any plans for shows or tours outside of this region?

(MIKE) We are doing our best to show the east coast a fucking great time, but we are always open to spreading the love further. I saw Jimmy Buffet outside Chicago once; that town knows how to party. However, we don’t cover any of his songs, so the Margarita-to-Checkerboard Slip-on ratio might be non-existent if we ever played that city.

11) Do the kids in Long Island know how to skank?

(MIKE) The kids on Long Island (and in the rest of the tri-state area) absolutely know how to mosh, skank, and rock the fuck out. Without them, there’d be no us, and that goes for all Long Island bands. From Amityville Music Hall to Mr. Beery’s to the Paramount, it’s clear this island will always know how to throw down, get down, take a chance, and dance! 

12) What’s UP next for Skappository?

(CHRISTIAN) We have a very busy September and October with a lot of great shows coming up, but starting in November, we are going to ramp down a little bit and concentrate more on writing and recording some new songs, and keep refining our current tunes by rehearsing as much as we can. 2023 will definitely be a defining year for Skappository. There are plans for some split releases with a few different bands that we are very excited about, and hopefully some tours that allow us to play for new audiences. In the meantime, follow us on the socials and check out our show schedule to see when we might be playing near you!