Skinny Lister


Skinny Lister are a British folk band formed in London in 2009. Initially performing as a five-piece band until October 2013 when a drummer was added. They are signed to Xtra Mile Recordings, and were previously signed to Sunday Best Records in the UK, SideOneDummy Records in the US, and Uncle Owen Records in Japan.

Origins

The band were formed in London in 2009 having met through folk clubs in Greenwich. Prior to forming Skinny Lister, Dan Heptinstall, Sam Brace and Dan Grey had played together in Indie band The Alps.
Dan Gray left the band in the summer of 2012 and was replaced with Michael Camino from Hawaii, USA.
In the spring of 2013 Sam Brace left the band and was replaced by Andy "Slim" Black; he has since rejoined.
In the autumn of 2013 the band expanded to a six piece with the addition of drummer Dave Neale.
The band name is usually said to be taken from the nickname of someone Dan Heptinstall was at school with.

Early years and first album – 2009–2013

During their first year the band put three tracks on iTunes – "Plough & Orion", "December", and "The Kite Song".
During 2010 the band put out a two CD-only EPs: "Grand Union EP" which was recorded on a canal boat as they toured down the Grand Union Canal network and the "Homemade Tour EP" recorded at friends and family residences as the band toured their hometowns.
In 2011, the band played more festivals than anyone else in UK and were officially crowned 'Hardest Working Band in UK' by PRS and less officially by the Evening Standard.
Skinny Lister appeared at SXSW at the beginning of 2012 and then staged a short tour of the USA in April. During this time they auditioned for SideOneDummy Records and Kevin Lyman in Los Angeles, California in the record label's car park and were immediately offered a place on the 2012 Vans Warped Tour. The band signed up and appeared playing three times a day much to audience delight and critical acclaim, Rolling Stone highlighting the band in a review of the tour.
On return from the USA the band scheduled a number of dates in Germany including Haldern Pop and Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, and a UK tour in October to coincide with the release of double AA side single, "Forty Pound Wedding" and "Seventeen Summers". Before the band left for the US, they appeared on Terry Wogan's Sunday morning BBC Radio 2 show.
In 2013, Skinny Lister started the year with a tour of Germany in January and then immediately flew to the USA to join Flogging Molly on the first half of their annual Green17 Tour. The band also appeared at SXSW 2013 and played Coachella as well as a number of other major festivals internationally during the summer of 2013.
Their debut album Forge & Flagon was released in June 2012 in the UK and Europe January 2013 in the USA and July 2013 in Japan.

Line up changes and second album – 2012–15

Between 2012 and 2014 Skinny Lister went through a number of line up changes. At the end of August 2012 Dan Grey left and was replaced by Michael Camino who the band had met on the Vans Warped Tour.
In April 2013 Sam 'Mule' Brace left the band and was replaced by Andy 'Slim' Black who made his debut with the band at South by South West in Texas.
In the autumn of 2013, the band expanded to a six piece by adding Dave Neale on drums. This six piece line up toured Britain and Germany in the autumn of 2013 before going into the studio to record the band's second album, Down on Deptford Broadway.
Skinny Lister's second album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in December 2013 and was released on 20 April 2015. It was produced by Ted Hutt.
The band began 2014 with a tour of the USA supporting Dropkick Murphy's and a tour of the UK supporting Boy George. They then toured the USA and played a number of UK festivals during the summer.
Drummer Dave Neal left to concentrate on another project and suggested his replacement Thom Mills. Mills made his debut on the Boy George Tour, but Neal chose the last night of that tour as his final gig with the band.
On 16 September 2014 it was announced that the band had signed to Xtra Mile Recordings and that the second album would be out in spring 2015.
On 17 September 2014, Andy Black left the band by mutual consent and was replaced by his predecessor Sam Brace.
During October 2014 the band played a short tour of Japan, followed by a tour of five English cities where they played the new album in its entirety for the first time. The first single from the album Trouble on Oxford Street was released in January 2015. A video for the song was made available on 20 November 2014.
In the autumn of 2015 Skinny Lister supported Frank Turner in the USA and UK. In January 2016 they supported him in Germany.
On 20 November 2015 Skinny Lister released "This Christmas", a collaboration with Xtra Mile Recordings labelmate Beans On Toast with proceeds going to Homelessness charity Shelter.
In March 2016 the band played on Flogging Molly's "Salty Dog" cruise, they also headlined a short tour of the eastern USA supported by Beans On Toast and Will Varley.

Third album 2016–17

In May 2016 the band went into The Silk Mill Studio in Newcastle Under Lyme with producer Tristan Ivemy to record their third album. On 23 July the band announced via social media and their website that the album was to be called The Devil, the Heart, and the Fight, and would be released on 30 September. The announcement was accompanied by a video for the first single from the album, entitled "Wanted".
On 27 September, three days before the album's official release the NME website carried a feature and full stream.
The album release was followed by tours of the UK and the US. The London date on this tour was given a 5/5 review by National newspaper The Independent.
The album entered the UK Indie Album Chart at number 38.
In early 2017, Michael Camino took time off to recover from an ankle injury, and in March, he announced that he would not return from his time off, and was leaving the band. Scott Milsom of Coffin Nails and Big Boss Man had filled in for Camino on a European tour supporting Dropkick Murphys, and was then announced as a permanent replacement when Michael Camino's departure was announced.
In October 2017 a deluxe edition of The Devil, the Heart, and the Fight was released with a second disc containing three completely new songs, some live recordings, some different versions of existing songs, and what is described as "band chat" introducing different sections of the second disc.

Fourth album – 2017–19

During 2017 in interviews and social media Q&A sessions the band hinted that a fourth album would be released in the spring or summer of 2018. In July 2017 the band returned to Rockfield Studios and have also spent time in other studios. It is likely that the new songs on the deluxe version of The Devil, the Heart, and the Fight were recorded in these sessions, but it is not known how much other material has also been recorded.
Between late June and late September 2018 photos on the band's Instagram account showed them in Blue Bell Hill Studio near Chatham recording the fourth album. This was also stated in a blog post on the band's official website.
On 31 October 2018 the bands various social media accounts announced that the album would be called "The Story is..." and would be released on 1 March 2019. The announcement also included dates for the UK and European legs of a World Tour.
The album was produced by Barny Barnicott and has been described as "A loosely-based concept album, 'The Story Is…’ anthologises a series of personal vignettes inspired by a chaotic few years for the band and binds them into 14 tracks of unmistakably Skinny-sounding rock’n’roll."
The band began 2019 with the third single from the still forthcoming album "My Distraction" described as being "... about being so obsessed with something that everything else falls by the wayside. When only one thing is in focus and everything else is merely background noise. Even though written initially with broader meaning, the lyrics are particularly fitting for our current fixation with modern technology and, even more particularly, our tethering of ourselves to our smart phones."
They toured Europe in March and April, followed by a tour of the USA in May. The US tour included support slots with The Bouncing Souls and an appearance at Frank Turner's Lost Evenings III Festival in Boston, as well as headline dates.

Personnel

The band was originally a five piece, expanding to a six piece in the autumn of 2013.

Current members


ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20
PlotArea = left:100 bottom:80 top:10 right:10
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/2009 till:31/12/2020
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Colors =
id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar
id:ukulele value:drabgreen legend:Ukulele
id:bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:drums value:orange legend:Drums
id:stompbox value:yellow legend:StompBox
id:melodeon value:darkblue legend:Melodeon
id:mandolin value:pink legend:Mandolin
id:concertina value:purple legend:concertina
id:lines1 value:black legend:Albums

Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:2009
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:2009
BarData =
bar:DHep text:Dan Heptinstall
bar:LThomas text:Lorna Thomas
bar:MThomas text:Max Thomas
bar:Mule text:Sam "Mule" Brace
bar:Slim text:Andy "Slim" Black
bar:DGrey text:Dan Grey
bar:MCamino text:Michael Camino
bar:SMilsom text:Scott Milsom
bar:DNeale text:Dave Neale
bar:TMills text:Thom Mills

PlotData=
width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:
bar:DHep from:01/07/2009 till:end color:vocals
bar:DHep from:01/07/2009 till:end color:guitar width:3
bar:DHep from:01/07/2009 till:01/10/2013 color:stompbox width:5
bar:LThomas from:01/07/2009 till:end color:vocals
bar:LThomas from:01/07/2009 till:01/10/2012 color:ukulele width:3
bar:MThomas from:01/07/2009 till:end color:melodeon
bar:MThomas from:01/07/2009 till:end color:mandolin width:3
bar:Mule from:01/07/2009 till:01/04/2013 color:guitar
bar:Mule from:01/07/2009 till:01/04/2013 color:concertina width:3
bar:Mule from:01/10/2014 till:end color:guitar
bar:Mule from:01/10/2014 till:end color:concertina width:2
bar:Mule from:01/10/2014 till:end color:mandolin width:3
bar:Slim from:01/04/2013 till:17/09/2014 color:guitar
bar:Slim from:01/04/2013 till:17/09/2014 color:mandolin width:3
bar:DGrey from:01/07/2009 till:01/09/2012 color:bass
bar:MCamino from:01/10/2012 till:01/01/2017 color:bass
bar:SMilsom from:01/01/2017 till:end color:bass
bar:DNeale from:01/10/2013 till:01/04/2014 color:drums
bar:TMills from:01/04/2014 till:end color:drums

LineData =
at:01/06/2012 color:lines1 layer:back
at:01/03/2015 color:lines1 layer:back
at:01/10/2016 color:lines1 layer:back
at:01/03/2019 color:lines1 layer:back

Guest musicians

Albums

  1. "If The Gaff Don't Let Us Down"
  2. "John Kanaka"
  3. "Rollin' Over"
  4. "Trawlerman"
  5. "Peregrine Fly"
  6. "Seventeen Summers"
  7. "Wild As The Wind Blows"
  8. "Forty Pound Wedding"
  9. "Kite Song"
  10. "Polkas "
  11. "Plough & Orion"
  12. "Colours"
  13. "Bonny Away"
  14. "Merry Old Dance"
  15. "John Kanaka "
  16. "Rollin Over
  1. "Raise a Wreck"
  2. "Trouble on Oxford Street"
  3. "George's Glass"
  4. "What can I say?"
  5. "Cathy"
  6. "Six Whiskies"
  7. "This is War"
  8. "Ten Thousand Voices"
  9. "Bonny Away"
  10. "Bold as Brass"
  11. "This City"
  12. "The Dreich"
  1. "Wanted"
  2. "Geordie Lad"
  3. "Tragedy in A Minor"
  4. "Devil in Me"
  5. "Injuries"
  6. "Reunion"
  7. "Beat It From The Chest"
  8. "Hamburg Drunk"
  9. "Grace"
  10. "Charlie"
  11. "Fair Winds And Following Seas"
  12. "Carry"
  13. "Live Intro"
  14. "Thing Like That"
  15. "Christmas Calls"
  16. "Band Chat Roundhouse"
  17. "Wanted "
  18. "Hamburg Drunk "
  19. "This is War "
  20. "Band Chat Sessions"
  21. "Injuries "
  22. "Tragedy in A Minor "
  23. "Geordie Lad "
  24. "Band Chat Bootlegs"
  25. "John Kanaka "
  26. "Cathy" "
  27. "Bold as Brass "
  28. "Band Chat Boy Ashore"
  29. "Boy Ashore"
  1. Second Amendment
  2. My Life, My Architecture
  3. Diesel Vehicle
  4. Rattle & Roar
  5. Artist Arsonist
  6. The Shining
  7. The Story Is...
  8. 38 Minutes
  9. My Distraction
  10. Stop & Breathe
  11. Cause for Chorus
  12. Alister McAllister
  13. Sometimes So It Goes
  14. Any Resemblance to Actual Persons, Living Or Dead, is Purely Coincidental

    Singles

  1. "John Kanaka "
  2. "Rollin Over "
  3. "Merry Old Dance"
  4. "Poor Old Horse"
  5. "Peregrine Fly "
  1. "Forty Pound Wedding"
  2. "Seventeen Summers"
  3. "Colours "
  4. "Plough and Orion "
  1. "Rollin' Over"
  2. "Peregrine Fly"
  3. "South Australia"
  4. "Plough & Orion"
  5. "Poor Old Horse"
  1. "William Harker"
  2. "John Kanaka"
  3. "Trawler Man"
  4. "Kite Song"
  5. "Keep Yer Feet Still Greordie Hinny"
  6. "Farewell To Devon/Tattoo Tale"
  7. "Bye Bye Roseanna"