Inspired by the Riot Grrrl movement that was popular in the 90s, Sheffield four-piece Skint Knees are hoping to create a more open community within the music industry. Fed up with not being taken seriously in the industry, they are pouring this rage into their work.
Skint Knees, made up of guitarists Jinx and Bella, bassist Skunk and drummer Rachel, place inclusivity at the forefront of their music.
Skunk explains how the group was formed: “We found Jinx on Join My Band. So it was me and my friend Maddie and Jinx in the band for about eight months. Then we went into lockdown and found Bella halfway through lockdown.”
Their drummer, Rachel, was the last addition to the group. “My drum tutor, who used to be a member of Reverend and the Makers, sent me the advert and I saw these pictures of these three people who just looked so cool and I was like ‘There is no way that they let me join their band, but I might as well try,” says Rachel.
Skint Knees live. Photo: JArthur Pictures.
But it was love at first sight for the group, as the band spent all of about five minutes deciding that Rachel was the one. While the band may not have been formed organically, the group’s chemistry is undeniable with each member dropping jokes throughout the interview.
Skint Knees’ music so far is loud and unapologetic. The group clearly want to take up space. Bella talked about how the Riot Grrrl movement has been a huge inspiration for the band. Without the space created by artists like Kathleen Hanna, many bands, including Skint Knees, would not have existed.
Aside from the Riot Grrrl movement, the band is also influenced by each others’ music tastes, protests and the devastatingly morbid outlook of modern politics.
But these three are swapping instruments, they’re jumping off stage, and their engagement with the audience is amazing.
In celebration of their second EP, Bite Back, Skint Knees is holding a launch party at Hallamshire Hotel on 31st May. The evening will be a Riot Grrrl queer-focused event with local bands acting as support for the main act, Skint Knees themselves.
“I feel like the EP has got more bite to it than anything that the band has done previously and I say this as someone who was a listener before I was a member of the band,” says Rachel. “We recorded at Bigdog Studios with a guy called James Fosberry and he’s given our guitars this kind of dirty grungy 90s tone.
“It makes you want to speed down the road and scream out the window. It hit so much harder than anything the band has ever done.”
The only question that really stumped the forthcoming group was the album that changed their life. “It’s been the hardest question,” says Rachel. In preparation, Skint Knees took to their group chat to try and guess each others’ answers.
“If I had to choose and I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily my favourite album, but it means a lot, it’s Revolution Radio by Green Day,” says Jinx. “When that album came out, I was like ‘Woah, I want to do that. I want to make music’ and I practised for hours in my room learning those songs.”
Skunk gives a shoutout to My Chemical Romance’s emo classic I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, while Bella chose In Utero by Nirvana. “That was the album that I started looking up the tabs for and just being an angry pissed-off teenager listening to ‘Serve The Servants’ made me want to be like Nirvana,” says Bella.
Photo: Jade Pogson.
In line with what the band calls Rachel’s divorced dad rock taste in music, her pick was Black Stone Cherry’s Folklore and Superstition.
In the future, Skint Knees hopes to encourage more women and non-binary artists to get involved in the music scene. The group hope to foster live shows that allow their audience to participate in the chaos.
Rachel explains: “I just sit back on the drums. But these three are swapping instruments, they’re jumping off stage, and their engagement with the audience is amazing.”
“We just want it to be inclusive. If someone wants to get up on the stage. Why not? Come join us,” adds Jinx. “There’s nothing worse than doing a gig and no one necessarily seems to have their heart and soul in it, whether it’s those performing or the crowd.”
Bite Back is out now. Skint Knees will be playing at Hallamshire Hotel on 31 May. You can keep up-to-date with the band via their social media: Facebook // Instagram
