Out on a limb: Skull and Bone Band are Troy Youngblood, vocals and guitar; Chris Brown, bass; Jeramy Martin, lead guitar; and Mike Schuman, drums.
Their sound: Rock that stands on its own and meanders — the Allman Brothers' unrelated hell-raisin' nephews. "We've made up some terms to help describe (our sound)," Brown said. "Troy calls it Freight Train Music, I call it Deth Jamn — correct spelling."
CD:The Devil Smells Like Bourbon, 2007
Behind all that razzmatazz: "I wouldn't really say our 'razzmatazz' is that technical," Brown says. "At the root of it all, it's just four guys walking a razor's edge between the sublime and the utterly ludicrous. We usually spill over into the utterly ludicrous."
Youngblood: "We don't expect to be perfect. Our imperfections help make us what we are, and I think that kind of approach separates us from bands who tend to take things too seriously."
Adaptable: "We enjoy what we do, and that really shows when we're performing," Martin says. "We get on stage and have a good time, and the crowd picks up on that energy which creates a great vibe. ... We can play a dive bar, a blues bar, a folk festival, a punk show. Hell, we could even play a country bar."
Schuman: "The only problem I have encountered with our category is that most people think we're a hardcore band because of our name. Once they hear us or come see us they realize that we are nothing like that."
Active fantasy lives: Only one of the guys gave a straight answer about what he does outside the band. We'll let you guess which one.
Brown: "Three words: Naked equestrian skydiving."
Younblood: "Usually involves a bottle of Wild Turkey, a blow torch, cotton candy and a giant octopus."
Martin: "I usually sail the high seas, drinking Jack Daniels on a pirate ship that I constructed out of empty beer cans, keg shells and palm fronds. Oh, and there is a tiki bar on the pirate ship that I built out of coconuts and tortoise shells."
Schuman: "I graduated from USF and I work for the Department of Environmental Protection in my off-band time. I work in water quality. I collect water samples and conduct biological assessments on streams and lakes. I also love to go mountain biking, canoeing, and hiking — anything outdoors."
Superb blurbage: The humorous and eloquent descriptions and bios on the band's MySpace page (myspace.com/theskullandboneband) reference everything from Charles Bukowski to poop. Who's behind all that crazy text? "I wrote the bios, and it's all true, every last diabolical word of it," Youngblood said.
Hear 'em: Just about every weekend at Pegasus Lounge in Tampa and Emerald Bar in St. Pete. Check their MySpace page for gigs.
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