Skaters' Video for "Band Breaker" Is Public Access TV on Acid

The last time we caught up with NYC-based band Skaters they were running round an insane asylum—aka an abandoned nunnery in Bushwick, Brooklyn. That was for their "Miss Teen Massachusetts" video which was super high def. For new single "Band Breaker" it looks like they're caught in an episode of Wayne's World on acid. Or alternatively it could be described as the TV equivalent of when you're caught between two radio stations and the transmission is all fucked up and you hear two different songs bleeding into each other. Except this time it's your eyes that feel screwy.

As if you couldn't tell from the utterly explicit lyrics, this bouncy dub-reggae-inflected ditty, is about a "Two-timing broad," as singer Michael Ian Cummings puts it. "But this video does not represent the meaning of the song."

No shit. Here's what really happened with the video. At some point on tour earlier this year, Skaters ended up at a university in Ohio. They thought they were going to do a college radio session but when they showed up to the set there was only two mics set up. No one was properly equipped. "But they had a bunch of old hand me down video cameras from some TV station. I’d never seen bigger cameras in my life—and I’m from the 80s! But these things were from the 70s."

Michael continues: "No one really knew what was going on so I was like, 'This is what we’re gonna do, you’re gonna film us and we’re gonna do what we want. We want it in front of a green screen so we can make it look like we’re on an island.'"

But of course. The band promptly forgot they ever shot this segment until their tour manager tracked down the footage. "It was so crazy-bad we thought, 'Man you couldn’t pay someone to make something this crappy or to do such a ghetto effects job,'" explains Michael.

Nevertheless Skaters wanted to make a video for "Band Breaker" and their label was not exactly forthcoming with the dollars to make one, so they took this weird footage, went to their buddy's place, set up another green screen and invited their friends to dick around which would then be superimposed onto the old footage. Got it?

Hands down our favorite part is when guitarist Mikey Hart appears in a pair of tight red underwear and a spangly Aladdin-style vest, topped off by a cowboy hat. That boy can air-fuck like nobody else. Mikey plays guitar for Albert Hammond Jr. and Bleachers and he also makes music under the moniker Ex Reyes. Additionally he's Michael's old roommate, which means when they lived together Michael was treated to Mikey's scantily-clad hip-thrusting along with his morning coffee on the regular. You can imagine now that they're no longer roomies, Michael must miss such a vigorous display of masculinity. Thank goodness his moves are immortalized here.

Skaters are currently on tour with The Orwells. You should definitely go see them.

Skaters Tour Dates

09/12 Deluxe - Indianapolis, IN*

09/13 Riot Fest & Carnival - Chicago, IL

09/15 The Riot Room - Kansas City, KS

09/16 The Maintenance Shop - Iowa State University - Ames, IA

09/19 Riot Fest & Sideshow - Denver, CO

09/20 Kilby Court Gallery - Salt Lake City, UT*

09/21 Neurolux - Boise, ID*

09/23 Neumos - Seattle, WA

09/24 Rickshaw Theatre - Vancouver, BC*

09/25 Star Theater - Portland, OR*

09/27 Slim's - San Francisco, CA*

09/28 The Catalyst Club - Atrium - Santa Cruz, CA*

09/29 Fonda Theatre - Los Angeles, CA*

10/04 TBD Fest - West Sacramento, CA

10/09 Brighton Music Hall - Allston, MA*

10/10 Il Motore - Montreal, Canada*

10/11 Mod Club Ottawa - Toronto, Canada*

10/13 Underground Arts - Wolf Building - Philadelphia, PA*

10/14 Black Cat - Washington, DC*

10/15 Irving Plaza - New York, NY*

10/17 Asbury Lanes - Asbury Park, NJ*

* w/ The Orwells

Kim has seen Mikey do the no-pants dance IRL and it is glorious. She's on Twitter - @theKTB