The timeless sound of Southern Culture on the Skids

For nearly three decades, Southern Culture on the Skids has built its reputation on the strength of its one-of-a-kind live shows.

For one thing, they don’t look like any other band: Front-man Rick Miller usually appears onstage in overalls – undershirt sometimes, and sometimes without. Bassist Mary Huff has perfected retro-cool hairstyles and thrift store chic. Drummer Dave Hartman plays standing behind a kit that looks to be fashioned from items picked out of a junkyard.

And they know how to rev up a crowd. If not for the barroom setting (they play Friday, March 27, at New Brookland Tavern), the band’s encouragement of hands-on audience participation could serve as a model for, say, teaching a group of kindergartners.

There’s the always-anticipated onstage chicken-leg-eating (and sometimes throwing) spectacle and dance-a-long. The band has been known to pass out Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies to the crowd. And, on special occasions Santo, a mysterious Mexican wrestling character, appears, decorative mask and all.

It might be easy to have the idea that SCOTS is all schtick – lots of fun, but not serious music. Songs about such topics as skunks under trailers, banana pudding that’s been out too long, and insects in a variety of situations might even reinforce the idea.

But it’s an idea that is far off the mark. Folks who venture out to the band’s show at the New Brookland Tavern Friday will see a group that matches first-rate showmanship with equally elite musicality.

Incorporating the swampy groove of CCR, the trashy power chords of his hero Link Wray, and the twang of Scotty Moore and other rockabilly giants, Miller is a seasoned roots-rock pro. Huff and Hartman form a rhythm section that can drive hard, hang in a groove, provide a perfectly timed accent – whatever is needed.

“I’ve always enjoyed bands with people who are so good that (the musicianship) draws no attention to itself,” Miller said from the band’s studio in Mebane, North Carolina. And that’s an apt description of SCOTS – they’re such good players that you might not notice.

The songs, too, are smart – funny, sure, but full of sharp commentary and tasty guitar riffs.

That some might not recognize the quality of playing and the writing doesn’t really bother lead man Miller. “I don’t think about it much,” he said. “People love to take themselves seriously.”

That’s not to say Miller doesn’t take his work seriously and appreciate the fruits of his labor. “I think people tend to take humor for granted,” he said. “It’s not easy to make people laugh.”

And he’s proud when respect comes the band’s way. Indeed, SCOTS – that purveyor of sleazy Americana – was recently recognized in an academic setting, of all places. The Southern Folklife Collection in the University of North Carolina’s Wilson Library recently featured an exhibit on the band. It highlighted Miller and company’s keen appreciation of the region’s culture – from fried chicken and barbecue to sticky weather and summertime pests to vintage guitars and obscure musicians – and its contributions back to the culture.

The exhibit was something of a retrospective on the band’s career.

Founded in the mid-1980s, SCOTS has successfully navigated all sorts of trends that have defined, at various times, the modern-day music business.

They produced their own records back before do-it-yourself production was made easier by computer-based mixing and editing. They moved to a major label – Geffen – in the mid-1990s. Their song “Camel Walk” caught on at a time when, as Miller recalled it, Americana and roots music enjoyed a small but significant place on radio airwaves.

Even a modest amount radio play can make a huge difference for a band, and Miller remembers that “places where we’d been trying to build an audience for years and maybe had a hundred people come see us, all of a sudden there were a thousand, 1,500 people.”

Instead of blowing through whatever money came their way or expecting the ride to last, SCOTS played it smart. “We realized that if we could hold on to 10 to 15 percent of that audience, we could keep going for a long time.”

The major label deal and support from commercial radio didn’t last long, predictably, but SCOTS has employed a savvy online strategy for keeping longtime fans engaged and spreading the word to new, younger audiences. At a SCOTS show, you’re likely to see college-age kids and people at least their parent’s age.

Of course, all this wouldn’t be possible if band members hadn’t kept creating new music to record – nowadays, as in the early days, in their own studio.

In recent years, they have released an album of select cover material, a project with the B-52’s Fred Schneider, and more original tunes.

They are working on an album that Miller describes as more acoustic-driven and countrified than most of their past work, and there’s no reason to think SCOTS will slow down any time soon. “I never thought about doing anything else,” Miller said. “I always wanted a life of doing something creative, and I haven’t changed that outlook one bit.”

Baker Maultsby, Special to Go Columbia

This story was originally published March 25, 2015 at 12:28 PM with the headline "The timeless sound of Southern Culture on the Skids."