Stream our entire album below! If you like it, you can pick it up at our Merch table!
Check out this great documentary on the making of our first album! Thanks to Cinemavericks Media for the footage!
About the Album
Almost a year ago, the boys from the band came to a point when they realized it was time to utilize all their training, and finally try to capture the exotic and elusive Rubber Skunk in a physical abstraction of its multidimensional form, one capable of being intercepted by the human auditory system.
In order to achieve this, the boys needed help. They reached out to top Universities, Physicists, Biologists, Master Trackers, Shamans, and secret societies, who unanimously had the band removed from the premises post-haste. Facing disaster, the foursome was forced to turn to the one place they hoped they would never have to… family and friends. These so-called “family and friends” must either actually care about their boys in the band, or really think something of the music they were making (both difficult scenarios to digest), because they came through in a big way. This project would not have been possible without their donations.
Off to the races, the Skunk researched and visited dozens of studios in the NYC area, before settling on Rough Magic Studios in Brooklyn NYC. The setup of the studio including a large live room and lots of toys, the man of the house/engineer Alby Cohen, the laid back but professional vibe, and the pedigree hosting groups like MGMT, Blackstar, Vampire Weekend, and Soulive were the factors that sold the band on Rough Magic. Rubber Skunk spent 3 days at this Greenpoint warehouse studio, just a block and a half from the East River, laying down the groundwork for all 12 tracks on the album. Finally popping the lid off of endless hours rehearsing, this weekend became one of the most cathartic of all the members’ lives. It was also one of the more tiring, the band tracking feverishly for 10 plus hours all 3 days. The rising star Nigel Hall popped in and graciously laid down a killer solo on the track “The New Instafunk”. Cinemavericks Media was there to document the whole process, the footage from which is currently being edited to produce a documentary (you can see a teaser for this project here). Documentary filmmaker Michael Fodera was also in the building doing a piece on the studio’s engineer Alby, as part of his series “Art Creature”. A bunch of friends, other bands, writers, and other bohemians and miscreants alike stopped by to drink a beer and have a laugh, or listen in for a time. This helped create the comfortable but excited atmosphere in the studio, which was integral to the kind of positive productivity the Skunk needed to accomplish the mass of work they were able to achieve in just 3 days. in other words, the spot was jumpin and the (several) cameras were rolling! After this weekend Rubber Skunk had one more session at Rough Magic with another rising NYC star, Maurice Brown. Maurice, along with Matt Steckler, Jeremy Udden, John Doing, Alex DeSilva, and Amadeus Sanchez all at this session rounded out the album’s ridiculous cast of musicians.
The 8 months following the initial tracking was spent overdubbing guitar and keys, recording one more special guest performer (Sarah Czechowski), and most prominently, meticulously poring over every track of every song. Every millimeter of timing, every cent of intonation, balancing EQ and panning, experimenting with effects and tricks, etc. was examined and re-examined. This was all done in the band’s bass player’s (Bob DiGiacomo) west Harlem apartment. Bob provided the expertise and direction during the mixing process, without which the experience would have resembled ……. In the meantime, Laura Jasmine Green was creating the album’s slick and tantalizing artwork. The Skunk started to see light at the end of the tunnel when the first song was finished in the mixing process. That track was shopped around to different mastering engineers, until the band settled on Joe DiMattia of Big Sky Audio in Pennsylvania. On October 11, 2011, the band completed the mixing process on the album and popped a bottle of bubbly. Two weeks later Joe was finished with the masters, and Laura was finished with the designs for the packaging. This is the part where you can’t sit down and your fingernails are bitten down to nothing, but you still have to go through some detailed back and forth with the disc pressing manufacturer. And just like that, a week later, the finished albums were at the doorstep! Everyone was both ecstatic and relieved to have these babies in their hands. You can get your copy exclusively HERE!
This album represents a milestone in each of the band member’s careers and lives. Of course, the process is never over, and now The Skunk is plotting their NYC and Delaware album release parties (info here), along with planning their tour and show dates in the upcoming year to expose this music to the world! Be sure to check out the different ways you can purchase and experience Rubber Skunk’s debut release right here, and come back soon to see what were up to. Thanks for reading, Skunks out!
