Beauty is only skin deep, or so the saying goes. Thankfully, this is not the case with the band Beneath The Skin - whose musical talent is deeper than surface shallowness.
The band formed throughout 2022 and into 2023. Vocalist Mike Riley connected with guitarist Russell Conner through mutual influences; drummer Jimmy York joined the band through knowing Riley. Bassist Joshua Kaine Bowles joined the band through being high school friends with Riley.
Beneath The Skin’s logo is one of the first things that drew me to the band.
Bowles said that the band name itself is “a play on the phrase ‘beauty is only skin deep.’ The devil-horned skull represents the devil inside that most people don’t see.”
Riley shared similar thoughts: “After a while of discussing name ideas, I think we really just let the core music in our set kind of set the mood; we threw a few ideas around, but Jimmy came up with Beneath The Skin. Sometimes you gotta look a little deeper for the truth. Growth comes from within.”
“Mike, Russell and I went back and forth with names,” York said. “Finally, after asking Mike what the band and music was about, what it meant to him, he responded by saying - ‘It’s about the struggles - struggles with drug addiction and the life of recovery. It’s about the fight within yourself and the screams for help.' The name Beneath the Skin comes from the feeling of addiction; it’s the constant feeling that your skin is crawling and it’s just below the surface.”
Listen to Beneath The Skin's single 'Headcase' here: https://open.spotify.com/track/6Ai4qLjIc9aTlo5RxPl4fl?si=b18a7d6c763542b5
On October 8, 2023, Beneath the Skin released their debut single ‘Headcase.’
‘Headcase’ originated as a rap song with the same title.
“I wrote ‘Headcase’ about my cursed brain,” Riley said. “I tend to obsess and overthink; in some situations, that leads to self-destruction sometimes.”
Russell said, “‘Headcase’ musically was a set of riffs that I’d had for a while. It was written with a more thrashy sound and tempo in a standard tuning. I then took it to B standard and switched to a more aggressive, sludgy tone and playing style. That song somehow seemed to give us a spark in several other songs.”
Listen to Beneath The Skin's single 'Pay Up' here: https://open.spotify.com/track/42HNgevqXtGmQr310jZDgh?si=0645811d26844891
On June 28, Beneath The Skin released their next single ‘Pay Up.’
“‘Pay Up’ was originally written in rehab while I was at war with myself and my addiction,” Riley said. “In the song, I touch on the struggles of trying to make sense of it all as I was trying to create an entirely new and foreign life. After eighteen years, drugs and everything that came with it was literally all I knew. I talk about burning bridges and eliminating people from my life that threatened my new journey.”
“‘Pay Up’ is definitely a favorite of mine,” Conner said. “I really get to let loose with heavy riffs, dissonant chords and lots of harmonics and distortion. I heard a guy in the audience describe that song’s guitar sound as ‘beautifully disgusting’ last week. I loved it, and I am still smiling from hearing that.”
The band’s plans in 2024 include a show at Grinders:
“On August 24, we play a huge show at Grinders in the Crossroads,” Riley said. “It’s a festival style show with huge Kansas City bands on it. I’m still trying to process the fact that we were welcomed on this show. Shoutout to Cory Omeara and Jeff and Amber Doelling for the opportunity!
“After that, we have the Riley Birthday Bash on September 28 at Roadside. We have a great lineup for that one, and I cannot wait to announce it!
“After that, I think the plan is to finally finish the Pay Up EP and get to work on next year’s set. . .”
Comentários