Hangover Thursday: The Skels

It’s Hangover Thursday, how’s your head? Personally I’m feeling great this morning, my drinking got postponed to tonight when some old friends are in town. But fear not, because today’s Hangover Thursday is based 100% on a question I was asked a couple of weeks ago while at my favorite bar. A group of people and I were talking about concerts and bands and I was asked what bands I’d currently like to see. My reply was so pretentious that I’m actually ashamed of myself now that I’m in a more sober state. I said something along the lines of the band I really want to see no one here is going to know. Ugh, even when repeating it, it sounds like hipster bull shit. Sadly though, it is the truth. The band I want to see most in the world is the Skels.

I understand now you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Ken, this has nothing to do with booze.” Oh how wrong you’d be. Calling themselves “the band to see when you’re planning on getting so drunk you don’t remember your name.” These guys have been on the Irish-American punk scene since 1995. Not quite as long as Black 47 or the Tossers, but that is a long time. The Skels only have two albums, Stony Road, and Any Port in a Storm; but those last two albums are full of fantastic drinking anthems. “Broken Heart in Every Empty Glass,” “Whiskey, You’re the Devil,” and “Glass O’Stout.” The song just above this, “Pauper’s Grave” is my personal favorite. 

Despite how long they’ve been around, these guys don’t leave the New Jersey area much. It seriously looks like I’m going to have to fly up there sometime just to see them play. Seriously it was almost impossible to find a quality youtube clip of them playing live.  If you want to check out more of their music, your best bet is through your favorite digital distruster. I think the only album you can even get a physical copy of any more is “Any Port in a Storm.” Their website was just updated on the 7th with a preview of their new album. They do have a Facebook though. Chris Skels also has his own website and some CDs that I’ll be looking into when the next payday rolls around.

I've been called a loud drunk.  Not mean or nasty, just loud.  I like to drink and loudly sing along to my favorite songs, and these guys have the best drinking songs around. Sadly, you don’t find them on bar jukeboxes, so that makes it difficult to have Skels sing-a-longs.  I’ll finish today’s Hangover Thursday with the last song we played at my wedding reception. Yeah, we played the Skels at my wedding reception.  So, what are your favorite drinking songs?