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What would eventually become Skamasutra began
forming in the late fall of 2003. With no shortage of
musicians or ideas Skamasutra quickly took shape.
Experimenting with different sounds led to a number of
line-up changes that eventually resulted in the (originally)
six-piece Skamasutra. The original line-up was Greg Baldi on
guitar and vocals, Ian “Guy” McCarthy on bass, Stephen
“Skamaster” Duhamel and Tristan “Two-Tone T-Man” Nowak on
alto saxophone, with Joe Larsen on keys and Brent Glidden on
trumpet who switched off on the drum-set.
Skamasutra played their first show on February 13th
2004 at Me & Ollie’s in Exeter, New Hampshire. The show had
a great turnout, with the small café barely having enough
room to dance in, and their three-song set (SkaOi!,
Pinstripe, and Rosco) was well received by all in
attendance. Shortly after Skamasutra acquired trombone
player Tom Greco (bringing the member total to seven), but
still didn’t have a permanent drummer. Their second show was
‘The Session’ on March 6th at Exeter High School. It was
originally going to be a battle of the bands but no winner
was declared. Skamasutra opened with a Ska take on The
Godfather theme and played a solid set for the couple
hundred kids in attendance. Not long after ‘The Session’
Skamasutra finally found a drummer in the form of Ben
Gordon. This brought the member total to eight, where it
stayed for many months afterwards. Skamasutra’s first show
with Ben was on April 16, 2004 (their third show) at The Sad
Café in Plaistow, New Hampshire. After playing at the Sad
Café Skamasutra played a show a month through August with
two shows in July so that by the end of the summer
Skamasutra had eight shows under their belts and a solid
fan-base.
In the fall of 2004 Skamasutra added a ninth member to
their ranks, a tenor/baritone saxophone player named Steve
Briden. As half the band got into the swing of its senior
year of high school Skamasutra took some time off from shows
to write and record. During this time they lost their
long-time spinner of the drumsticks: Ben Gordon. Shortly
after Ben’s seat was taken up by sophomore Evan Lerch. This
trade slowed Skamasutra down, but only for a couple months
before the new-and-improved Skamasutra went back to
business. Their first show with Evan was December 13, 2004
at The Stone Church where they opened for Dr. Chud’s X-Ward.
January of 2005 saw the release of Skamasutra’s first
official demo: “Our Business is the Shipment” which was
officially released at a party in Tristan Nowak’s basement
on January 22, 2005. In February long-time bassist Ian “Guy”
McCarthy left Skamasutra and the band held open auditions to
find a fitting replacement. These auditions resulted in
recruiting the bass talents of junior Sean Kelley who played
his first show with Skamasutra at the Exeter Town Hall on
March 26, 2005.
The warmer months of 2005 were a prosperous time for
Skamasutra. They opened for The Slackers at The Bombshelter
in Manchester on May 15th, Streetlight Manifesto at The
Station in Portland, Maine on June 5th, played at
Portsmouth’s Market Square Day on June 11th, and were
openers on the Ska is Dead 3 tour with Westbound Train, The
Planet Smashers, and The Toasters on September 18th at The
Station and September 19th at The Stone Church in Newmarket,
New Hampshire. Also the end of September finally saw the
release of their much anticipated first full-length CD: You
And What Army?
The end of 2005 marked the completion of Skamasutra’s
second full year as a band. They played a slew of great
shows including their first show in Connecticut on December
17th. Skamasutra began 2006 with a bang when they opened for
The Toasters and Go Jimmy Go on the Ska Brawl tour at The
Stone Church on January 24th. In February they replaced
their long-time trombonist, Tom Greco, with closer-to-home
Nick Gilbert. Nick played his first show with the band on
March 3rd at The Station in Portland, ME when they opened
for The Pietasters.
In July of 2006 Skamasutra went on a three-day tour
with locals: Axis of Evil, Fortunado, and Lemon Lime Tennis
Shoes. From July 18 – 20th the band played in New Hampshire,
Rhode Island, and Connecticut respectively. On September
28th Skamasutra and The Vipers played the grand opening of
The Pagoda bandstand at Swasey Park in Exeter, New
Hampshire. Later, on November 17th Skamasutra won the
Pittsfield Middle-High School Battle of the Bands.
Skamasutra brought in 2007 performing at The Seacoast
Repertory Theater during First Night Portsmouth. They played
two half-hour sets with a break in the middle to allow the
theater to be emptied and then refilled. Skamasutra was so
hot the police were called in to remove disappointedly
hostile fans who weren't allowed in for the second set. This
was also their last show with tenor/baritone saxophonist
Steve Briden. The band’s first official show of 2007 was at
the new Exeter High School when they hosted the Battle of
the Bands on January 28th. Shortly after Skamasutra replaced
their bassist of almost two years: Sean Kelley with junior:
Jon Campbell.
In April Skamasutra lost their
long-time strummer of guitar and vocal chords: Greg Baldi as
well as their trumpet: Brent Glidden, both original members. After a few months hiatus Skamasutra returned to the Northeast music scene with Dan Boisvert on guitar. Since then Skamasutra has been performing regularly throughout Maine and New Hampshire.
Two long years after the relase of their debut album: 'You and What Army?' Skamasutra is currently in the studio working on their sophomore album due for release in early January of 2008.
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