A brief chat with Skating Polly

Yellow Scene: When did the band form, and what was the mission?

Kelli Mayo: The band formed in 2009 on Halloween, at a party. We wanted to make minimalist, pure music and build from there. We wanted to create a different sound that wasn’t polished, but could be.

YS: Describe the sound…

Peyton Bighorse: It’s loud, ugly and messy, but also melodic and pretty. They’re pop songs, without the dirt scraped off.

KM: We’re influenced by Babes in Toyland, L7, Sleater Kinney, Fiona Apple, Veruca Salt, plus Nirvana and Sonic Youth.

YS: And now you get to be on a Riot Fest bill with Babes in Toyland and L7…

KM: Yeah. We just got off tour with Babes in Toyland, but I dislocated my knee so I didn’t get to hang with them. I move around a lot onstage. Playing bass, I tend to go for a back-lean but I didn’t bend my legs, so all my weight was on my left leg and I just collapsed.

YS: That sounds terrible. So what can we expect from your Riot Fest set?

PB: Well, Kelli’s knee is still dislocated, so we’ll try to do a good show despite that. She’s in a lot of pain.

KM: It’s not dislocated, but it’s strapped up. We switch our instruments a lot – we do vocals from the drums and the front. Peyton’s been doing more noisy-ass solo things. The doctor told me to tone it down, but I’ll probably still move a lot.

PB: It’ll be a well-put-together mess.

YS: When Riot Fest is over, what’s next?

PB: We’ve been working on our next album in LA, so that plus more touring.

KM: We went to the UK with Babes in Toyland and had a great time, so we want to keep seeing the world.