(Photo, Violet Ray.  Left to right, Mike Layton–lead guitar, Rich Kaufman–bass, Billy Somerville–vocals, guitar, Eric Riehm–drums.)

What is Skate Rock?

Every city in America has a skate rock band, and skate rock is everywhere. My hometown of Cleveland, Ohio has a vibrant skate scene led by the good people at Westside Skates Skate Shop in nearby Lakewood, as well as my band, Violet Ray.  Other bands that can be considered skate rock in the northeast Ohio area include bands like Vandalizard, Trunk Ride, Shed Dwellers and Indisposed.

But what is skate rock?  Skate rock is not a genre of music. It goes beyond that in several ways. Nor is it associated with or similar to a specific kind of sound.

To understand skate rock, it is best to look at its origins.  The first skate rock record in the public consciousness would be Jan and Dean‘s “Sidewalk Surfing” (1964) which reflected skateboarding in the 60s being centered in the culture of California and surf culture. The term “skate rock” did not come in to use until the 1980s when Thrasher Magazine released the skate rock compilation series of tapes which included music that reflected the three criteria of skate rock.

You see skate rock can be identified by the following criteria:
             1. Music created by skateboarders
             2. Music skateboarders listen to
             3. Music about skateboarding

Consider the first criterion. Bands like Beastie Boys and T.S.O.L. are considered skate rock because members of the band actually skateboard.

The second criterion goes beyond genre. Sinéad O’Connor can be considered skate rock because her music was featured in the early 411 skateboard videos. Devo are skate rock because their music video “Freedom of Choice” depicted skateboarding and was embraced by skateboarders.

The third criterion is self-explanatory. Bands like J.F.A. and The Faction wrote songs about skateboarding and are seminal skate rock bands.

My band Violet Ray satisfies all three criteria of skate rock. We are skateboarders, we are embraced by skateboarders, and we write songs about skateboarding. Our latest album, “This is Skate Rock” is a concept album completely about skateboarding. We will be playing it in its entirety at our upcoming show in Detroit.

One thing for certain is that skate rock will never end because Skate Army Never Dies.

Violet Ray will be playing Saturday, May 3, at the Corktown Tavern with Vampire Cowgirl, Hung Up and Greg Blucher & The Degans.

Shows at 8pm. Cover is $10. Be there to learn for yourself what skate rock is all about!