Keep Calm, Carry The Monkey is the title of the second album by Melbourne five-piece, Skipping Girl Vinegar. The concept that accompanies the release is thus: the band will launch a monkey into space. It’s certainly a credible idea, but the pragmatism of it is questionable, especially when the monkey you’re carrying intends to go on a journey that will literally take you out of this world. It’s not easy to keep calm in a situation like that.
“We’re just trying to make a film clip and do something really interesting with it,” humbly states Mark Lang, frontman for Skipping Girl Vinegar. Obviously, there’s nothing modest about a Melbourne band launching Baker a “vintage, hobo monkey” into space. Of course, Baker isn’t a real monkey, but that doesn’t make this stunt any less interesting.
“We made a spaceship out of foam and gaffer tape. We’re attaching it to these really big crazy weather-balloons, which will travel to about 122,000 ft above the Earth’s surface.”
The spaceship will be equipped with a camera to shoot the entire journey, as well a speaker which will project the band’s delightfully catchy tune Chase the Sun across the universe, the song for which the captured footage will be made a video. “It has been amazing. There’s been a real swing of people who have been really excited by the idea and got on board.”
From hobo monkeys to the ‘Hobo Philanthropy’ initiative, Skipping Girl Vinegar managed to fund the recording and release of their second album with donations from their fans. “It means that we retain ownership of our material and we have the creative freedom to do whatever we want to do. Our physical albums have got quite intricate artwork with files and faxes and all this crazy stuff. They come in their own audio library bags, and when you open up the digi-pack, it’s got embossed imagery all over it. They’re kind of like little pieces of art in themselves.”
Despite receiving several offers from various major labels for their first album, 2008’s Sift The Noise, the band chose to record and release it independently. “It wasn’t about giving the bird to the major labels or anything. It was more for us in the future to remain independent and own our material, which hopefully means in the long-term, we will become self-sustaining artists.”
With added pressure on the band after the success of their first album, Lang admits that he actually finds media hype to be counterproductive. “The album title – Keep Calm, Carry The Monkey – is about slowing down and refocusing on what’s important, which is ultimately the music and the songwriting. I don’t like to think about it, actually. “‘Buzz bands’ kind of disappear after a while and I want to be a long-term career artist, if I can.” Lang pauses for a moment, then chuckles, “Time will tell.”
Keep Calm, Carry The Monkey has a notably darker tone than Sift The Noise, both lyrically and musically. “We definitely wanted to evolve our sound and we deconstructed everything, from the way we wrote our material to how we recorded it.”
The album contains a mix of intensely heartfelt, melody driven tales that seem to wind through the darkest of backstreets, contrasted by several fragile, yet hopeful folk-pop sing-a-longs. “I was going through some heavy stuff while we were making this record, but there’s an over-arching kind of hope amongst it all. It’s about looking through the cracks of life in the mix of it all, rather than wallowing.”
Skipping Girl Vinegar have built a solid reputation for their dynamic live performances, which often include elaborate stage setups and even the offering of baked goods to the audience. Lang is evidently excited for the upcoming tour. “We’ve been doing a whole bunch of work on new material. We’re looking at some songs on the records that haven’t been played live before.”
Although he enjoys playing live, Lang admits that he’s more interested in writing and recording music. “People have written to me old-school via the mail, just saying what the record means to them. It has a personal relevance to their lives and it becomes like a personal soundtrack for them through a certain phase. To me, that seems to be the most powerful thing, because I put so much work into the crafting and writing of a record.”
“Our first album was basically made in a bedroom,” Lang admits. “We’re in a real moment of musical change. The insurgence of things like the internet and the feasibility to record music at home means that more people can make music, but it also means that there’s a huge clattering of noise out there. It’s overwhelming.”
Regardless of the method of production or the genre, Lang believes that “at the end of the day, above all things, great songs will always win out. You hear so many great cover versions of songs and it’s really just the essence of the song.”
To accompany the projection of their song “Chase the Sun” into space, Skipping Girl Vinegar are encouraging people to go to their facebook page to leave a message for Baker the monkey. “The best messages will be selected and sent up into space.”
If you want your messages to be projected out into the universe, make sure you visit their facebook page and leave a comment for Baker.
– Lara Moates
Skipping Girl Vinegar’s Chase the Sun Tour will be supported by Myles Mayo, lead singer from Special Patrol (SA), as well as The Trouble With Templeton (QLD).
Friday 14th Oct – Northcote Social Club – Melbourne
With Myles Mayo and The Trouble With Templeton
Friday 21st Oct – The Vanguard – Sydney
With Myles Mayo and The Trouble With Templeton
Thursday 3rd Nov – The Basement @ Gold Coast Arts Centre
With special guests Jac Stone & Ishtar
Friday 4th Nov – Joe’s Waterhole – Eumundi
With Myles Mayo and The Trouble With Templeton
Saturday 5th Nov – Beetle Bar– Brisbane
With Myles Mayo and The Trouble With Templeton
Friday 11th Nov – Fresh– Launceston
With Special Guest and The Trouble With Templeton
Saturday 12th Nov – Republic Bar– Hobart
With Special Guest and The Trouble With Templeton
