The Green Album (Skankin' Pickle)
Encyclopedia
The Green Album is the fourth and final studio album by American ska punk
band Skankin' Pickle
, released in 1996 on Dr. Strange Records
. It was the last Skankin' Pickle release to feature founder and vocalist Mike Park
, who announced his departure from the band in the album's liner notes.
Commissioned and released by Dr. Strange Records (rather than Skankin' Pickle's own label Dill Records
), The Green Album was originally intended to be a six-song EP
of cover songs wherein each member picked and sung a song of their choosing. Eventually the decision was made to expand the EP into a full-length, leading the band to record seven additional songs, all of which were unreleased demos dating back to as far as 1989.
According to the liner notes, The Green Album was recorded and mixed in 30 hours for the cost of $735, recorded on 8 track
in the basement where trombonist Lars Nylander and members of ska punk band The Rudiments
were living at the time.
Ska punk
Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s. Ska-core is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting...
band Skankin' Pickle
Skankin' Pickle
Skankin' Pickle was an American ska punk band formed in San Jose, California that was active from 1989 to 1996.-Biography:Skankin' Pickle first formed in December 1988, made up of students from Westmont High School and Los Gatos High School. The band played their first show on April 28, 1989,...
, released in 1996 on Dr. Strange Records
Dr. Strange Records
Dr. Strange Records is a record label and record store located in Alta Loma, California. It started out as an apartment-based distro in 1988 and became a record label in 1989, run out of the "Doc's" apartment until 1997 when the store was first opened....
. It was the last Skankin' Pickle release to feature founder and vocalist Mike Park
Mike Park
Mike Park is a Korean American musician and progressive activist. His musical ventures include Skankin' Pickle for whom he both played the saxophone and sang, The Chinkees, The Bruce Lee Band, and most recently an acoustic solo project under his own name...
, who announced his departure from the band in the album's liner notes.
Commissioned and released by Dr. Strange Records (rather than Skankin' Pickle's own label Dill Records
Dill Records
Dill Records was a small punk rock/ska record label based out of Monte Sereno, California, that put out CDs/records from 1989-1998. The name is an allusion to initially the label's only band, Skankin' Pickle. It was started by Mike Park, a.k.a. Bruce Lee of Skankin' Pickle. The first other band...
), The Green Album was originally intended to be a six-song EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
of cover songs wherein each member picked and sung a song of their choosing. Eventually the decision was made to expand the EP into a full-length, leading the band to record seven additional songs, all of which were unreleased demos dating back to as far as 1989.
According to the liner notes, The Green Album was recorded and mixed in 30 hours for the cost of $735, recorded on 8 track
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
in the basement where trombonist Lars Nylander and members of ska punk band The Rudiments
The Rudiments
The Rudiments are a ska and punk band from the East Bay, California.-Biography:The group was together in the 1990s, and were signed to Asian Man Records with other ska/punk artists of the era, such as Link 80 and MU330. They started out playing local shows and produced their first record with Dill...
were living at the time.
Track listing
- "Gas in My Car" (Steve Devlin) - 2:57
- "Gates of Steel" (DEVODevoDevo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
) - 2:49 - "Cup Flipper" (Devlin) - 3:26
- "Start Today" (Gorilla BiscuitsGorilla BiscuitsGorilla Biscuits are a New York City-based vegan straight edge hardcore band consisting of Anthony "Civ" Civarelli, Walter Schreifels, Arthur Smilios, Alex Brown and Luke Abbey. The band is currently signed to Revelation Records.-Early career:...
) - 1:57 - "Rest of the World" (Devlin) - 1:31
- "Don't Care" (Klark Kent) - 1:55
- "My Hair" (Knackstedt) - 3:05
- "Pay to Cum" (Bad BrainsBad BrainsBad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...
) - 1:32 - "Ties That Bind" (Devlin) - 1:31
- "Special Brew" (Bad MannersBad MannersBad Manners are an English 2 Tone ska band. They quickly became the novelty favourites of the UK pop scene through their bald outsized frontman's on-stage antics, earning early exposure through their Top of The Pops exploits and an appearance in the live film documentary, Dance Craze.They were at...
) - 3:11 - "Make a Change" (Park) - 2:09
- "Sleep" (Park) - 1:17
- "Violent Love" (Willie DixonWillie DixonWilliam James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
) - 2:59 - Hidden track - 15:25
Song notes
- The bridge of "Cup Flipper" includes a medley of parts of "Summer Nights", "Working in the Coal MineWorking in the Coal Mine"Working in the Coal Mine" is a song with music and lyrics by Allen Toussaint.After Toussaint returned to New Orleans from the Army , he formed a production company, Sansu, with partner Marshall Sehorn. A number of singles, performed by Lee Dorsey, followed in 1965-66, including "Working in the...
" and "Can't Get Enough of You BabyCan't Get Enough Of You Baby"Can't Get Enough of You Baby" is a song written by Denny Randell and Sandy Linzer and recorded by various artists, including the Protopunk band ? & the Mysterians in 1967. Their version reached # 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it was released as a single. The song was recorded in 1966 by The...
". - The hidden track consists of three untitled songs separated between bouts of silence, a noise rockNoise rockNoise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
outtake and two solo acoustic songs each by Park and Knackstedt.
Personnel
- Lynette Knackstedt - guitar, vocals, lead vocals on tracks 2 and 7
- Michael "Bruce Lee" Park - saxophone, vocals, lead vocals on tracks 1, 5, 10, 11 and 12
- Gerry "Lungs" Lundquist - slide trombone, vocals, lead vocals on track 8
- Lars Nylander - valve trombone, vocals, lead vocals on tracks 3, 9 and 13
- Chuck Phelps - drums, lead vocals on track 6
- Ian Miller - bass guitar, vocals, lead vocals on track 4