This article will begin with an anecdote, meant to show what happens to us all when we grow up and mature in our lives. No harm is meant by sharing this story.
As a boy, our superhero supreme, and Editor in Chief, Treble Bandoppler grew up in the woods of Washington State with his family. As it was, there was another boy, Tyrone, who went to summer Bible camp together with Treble. Treble was young, and had not yet discovered his superpowers and prowess for writing and music reviewing. Tyrone was a bit older than Treble, and was tall, handsome and popular with the girls. And as often is the case with tall, and handsome teenage boys, there was a bit of playful teasing, and maybe even some hurt feelings on Treble’s part. As time went by, Treble put the summer camp episodes in the back of his memory, grew up, moved on, and became the superhero that we all love and adore today. Tyrone grew up, and is now the lead singer of a band called Skypark. One day, Treble ran into Tyrone at a concert, and was stricken with a flashback of youthful anguish, and told Tyrone about the memories of his childhood at Camp Dudley. Tyrone, who felt bad, apologized, and peace once again fell across the land. The End.
Now as far as Skypark goes, here is their story . . .
Five and a half years ago, the makings of Skypark began to fall into place. Joey Azterbaum, guitar player, recalls, “Tony [Deerfield], like many other rock and roll legends (Elvis, Jerry Lee), comes from a Pentecostal background. When he was fifteen years old and living in the Chicago area, his mom had a vision in which he was a rock star. She encouraged him to drop out of high school and move to L.A. It was there that he formed many influential bands (the Jamisons, Small Portion, Earthman Mental Intermission, the Bumbling Idiots, Chowder Horse). It wasn't until the Northridge earthquake of ‘94, when his apartment building fell down and he moved to Orange County, that we met. Keith [Gove] and I were roommates, and Tyrone [Wells] lived nearby. Tony just kind of put it all together. He was actually a drummer and/or a guitarist in most of those early bands, but he decided to try something new and play bass.”
The band released a five-song tape called ‘Disorder’ in 1994. The following year, their first cd came out, titled ‘Live in Room 104.’ Tony recalls, “Both of these projects reflect our origins, which are very diverse. We had become two bands in one--half acoustic, half hard rock. It wasn't until our 1996 album ‘One More Night with the Frogs’ that we started to meld the two styles into a more cohesive sound. We did that album with Thom Roy, who produced our first album with word. It was our first real studio experience. The common thread through all our albums is diversity of sound.”
After playing a show at Caffe Concierto, some reps from Frontline records heard them, and as Tyrone says now in retrospect, “One of them was kind of a crook and the other one is a beautiful wonderful person named Thom [Roy], and then Bubba [Smith- their A&R] came into the picture and then we were on Word because Bubba and Elisa [Elder] came out and heard us play at the Roxy Theater in Hollywood and thought we rocked.” The move to Word has been a fruitful move for Skypark. Their first album on Word Records, ‘am i pretty’ (1998) was nominated for a Dove Award in the category of Best Modern Rock Recording, and the album sold very well, considering that the band was virtually unheard of prior to that time.
Their sound, which Tony sarcastically describes as “Metal, dude,” is more or less strongly fused elements of funk, classic rock, and modern vibes. If the Black Crowes, Lenny Kravitz, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all brought something to a recording session it might be a bit like Skypark’s music. Not wanting to be classified at all, Keith adds, “It's rock music. Beyond that you're on your own.”
Still teetering on the fine line of trying to support themselves fully as musicians, they are nevertheless very serious about their music. For the May 2000 release of their next album, they called on the veteran producer Ed Stasium (Mick Jagger, Talking Heads, Living Colour, The Ramones) to take the reins on the project. Tyrone shares his excitement about this album. “Our experience with Ed Stasium has been un-flat-out-believable. He’s fifty and he rocks harder than anyone I’ve ever met. All you kids reading this . . . just know that Skypark's next album will rock your socks to heaven . . .” Joey adds that they are bringing the best that they have to offer into this recording. “We’ve written almost fifty songs, and only ten to thirteen tracks will be on the album. I can't tell you how many hours we've spent this last year writing and rehearsing. It’s been a Monday through Friday deal for nine months with only a seven-week break to tour. Now we're working sometimes 12 hours a day recording.”
This album has been a huge collaboration of efforts from all the band members, although Joey thinks that lately Tyrone has spearheaded much of the new material. “The initial lyric or melody comes from him. About a third of them we collaborated on the initial thing. I only wrote three songs on the album. But the real truth is that we all wrote all of them. On several, I did rewrites on the lyrics or wrote a chorus or bridge . . . sometimes Ty rewrote my lyrics, with input from Tony and Keith. Sometimes Tony, Keith and I just jammed and recorded a snippet, which Ty came up with a melody . . . By now, every one of us has been majorly involved in taking an idea and cutting, pasting and arranging it into ‘our song.’”
In regards to the direction of their new album, their bio reads like this: The new songs balance killer grooves and super-hooky choruses with edgy musical experimentation and thoughtful lyrics, showcasing the band's strengths like none of their previous material has. The powerful force, emotional depth and soulful agility of Tyrone's voice, the punch and finesse of Keith's drumming, the creativity and story-telling of Tony's bass lines, the aggressive and playful guitar attack and killer vocal harmonies from Joey all fit seamlessly together.
Asked, what sorts of topics they like to write about, Joey muses, “Loneliness, salvation, coffee, space travel . . .” Their inspiration, he quips, comes from things like, “Loneliness, salvation, coffee, space travel . . .” Tyrone continues, “One thing that kinda peeves me is the pressure that I sometimes feel from others and even myself (I don't completely understand either) to throw some spiritual meaning into every song. Sometimes I just want to sing about a car, or a girl, or a feeling, and it doesn't need to be about anything else. I want to be an honest lyricist . . . I think it shows when bands are forcing ‘Christian’ lyrics. There is nothing worse than trite shallow lyrics about a deep faith. But I am not too quick to judge because I’ve written lyrics like that before . . . I still do from time to time. Sometimes I just wish I was C.S. Lewis, or John Wesley, or Chris Rice.”
As comfortable in a secular venue as a Christian church or club, Tyrone reaffirms that they have not been criticized for taking their music outside of Christian settings. “We receive little to no flack for playing ‘secular’ venues. It is evident to us that Jesus commands us to go there.” Sharing his views on the criticism of Christian peers, or the pressures on musicians, Joey had this to say. “The critics went nuts ten years ago when Amy Grant’s “Lead Me On”came out, but the Christian market is not JUST a market . . . it's made up of a bunch of Christians. And, as a whole, Christians are tired of their little market and are ready to infect the world. They know that it's time to be salt and light. The strongest support we get is from our Christian fan base, because they want more than to be entertained. They want to offer something good to the world. I don't think the leaders in the business world of CCM have fully appreciated this, but the rules are changing fast . . . Nothing says, 'I don't want anybody who doesn't agree with me to enjoy my music' like the words 'Christian band'. I like Rage Against the Machine and I’m not a socialist. I like the Beastie Boys and I’m not a Buddhist. The words 'Christian band' should disappear off the face of the earth. We’re a rock band.” Keith echoes this notion strongly. “We believe that God has given us something to share with the world (which includes the Church, but is not limited to it). We don't always know how best to accomplish that. The more we can let our actions define us, the more people will know we are Christians by our love and not by our words or categories.”
Sharing their faith from the stage is a spur of the moment decision for Skypark. Joey is someone that will sometimes feel strongly led to share a thought with the audience, even though he has confessed to feeling more comfortable just playing. “Sometimes, there are moments when the entertainment stops and some serious issues, be it the life of Christ or something else, take the stage. I hope that the Spirit leads us in those situations, because otherwise its just political posturing.”
Keeping each other accountable and humble, and loving each other are all works in progress for the band, but they claim to get along very well. They look forward to this new release, and are excited to see what comes out of the next year. As far as the future goes, Joey closes, “I want my tombstone to say three things: ‘He loved God. He loved his wife and children. He was in an awesome rock and roll band.