2 Skinnee J's

2 Skinnee J's

2 Skinnee J's is the name of a musical band characterized as nerdcore hip hop. The band was founded in 1991 by Special J (vocals), Rabbi J-Slim (vocals), Joey Viturbo (guitar), Sammy B (bass guitar), DJ Casper (keyboards), and Andy Action (drums). With numerous line-up changes the band was active through the 1990s until 2003, when the officially disbanded. The group recorded several demos, 2 EPs, 3 studio albums, including one on Capricorn Records, SuperMercado! and another on Volcano Records, Volumizer. The band went through several key membership changes before its breaking up in 2003, although they briefly reunited for reunion tours in 2005 and 2008.

History (Brief Summary)

2 Skinnee J's formed in 1991 at Columbia University in New York City. They developed their style and released multiple independent releases in the 1990s. They attracted a fan following through heavy touring in their early years. Original rapper J-Slim & guitarist Joey Viturbo parted was with the band in 1995 and J Guevara was recruited as well as King Vitamin (a/k/a origingal bassist, Sammy B). They started to break through into the mainstream in 1998 after signing with Capricorn and releasing SuperMercado!, which found airplay on modern-rock radio stations.

Relations soured with Capricorn and the label delayed release of the second album on 2 Skinnee J's two-album contract, Volumizer, for two years after it was recorded. The label folded and the band's contract was bought by Volcano Records. When it was officially released, many critics refused to review it again as they had reviewed a pre-release version years earlier. Rockworthy says the delay and its fallout, which left the band without a label, were a major problem and contributed to their decision to break up in 2003. Although they had a farewell tour in 2003, they returned for a "Five Nights of Fury" tour in 2005 and another five-show "Mission Accomplished" reunion tour in 2008. They performed at Woodstock '99 and later criticized the event.

Early Days (1991-1995)

Founded in February 1991 by a pair of Columbia University friends going by stage names MC WheatThin (soon to become Special J) and (Rabbi) J-Slim. The name of the group is allegedly derived from their first initials & similar girths. The J's recruited drummer Andy Action who brought bassist Sammy B (soon to become King Vitamin) as well as guitarist/Columbia University Marching Band leader/astro-physicist Joey Viturbo and keyboardist/dorm-producer DJ Casper as well as a mangey horn section alternately known as the "Four Hornsmen Of The Apocalypse," "The Hot Boxed Lunch Horns" or "The Hat Rack." Sammy B was permanently replaced after six months by bassist, Eddie Eyeball.

The band self-produced 3 cassette demos and toured extensively after a Summer 1993 appearance on Dick Clark's Battle Of The Bands for ABC primetime TV. Shortly thereafter, the band's manager at the time (rumored to be in league with the New Kids On The Block, or worse), lost his rights to manage the band in a Vegas poker game to gas station mogul, bail-bondsman and repo-man, A.J. "Stumpy" Johnson. 2SJ, although demoralized, began ascending in popularity as Mr. Johnson began reaping what would amount to nearly a decade of great wealth. The summer of 1994 also gleaned the band's best acquisition to date, keyboardist/trombonist Stevie Spice, who was clearly the most handsome member of the band to date.

Skinnee Rising (1995-2001)

In May 1995 J-Slim left the band (he went on to work for Children's Television Workshop and to author books under the pseudonym J Milligan), along with guitarist, Joey Viturbo (who went onto a law degree and eventually to work directly under Dick Cheney in an undisclosed secret location). Not long after, most of the horn section disbanded to attend graduate school or to nurse their ever-worsening drug habits. There followed a chaotic summer in which J-Slim's spot was filled by J. Jonah Jameson, and Viturbo was replaced by former bassist Sammy B, now dubbed "King Vitamin," on guitar. After the band's unsavory hot summer tour in diapers, Jameson was permanently replaced in September 1995, by MC J Guevara (former Canadian ska super-group Me Mom and Morgentaler accordianist). With the merits of Guevara's enormously diverse hair and rhyming prowess, the next two self-released EPs (Return Of The New & Improved & Sing, Earthboy, Sing!) brought even larger accolades and the band expanded it's ever-widening fan-base. Enormous amounts of touring followed with over 30,000 CDs sold out of their "Big Green Bus" which was, in actuality, a green Headstart mini-bus. In 1997, Thrift Unit MC A.Mays (producer of Return Of The New & Improved) replaced King Vitamin on guitar. Sammy B/King Vitamin retired permanently from the J's to form garage rock NYC legends, The Mooney Suzuki as frontman Sammy James Jr. Shortly thereafter, 2 Skinnee J's signed a record deal with Atlanta's Capricorn Records and recorded their first full-length album, SuperMercado!, co-produced by Tim Latham (Erykah Badu, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, etc.) and NY DJ celebrity Stretch Armstrong at The Magic Shop recording studio in SoHo, NYC.

One of their most famous and influential songs was "Riot Nrrrd" (1998), which would later appear in the movie Never Been Kissed (1999). (The term "riot nrrrd", a pun on "riot grrrl", was first used in Douglas Coupland's Microserfs, to describe someone wearing "Dockers and Gap pocket-T". Whether the name of the song was a deliberate reference to the book is unclear.) Riot Nrrrd, along with several other songs on their first full-length album, SuperMercado! (1998), would later cause MC Frontalot to include them in his list of nerdcore rappers. The album mostly featured playful, nerdy songs about such subjects as Pluto and Star Wars.

Copious amounts of touring ensued, with the band putting 300,000+ miles on their infamous "Big Green Bus", sharing the stage with the likes of Parliament/Funkadelic, A Tribe Called Quest, Incubus, De La Soul, Public Enemy, Bad Brains, Outkast, Sugar Ray, Everlast, Toots & The Maytals, Cibo Matto, The Roots, Medeski Martin and Wood, Blonde Redhead and (literally) hundreds of others... Touring (more than 1500 road dates thus far) took it's toll on the personnel. Guitarist A.Mays left in the middle of a tour to sire a child w/ Al's Not Well band leader Joce (temporarily replaced by Springfield, MO native Capital R), and replaced permanently by Louisiana's finest, Lance Rockworthy (arguably the handsomest member of the band to date). Half way into writing the band's second album, drummer and founding band member Andy Action was fired for enigmatic & dubious inter-personal reasons. Fans revolted. A.J. "Stumpy" Johnson refused to comment in the press. That is when the J's called upon the help of longtime friend & Atlanta based drummer D. Summerz, a/k/a "Dose" of Shootyz Groove infamy.

Decline & Breakup (2002-2003)

In 2002, their second album, Volumizer, was finally released after a two-year delay (In addition to the personnel issues, Capricorn Records collapsed and the band was picked up by Volcano Records, which really put the screws to the ailing band to "churn out the hits"). The tenor was perhaps a bit less intellectual and a bit more serious than SuperMercado!, but the overall trend remained playful and light. That changed somewhat in 2003 with Sexy Karate! (self-released on the band's own Dolphins Vs. Unicorns label), which had a slightly angrier, more political tone and contained, arguably, some of the band's best and most mature material.

In March 2003, the band announced in their "farewell newsletter" that they were soon beginning what they described as an "indefinite hiatus." Rumors that things had soured between band members and keyboardist Stevie Spice shrouded the breakup with mystery. A.J. "Stumpy" Johnson refused to comment in the press. However, in a 2005 post on the band's official webpage, Stumpy Johnson announced a reunion show on July 18, 2005, the two-year anniversary of the group's final live performance (not so coincidentally, on 7/18!). A small series of shows throughout the northeastern United States was later announced; however, the band confirmed that these were merely "reunion shows" and were not meant to be interpreted as a sign that the band had officially reformed. Stevie Spice had not taken part in any of the reunion shows.

Reunion, Present & Future (2008-present)

On January 28, 2008, Stevie Spice posted this message on the band's MySpace page:

Dear 2SJ peeps...

Over the holidays, a golden light shone down from above and it was shaped like Stumpy... I picked up the phone and called an old friend... who called another old friend... who called another. One call led to another and before we all knew it, we were back together fighting over ketchup and eggs in NYC (ok, it was just me and Lance fighting over the ketchup). We all are a little older, larger, and definitely wiser (I hear AJS has exceeded omniscient). Next summer is the 5 year anni since the last show with the full line up. 10 years since $upermercado. The time for the full fledged reunion has come. To make things complete we even got (Andy) Action back on drums (B is on sabitical selling his ball swing - no, Eddie didn't help).

August 6 - 11 2008

DC, Norfolk, NYC and two others TBA.

Put the request in for time off and book your flights now. Convert your 401Ks into small bills for Stump. And most of all, get ready to ROKK!!!

The 2 Skinnee J's "Mission Accomplished 2008" reunion tour:

August 6 at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

August 7 at the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh, NC

August 8 at the NorVa in Norfolk, Virginia

August 9 & 10 - 2 final shows at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza.

2 Skinnee J's played their first show in over 3 years at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. on August 6, 2008. The band played for two hours, one of their longest sets to date. The opening song was "718!", and they concluded the concert with "BBQ" and "Sugar & Candy". Special J announced that this was the first concert in 9 years that the current band members played together (considered by most to be the essential 2SJ lineup).

The rest of the tour was a triumphant success, reuniting the band members with their adoring fans and with each other. Rumors of a documentary film of the event abound.

The band released an enormous 5 CD, 1 DVD, 200 page photo-book Boxed Set to commemorate the tour, entitled "The Big Green Book" affectionately named after their long-deceased road steed.

The future of 2 Skinnee J's remains unknown. A.J. "Stumpy" Johnson refuses to comment in the press.

Movie Stars? (2009)

UPDATE AS OF EARLY 2009: Rumors about a full-length feature documentary about 2SJ were confirmed when Fat Rock Productions announced "Get In The Van."

2 SKINNEE J'S - GET IN THE VAN: The most beloved band you've never heard of: www.getinthevanmovie.com [1]

Release date is unknown, but A.J. "Stumpy" Johnson is sure to hold the reigns of this opportunistic yet fan-pleasing next phase in this beloved band's strange history.

Members

• Special J (MC)
• J Guevara (MC)
• Andy Action (drums)
• Eddie Eyeball (bass guitar)
• Lance Rockworthy (guitar)
• Stevie Spice (trombone, Keyboards)
• A.J. Stumpy Johnson (Owner/Manager)

Former Members

• J Slim (MC)
• Joey Viturbo (Guitar)
• J Jonah Jameson (MC)
• DJ Casper (Keyboards)
• King Vitamin (Guitar)
• DJ Ariel (turntables)
• A.Mays (Guitar)
• Capital R (Guitar)
• Mikey B (Drums)
• D. Summerz (a/k/a Dose) (Drums)

(Former)Horn Players

• Robbashanks (Baritone Sax)
• Small Wonder (Trombone)
• Funky Dollar Bill (Trumpet)
• Scotty Ball Games (Tenor Sax)
• Alex Graham (Alto Sax)
• Nurse Ratchet (Andre)(Tenor Sax)

Discography

• Beyond Good & Evel - self-released cassette demo, 1992
• The Bodyguard Soundtrack - self-released cassette demo, 1993
• Six Songs For Five Bucks - self-released cassette demo (repackaging of first two demos), 1993
• American Heroes - self-released cassette demo, 1994
• Return Of The New And Improved - self-released CD EP, 1995
• Sing, Earthboy, Sing - self-released CD EP, circa 1997
• Music For The People (SuperMercado! preview CD EP - Capricorn Records, 1998
• SuperMercado! - Capricorn Records, 1998
• Live Bootleg! - self-released live CD, 2001
• Volumizer - Volcano Records, 2002
• Return Of The Furious Dragon - self-released live CD, 2002
• Sexy Karate! - Dolphins Vs. Unicorns, 2003
• Axis, Boston - Bold As Stump (live 2 CD set) - Instant Live, 2003
• Enter the Gold Hat: Sexy Karate Live! (CD) - Dolphins Vs. Unicorns, 2003
• Enter the Gold Hat: Sexy Karate Live! (DVD) - Dolphins Vs. Unicorns, 2003
• 718: Live Farewell Extravaganza (live 3 CD set) - Dolphins Vs. Unicorns, 2005
• Next Big Thing The Farewell Show Live (live DVD) - Dolphins Vs. Unicorns, 2005
• The Big Green Book (Spiral-bound "Boxed Set" consisting of 5 CDs 1 DVD & a 200+ page book), self-released, 2008 - This "boxed set" contains all the demos, EPs, full-length releases plus 40+ outtakes, unreleased, live & rare tracks and all of the band's videos, TV appearances and a few interviews & live clips. "The Big Green Book" has a wiki page, complete with track listings and page-by-page analysis of the photo book, made by dedicated super-fan & friend, DJ Empirical. Link: [2]

External links

• 2 Skinnee J's Official Site
• 2 Skinnee J's MySpace page
• 2 Skinnee J's on AllMusic Guide
• Official site for the movie: "2 SKINNEE J'S - GET IN THE VAN: The most beloved band you've never heard of"
• "The Big Green Book" wiki page, complete with track listings and page-by-page analysis of the photo book, made by dedicated super-fan & friend, DJ Empirical