Excuses For Skipping

From the first note of their new, self-produced CD, one thing is instantly recognizable, Excuses For Skipping play from the heart. With the kind of wide-eyed ferocity of early Grace Slick, singer Linda Moody belts out the lyrics as if her life depended on it. Guitarist Tammy Fortin deals in sinuous post-punk guitar stabs while the airtight rhythm section of bassist Wendy Brents and drummer Alison Duke hold down the bottom end with the kind of drive that U2 or Coldplay would envy. To call the resulting sound "epic' would be an understatement.

The roots of this sound are deep, going back as far as 10 years ago when Moody, a transplant from New York City, met Fortin, a veteran of the SF queer punk scene. The two had been through various bands before, dallying with future members of Boyskout, the Stratford 4 and the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Both being equally adept on drums, guitars, keyboards, bass and vocals they finally landed on a formula where they could both express their musical visions fully, as equal partners playing guitar and singing. Originally a quartet with Jen Goebels on bass and Chip Dalby on drums, (one left to have a baby, the other to get a masters) urban serendipity led them to Duke (late of Vervain and Shackleton, featuring future members of Thee More Shallows) and Brents(Leopold and his Fiction), both of whom were hungry for a new band to call their own. They landed on the name Excuses For Skipping while trying to think of a good pretext to play hooky from various obligations.

In early 2005 EFS met with Tony Espinoza, owner of SF Soundworks studio, to discuss recording an album. While the hipster cognoscenti strive for lo-fi downward mobility, EFS were out to make something massive and inspirational, there would be no compromises. Espinoza had worked with modern rock luminaries like New Order and the Cocteau Twins, here was someone with the dedication and experience to make this record happen. Rock and roll mythos proves that 90 percent of all bands break up in the studio, and EFS flirted with becoming another indie-rock statistic. Recording proved to be a painstaking process, whole songs were scrapped and redone, mixes were finalized only to be remixed and edited. Massive guitar flip-outs were recorded, adding a wild, untamed sound to their memorable pop melodies.

All the while, EFS continued a rigorous live schedule and the tensions of having four perfectionists in the studio only served to fuel the fire of their live gigs. While they were agonizing over every note and harmony in the studio, they had transformed into a lethal live band. The recording process, as difficult as it was, served to focus the band's energies. They emerged in late 2007 with the gorgeous, glorious results: "Out of Work Early," a 9 track song cycle which takes the listener on a personal journey through their own favorite record collection.

The power of Excuses For Skipping lies in their ability to infuse their influences with new sounds. Moody is a life-long Bruce Springsteen fanatic, while Fortin spans the breadth from punk to soul and back again. Ably aided by Brents and Duke (who bring a dance-music pulse to the proceedings), the resulting sound is more akin to the modern stadium rock of the Arcade Fire or the Killers than the shambling, disaffected indie of their peers. Comparisons have been drawn from the Cure with better lipstick to the Go-Gos with fangs. Echoes of the droning pop of early Stereolab and the terse post-punk of Unrest flit through in the mix as well. In a time when trendiness is considered next to godliness, EFS are forging their singular sound with only their instincts as a roadmap.

And the name? To some it's the reason why children skip when they could run, to others it's an alibi for doing your own thing. For others, it's a great indie rock non-sequitor in the tradition of Minus the Bear or They Might Be Giants. To the band members themselves, Excuses For Skipping is a sonic doctor's note to get out of work early.