Skafish | en

In February 1976, a tremendously innovative and pioneering artist began shaking things up in the Chicago club scene. Skafish (Jim Skafish) and his band hurled a never-before heard or seen sensibility at an unsuspecting public. Skafish's appearance alone--a huge hook nose, meaty 6 foot 3 frame, and the suggestion of breasts that was underscored and emphasized by degradingly gender-bending clothing, stunned audiences. The lyrics and music were equally overwhelming. Autobiographical experiences of childhood abuse, rejection, alienation, and sacrilegious themes were rebelliously flaunted and acted out on stage. A combination of atonal jazz improvisation, 20th century avant-garde, classic pop melody and...