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BY TOM LOUNGES
Times Correspondent | Saturday, February 23, 2008 | (No comments posted.)
Thirty-two years have passed since East Chicago's Jim Skafish burst onto the music scene and shocked the world with his self-named performance art/rock ensemble.
Skafish's penchant for wearing costumes -- Catholic nun habits, cheer leading outfits, Bishop's robes, canary yellow zoot suits, etc. -- earned the 1974 Bishop Noll graduate a special place in the annals of rock music history as Chicagoland's pioneering force in the punk/new wave genre.
Most music fans know Jim Skafish for that particularly colorful period of his life; those outlandish stage shows, early punk era recordings like "Disgracing The Family Name" and "Sign Of The Cross," and the indelible performance forever frozen in time in the 1981 cult classic film, "Urgh! A Music War."
After many years out of the public eye and away from the music scene, the now 50-ish artist is focused on both his musical past and his musical present. And he is busier than ever, running two independent record imprints -- La Befana Records and 829 Records.
Skafish formed La Befana in 2005 as an outlet for jazz, classical and new age projects. Such musical styles were a huge part of his upbringing as the son of an opera singing mother and Big Band musician/arranger father.
A piano-playing child prodigy by age 6, Skafish began composing classical and jazz instrumentals at age 12, then attended the esteemed American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.
Despite his background and education, until the debut release from La Befana, Skafish's own stellar 2006 holiday album -- "Tidings Of Comfort And Joy: A Jazz Piano Trio Christmas" -- the general public could not have realized the depth of talent residing within this punk rock icon.
Skafish can masterfully perform complex pieces by both classical masters like Mozart and Brahms, and jazz greats like Thelonius Monk, Dave Brubeck and Count Basie.
"I had wanted to make a new record for a long time, but just didn't know what to do, so I didn't do anything," he reflected on several years spent giving music lessons and performing as a solo pianist "for hire" at weddings, corporate functions and yes, Christmas parties.
Encouraged by friends, Skafish took the big step in 2005. He booked studio time, hired some session musicians for accompaniment and formed La Befana.
"I had so much fun making that holiday album," he said. "I'm really enjoying doing all the things I'm doing now."
Some of those "things" include archiving his own body of recorded works, much of which has been long lost and long in demand by punk rock purists and collectors.
To do that, Skafish formed a spin off imprint to La Befana called 829 Records, on which earlier this month, he released "What's This? 1976-1979," an 11-song collection of rare tracks from Skafish's most outrageous period.
Accompanying the music are five commentary tracks that nicely tie everything together, putting his music, that era of Chicago music, and the early punk scene into perspective.
Skafish spared no expense on the posh packaging of "What's This? 1976-1979." A fully-illustrated lyric booklet includes delightful liner notes written by platinum-selling Chicago rockers Cheap Trick, whose members were Skafish fans early on.
"It's been a very expensive process doing this, but well worth it," Skafish said.
FYI: www.skafish.com and www.829records.com
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