Skafish

Black and white photograph of the musician Jim Skafish on a black background with red text above the image

Skafish is a Chicago-based punk band founded by Jim Skafish in 1976. Jim Skafish started learning piano at six years old and went on to develop extensive musical training. In 1977, Skafish opened for the American rock & roll group Sha Na Na at the Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago. In a Billboard article, Alan Penchansky described Skafish as a “peculiar appetizer” with the frontman dressed androgynously with a pageboy haircut. Jim Skafish was described to be “skipping” and “prancing” around the stage before dressing down to a woman’s bathing suit and anxiously applying lipstick. The 50-minute performance left the audience confused, with one audience member reportedly pointing a gun at Skafish during the performance. 

Skafish signed with I.R.S. Records and consisted of additional members Barbie Goodrich, Ken Bronowski, Larry Mysliwiec, Larry Mazalan, and Javier Cruz. The group started recording their first self-titled album in 1979 and went incredibly over their initial production budget. Consequently, the album was mixed on a low budget and delayed due to financial constraints. Skafish was released in 1980 and received audience criticism due to the poor mixing that diminished the album’s effect. That same year, Skafish embarked on a European tour with post-punk, reggae, and ska bands like The Police, XTC, English Beat, UB40, and Steel Pulse. Their second I.R.S. album, Conversation, was released in 1983 and leaned towards a “beat-based dance style” that was not well received by audiences. The band broke up in 1985, but Jim Skafish continues to release music as a solo act. In 2006, he produced a jazz-style Christmas album titled Tidings Of Comfort And Joy: A Jazz Piano Trio Christmas.