Skiantos - The pioneers of demented punk

“Go get a job, you hooligans!”

(Io sono un autonomo, 1978)

Back in the 60s there was a fad for an oddball singer, Clem Sacco, almost entirely forgotten today, who enjoyed brief popularity thanks to a few 45s with titles like “Mamma voglio l’uovo alla coque” and “Sono un deficiente”, which from their titles alone suggest ironic, surreal lyrics. More frat-house in spirit were Squallor, who in the 70s made two films that are cult classics today (“Arrapaho” and “Uccelli d’Italy”) and a handful of records (for instance “Troia”, “Vacca”, “Pompa”, “Cappelle”) packed with jokes, double entendres, parodies of well-known Italian songs and assorted vulgarity.

After these two negligible experiences, it would be Skiantos, in the second half of the 70s, who gave Italian music something it had been sorely missing: irony, irreverence, and even a brand-new genre altogether. Along with Gaznevada, Skiantos are probably the only genuinely original product of the first wave of Italian punk. On this point, some historical context is needed: Skiantos had the good fortune of being in the right place (Bologna) at the right time (1977), since the so-called “Movement of '77”, which began with a sit-in at the University of Rome in protest against the Education Minister's reform plan, had quickly spread across Italy, taking particularly strong root in the Emilian capital. It's precisely because of this “heated” climate that punk, which arrived from England around that time, took on such a strongly political slant in Italy: Skiantos formed right in the middle of this melting pot, yet at the same time broke away from it completely, creating “demented rock”.

Fronted by singer Roberto “Freak” Antoni, who graduated from Dams with a thesis on the Beatles, Skiantos recorded their first cassette in 1977 for Harpo’s Bazaar, titled Inascoltable. An experimental record cut in a single night with plenty of improvisation and very poor audio quality, it already contains, in embryo, everything that would come to define the band on later records: utterly nonsensical lyrics (“Tutti fatti come matti/ noi rompiamo tutti i piatti/ ci stendiamo sopra i letti/ meglio stare ai patti!”), basic and steeped in youth slang, with a sprinkling of punk, 60s-70s rock, Italian song and blues. As the title suggests, the record is nearly unlistenable and pretty rough around the edges (it's no accident one song is called “Sono rozzo sono grezzo”), but it's absolutely revolutionary in how its lyrics are put together (if “put together” is even the word), which are, in any case, never political or militant.

In 1978 their partnership with Gianni Sassi's Cramps label began: the 7″ Karabigniere Blues / Io sono un autonomo pokes fun, on one side, at the police, and on the other, at the Autonomia movement. This “bipartisan” irreverence, as we'd call it today, rubbed the militant audience of the time the wrong way, who saw Skiantos as emblematic of political apathy or even as right-wing, failing to grasp that the band had actually understood that the only real weapon available in the struggle was irony itself, aimed equally at institutional rhetoric and at the budding rhetoric of the left (embodied above all by the politically engaged singer-songwriters).

In addition to challenging politics and the traditional music model (Skiantos always proudly admitted they couldn't actually play), the band also staged absurd concerts, where members sometimes showed up wearing raincoats and colanders on their heads, and other times in elegant suits that would then get soiled by objects and assorted substances thrown from the crowd. In this sense, Skiantos' shows were a challenge to the audience and a complete reversal of the usual star-audience relationship, with the crowd often insulted and provoked, vegetables included, which were hurled at the spectators (and promptly thrown right back up onto the stage by the same spectators).

Also in 1978 came their masterpiece: MONOtono. The cover, as would often happen later too, references pop iconography (in this case a Japanese b-movie), while inside there are numerous photos and cartoons that would go on to become iconic. The line-up, by then more or less settled, numbered a full seven members: Freak Antoni, Jimmy Bellafronte, Stefano Sbarbo Cavedoni, Frankie Grossolani, Dandy Bestia, Andy Bellombrosa, Leo Tormento Pestoduro.

The record opens with a rapid-fire dialogue in the youth slang of the time, something that really ought to be taught by heart in schools and deserves to be quoted in full: “Ma che cazzo me ne frega! Genere ragazzi genere! Hey kid, hand over the bike so we can watch some TV. Sei fatto duro, sei fatto come un copertone. Ci facciamo? Sbarbi sono in para dura! Ok, ok nessun problema ragazzi, nessun problema! Sbarbi sono in para dura. Schiodiamoci, schiodiamoci. C’hai della merda? Ma che viaggio ti fai?! C’hai una banana gigantesca. Oh c’hai della merda o no? Un caccolo! Ma che viaggio ti fai? Intrippato. Brutta storia ragazzi, brutta storia. C’ho delle storie ragazzi, c’ho delle storie pese! C’hai delle sbarbe a mano? No c’ho delle storie pese, fatti questo slego: 1 2 6 9!”. It's at this point that “Eptadone” kicks in, perhaps the single best track Skiantos ever recorded: Christian Zingales nails it perfectly, calling it “a speed-fuelled punk splinter”.

But every track is extraordinary, with pure nonsense reaching stellar heights (“Io me la meno/ ogni notte mi dimeno/ domani prendo il treno/ e vado fino a San Remo”), even if the lyrics hit their absolute peak on the manifesto-song "Largo all'avanguardia" ("Siete un pubblico di merda/ applaudite per inerzia" . “Compran tutti i cantautori/ come fanno i rematori/ quando voglion fare i cori/ che profumano di fiori/ Me mi piace scoreggiare/ non mi devo vergognare”). This song makes it crystal clear that Skiantos programmatically chose to use "low" language, positioning themselves as a dichotomous, anti-cultured alternative to the prevailing high culture, exploiting their greatest find: demenzialità (deliberate goofiness). Skiantos are the logical continuation of an Italian avant-garde tradition that runs through Ettore Petrolini's "Salamini" and the insights of Futurism, and they bring about an epochal shift in lyric-writing: if Bàrberi Squarotti spoke of the "zero degree of writing" regarding the poems of the crepuscular poet Marino Moretti, Skiantos go a step further down and, fully aware of it, reach "sub-zero degree," placing themselves even below normality and everyday speech, seeking out the simplest, crudest and most immediate solutions possible.

Amid so much innovation, there's also room for pure, flawless parody: "Vortice" is a reworking of the love song, while "Ehi ehi ma che piedi che c'hai" clearly quotes the pop tunes of the 60s. Politics is addressed above all in "Panka Rock" (“Brucia le banche/ bruciane tante/ calpesta le piante” . “Se tu bruci una banca/ il direttore poi si schianta/ Gli dai in testa anche una panca/ e vedrai che poi la pianta”), although a critical, debunking intent runs through every track, even when left unstated.

Also on Cramps, 1979 brings Kinotto. The opening track is their most famous song: "Mi piaccion le sbarbine". The music is far less punk than on the previous record, and the lyrics start to indulge in irony for irony's sake, even though nearly every track is absolutely perfect: standouts include the title track ("Ma costava un puttanaio/ quel chinotto dal lattaio"), "Kakkole" ("Voglio solo skakkolarmi, skakkolarmi, skakkolarmi") and the outstanding "Freezer", complete with robotic vocals. Less groundbreaking but more cohesive and focused than its predecessor, Kinotto is Skiantos' last masterpiece.

1979 is also the year of "Bologna Rock", a concert at the Palasport featuring various punk bands of the era, including Gaznevada and Skiantos. The latter's performance would go down in history: essentially a piece of theatre of the absurd, since a kitchen, a table, a television and a fridge were brought on stage, while spaghetti boiled in a huge pot that the band then ate. All of this, it's worth stressing, without any music. When the 6,000-strong crowd protested, Freak Antoni shouted back: "It looks like crap, but it's actually a performance. Non capite un cazzo: questa è avanguardia, pubblico di merda", shielding himself from the objects being hurled at him with colanders and fleeing without playing a single note. Alternative versions of what happened also circulate, the story having long since become legend and having drawn plenty of attention from the newspapers at the time.

In 1979 Freak Antoni split from Skiantos, who entered the Sanremo Festival selection with "Fagioli", but were rejected.

In 1980 they released their last album for Cramps, Pesissimo!, which bears no resemblance to the earlier records: Skiantos become a parody of themselves, not retaining a shred of the subversive charge they'd shown before, offering up songs that sound like botched retreads of those on MONOtono and Kinotto.

In 1981 Freak Antoni released the box set The uncontainable Freak Antoni, made up of five singles credited to five fake band names (I Nuovi '68, gli Hot funkers, Astro Vitelli & i Cosmoz, i Genuine Rockers and i Recidivi).

After three years of silence caused by a crisis, Skiantos returned in 1984 with I'll spread the cream on you, but everything that came after could not compare to the great inventions of their early work. Their best-known records remain There's no fun in being smart in Italy, Signore dei dischi and Double dose, while their last album of new material, Sogno improbabile, came out in 2005. Among other releases, 1990 saw a live album, Ze best in laiv, and two compilations: Skiantologia vol.1 and La Krema.

The real limitation of Skiantos' post-1980 records is that they over-exploited the demenziale genre, getting stuck in it and failing to evolve despite the completely changed landscape of the 80s and 90s. Their live shows, however, kept going over the years and, even though a few "pieces" of the lineup were lost along the way, they always remained an event. In September 2003, to celebrate their 25th anniversary, an entire day was organized in their honour at the Festa dell'Unità in Bologna, while also in 2003 Audioglobe reissued MONOtono and Kinotto on CD.

Freak Antoni was also the author of several books, most notably "There's no fun in being smart in Italy" and "Badilate di cultura", genuine collections of poems and demenziale one-liners, some of which have become actual sayings that entered common usage.

Skiantos spawned swarms of imitators: the first were Sorella Maldestra, who released the LP "Cadavere" in 1979. More punk, harder and coarser, and clearly in competition with them: in their best-known song, "Io sono un fric", one line says it all ("Degli Skiantos me ne frego/ non li vedo né li cago"). The bands that took part in Cramps' Rock 80 project also owe something to Skiantos, such as Windopen ("Sei in banana dura") and Kandeggina Gang ("Sono cattiva").

Elio e le Storie Tese are regarded as the true heirs of Skiantos, with their recording debut dating back to 1989. More inclined toward lyrics centred on sex and vulgarity, musically more sophisticated, and demenziali in a way entirely different from how Skiantos understood the term, they undoubtedly owe a great deal - starting with their name - to the Bologna band.

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