Upon first inspection, Theo and the Skyscrapers is a stupid name. Or at least that's what I thought when I'd first read it somewhere. The name conjures up an image of some boring losers sitting around, trying to intertwine their band's vibe with the general public's perception of the big city: Tough, exciting and full of possibility. You know the drill.
The thing is, the people in the Skyscrapers are far from the type mentioned above. Theo was fronting the notorious, all-girl punk band the Lunachicks before you were old enough to have an opinion on music and coconspirator (and guitarist) Sean Pierce is the psycho from Toilet Boys, a band that blew as many minds as eardrums.
The two of them got together in the early part of the new millennium and poured some songs into an 8 track for fun. This turned into Theo's well-received solo record and after a session with Moby (yea, I know. WTF?), the duo teamed up with their current rhythm section: Chris Kling and Dimitry Makhnosky. Thus, the Skyscrapers were born/built.
The music has been described as "Blondie's tour bus smashing into Slayer on Gary Numan's driveway." That's pretty right on. Live, the band pull out all the stops with a futuristic stage show that includes homemade light fixtures, strobes, smoke machines and Theo's handmade outfits. This may seem like some typical rock 'n' roll until you see it at some small, dive bar in North Philly. All this combined with their unique blend sounds and genres makes for a pretty entertaining evening.
Upon finally meeting the band I realized why they're named Theo and Skyscrapers: The guys are all at least 6'5". It's a pun, not a lame attempt at sounding cool!
Band Site: www.myspace.com/theo
Words and Live Pics by Justin Rosenthal - Posed pictures by Adam Wallacavage