Skating Polly is an American rock band formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, in 2009. The band was founded by multi-instrumentalist step-siblings Kelli Drew Mayo (born March 29, 2000)[1] and Peyton Mckenna Bighorse (born July 11, 1995),[2] who were 9 and 14 years old respectively. Kelli's brother Kurtis Lee Mayo joined the band on drums in 2017 so that Peyton and Kelli could focus on guitar and bass respectively. The band is noted for their alternating instruments among each member, poetic lyrics, intense live shows, melodic arrangements, and an eclectic array of songs that vary in style from riot grrrl to grunge to piano-based indie pop.
Biography
Early years and Taking Over the World (2009–2011)
Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse met after Mayo's father began dating Bighorse's mother. Bighorse is of Native American (Cheyenne and Arapaho) descent.[3] The girls' families eventually moved in together and they began playing with various musical instruments that their parents owned. The band's first setup consisted of Bighorse on drums and Mayo on basitar, a three-stringed bass instrument most notably used by alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America. (Mayo's father made her a basitar after she complained that a traditional six-string guitar hurt her fingers.) The girls played their first show at their family Halloween party in 2009, with Bighorse playing simple drum beats while Mayo played basitar and improvised vocals.[4] They named their band Skating Polly because they considered it "ironically juvenile."[5] Mayo soon taught herself to play basic piano and drums while Bighorse taught herself guitar. They began writing songs at a furious pace, trading off instruments and lead vocal duties. They were eventually discovered by Chris Harris, owner of the small indie label Nice People Records based in Norman, Oklahoma. Harris showed Mayo's father how to utilize home recording equipment and the duo began recording their first album, Taking Over the World, in their living room.[6]
Shortly before Taking Over the World was released on Nice People Records in November 2010, Mayo and Bighorse met Exene Cervenka of the seminal punk band X after a show in Oklahoma City. Cervenka was surprised by their extensive knowledge of punk rock music. She began corresponding with them via email and, after hearing Taking Over the World and demos of new songs, began discussing them in numerous interviews.[7] (She stated in a Los Angeles Times interview that, if she were in charge, she would have Skating Polly play the Academy Awards.)[8] Cervenka eventually offered to produce the band's sophomore album. In the meantime, Taking Over the World was well-received locally and the band began to perform at clubs throughout the Midwest.[9]
Lost Wonderfuls (2011–2013)
Cervenka came to Norman, Oklahoma in December 2011 to produce what would eventually become Skating Polly's second album, Lost Wonderfuls. The entire album was recorded in four days at Hook Echo Sound studios. Blag Dahlia, lead singer of the notorious punk band Dwarves, mixed a version of the album which was set to be released by a startup label in the Spring of 2012. However, the band's deal with the label fell through after the release date was repeatedly pushed back. The band went back into the studio to work on new material. Meanwhile, Kliph Scurlock, drummer of The Flaming Lips, became a fan of the band and offered to remix Lost Wonderfuls while a new record deal was being finalized.[10]
In the fall of 2013, the band traveled to Olympia, WA to record their third album, Fuzz Steilacoom with K Records founder Calvin Johnson. The album was released in spring 2014. Allmusic noted that the band had "subdued some of their twee-pop tendencies in favor of a raw, raucous, and more immediate sound" and praised the album as "brimming with creative wit, youthful abandon, emotional fervor, and classic punk spirit." Several songs received airplay on college radio throughout the U.S. Rodney Bingenheimer of KROQ began playing songs from the album on his influential Rodney on the ROQ program. The band toured throughout 2014 to support the record. The album was co-produced by Allan Vest, of Oklahoma indie rock band Starlight Mints, and Chris Harris. Dub Narcotic Studio engineer Bob Schwenkler co-produced one song on the record, "Dead Friends." The album was named after Steilacoom Road in Olympia, WA (Sleater-Kinney is also named after a road near Olympia), where the duo stayed while recording the album; the word "fuzz" was added because Skating Polly felt like the most common element among all the songs was that they sounded loud, distorted, and fuzzy.[11]
The Big Fit, The Make It All Show, and addition of Kurtis Mayo (2015–present)
In 2015, Skating Polly toured in Europe in support of Babes in Toyland. In the fall of 2015 the band moved to Tacoma, Washington. The band spent the fall of 2015 recording The Big Fit in Lawrence, KS with Kliph Scurlock. The album was released in spring 2016 and received acclaim, particularly from the UK press. Kerrang! described the album as "overflowing with power, passion and songwriting excellence" and Paste deemed the album "one of the strongest punk records in recent memory." Shirley Manson of Garbage also praised the album in the press. On January 27 of 2017, the band announced on their Instagram the addition of Kurtis Mayo, the girls' brother, on drums to expand the band's full potential.[12] The band collaborated with Louise Post and Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt for the three song EP New Trick, released in 2017. In 2018, Skating Polly released their fifth studio album, The Make It All Show.
Skating Polly's song "A Little Late" appeared during the credits of Viggo Mortensen's 2020 film Falling. The members of the band attended 2020 Sundance Film Festival where Falling premiered.
Skating Polly's sixth album, Chaos County Line, was released on June 23, 2023.[14]
