Skarnemurta

Back in the fall of 1998 in Parma, Max (vocals), Gigi (bass), Bufo (guitar and vocals - coming from the band Oltretorrente) and Thomas (drums) found the 'ska rock'n'roll band' La SKARNEMURTA, to get the 'Masnada' (the good crowd, then the hardcore fans) on the dancefloor.
More members join: Nick (trumpet), Renzo (trombone) and Alex (sax). Then came Arjuna (keyboards), Khalid and Vito (percussions).

With this line-up the band starts hitting the stages of the whole country, spreading an energy mix of ska, reggae, rock'n'roll, punk, folk, polka, swing... just call it skatchanka!
The years 1999 and 2000 pass by with many gigs (Como, Lugano, Milano, Torino, Vercelli, Novara, Bologna, Firenze, Pisa, Vicenza, Cantù, Pesaro, Imola, Vasto, Lecce, Laterza, Matera, Cosenza, Benevento, Caserta and everywhere in Emilia Romagna). Arjuna, after having experimented with sax and drums, finally settles on guitar.
After the last tour in the south of Italy, Alessio takes the drums sticks playing for their first demo, self produced and recorded in Parma in 2001, including 5 songs.

In the spring of 2002 La Skarnemurta (whose name is an hybrid of 'ska' and 'you are dead meat' taken from a dialect from the region Puglia in the south of Italy) cuts their first album: 'UNA PASIÒN ME DOMINA', self produced and recorded live at the 'Sliver Music' studio in Parma, 11 song + 3 bonus tracks taken from the demo.
Alessio leaves the band afterwards, so he’s replaced by Massimo Vecchi, aka 'O'Direttore'. Several gigs played with this guy on the drums especially in the Parma country hills, lowlands and Tuscany.
And straight from the dump, here comes good old Neruda, the gorilla, always steady at the rehearsal place.

In the year 2003, Max the singer decides to quit the band to follow all his duties with football and family, but that signed NOT their end for sure, even when is the turn of 'O’Direttore' to take different roads, because it’s the drummer of a band called Los Grezzos who brings the new boost: Checco.
With this new line-up (Bufo - guitar and vocals; Arjuna - guitars, vocals, accordion and percussions; Gigi - bass guitar; Nick - trumpet; Renzo - trombone; Alex - sax; Checco - drums), it’s once again time to hit the road.

During some trips they meet Frankie Testa, chief of DLT Records, proposing them to cut a new record. Meanwhile, in September 2004, their first live cd, Neruda!, comes out (Neruda is the name of this huge gorilla puppet they bring on stage, but actually its name is a joke with the dialect expression 'nel rudo', which means 'in the trash'!)-

Before the staring of the Neruda Tour 2005 the band records a 4 songs promo cd, and meets Valentino, the new guy at the trombone.
The recording of the new album features important guests such as jazz pianist Pampa Pavesi, Paolino from Bandabardo and the help for the production of Cristiano Maramotti.
In July 2005 the band plays at its bombastic best at the Rototom Sunsplash Festival of Osoppo, one of the biggest International reggae festival, hosting names on the bill like Skatalites, Sud Sound System, Zion Train, Gregory Isaacs, Barrington Levy and Jimmy Cliff.

Finally in 2006 the new album Oilà Masnada (hailing the Masnada) is released by DLT Records and distributed by Goodfellas.
Bufo appears also as guest singer on the new FFD album, Kuoreribelle, where we find an Oltretorrente cover as well.
Dirty Swing is a semi-acoustic version of La Skarnemurta, for smaller and smoother gigs.
Sgorbio joins as percussionist, the band plays at the Joe Strummer Tribute in Bologna, December, a date of the two years long Masnada Tour.

In May 2007 there's a special on Radio Città Fujiko with Skarnemurta, an interview with an amazing unplugged live in the Dirty Swing style. This performance will be released as the EP 'Dirty Swing - Live And Direct', which can be downloaded for free from this site.
Gorilla A Go Go is included in the IndieBox Compilation Vol. 2, distributed by Self.

Since Febrauary 2008 you can download for free the video of the DVD Masnada Connection, telling the Masnada Tour through audio and video clips before, during and after the gigs...
In spring the band, after a date in Romania, plays a short tour in Ukraine. The success is so huge the band is called back for a longer summer tour. But in Ukraine Neruda goes missing in action, after a devastating flood.
On the MySpace profile there's the full new self-produced EP, Dirty Swing - L'Antipasto in free streaming, the release comes in fall.

Now a gig of La Skarnemurta gets you busy for more than 2 hours of live music with original songs and famous covers from bands like Mano Negra, The Clash, Bad Manners, Hendrix, Rettore.
If you wanna dance... Let’s dance!
(to be continued)