Since its inception way back in the days of Chuck Berry, Rock ‘n’ roll has suffered from one major problem; imitation. Whatever the flavour of the month is, whether it be the spandex clad cock-rock of the 80s or the self loathing grunge of the 90s, rock ‘scenes’ have always meant that there are a small wave of bands doing something truly sincere and convicted, a larger second wave who like their idea and roll with it, and a huge third wave who are just happy with imitating without having anything of their own to say. In today’s sprawling pop climate, the sentiment couldn’t be truer; Emo and punk pop ooze out of MTV, so it seems like every local band you’ve heard of recently of are called ‘My April Suicide’ and every local gig consists of being screamed at by some sweaty whiny guy in horned rimmed glasses. One band young band who, if nothing else, aren’t guilty of simply copying the latest musical trends are Skinless Finger. After shedding guitarists and singers, refining the art of throwing out grooves, and jamming to a point where they could answer “Who do we sound like? Skinless Finger, of course” instead of mumbling “Oh...wellI guess we’re post-rock-core-speed-nu-bebop-core fusion-core.core”. And Skinless Finger really is a flavour of its own; completely down to the guys in the band, not the guys in some other bands. First of all, you’ve got Phil Smallwood; master drummer (and at random intervals, guitarist), capable of: 1. Drinking any man -no matter how big the beer gut- under the table, 2. Kicking out funky jams, rocking beats and furious rolls. 3. Executing a polyrhythm at 210bpm and still managing to look gormless. Next in the recipe, add a little of Joe Barton, master bassist (I said master bassist, sicko!), who has a penchant for funky lines, a tendency to slap ‘n’ tap and a love for all things Jaco. Occasionally seen arming himself with a saxophone or frightening everyone with his outbreaks of falsetto scats, Joe adds to the overall freakiness of the bands sound. Stir in a dash of Addz, guitarist extraordinaire, who both compliments the bands grooves with tasty licks and kick-arse riffs, and takes things to another level with bluesy wild solos and effect laden madness. He’s also a dab hand with a Kazoo Finally, add a generous helping of Ash Powell, beat-boxer, M.C. and coffee drinker. Dropping rhymes and of old school hip hop, and combining it with unbelievable freestyle beat boxing, Ash is the natural front man and perfect fourth member of Skinless Finger. Well there you have it; a band with weird members and an even weirder sound. But at the very least, you’re not being screamed at by that guy who looks like that guy who looks like that guy from that Emo band