Hi, I’m Skaterman…who the hell are you?
Summary: For those of you who are too lazy to read the following biography, it basically states that our hero, Skaterman (a.k.a. John McNulty), has enjoyed 26 years of humming to himself, playing in bands, and singing in the shower. His latest project, under the name "Skaterman & the Box of Death", has only recently begun to play out (Oct. ’98). A very talented individual, Skaterman sings, plays guitar, drums, banjo, and French horn. During a live performance, Skaterman will play the guitar and sing, accompanied by the Box of Death (which contains pre-recorded drum, bass, and other instruments). The result is an impressive, full band sound. A comedian by nature, his show often includes bits of stand-up comedy as well as skits involving recuring characters such as his "Headless Barbie”, "Dr. Ken", and “G.I. Ziggy” dolls.Skaterman: “When I was growing up, my Dad never allowed me to listen to rock music. The bus ride to Elementary school was one notable exception. In those precious years, Meatloaf, Foreigner, and the Village People were in heavy rotation on Joe the bus driver’s 8-track stereo. Unlike most of the lame DJs of today, Joe the bus driver could really mix it up! I screamed the chorus to Juke Box Hero before I even knew what a juke box was. It didn’t matter. Every morning and afternoon for six years I was a Macho Man, a Juke Box Hero with stars in my eyes, and I was rockin’ like a Bat out of Hell!
In the third grade, everyone learned to play the recorder. Most kids took particular interest in making awful squeeks and squaks to irritate their parents with. I, however, took immediate interest in making music. The following year I took up playing the French Horn mostly because my Dad wanted me to play the trumpet. Anyhow, I played that French horn all through Junior High and I must have been pretty good because I ended up being chosen as an All-State horn player in 8th grade. Around the same time, I bought my first boom box and began listening to it in the secrecy of my closet. My first tapes included selections by Van Halen, Run DMC, and Men at Work. I really loved those tapes.
I moved to Pennsylvania to start high school. My cousin was into heavy metal and punk. He got me listening to Metallica, the Dead Milkmen, and the Sex Pistols. We’d bring a boom box out in his driveway and skateboard to the sounds of our leather-clad heroes. While walking downtown late one summer night, we decided to form a band. My cousin claimed the guitar and I took the drums. My first drum set cost $70 and had a piece of wood paneling for a cymbal. I loved it.
Later in high school and throughout college my musical interests turned toward cutting-edge pop bands like R.E.M. and They Might Be Giants. I played drums in several different bands, each of which wrote original music. I started up a band called The Pinch and began to write songs. We must have been pretty good because we won some contests including the 1995 Robert M. Side’s Battle of the Bands. One of the prizes was an acoustic guitar. At the time, I was living alone in an apartment with no cable TV. To fight complete boredom, I took that acoustic guitar and taught myself to play. I wrote sad, country, acoustic songs.
In time, I moved away from the sad acoustic songs and began to write upbeat, comical songs, with a pop rock feel. These are the songs of Skaterman & the Box of Death.
I do everything including writing the music, writing the words, playing all of the instruments, multi-track recording, mixdown, mastering, lighting, sound, and choreography. I play a drum cadence with my toothbrush against the rim of the bathroom sink every morning and every night. I sing in the shower. I hum in the elevator. I love music.