Seemingly powered by pistons, gears, and rusty watch springs, Skeleton Key … Read Full Bio ↴Seemingly powered by pistons, gears, and rusty watch springs, Skeleton Key is a clanky but productive machine. Using ancient microphones, primitive guitars, and found objects, the band heaves with a unique rhythmic undertow yet has a knack for winsome, haunting melody. Their music "strips down, toughens up, picks up some debris, and gets an extra dose of rhythm" according to Jon Pareles of the The New York Times. Skeleton Key creates music both exotic and familiar, elegant yet crass, cerebral yet visceral. "It's luxurious, yet affordable" says bassist/singer Erik Sanko (ex of The Lounge Lizards, and collaborator with Yoko Ono, John Cale, and Gavin Friday, among others.)

Forming in 1995 after a chance meeting in New York City club The Knitting Factory, the band's first release was the 1995 Human Pin Cushion EP on Dedicated Records. After some personnel changes the band released an eponymous EP on Motel Records in 1996 that Rolling Stone said "shows how pop culture and high culture can bring everyone to the same place." Original members Steve Calhoon and Rick Lee left the band soon after making this recording, going on to form the band Enon. Soon after their departures, Skeleton Key inked a deal with Capitol Records and put out the critically acclaimed (and Grammy nominated [for artwork]) Fantastic Spikes Through Balloon in 1997. The band then toured the US and Europe with a diverse assortment of acts (Melvins, Girls vs. Boys, Cibo Matto, The Jesus Lizard, They Might Be Giants, Morphine, Brainiac, Primus) before headlining their own US tour. After two gruelling years on the road and a half-finished album recorded, Chris Maxwell departed, leaving the future of Skeleton Key in jeopardy. (From Ipecac Records)

Eventually the band, which had by now been reduced to a lone Erik Sanko, signed with Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings to release Obtainium in 2002. With a revamped lineup the band hit the road again, playing several successful tours with bands such as Tomahawk, Melvins, Alien Ant Farm and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. That lineup of Sanko, Craig LeBlang, Ben Clapp and Sean Sankey recorded and released the five song EP The Lyons Quintette on Do Tell Records and a live album (Skeleton Key Live at Metro) which is available exclusively through eMusic.

Sankey amicably left the band at the end of 2006 and new drummer Bob Vacarelli was recruited just days before the band headed out on tour with Chemlab and USSA in late 2007.

Official Website: http://www.skeletonkey.org

Kerosene
Skeleton Key Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

She sips from the lip of her cup
And I am the wick that licks her up
I'm drunk from the fuel inside her head
As it spills from her lips and soaks the bed

Like kerosene

She peels back the sheets and coats my spine

She strips faster than turpentine

Like kerosene
Like kerosene

Don't put me out
Don't put me out
Don't put me out
Don't put me out
Don't put me out
Don't put me out
Don't put me out

I play with the fire that incinerates
Until her desire evaporates

Like kerosene
Like kerosene

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Skeleton Key's song Kerosene are rich with metaphors and give insight into a complex relationship between two individuals. The singer of the song is describing his passionate and intense connection to his lover, who is symbolized as a source of kerosene. The line "She sips from the lip of her cup/and I am the wick that licks her up" suggests that the woman represents a dangerous and alluring substance, and the singer himself is the flame that ignites her. He is "drunk from the fuel inside her head" and cannot get enough of the excitement she provides.

The second verse is equally evocative, with the woman "peeling back the sheets and coating (his) spine" and "stripping faster than turpentine". The use of chemical references, and especially the comparison to turpentine, further demonstrates the danger and explosive nature of this relationship. However, the singer is unable to resist the temptation, and continues to play with fire until the woman's "desire evaporates". The repeated chorus of "Don't put me out" is a plea to continue the passion and intensity, even at the risk of being burned.

Line by Line Meaning

She sips from the lip of her cup
She slowly drinks from her cup

And I am the wick that licks her up
He sees himself as the source of her pleasure

I'm drunk from the fuel inside her head
He's intoxicated by her thoughts and emotions

As it spills from her lips and soaks the bed
Her words and feelings are powerful and overwhelming

Like kerosene
Her passion is like fuel for the fire

She peels back the sheets and coats my spine
She exposes him and covers him with her passion

She strips faster than turpentine
She takes off her clothes quickly

Don't put me out
He doesn't want the passion to end

I play with the fire that incinerates
He takes risks and indulges in the dangerous passion

Until her desire evaporates
Until she is satisfied

Like kerosene
Her passion is like fuel for the fire