How Mastodon Played a Bit Part in Reuniting Skinlab

On Sept. 15, San Francisco's own Skinlab returns with a new album called 'The Scars Between Us.' It's the band's first album of new material since reforming back in 2007, four years after their initial split. But just how did Skinlab mend fences? Who made the first call? We caught up with frontman Steev Esquivel recently, and we just had to ask him. Believe it or not, Mastodon had a little something to do with it, whether they were aware of it or not.

"Well, I had pretty much figured it was over," Esquivel tells Noisecreep. "I figured Skinlab was over, and I got a call to go sing with Exodus on a couple of tours, and I took them up on it. I did the Exodus tour with Megadeth ... the Blackmail the Universe Tour back in 2004. And we ended up in New York, playing the Roseland Ballroom."

The next night, the band had a day off and stuck around in New York to catch Slayer's gig at Roseland with Mastodon and Killswitch Engage. It turns out Skinlab drummer Paul Hopkins was also in New York, auditioning for a spot in Bloodsimple.

"He calls me up, and I tell him to come over to the bus, and it was really weird. We went to the show, and we're just sitting there, watching Mastodon, and we looked at each other, and we're like, 'Dude, what the f---? That should be us up there right now.' And that was it. He was like, 'I thought you wanted to break up the band.' And I'm like, 'I thought you did.' He said he didn't, and that was it. I came home, and made the decision not to join Exodus. And Skinlab started up again."

Esquivel says its good to be back, and that the break from the road was necessary so that he could live his life and watch his kids grow up. "We got to reevaluate our situation as musicians and Skinlab as a band," he says. "We had been paving the road for a long time ... 10, going on 11 years before we took a break, and it's really cool because we're all rejuvenated and super stoked."

But if you're expecting the Skinlab of old on the band's current tour with Mower, think again. "We're out to take care of business," he says. "It's a new Skinlab, man. We've made a pact to stay sober 'til the show's over from now on ... something that Skinlab had never really done before. We've always been a party band, and sometimes, you get looked at differently because of it. So, we've toned it down a bit, and our last few shows have been sober, and they ended up f---ing awesome."