Oz Rock ‘n’ Rollers SkinInc. are releasing “It Saved My Soul” on 18 March – their second single to be released this year, following the band’s two-decade hiatus.

“It Saved My Soul” is a short, sharp, relatable tale of turning to rock’n’roll whenever life knocks you down for the count. With anxiety and depression running rife in so many minds, music is often a great escape and antidote. In the case of SkinInc. front man Paul Miles, rock’n’roll was recently his salvation, saving him from a very dark time after his marriage ended.

The accompanying music video for “It Saved My Soul” was produced and edited by Daniel Armstrong at Strongman Pictures, and shot by Rom Anthonis, with additional band footage by Caris Morcombe. It features rock’n’roll nurse Jamie McLean, aka DJ Mermaid, who has been spinning music for lovers and rockers in Melbourne bars and clubs since 2007.

About SkinInc.

Formed in the winter of 1999, SkinInc. quickly hit the Perth music scene with a bang! Their fourth gig was played from the middle of a speedway to 5,000 racing fans, and their biggest performance was at Australia’s Big Day Out festival in the year 2000 with 35,000 people – not bad for the band’s twelfth gig. 

Hard rock fans loved their theatrical live show that entertained crowds with triple fire-spits over the crowd by lead guitarist Stevie D., shenanigans from jocular rhythm guitarist Corey Hodgetts, and the ’Drum Rod’: picture a drumming interlude on a kit setup with mag wheels, smoke billowing through silver exhaust pipes on both sides, topped with a crash helmet on their otherwise nude drummer Matt Franklin. 

Like the shock rock heroes that came before them, SkinInc. also had quality, catchy songs, which fans loved (and rival bands didn’t), to match their bombastic show. They recorded their EP “Love Me Tomorrow” just a week after their debut gig and the Limited Collectors’ Edition of the CD even came with a piece of the bands’ own skin ink leftovers for a personalised touch – yes, their tattoo scabs, in other words. 
  
They then released their album “Rose Coloured Glasses” in the middle of 2001. Included on the disc’s multimedia goodies was the video to opening track “Diatribe,” as seen on music television across Australia. However, the release became the band’s swan song. 
  
SkinInc. went on hiatus when front man Paul Miles relocated his baritone vocals from Perth to Melbourne, where he became an imminent rock DJ in the city’s clubs and bars (like Cherry’s halcyon days in AC/DC Lane for more than a decade.)  Furthermore, as a writer, he’s authored ten rock ‘n’ roll books and was asked to contribute to Mötley Crüe’s autobiography The Dirt that’s sold more than a million copies – you’ll see that he gets “the biggest thanks of all” in the book’s Acknowledgements page. 

It took a global pandemic to reignite the band in the middle of 2021. Following the sad death of SkinInc.’s original bass player Geoff Lewis five years earlier, long-time friend Shane Johnstone [Ultra Sound, Supernatural, Atmosfear] has joined them on bass, who is also an experienced singer and songwriter.

Celebrating the band’s return, SkinInc. released a retrospective compilation “The First Era” as a Japanese Limited Edition. SkinInc. has always meant business (as their abbreviated name of Skin Incorporated indicates) but they are also aware that humour is an important part of rock ‘n’ roll. When asked for further details on the release, Miles said, “It’s like we just woke from a coma after 20 years and we’re trying to figure out today’s music world. So this edition is not available as physical product; it’s limited to digital downloads and streaming only. Plus the Japanese cover is a tribute to my favourite country to visit and buy records.”  Hodgetts quipped, “Yes, we’ll be big in Japan… when we stand next to the locals.”

Although Miles is still based in Melbourne, technology has come a long way in the last twenty years, making the collaborative creation of music that much easier and a reality for the rockers. Brand new SkinInc. songs have been coming together with the same ease and sounding better than ever! A string of singles commencing with “Life’s a Bitch” are being released in 2022, with the promise of much more to come in the next stage of the SkinInc. rock ‘n’ roll journey.