Skating Polly is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist duo Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse who started their band in Oklahoma in 2009. They recorded their debut album Taking Over The World in 2010 and literally did that garnering so much praise from the music world. After the release of 2016’s The Big Fit, Veruca Salt’s Louise Post and Nina Gordon reached out for a writing session that ultimately led to 2017’s New Trick EP. Now Kelli’s brother Kurtis Mayo is in the band and the trio is about to release their latest full length, The Make It All Show. Skating Polly is our new favorite band. If you listen to the music and watch “Free Will At Ease” premiering today. You will understand why.
We are so excited to premiere your video today! Can you tell us a bit about how this concept came about?
The video is supposed to reflect what the song is about to me. I began writing it when I first started dating my ex-boyfriend and I meant for it to be a love song. As it went on he started to show who he truly was but I was still telling myself he was perfect for me. The song for me is about feeling trapped and not knowing how to get out. I was too prideful to admit he wasn’t a great guy, too scared of losing who I was to break up with him, and too angry to talk to anyone about it. So I distanced myself from everyone who cared about me most and went deeper and deeper into this toxic relationship. As the song goes on it gets little more optimistic as I realize that I can still be who I am without him. And that’s what I wanted the video to be. When Kelli brought up the concept of portraying him as a bratty, mean child I thought it was perfect. A nice subtle jab at him that even he couldn’t be proud of because if he tried to brag about it he would have to admit he was a bratty, mean, man-baby.
Everything is so much fun to look at, we love the setup where your instruments match! Who was your director and how did the collaboration come about?
The director was Thomas Massenat! He is a good friend of ours, has been since Kurt was 12, and he directed the video for “Little Girl Blue And The Battle Envy”. He’s a great cinematographer. He has an eye for beauty and style. It’s fun getting to not only work with one of our best friends, but one of our best friends who knows his shit and gets our music.
What was it like working with a child actor on set in a “dating” situation?
It was not as weird as I was expecting it to be!!! I love kids and I love hanging out with kids. I didn’t let myself get hung up on the fact that we were supposed to be dating and just had fun with Liam! I treated it as if I were taking out my little brother for a day of fun. He did a really amazing job, it was his first real acting experience, and he is a huge Skating Polly fan. He wants to be a musician when he’s older and we are so honored to have worked with him before he’s a big famous rockstar!
You have had such an amazing few years, working with pretty epic musicians (Exene of X and Louise Post & Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt) and have been nonstop touring this year! You are pretty much living the dream right now! How has it been for you to have accomplished all of this in your late teen’s / the early twenties?!
It feels super natural, like it was supposed to happen this way. I honestly couldn’t imagine life any other way. Of course, if I sit back and really think about it I feel surreal. And I always feel eternally grateful for all the opportunities we’ve had and the friends we’ve made! I think I’d feel like that anyway regardless of age though!
What else is going on with Skating Polly? What can we expect coming up from you guys?
We are touring a lot! Coming to as many cities as we can across as many countries as we can. There are no concrete plans for a new album right now, we’re really just working on getting “The Make It All Show” out there still, but we have already started writing bits and pieces in our spare time!
CONNECT WITH SKATING POLLY:
Skating Polly West Coast Tour w/ Potty Mouth
November 30th @ The Shakedown in Bellingham, WA
December 1st @ LanaLou’s in Vancouver, BC
December 2nd Mission Theater in Portland, OR
December 3rd The Siren’s Song Tavern in Eureka, CA
December 5th DNA Lounge in San Francisco, CA
December 6th The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz, CA
December 7th Moroccan Lounge in Los Angeles, CA
December 8th The Locker Room @ Garden Amp in Garden Grove, CA
December 9th Space in San Diego, CA
December 11th @ Club Congress in Tucson, AZ
December 12th @ Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, AZ
December 13th @ Beauty Bar in Las Vegas, NV
December 14th @ Kilby Court in Salt Lake City, UT
December 15th @ Funky Taco in Boise, ID
December 16th @ The Sunset in Seattle, WA
