Skelp was formed in September of 1995 by singer/guitarist Dave McEwan and bassist Ted Watts. Ted Watts was invited by his friend and former band mate, Steve Lewis, to jam with some enigmatic Scotsman in his Alexandria home. The Scotsman turned out to be Dave McEwan from the D.C. based band Belfire.

McEwan, a Glasgow native, had recently emigrated from London to D.C. While in London, he performed with several bands including The Plague and Psychedelic Hearse. Present also on this night was drummer, Ben Cross.

Before the end of the year, Skelp had worked up a set of songs and debuted at the old 9:30 Club on the club’s last night at F Street. The band continued to gig in D.C. and was in the recording studio a couple of months later producing a low budget tape that, while it had its moments, it failed to capture what the band could convey live. 1996 was a busy year of gigging. By the end of the year, guitarist Steve Lewis had left the band, Skelp continued to operate as a power trio.

Live: Some of Skelp's higher profile shows include an opening slot at The Black Cat with Supergrass, the last night at the "Old 9:30 club" (unbelievable night), The Metro Cafe with Cyclefly in 2000 and many enjoyable shows with many other great DC bands all over DC.

Recording: Skelp just completed a full length album in August, 2011 at Cue Recording studios in VA. Skelp has recorded at Hit and Run Studios in Rockville MD and at Dave’s home recording studio. There is also a live cd recorded at The Velvet Lounge in Washington D.C.

Sound: Skelp is a band that muses between its two singer songwriters McEwan and Watts, but at its core is a song driven, punk rock band with pop sensibilities. The Anglo-American component is part of the band’s charm. So depending on one’s record collection, recent converts may compare Skelp to The Jam, The Pixies and The Clash or to Husker Du and The Afghan Whigs. Regardless, they always emerge as passionate, sincere, hard rocking, and accessible.

Current Status: Dave McEwan and Ted Watts spent a few years working on other projects but joined forces again in early 2011 to reform Skelp. The band completed recording a new album entitled “Volume” in Aug 2011. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.