A Chat with Scoopski (06.10.23)
Beginning as a husband-wife duo with Scoopski (vocals and guitar) and Mrs Scoopski (piano, synth and vocals), the US-based group Scoopski were inspired to begin writing infectious songs in 2019. Recently expanding to a full lineup with Jackson Vincent (guitar), Marc Schuster (bass), and Nick Cervini (drums) fill out Scoopski’s catching pop-punk/pop-rock sound. We speak with Scoopski about their EP Halloween with Scoopski, what music means to him, future plans, fictional friends and more.
OSR: A cliché opening but what drew you to music? How did Scoopski come about?
Scoopski: Wow, that’s a big question! I’ve loved music my whole life. When I was little, I used to dance around the living room to albums my parents owned, everything from Super Hits of the 70s to Jimmy Buffett to Third Eye Blind and Everclear! As I got older, I started to develop my own tastes and the first music that really spoke to me was early 00’s pop-punk like Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Blink 182. That’s the stuff that made me want to start playing music. I think it was discovering Weezer that made me want to start writing my own songs though. For Mrs. Scoopski, I know what made her want to start playing piano and writing songs was hearing Amy Lee from Evanescence
OSR: You just released your EP Halloween with Scoopski. What can you tell us about it?
Scoopski: That’s true! Halloween With Scoopski was a lot of fun to make. We did Christmas With Scoopski last year, and the reaction was great.. so doing Halloween next was a no-brainer! It also gave us an excuse to finish the recording of ‘Spooky Scary Skeletons’ that we had started last year.
OSR: If you could change anything about Halloween with Scoopski, what would it be?
Scoopski: At this point in time, I’m pretty happy with how it came out! I’m sure down the road I’ll think of some things!
OSR: What were the best and worst bits (for lack of a better word) of creating the new EP?
Scoopski: The worst part, and I can safely speak for her on this, was Mrs. Scoopski nailing a perfect take of the skeleton xylophone part on ‘Spooky Scary Skeletons’. The best part was everything else!
OSR: Personally, my favourite tracks from Halloween with Scoopski are ‘I Put A Spell On You’ and ‘Monster In The Mirror’. Which tracks are your favourite and least favourite?
Scoopski: Cool, thank you! I do think Mrs. Scoopski absolutely killed it on ‘I Put a Spell on You’, her vocals were recorded super quick on that because she’d been singing that version of the song in the shower for years! It seems to be the big favourite from this bunch of songs. I also think we nailed the sound we were going for with ‘Ghost in the Foyer’, too. We never did a song with the same vibe as that one.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Scoopski: It’s everything to me, not only does making and performing it bring me joy, but it has consistently brought me to places and people in my life that have brought me joy, too. Without playing music, I would’ve never met my wife and thus never would’ve met my son. I can’t really put into words how consequential it’s been!
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
Scoopski: I always hope the songs stay with people and put a smile on their faces! I think a lot of people think we go for laughs, but we’ve honestly never tried to be a comedy act. If some lines in the songs make people laugh, I dig that, but it’s a usually unintentional side effect!
OSR: A couple of random questions: If you had to introduce Scoopski to a person who had never heard of you, which song would you recommend?
Scoopski: Definitely some recency bias, but I’d probably pick either ‘Double’ or ‘I Agree, Marie’, two singles we released earlier this year. I think both songs showcase a lot of what we’re about. Or, if they don’t have much time, they can listen to ’30 Seconds (I Love You)’!
OSR: What fictional character would you most like to be friends with?
Scoopski: Hmm.. great question! Never been asked this. I’ll go with Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. He seems like a very handy friend to have.
OSR: What is your worst habit?
Scoopski: My worst habit with music is probably overthinking things too much. In some other areas of my life, I’d say my worst habit is not thinking enough!
OSR: What can we expect from Scoopski in the future?
Scoopski: The future is looking pretty bright for Scoopski! With the full band lineup recently coming together, I think we’ll be playing more shows, and hopefully recording some new songs very soon too!
Many thanks to Scoopski for speaking with us. Find out more about Scoopski on their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
Discover more pop rock delights on The Other Side Reviews’ Pop Rock playlist:
