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Southern Culture on the Skids performs "Liquored Up" on their new album, "Double Wide and Live"

Southern Culture on the Skids—SCOTS for short—are a North Carolina-based, swamp rock, trashabilly trio who’ve been knocking ’em dead in clubs for two decades. And like another campy outfit—the Cramps—Southern Culture just keeps getting better with time. The band is currently touring in support of a new live record on Yep Roc Records. Artvoice had a chance to speak by phone with frontman and surf guitar guru Rick Miller, bassist Mary Huff and drummer Dave Hartman as they traveled toward a show in Madison, Wisconsin last week.

I really like the new record, Double Wide and Live. How’d it come about?

Rick Miller: “Oh, thanks. I mean it’s about time we came out with a live one…we had a live one that we recorded on our own label and sold at shows, and we were gonna do the new one as a DVD and release it on our own label, but then my wife got pregnant and we thought, ‘Well, we could probably use a release on Yep Roc to do a little touring behind and make some money because I’m gonna be tied up for a while.’ And it came out good and the label really liked it. And it’s kind of nice because touring behind it, it’s not like a new record where half the people have it and half the people don’t and they’re looking at you like, ‘Well…when are you gonna play somethin’ we know?’ You know?” [Laughs.]

Aside from being great players with clever tunes and a cool attitude, the band has always had this unique look. Do you have any advice for urban Yankees who want to cultivate your brand of trailer park chic?

RM: “I’ll tell you what—white trash is everywhere. You just gotta know where to look for it. I see trailer parks all over this great nation. There’s probably just as many hillbillies in the state of Maine as there are in North Carolina—and they’re probably a little scarier there because the winters are longer.” [Laughs.]

Dave Hartman: “White socks. With your suits, with your jeans, with everything. I don’t own socks of any other color.”

I noticed you feature recipes on your website. What’s your favorite Southern Culture summertime dish?

RM: “Well, I don’t know that it’s a summertime dish, but it’s one that my wife put in there so I should probably say that one—and that is the Bologna Cups. They make great hors d’oeuvres, ya know what I mean? Up there in Buffalo I know there’s some Bologna Cup eaters ’cause we were playin’ in Canada one time and people were sayin’, “Oh, those bologna cups! They’re delicious.” [Laughs.] But they make for good hors d’oeuvres as an opening course to maybe a brat or a burger on the grill. And the bugs don’t bother ’em, so that’s kinda scary but kinda good, you know? And another good, solid trailer trash summertime dessert is the red velvet cake…but ya gotta make it with 7-Up. And I don’t recommend possum in anything but a stew.”

I’ve heard many people from all over the country say they have so much fun at your shows that they can’t remember much the next day. Would you care to comment on this phenomenon?

DH: [Laughs.] “Sure. Our crowds are pretty big drinking crowds and I know there’s at least a couple places where we hold the record for most bar sales. So that probably has something to do with it.”

Rick, how has fatherhood changed you?

RM: “Well, I know how to change a diaper. I know when that baby needs milk. And it’s made his mom’s boobs really big. Kinda nice, but most of the time they’re too sore to touch, so it’s kinda six of one, half a dozen of the other. [Laughs.] But I’ll tell you what, I really love him. He was born on Valentine’s Day, so that makes him just over three months old, and he’s just making all of these weird sounds which are incredibly interesting and I find myself just kind of staring at him. I’ve cut down on watching TV. It really refocuses you on what’s essential. You have one of those things and you realize there’s a lot more to this world than you ever knew.

And traveling with that baby is a very positive thing, too. We take a break every couple of hours, but he loves it. He loves to sleep in the car but then he’s very wide-eyed and he really likes people and he laughs a lot. I’d tell anybody that’s had a baby: Just take ’em wherever you go. Don’t let people tell you not to do it ’cause it’s bad for them. Take ’em with you. Mom and Dad are more important than anything else.”

Dave, how has fatherhood changed Rick?

DH: “Well, it keeps him less focused on mundane stuff. It keeps him less concerned about things like squeaks in the van that we’ve gotta get fixed. But the baby travels really well. Makes a huge positive impact as far as I can tell. Of course, I don’t ride in the same vehicle, so Sarah—Rick’s wife—might say something entirely different. But for us, we get to see the baby coo and stuff at the dinner table, and it’s really cute and all.”

Mary, you’re a cover girl on the current issue of Vintage Guitar magazine. Have you found this makes girls more jealous of you than they already are?

Mary Huff: [Laughs.] “I sure hope so. I’m more proud of that than any other accomplishment that I could ever think of as far as articles and stuff. It’s pretty badass, and I’m very excited about it. I was scared to death to do it but the end result came out really well.”

The attitude of your music—is it based on being in a Southern state, or being in a Southern state of mind?

DH: “Hmm. I would say ‘state of mind’ because you would think that in Minneapolis—where we were last night—that people wouldn’t get it or they’d think that we were circus freaks or something. But the crowds we get up here are like the crowds we get down South. Generally older, generally blue collar, who just like to drink beer and have a good time.”

Which do you prefer? Original Recipe, Extra Crispy or Hot & Spicy?

RM: “I prefer the Original Recipe because when you get hit in the head with the extra crispy it actually hurts. Taste-wise, we try to stick with the ‘indy’ chicken instead of the corporate chicken, but you know it’s not up to us to get it anymore. We got held up at gunpoint in Birmingham, Alabama, trying to get chicken, so now it just says in the contract: ‘No chicken, no show.’”

MH: “I like Original Recipe.”

DH: “Hmm. Wow, that’s tough. It kinda depends on my mood. Hot & Spicy a lot of the time but I don’t know, man…it’s tough to beat Original Recipe on a good day. I could just peel off the skin and throw the chicken away.”