The beautiful city of Sheffield is certainly not without an impressive musical pedigree. It can boast being the home of garage-rockin’ mardy bums Arctic Monkeys, long-haired stadium rockers Def Leppard and not one but TWO famous Cockers- Joe and Jarvis. But nowadays it can also boast a growing and thriving DIY punk scene- one that is diverse, intersectional and proactive.
And in the throng of it all is riot grrrl trio Skint Knees who are building that community, nurturing opportunities and having a great time whilst they do it. Punk Rock Philosophy caught up with Skunk, Jinx and Rachel over Zoom to discuss putting in the work to create the scene you want to see AND….how Jinx was once a member of Green Day!
Having A Blast
So let’s start with the Green Day connection as when talking to the band’s guitarist and vocalist Jinx, you are talking to someone who was technically a member of one of the biggest punk rock bands in the world…albeit only for a few minutes!
Jinx: “I went to see them live and got to play with them! I was pulled out of the crowd to play guitar to their cover of Operation Ivy’s ‘Knowledge’ [a cover from their very first album and one they regularly still play live]. Then he gave me his guitar!“
Green Day are a favourite amongst Skint Knees (it was a Green Day- related online username used by Jinx that caught the attention of bassist/vocalist Skunk) so it was doubly awesome that this is not Billie Joe’s only connection to the band:
Jinx: “We covered Brain Stew by Green Day on our first gig and during lockdown Billie Joe Armstrong was doing this reposting when he saw people doing Green Day covers on social media and he reposted ours! We were like OMG!“
The band have always been open to exploring their musical inspirations and sharing amongst themselves and a lot of fun was had discussing their influences. It was their shared musical enthusiasm that brought them into each other’s orbits pre-Covid when they met online whilst searching for likeminded prospective band members. A pop punk reference in a username and a meeting in a shopping centre in Doncaster gave us the beginnings of the Skint Knees we see today:
Jinx: “It was just me and Skunk that started. We met on ‘Join My Band’ and we were both on there because we were desperate to start a band. We got on really well and the band was started! We’ve changed lineup since then, over time we have gone through drummers and had another guitarist and then we landed on Rachel (drummer) joining the band a couple of years ago. Since then we have not looked back! It has been brilliant realising THIS is Skint Knees. Everyone else has been a super important part of our journey and there’s no bad blood at all but life happened and now there’s the three of us. I feel like now we are that the Spiderman meme, just pointing at each other going YOU GET IT!
When we started we had bands like White Stripes in common so there was more of that indie thing between us and then Skunk taught me about riot grrrl”.
A Riot (Grrrl) of Our Own
Skint Knees formed just before the 2020 lockdown- in fact they had just managed to squeeze in their first live show before all live music shut down. Six years later, the band are fully ensconced in their local scene with numerous releases and growing critical acclaim under their belts. Their 2022 debut EP ‘Catcall‘ introduced six high-energy tracks packed with sharp hooks and unapologetic attitude including fan favourite ‘Eat The Rich‘.
Their 2024 releases – EP ‘Bite Back‘ and analogue project ‘Grrrl Germs‘ are raw and raucous in equal measure but always radical. One of their most recent singles- 2026’s ‘Honey Badger‘ was a Punk Rock Philosophy Pick of the Week, a punchy follow up to ‘Diagnonsense‘ and ‘A Letter to My Therapist‘.
The riot grrrl influence is evident across their releases and it’s a moniker that the band embraces. For them, there is meaning in the term that goes beyond just being a band that is not exclusively comprised of cis males (which is normally all that needs to be the case to attach the riot grrrl label). But riot grrrl went way beyond just the configuration of the band members themselves and instead had specific principles for organising, campaigning and supporting community. This is an aspect of riot grrrl that Skint Knees replicate passionately and mix with the sensibilities of other groundbreaking punk legends:
Jinx: “I think musically we do absolutely draw inspiration from the original riot grrrl scene but we also take influence from a wide plethora of genres. The riot grrrl aspect for us is more who we are and what we stand for, the values of being a ‘riot grrrl’. Looking back at those original Bikini Kill zines and the stuff like the poster with all the riot grrrl morals on it- that is pretty much us! We just want to do stuff that does right for our society and will create a platform for women or gender non-conforming people, people of colour…we want to elevate that stance and that doesn’t exist as much as it should“.
Skunk: “I would also add in that there’s other bands like X Ray Spex who were incredible, I love Poly Styrene! The lyrics that she wrote were amazing and so ahead of her time on things like environmental issues and about identity etc. I think for us, it is a lot about the ethics we have and how outspoken we are about things and when we raise money we make sure it is for things we love and care about“.
There is a lot of great stuff going on in the band’s local scene and they are happy to be part of making that happen. They are involved both as a band and individually in various projects that promote not just punk but their wider community. But as the band reflects, this doesn’t just magically happen and opportunities and scenes don’t just manifest out of sheer want- someone has to put in the thought and the work to make them happen and make them safe. This is something they are doing more than their fair share of:
Jinx: “The scene is growing more and more in Sheffield. We’re seeing a lot of younger bands, below 18 that kind of age. A lot are driven by sheer willpower and they are a force of nature, they’re brilliant! I think a lot of that is down to youth groups in Sheffield. Tracks is one we know about and there’s one that will be starting in September that we are involved in called Girls Plus Rock. That’s gonna be for young kids to come together and form a band and be taught by women or gender non-conforming tutors. We can give them advice as well like if you are gonna get out there and start gigging or recording etc, don’t be ripped off, don’t put up with things you don’t have to!
Skunk: “I think the scene has gotten better in the last few years with some really amazing bands. We used to have a joke that we were the token queer band on most lineups and that was a lot of our early experiences- we would be the only femme presenting or only queer people there! But when we put on gigs we make sure we have a lineup of predominantly queer or femme performers. Jinx just put on a festival called Too Damn Loud and every band there was not typically your all cis male band”.
Jinx: “I mean there were some sprinkled in there but they weren’t the main thing! We are not saying we don’t need you or want you but it is about getting everyone on the same plateau to feel like we are all in this together so lets help each other out“.
Jinx’s experience of being behind the scenes in an organising role has reinforced that it’s hard work but worth it:
“100% you have to do the work. Too Damn Loud for example… I spent weeks and months curating that lineup to make sure we had the right people on it. Talking to people, the venue, the photographers…making it clear I want a safe space from the get go. There are a lot of factors to consider when organising something. Never mind creating a city wide or nationwide or worldwide scene of people- you’ve got to have yours and everyone else’s best interests at heart and make sure you’re not pushing anyone else down- intentional or not“.
Cheerleader(s)
On stage is another area where the band practice what they preach. With permanent drummer Rachel in the fold now, the electric live component is a kickass part of Skint Knees that saw them play legendary Rebellion Festival earlier this month and they will be gracing the stage at Loud Women Fest London in September.
Jinx: “Performing is a platform. Getting on stage whether you are on a physical stage or on the floor of a dive bar, it doesn’t matter because in that moment, you are the one everyone is listening to and looking at. It is our job to play our songs as well as possible and get that message out there in the crowd and look them in the eye and say ‘please listen to what we are saying’. It is super important that you grasp the opportunity whilst on stage to talk about what is important- you don’t need to go on a 10 minute monologue you can simply say ‘ this song is about a shitty guy that did this shitty thing 1-2-3-4′! As long as a I feel there is something being put out there and being said alongside the songs, and you are interacting with the crowd… that is what is most important“.
Skunk: “I love it when people sing our songs back to us or join in the chants! That is so emotional, it is a beautiful thing to have that connection“.
Rachel: “Drumming for me is like a flow state when I get into it. Whenever we play, everything goes by really fast when the muscle memory kicks in. It is a good workout for my body but also for my mind, I can leave everything on that stage! Since I have been given a mic it has been a fun challenge to sing/scream at the same time and made me feel even more connected to the band and to music“.
Looking ahead to the rest of the year and beyond, there’s more songs in the works and whilst I cannot reveal any details I can tell you that in the band’s own words they are gonna be “stompers“! So keep your eyes and ears open for new releases from Skint Knees and check out the band’s back catalogue HERE.
Follow the band’s socials HERE.
