Skegss On Their New Record And Just How Far They’ve Come

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Following the release of their new album, ‘Pacific Highway Music,’ we chatted with Skegss frontman Benny Reed

It was an absolute privilege of mine to have a quick chat with the great Benny Reed of Skegss last week on the release of their third studio album ‘Pacific Highway Music’. As a fan of their tunes for many years, to pick the brain of the main man was truly an honour, although due to the Australian time difference, I just wish I was more awake when I was doing it! You can read our review of the album here and check out the full interview below:

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Good evening Skegss! Only a week has elapsed since the release of your 3^rd full length studio album, ‘Pacific Highway Music’. How does it feel to finally get this piece of work out to the world?

Benny: Yeah pretty stoked! This one has been a bit of a waiting game, so it was a good day when it came out. You feel like a bunch of the songs you’ve been sitting on for a couple years are out of your system.

This new record seems like a big step in evolving of the Skegss sound. What steps did you guys take to make this album differ from your previous work?

Benny: We just let who we’re working with throw in any ideas they had with the experimentation side of it, you know? Adding layers and different instruments and stuff. We used to record live and track the bass and drums at the same time. We recorded things differently this time, it was more me just playing guitar and we added the bass in later.

There are a few synthesizer moments on this record, which would traditionally be out of character for your sound. How freeing does it feel to incorporate different sounds and musical ideas that you wouldn’t have thought of trying before?

Benny: Yeah it feels good! I always enjoyed the idea of a theme, so we picked one instrument that sits on every song and gives the album a distinct colour and creates a feeling. It was really fun to do that.

This album was recorded at two separate LA studios – The Village and Topanga Canyon’s Fivestar Studios – and produced by Paul Butler. How was that experience and how was working with Paul?

Benny: Yeah Paul’s a legend. The chemistry was really good and he’s a really nice bloke. The Topanga studio is one where a lot of folk music is made so the music came out a bit mellow, so we went to his studio in North Hollywood and made it sound a bit rawer. We then did the vocals at The Village. It was definitely the best setup I’ve had for being able to hear myself when recording, which was pretty amazing.

There’s been a clear transition in the theme of the lyrical content of this record and I felt a lot of the songs took on a far more introspective approach. Can you shed some light on your songwriting process for this record?

Benny: It was just a reflection of how much time me and Jonny have spent driving on the Pacific Highway between Brisbane and Sydney. I guess when you’re driving, there’s a bit of a comfort of being on your own in the car. So, it sort of became a bit of an ode to being in your own little world and comfort zone, leaning into your imagination and stuff.

As of this interview, you’re currently playing some sold-out album release shows in Melbourne and Brisbane. How pumped are you for these dates?

Benny: They were so fun, I’d never been to either venue. Both were venues where the stage was kind of in the middle of the room, the Melbourne one was an old jazz club, I think. The sound was really sick and it’s kind of fun when it’s a 360 thing.

You guys tour a heck of a lot! You’ve already announced your USA, UK and European tour for this album in 2025. How blessed do you feel to have such a dedicated and receptive audience worldwide?

Benny: It’s just so fun, I’ve not even been home for two and half months! We’re so lucky we get to travel and go to different spots. Every time you go somewhere new you always wonder whether anyone will turn up, but when they do, you’re just so stoked. It’s always just the nicest feeling when people come out in a place you’ve never been. The last couple months have probably been the most fun of my life, because we’ve been playing smaller venues. They have so much more character. People get stoked when there is a novelty setting.

As a long time Skegss fan, I’d like to take a trip down memory lane for a moment. ‘L.S.D‘ came out just over ten years ago now… could you try and summarise the journey you’ve been on as a band for that ten years and how you think you managed to arrive at ‘Pacific Highway Music‘?

Benny: Well, that song has been good to us and I still get excited playing it. It’s definitely taken us on a pretty solid journey. Being in a band is pretty hectic, you’ve gotta get everyone on the same wave and you have to make a lot of life sacrifices to be in a band. I can’t imagine what a band is like with more than three people!

But once you get a bit more life experience you learn to have a bit of resilience and embrace things that you wouldn’t have before. I just can’t believe we’re still playing, there were so many years when I thought it was so temporary. To have shows booked ahead of you is a great feeling. To get to ‘Pacific Highway Music‘ is important as it just shows a place I’ve spent a lot of my time, in the van, as I just have to drive everywhere. I don’t really write diary entries, but songs can be like that, it’s like regurgitating everything I’ve digested.

What inspired you to get into this position and go on this journey in a band?

Benny: I was just always into writing songs when I was younger, I’m just really obsessed with tinkering and writing songs on a guitar. I guess people maybe nudged me to have a crack at it, and then when I did meet people, I just thought it was pretty cool to be in a band. It was also a sick way to travel. Then people introduce you to certain bands and open your mind to different genres and as time goes on you get influenced by different things. Sometimes you can make sense of it and sometimes you can’t.

On a final note, I think it’s amazing to see such an array of fantastic bands and artists come out of Australia in the last 10-15 years. How does it feel to be a part of that wave and what do you think has made Aussie bands suddenly appeal to a global audience?

Benny: Well, the music is good and the attitude is as well. A lot of the bands I can think of like Amyl and The Sniffers, The Chats, Dune Rats and Hockey Dad just have great personalities. So I think it’s pretty cool to have acts like that with good character and songs that match it.

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All in all, Benny Reed and Skegss will continue to carve their way through the Aussie Surf-Punk landscape, touring the world and not a leaving a single venue unshaken. Chatting with Benny offered a little window into the world of a dude who is clearly living his dream and is just trying to process it all as much as he can, which to me seems like a pretty relatable reaction. My stance on the record remains the same: stream the life out of it, and if the Skegss train stops at a town near you, go and witness the carnage.

Listen to ‘Pacific Highway Music’ here:

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