Jo Carley and The Old Dry Skulls: Blues, Skiffle, Calypso and Rockabilly with a creepy vaudeville twist… It’s music that makes people wanna shake their bones!
This trio are known for their unique live show, transporting the audience to a bygone era when witches and black magic were rife. Their songs tell stories of deals with the devil, demons in love, witchdoctors, zombies, ghosts, ghouls, journeys to the deepest jungles and other exotic adventures which are told using sweet melodies and syncopated sounds.
The music takes influence from early vaudeville blues acts such as Victoria Spivey via Cab Calloway, Wilmoth Houdini and Wanda Jackson, but adding a creepy and theatrical twist that echoes Dr John and Screamin Jay Hawkins.
Voodoo has found it’s way onto British shores and Jo Carley is the wild and dark demonic music-hall mistress sent to predict hell in a way to entertain and amaze you, telling tales of terror in old-timey fashion. Backed by her song-writing partner and husband the Zombie-like Tim Carley, who churns out blues-tinged rhythms on an old archtop guitar, kick drum and rattlin’ shoe, with fellow fiend James Le Huray providing the final ingredients of the spell, in the shape of double bass and banjo.
“With great lyrics and the combination of haunting ragtime blues they create a stupendously enjoyable jaunt into the darker recesses of voodoo, … It’s superb fun and a real pleasure to just indulge in its lyrics and music…” – Lee Powell / Vive Le Rock 2021
“There are dark warnings, powerful accusations, gritty observations and singular attitude… this is a musical heist that robs you of ordinary and replaces it with exceptional” – Folkwords (UK)
…a macabre fairytale, …Naughty creepy and full of sarcasm, “So let’s shake those bones together”!” Luminous Dash (Belgium)
