Old Skull

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Old Skull was an American punk rock novelty band that formed in Madison, Wisconsin in the late 1980s. The band was started by ten-year-old J.P. (Jean-Paul) Toulon and his nine-year-old brother, Jamie Toulon, with encouragement from their father Vern Toulon, a longtime member of the Madison punk scene who had spent time in New York City, where he was a guitarist for the industrial band Missing Foundation.

History

Formation, Get Outta School

The original lineup featured J.P. on guitar and Jamie on keyboards and came together after the brothers began playing with their father's instruments. After teaching the boys some basic chords, he added a drum machine and the band was formed. Soon after, ten-year-old Jesse Collins-Davies joined the band on drums. Collins-Davies was the stepson of Robin Davies, a member of the Madison-based punk band the

After the release of Get Outta School, Jesse Collins-Davies left the band and was replaced by twelve-year-old Graham Lindsey. Lindsey performed with the band for two years before the band permanently broke up.

New lineup, C.I.A. Drug Fest

In 1992, the Toulon brothers re-formed Old Skull without Lindsey. J.P. Toulon switched to drums, while Jamie, now known as Spike, handled bass and some lead vocals. The Toulons were joined by brothers Josh and Chris Scott on guitars and vocals respectively. This lineup recorded C.I.A. Drug Fest, once again produced by Vern Toulon and released through Restless, and released during that year. This record was considerably more musical than their debut and executed competently with relative cohesion. A music video was released for the song "Pizza Man". A short tour of Japan followed before the act disbanded permanently in 1993.

2005 reunion

In August 2005, the Toulon brothers, now in their mid-20s, reunited Old Skull for a one time show at

Adult life and death

J.P. Toulon moved to New York City where he began playing with Planned Collapse, a

Jamie Toulon went on to play guitar for the Milwaukee band Doomsday Cauldron. Like his brother, he later moved to New York City and played in a punk band named Apox, which released an album titled Prevalence in 1998. He was also an original member of Star Fucking Hipsters, a side project of Leftöver Crack member, Stza. Jamie also joined his brother in Planned Collapse until both brothers left the band. Clay Pigeon, a WFMU DJ who often records conversations with random NYC street people, included a fifteen-minute interview with Jamie on his August 26, 2010, broadcast. In the interview, Jamie revealed that he was living on the streets of New York City and was battling an ongoing drug addiction. Jamie committed suicide in Lynchburg, Virginia on June 10, 2011, seven months after the death of his brother.^[2]

Jesse Collins-Davies, using the name DJ Jesse Collins, continued to perform as part of the

Graham Lindsey began a solo career as an alternative country artist. He released his first album, Famous Anonymous Wilderness, in 2003. A second album, Hell Under The Skullbones, followed in 2006. In 2008 he released The Mine EP and his third full-length album, We Are All Alone In This Together. A compilation album of rarities titled, Digging Up Birds: A Collection of Rarities & Others was released in 2014. Four of Lindsey's songs were used in the direct-to-DVD film, Fairview St., released in 2009. Lindsey is also a backup musician for The Perreze Farm, a band formed by Lindsey's drummer, Joe Perreze. They released their debut EP, Songs For The Birds, on May 26, 2009.

Vern Toulon, producer and father to the Toulon brothers, went on to appear in the Madison-based documentary film Streets Without Cars before his death on May 31, 2001, at the age of 46. Several reports indicate that he had resorted to panhandling in the years before his death. The boys' parents had divorced early in the band's career. Several years after the divorce, the boys' mother died in a train accident.

Parody

Months before the 2005 reunion, a person named "P.J." called into the radio station

External links

• Review of Get Outta School at
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