MIKE SKILL (The Romantics) releases timely rock single “’67 RiOT” – feat. legendary guitarist WAYNE KRAMER of MC5

Rock Guitarist / Vocalist / Songwriter MIKE SKILL (The Romantics) releases timely rock single “’67 RiOT” – feat. legendary guitarist WAYNE KRAMER of MC5

Limited edition 7” vinyl available on Record Store Day, 8-29-20

OUT NOW – LISTEN HERE

(Detroit, MI – August 11, 2020) – As musicians have done for centuries, 40-year career rock guitarist/songwriter/vocalist, Mike Skill, uses music as a vehicle to expose societal ills of his time. Best known as a co-founding member of popular 80’s band, The Romantics, Skill releases his new single, “’67 RiOT” (A-Square Records), recounting a dark spot on American history that changed his hometown of Detroit forever. The song features Wayne Kramer, guitarist and founding member of legendary Detroit rock band, MC5, and whom Rolling Stone Magazine recognizes as one of the top 100 guitarists of all time. “‘67 RiOT” is available now on all digital platforms.

The song will also be released as a limited edition 7″ vinyl on Record Store Day, August 29th, in record stores throughout the U.S. and at mikeskill.com. The 7” record will have Skill’s previously released track, “My Bad Pretty” on the B-side. Both songs were written and recorded by Skill and produced with Grammy Award-winning producer Chuck Alkazian (Soundgarden, Eminem) at Pearl Sound Studios in Detroit and Carver Studios in Oregon.

Skill recognizes his new song highlights issues that our country faced in 1967 and still plagues our country today, including racial discrimination, socio-economic division and police brutality. The effects of the ‘67 riot stayed with him over the years, fueling the desire to write a song about it. “I wrote the song from a sense of frustration that people never came together after the riots to really address what happened, to look each other in the eye and say, ‘How can we repair this? How can we move forward?’”

A longtime fan of fellow Detroit native, Wayne Kramer, Skill felt that it was natural to have him play on the song since MC5 was “the” favorite underground Detroit rock band at that time. “I sought to create an aural equivalent of what it was like to live through this violent time, wanting the song to end on a note of hope because Detroit has rebounded in recent years.”

Check out ’67 RiOT on Spotify, Apple Music and all other digital music platforms. Also look for the 7” vinyl record version, which will be available as a limited edition at mikeskill.com and in all U.S. record stores on August 29, 2020, the first official Record Store Day.

More about the Artist

Detroit native and celebrated rock guitarist Mike Skill has been a working musician for more than four decades. Skill’s roots lay in 60’s Motown, Traditional-Garage Blues and the New Wave Punk movement. He spent his early days in New York City with one of his first bands, Motor City Rockers, playing clubs, including historic CBGB with the New York Dolls, Syl Sylvain and friends in attendance.

Best known as a founding member, guitarist and principal songwriter for The Romantics, Skill wrote the band’s ever-popular song, “What I Like About You”. He also co-wrote and created the heart-thumping bass groove for the global #1 hit “Talking in Your Sleep.”

The Romantics were part of the early days of MTV with energetic videos featuring their infectious new wave pop hooks. In 2011, The Romantics were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.

Today, Skill continues to write and record in Detroit and from his current home in Portland, OR, in addition to performing around the world.

MikeSkill.com