Skateboard Lovers

Over the last decade, Bingham has cemented himself as one of the most beloved side musicians–primarily as a bass player–and producers in the world of folk and indie rock (especially emanating out of the Triangle of North Carolina). You might have seen him with Hiss Golden Messenger, Beth Orton, or Watchhouse, or heard his studio piloting of records by Libby Rodenbough and Lou Hazel. Now as Magic Al, Bingham has found the perfect pseudonym for his solo work.

For Rodenbough, Skateboard fever struck Christmas of ‘99 when she awoke to find her first board complete with a Pikachu deck nestled under the tree. The craze was short-lived when later on that same day the then eight-year-old Rodenbough was faced with the sobering realization that she could not in fact skateboard. “From that point forward,” Rodenbough reflects, “skateboarders have always represented to me the things I am not: Irreverent, unregarding of possible pain, disdainful toward rules and authority figures. I continue to see my avoidance of bumps and bruises as self-sabotage—I have to look for other ways to hurt myself.”

That sentiment eventually became the fragments of a song, a kinder-pop Casio keyboard riff and lyrics in a nursery-rhyme cadence, that Rodenbough brought to a session with Bingham. “We started by recording this broken Portasound synth Libby had found on the side of the road on the way up,” Bingham recalls of their session together at Bedtown Lakehouse Studio. “It was a tiny keyboard that Libs played on her lap so we followed suit by moving everything else to ground level only standing up to reset the computer for each pass through the song.” The two friends took some mushrooms together and whipped up the Skateboard Lovers’ tilt-a-whirl track complete with Matt Douglas’s (The Mountain Goats) swirly horns and Joe Westerlund’s (Sylvan Esso) bubbly percussion.

Whether you are a skateboard lover or a jealous onlooker, this song is for you to enjoy this summer. Let ice cream melt down your wrist and live like you aren’t that concerned about keeping your skin intact. Have fun!