Watch Santigold perform for NPR ‘Tiny Desk’
When appearing on the latest episode of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series, Santigold revisited her punk roots when reinventing tracks from her back catalogue, which included a cut from her old Philadelphia band, Stiffed.
She performed with a three-piece band comprised of guitarist Ray Brady, bassist George Lewis Jr., drummer Chuck Treece, and backing vocalists Melanie Nyema and Stephany Mora. This was unusual for Santigold as she usually opts for a live configuration of electronic instruments.
During the early stages of the performances, Santigold – real name Santi White – explained that Treece’s appearance was significant as he was a vital part of her musical development. “Chuck Treece here is a legend,” White said after completing a rendition of 2008’s ‘L.E.S. Artistes’. “He is, first of all, the person that got me to sing. I was doing more songwriting in the beginning, and then I was like, ‘Chuck, you know, I really want to make music that sounds like what I hear in my head, and the only way to do it is to do it myself'”.
She continued: “So Chuck was not only one of the first Black pro skateboarders, he had a band, McRad, which was a punk band. He played with Bad Brains – he introduced me to Bad Brains, I’m pretty sure, who I actually went on to do one of my first tours with when I first started performing, which I was not ready [for].”
She then explained that it’s “a fucking miracle” that she ended up performing with Lewis, noting that their collaboration is particularly consequential “for us Black musicians who try to do stuff that’s not what [is] considered Black music”.
White performed four songs for Tiny Desk; however, the highlight has to be the Stiffed song ‘Ain’t Got Enough’. The band mixed ska, no-wave and hardcore, with the track appearing on their 2005 album Burned Again. At one point in the performance, White discussed the significance of performing with a band and returning to her roots by playing a Stiffed song: “Punk rock is very special to me. We’re not doing a full punk set – we’ll do some punk songs – and I just think [punk is] really important right now.”
“The most important thing … about punk is that you make your own rules, right? And I think right now, more than any time in the world – when the systems are broken – we have to be able to make our own rules and make changes; change things that we know aren’t working, and stand up when things are wrong, and scream it out. And that’s what punk music has always done.”
She concluded: “And punk is raw, right? So there’s no social media perfection, this and this and that, like, we need to go back to the truth – and punk was telling the truth. And showing up. I know I’ve got a whole outfit on today, but you know, I was saying [earlier], ‘Man, Chuck, remember? No makeup, no outfit, no hairdo – you just rolled up to your show!’ I missed that so much.”
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