#BL3$$3D

SKELETON JOE a.k.a. Joe Cardamone

(The Icarus Line, Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe)

Returns with New Single/Video

"#BL3$$3D"

Photo credit unknown   Joe Cardamone never thought he would perform live again.  The founding member of post-hardcore band The Icarus Line and partner with the late Mark Lanegan in the death disco band Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe, Cardamone was staring mortality in the face. The tragic deaths of his friend and guitarist Alvin DeGuzman (guitarist, The Icarus Line) in 2017 from cancer and the death of Lanegan this past February left him in a dark place musically.  “After losing Mark and Alvin, I kinda started thinking I might not perform live much more,” he explains.  “I lost two people that made me feel protected on stage… both brothers.” But his creativity found a way to work through the pain and grief with the release of “#BL3$$3D,” his first new song since the passing of Lanegan and the end of their Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe project which released an album in October of 2021.  “I wrote #BL3$$3D a few weeks ago in anticipation of performing live again,” he says.  “It reminds me of my old band without sounding like a band at all.” Skeleton Joe "#BL3$$#D" Link/Embed: https://youtu.be/ppyw1ShTMS0 A dark and brutal brooding banger, it retains the essences of both of his previous bands: the manic energy of The Icarus Line and the pulsating dark techno of Dark Mark vs. Skeleton Joe. “#BL3$$3D” had a rather abrupt genesis that involved another important person to him: Ian Astbury of The Cult.  “Ian asked me to do the Greek show in LA -  an offer I couldn’t refuse” he explains, referring to a show that is happening this weekend in Los Angeles featuring The Cult, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, King Woman and Joe’s alter ego, Skeleton Joe (tickets available HERE). “Ian, much like Mark [Lanegan], has acted as a guardian angel in my life.  He's looked out for me in ways he really didn't have to.” The accompanying video echoes the song's dark and sinister undertones viscerally with a bloody alien birth and a cast of broken characters straight out of a film by director David Cronenberg (The Brood, Videodrome). “The video was made with the American Primitive team who all jumped in head first to bring the American family to life,” he explains about the production team who has also done videos by Queen Kwong and Prayers. “We watch our heroes die multiple deaths.  We second guess our fantasies of the people who helped shape our lives.  The current era is messy. The lines are blurry and so that is how the music and the visual comes on.” Photo credit unknown With a fresh lease on his creative life restored, “Skeleton Joe” might have gotten a jumpstart to ease him back into music.  For him, things seem to be happening at an accelerated pace, but that doesn’t fill him with dread like it did after Lanegan passed away earlier this year. This songs seems to have reawakened that part of him. “#BL3$$3D  came out pretty quickly. When a song comes out as wiry and fucked as this one has, it falls right into the Skeleton Joe alias,” he replies rather enigmatically. “The shadow self is not the guy that has to get up and feed the dogs and wash dishes.” “#BL3$$#D” is released today, October 7th and is available at https://sparta.ffm.to/blessed.  Skeleton Joe Cardamone performs this weekend at Los Angeles’ The Greek Theatre with featuring The Cult, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and King Woman. "#BL3$$3D" Single Artwork

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