Dimestore Skanks are a Wellington ska-punk band who have spent more than a decade playing festivals, bars and house parties around New Zealand. They call their sound “third and a half wave melodic skacore.” The band began in 2011 while Peter Harrow (guitar, vocals) and Tim Posta (lead vocals) were already playing together in the Wellington punk band The Dead Scene. Wanting to set up a ska band they roped in Rowan Miller (trumpet, vocals) from Colonel Mustard and Nick Grinter (drums) from Nonetheless. Sammy (bass) and Al (trombone) rounded out the original six-piece, and Baz (keys) and Tommy (sax) soon took the band to eight. Dimestore played their first gig at a house party on 3 September 2011 and a couple of weeks later they joined The Dead Scene at Bar Medusa.
In January 2012 they kicked off the new year at STL Audio recording ten tracks with Troy Kelly for a planned album but spent 2012–13 reworking the songs, releasing a self-titled EP in December 2013 timed for the Auckland Ska Festival. Their second EP, Best Revenge was released in 2014. Recorded and illustrated by Dave McDonald (Dave Thirteen), drummer for Starving Millions and Outsiders. Dave started filling in on drums in mid-2015 when Grinter took on dad duties.
In December 2015 they played the 20th anniversary show of ska veterans The Offbeats, alongside Battle-Ska Galactica, and closed out the year at another Auckland Ska Festival. In 2016 they released “Game Over“, with a video shot at a riotous Wellington house party. In October that year they opened for UK ska legends Bad Manners. The band marked ten years of skanking in 2022 with a show at Newtown Sports Bar.
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| Origin | Wellington |
| Genre | ska, punk |
| Years Active | 2011 – |
| Associated Acts | The Offbeats, Starving Millions, Short Girls |
| Current Members | Tim (vocals) Pete (guitar, vocals) Sammy (bass) Dave Mcdonald (drums 2) Rowan Miller (trumpet, vocals) Al (trombone, vocals) Baz (keys) Tommy (sax) |
| Past Members | Nick Grinter (drums 1) |
Releases
| Title | Date | Label | Type | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimestore Skanks | 2013, November 1 | EP | CD/ DL | |
| Best Revenge | 2014, May 30 | LP | DL | |
| Game Over | 2016, May 13 | single | DL | |
| Insignificants | 2016, Dec 4 | EP | DL | |
| Viking Skank (live at Valhalla) | 2018, May 5 | live album | DL |
Timeline
2011, September 3, venue?
2011, September 17, Bar Medusa
Dimestore Skanks first gig. EP release for The Dead Scene.
Photos: Megan Easterbrook-Smith
2011, October 8, Stokes Valley
House party with Lick Dastardly
2011, October 28, Speights Ale House, Petone
2011, October 29, Bar Medusa
Halloween Party
2011, November 18, Bar Medusa
Dimestore Skanks, The Outsiders fundraiser show?
2011, December 10, Bar Medusa
2011, December 21, SFBH
2012
2012, January 28, STL Audio
2012, February 17, The Horseshoe
2012, February 18, Bar Medusa
2012, April 28, Bar Medusa
with Date With The Knife, Stretch To Mould, No Wave
2012, May 11, Bar Medusa
2012, May 12, Bobby and Ali’s Birthday
Dimestore Skanks, Black Lick, Fantails, The Dead Scene.
2012, July 14, Bar Medusa
2012, July 18, Bar Bodega
Battle of the Bands Round 2
2012, August 31, King’s Arms
Battle of the Bands final in Auckland.
2012, October 6, Capital Chaos
2012, October 19, Bar Medusa
Dimestore Skanks, Red Dawn, Forgotten Generation, Whiskey Show
2012, December 1, Bar Medusa
2013
2013, January 9, SFBH
2013, January 26, Bar Bodega
2013, March 6, Bar Bodega
2013, March-April, STL Audio
Dimestore Skanks recording Dimestore Skanks EP
2013, June 22, Bar Bodega
Battleska Gallactica, Dimestore Skanks
2013, July 13, Medusa
2013, July 31, Bar Bodega
with Skapiti Coasters
2013, September 14, Fast Eddies
2013, September 21, Bar Bodega
2013, October 10, Mighty Mighty
2013, October 16, SFBH
2013, November 1, Dimestore Skanks
2013, December 6, King’s Arms
2013, December 13, Fast Eddies
2014
2014, February 6-8, Waitangi Wastefest
2014, May 30, Best Revenge
2014, June 1, Valhalla
2014, June 13, Zeal
2014, September 27, Valhalla
2015
2015, February 6, Valhalla
2015, April 18, Bar Bodega
2015, May 9, Valhalla
2015, July 19, Valhalla
2015, August 29, Valhalla
2015, October 10, Valhalla
2015, November 11, SFBH
2015, November 27, Kings Street
2015, December 2, Bodega
2015, December 5, Kings Arms Tavern
2016
2016, January 15, Valhalla
2016, February 13, Ellen Melville Hall
2016, May 13, Game Over
2016, May 27, Newtown Bowls Club
2016, August 19, Thirsty Dog
2016, September 24, Bodega
2016, October 18, Bar Bodega
2016, December 4, Insignificants
2016, December 10, Kings Arms
2017
2017, February 4, Valhalla
2017, March 25, Cuba Dupa
2017, April 21, Meow
2017, September 28, Valhalla
2017, October 7, Moon Bar
2017, December 2, Kings Arms
2018
2018, February 3, Waitangi Wastefest
2018, April 11, Valhalla
2018, May 5, Viking Skank
2018, May 26, Moon Bar
2018, August 11, Valhalla
2019
2019, August 24, Hataitai
2019, September 13/ 14, SFBH/ Horse & Trap
2019, December 7, Galatos
2020
2020, November 28, Newtown Sports Bar
2021
2021, December 3, Valhalla
2022
2022, June 3-5, Valhalla
2022, November 12, Newtown Sports Bar
2023
2023, February 5, SFBH
2024
2024, February 23, SFBH
2024, March 23, Valhalla
2025
2025, January 19, SFBH
2025, February 27, Valhalla
2026
