Old Skull was an American punk rock novelty band that formed in Madison, Wisconsin in the late s. The band was started by ten-year-old J. Jean-Paul Toulon and his nine-year-old brother, Jamie Toulon, with encouragement from their father Vern Toulon, a longtime member of the Madison punk scene who had spent time in New York City , where he was a guitarist for the industrial band Missing Foundation.
The original lineup featured J. After teaching the boys some basic chords, he added a drum machine and the band was formed. Soon after, ten-year-old Jesse Collins-Davies joined the band on drums. The group adapted their name from the punk rock band Live Skull , who had stayed at the Toulon house after a show in Madison. After hearing a demo tape the band recorded, Mojo Nixon approached his label, Restless Records , and persuaded them to sign Old Skull to a record deal.
Due to the non-childlike subject matter in many of the songs, rumors persisted that Vern Toulon was actually ghostwriting much, if not all of the band's material. Critics described the album as hilarious, unlistenable, and torturous, though most agreed that it wasn't all that bad for a group of nine-year-olds. The novelty of the act drew media attention from television shows like A Current Affair and publications such as Life , People and Newsweek.
MTV also gave the band some minor airplay. A music video was released for the song "Homeless". Lindsey performed with the band for two years before the band permanently broke up.
In , the Toulon brothers re-formed Old Skull without Lindsey. Toulon switched to drums, while Jamie, now known as Spike, handled bass and some lead vocals.
