James Plorde

Skin of Our Teeth perform their last show at the Icon on Sept. 16.

Back in 2015, LHS English teacher Xavier Pastrano and his friend Kamp Kirsch started a stoner rock band called Skin of Our Teeth. Pastrano started out on bass and vocals, with Kirsch on drums, although they could and often did switch it up midway through a set. Pulling inspiration from bands like Church of Misery, Red Fang and Crobot, they steadily improved and started rocking shows around the upper Midwest. Along the way, they picked up two new band members, Zeb Anderson who was now the lead vocalist, and Amanda Bremmon who played guitar. They also recorded an album in 2019 called “Gods of the Gaps,” and an EP in 2020 named “Ablation” (which are both available on streaming services). 

Despite their rising local popularity, the band came to a fork in the road of their careers. As the members got older, their families became bigger parts of their lives. At the same time, more and more opportunities to expand their brand and play more shows started popping up. This change in their lives led to the decision made earlier this year to disband Skin of Our Teeth, playing their last show at the Icon in Sioux Falls on Sept. 16.

The goal of their last show was to show the “different iterations” of Skin of Our Teeth, starting from the beginning. The last show started with just Pastrano and the drummer playing some of their earlier songs like “One of Us,” and eventually switched to Pastrano on drums and the drummer on vocals. Over the course of the show, they mixed in Kirsch and Bremmon to complete the band. In between songs, Pastrano and other band members gave a little backstory on the history of the band. Towards the end of the setlist, Skin of Our Teeth played some of their most popular songs like “Heavy Hitter” and “Virgo” from their “Ablation” EP. 

In their last couple of shows, a fellow Sioux Falls band, Chara, often opened for them. 

“[Chara] opening for us was a way for them to get put on a bigger stage. They’re the future of the Sioux Falls music scene,” said Pastrano.