BEHIND THE STAGE: SKINS FOR A CAUSE

For this round of Behind The Stage we sat down with Jacob Pavlovic from

'Skins For A Cause'; the self funded charity endeavour to bring some much needed support to the causes musicians care about the most. "What

inspired me was a combination of things, such as the community, bands, the music and even other media outlets that are trying to help small bands, such as Deathling." Jacob has been an active member of the local (Brisbane) metal scene for several years now and has jumped head first into the community, finding a space to bring some joy to the world, through one of a kind, hand made drum skin piece. He has since recruited several other volunteers to the project

to acquire the necessary skills and equipment required to customize the drum skins. "I've seen many videos online of metal bands and the metal community doing what we do best, when they drop, you pick them back up. So, from that inspired me to help do my part to help a cause get back up fighting for what they believe in. Also, it just happens I liked doing this for fun as well."

What does the process of making the skin look like?

It starts off by finding the band name or design, then one of our members, Jessie, uses a 3D software called blender to design a stencil

around the band name. Afterwards he converts it to a file used for 3D printing. Once printed then it can be used just like being a kid in preschool using a stencil.

Who was the first band that you worked with?

Technically three bands but my first skin had the bands Zuko, Guilt Trip and Justice for the Damned. It was for Justice for the Damned's headline show at Crowbar Brisbane.

Do you have any projects in the making that you can tell us about?

I am making some skin designs for bands such as Roronoah, Arkángel, Diskust, Headwreck and at the moment finished a surprise skin that'll

be used at Zuko's headline show at The Brightside Brisbane, that is on at the end of February.

How do you choose the bands you will approach?

Mainly choose them based on if I like their music as a fan, but also even if bands are smaller and have potential to grow big, I like to offer to do them one cause it helps them grow as a band. Bands members tend to love the skins and even get a passion boost performing on stage from seeing it.

Where do you get the skins from? And how did they react when you told

them what you were buying the skins for?

I get my skins from a store in Brisbane called Just Percussion. I first brought one or two without explaining to them what they'll be used for. When I started getting more serious about using the skins to help bands raise money for charity, I spoke to the owner in person, in return we became partners with him offering me skins at ridiculous low prices. I would get a 14-inch Remon Encore for $15.99 a piece compared to the average retail of $44.95. They definitely are a big help in making any of this possible.

Has your process changed from the first skin you made to your most recent skins?

Yes it has recently, I have gotten myself a start up projector to work on my complicated projects or when having to scale the design to the size of the skin makes it a lot easier with the projector. I even plan on getting a laser engraver to use that on the skin to create a burnt look for some bands. The only other thing that had changed is me as a person, improving my skills better and better with each project.

How can bands find you if they want to be a part of the S.F.A.C movement?

They can send a DM to our Instagram, going by the name Skins For A

Cause. Once they DM then I usually reach back out on the day cause I'm chronically online lol.

The next pieces up for auction are through Zuko's Sold Out Teeth To The Curb East Coast Tour. The Brisbane skin will be sold via raffle, so keep an eye out for how to buy the raffle tickets via a forthcoming Instagram post from Zuko. All proceeds from Zuko's drum skins will be donated to Lily House. Lily house is a South East Queensland organisation, providing accommodation for women in crisis. If you are a woman in need you can contact Lily's House via Phone on 0429 504 029 or Email via info@lilyhouse.org.au