Who wears short shorts? Sky's Out Thighs Out.
The five-piece music ensemble performs summer-themed songs around Chico, each in revealing shorts to combat the heat. The concept is simple.
At the forefront is singer-songwriter Max Minardi, who conceived the idea while pondering puns.
“What if we all wore short shorts and sang songs? The summertime thing kind of developed in my brain,” Minardi explained. “And I thought, who would even be dumb enough to do this with me?”
The Sun Followers’ Ben Ruttenburg would answer that call. The lineup this season also includes Gavin Fitzgerald, Rob Delgardo and Webster Moore.
Now in its third season, Sky’s Out Thighs Out is slowly becoming a Chico summer tradition. From Glenn Campbell's "Southern Nights" to Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up the Sun," all covered tracks the group arranges must carry a summer essence.
“The criteria is essentially just, it has to include something about the sun, the summer and the heat,” Ruttenburg said.
The collaboration is a result of all members being part of the Chico music scene. Each member has other projects, so this collaboration is limited to a summer run, which concludes this week at The Commons.
“It makes the season that much more special that we're just doing it for a limited amount of time,” Ruttenburg said.
“It makes the season that much more special that we're just doing it for a limited amount of time.”— Ben Ruttenburg, Sky's Out Thighs Out vocalist
The group is committed to maintaining its collaboration as a summer-only event, which captures the essence of their partnership. When the sun is shining, the thighs are at the forefront.
“We're bending the rules even playing after the sun's gone down, because all the songs are about how we look at the sun,” Ruttenburg said.
They have received offers from venues to extend their partnership beyond the summer, but the group has declined.
“We had somebody ask us to play in October, and I almost threw up,” Minardi said with laughter.
There is a candor they have developed together and share on stage. Whether it’s practicing beforehand or while performing, it feels like a collaborative group effort that they all look forward to each summer.
“It does feel a little bit like closing a door to, like, a childhood bedroom, and then you come back after a year and you open, like, that's where I left all this stuff, you know?” Minardi said.
Sticking to their Summer tradition, they honor that commitment no matter how hot the temperature rises.
Last year, the group hosted a show at The Commons where temperatures reached an extreme 116 degrees, prompting the venue to suggest cancellation.
With iPads overheating and equipment struggling to keep up, despite the heat, the band insisted on playing, which resulted in an exceptional turnout with no health issues.
“There's something about it that feels just like a rite of passage, if you haven't played a show where you're just filled with your own sweat,” Ruttenburg said.
Lastly, and perhaps the most crucial part of the collaboration, are the shorts. The above-the-knee 5-inch inseams or shorter guarantee that you'll see some gentleman's thighs.
“We also really encourage people coming to the show, obviously, when in Rome, wear some shorts,” Minardi said. “We had somebody catcall us at Argus recently.”
Ultimately, Minardi encourages the onlookers to get in on the action. To wear their short shorts to sing along and ultimately get lost for a moment.
“I promise even more that by the end of the show, you will forget for the briefest of moments, you will forget everything going on in the world, in your life, everything bad disappears this, I promise you,” Minardi said. “We all come together and we sing these songs about summer, and we unite and we grow and we get stronger and happier.”
The show is 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8 at The Commons.
