This week’s theme is self explanatory and an area that ska and reggae have explored extensively. In fact, just a quick brainstorm has given me enough tracks to feature this theme for at least two more episodes if I wanted to.

Ah, women…

Playlist

Bomb Town – Joanna
Eastern Standard Time – That Girl
Big D & The Kids Table – Riot Girl
The Brass Action – Mona
Prince Buster – My Girl
Ken Boothe & Stranger Cole – Arte Bella
Toots & The Maytals – Alidina
The Burial – Shelia
One Hundred Men – Yeah Yeah Girl
Los Hooligans – Lady In Red
The Pepper Pots – My Little Girl
Crazy Baldhead – Victoria
The Pietasters – Girl Take It Easy
The Specials – Hey, Little Rich Girl
The Slackers – Married Girl
Mustard Plug – Mendoza
The Coldspot 8 – Watch Ya Girl
Go Jimmy Go – The Governor´s daughter

Bomb Town – “Joanna” – from the Logical Reality album

This New Jersey band describes their sound as “aggressive ska, reggae and dancehall all fused into one diabolical plot to keep you movin”. Not sure they are still active. A tribute to their favorite rude girl.

Eastern Standard Time – “That Girl” – from the Time is Tight album

One of the great veteran DC ska bands. Hitting the road with Mr. T-Bone next month.

Big D & The Kids Table – “Riot Girl” – from the For the Damned, The Dumb & The Delirious album

Big D has been hitting bringing their Boston brand of ska punk to audiences since 1995. This cut is from their 2011 album.

The Brass Action – “Mona” – free demo

“The Brass Action is high-energy horn-driven ska at its finest!” Straight outta Vancouver.

Prince Buster – “My Girl” – from the Fabulous Greatest Hits album

It’s Prince Buster. He’s a legend. Covering The Temptations classic.

Ken Boothe & Stranger Cole – “Arte Bella” – from the Ska Bonanza album

Ken Boothe and Stranger Cole were neighbors in Kingston and started singing together in the late 1950’s and had a string of ska hits together from ’63-’65. About a cheatin’ woman.

Toots & The Maytals – “Alidina” – from the Sweet and Dandy album

It’s Toots. He’s a legend. About a crazy woman.

The Burial – “Sheila” – from the A Day On The Town album

The Burial were a Yorkshire Oi/ska/northern soul group that played throughout the 1980’s. About a first love.

100 Men – “Yeah Yeah Girl” – from the Reggae Juk demo

Not much known about this band. But it is a great song.

Los Hooligans – “Lady In Red” – from the Traditions album

Los Hooligans, from Fresno, CA. Don’t believe they are still active.

The Pepper Pots – “My Little Girl” – from the Swingin’ Sixties album

Spain’s soul-ska sirens. They lean way heavy on the soul side these days but their first two albums featured plenty of Jamaican influenced tunes.

Crazy Baldhead – “Victoria” – from the 1969 album

A Kinks cover. Is there anything Crazy Baldhead Sound System can’t do?

The Pietasters – “Girl Take It Easy” – from the Oolooloo album

More DC ska. The guys are still together and gigging up and down the east coast.

The Specials – “Hey, Little Rich Girl” – from the More Specials album

It’s The Specials. ‘Nuff said.

The Slackers – “Married Girl” – from the Redlight album

The Slackers tell us why this is the worst kind of girl to get involved with…

Mustard Plug – “Mendoza” – from the Evildoers Beware! album

Mustard Plug! Doing it for 20 years now, bringing ska to the Midwest and around the world.

The Coldspot 8 – “Watch Ya Girl” – from the Get On High 

Yet another band that I believe no longer plays. It’s a song about a girl with a big mouth. I’ve dated a couple of those, so I can relate.

Go Jimmy Go – “The Governor´s Daughter” – from “The Girl With The Fishbowl Eyes” album

If Honolulu’s Go Jimmy Go doesn’t make you want to get up and dance, Jack you dead.

Episode 6: Songs About Girls, Vol. 1

Episode 5: London International Ska Festival

Twenty bands, “new artists”, are finalists and competing for a spot onstage at the London International Ska Festival 2012. I was able to lay my hands on music from 18 of the bands and they make up this episode of the ska-cast.

I won’t do write-ups for each song this week because some of these bands are favorites of mine and some I have never heard of until I saw the list of bands on the LISF Facebook site. So here’s the playlist for this week and you can vote for your favorite by e-mailing the band’s name to enquiries@rockersrevolt.com

The Playlist
Bigger Thomas – “Shamokin”
Green Room Rockers – “Conqueror”
Maddie Ruthless – “Inside Out”
See Spot – “Mad Hearted Woman”
The Forthrights – “Other People”
Kinky Coo Coo’s – “Voo Doo Bass”
Akatz – “Esa Txika”
The Oldians – “Obsessions”
The Simmertones – “Over the River”
Bombskare – “A Fistful of Dynamite”
The Riffs -“Caterpillar”
Jeramiah Ferrari – “Ganja Smuggling”
Captain Accident – “Johnny’s Conscience”
Babylove & the Van Dangos – “Taxman Ska”
Los Furios – “Struggle”
Jamaica 69 – “Penny Reel”
The Liptones – “It’s All I Hear You Say”
Monkey Boots – “Tundukan Hatimu”

Episode 5: London International Ska Festival

However in his latest newsletter, Mike Park had this to say:

I’m listening to the SPECIALS s/t album from 1979 and my goodness it’s a really friggin good record. Can it really be 32 years ago that this came out? Did you know Elvis Costello produced this record? Anyways, SKA is good man. Some people like to make fun of it, but heck.. i like it….

SKA SKA SKA….Maybe I should start a new SKA band? Hmmmm……

Hey Mike. Yes, please.

Since I have been actively seeking out new ska, it’s been the British ska that has surprised me the most. You see, I always thought of British ska as being strongly aligned with the 60’s Jamaican sound, the famous 2-Tone bands or bands influenced by that original 2-Tone movement. What I found, in addition to what I described, was a strong ska punk scene. I always considered ska punk an American invention that took root in continental Europe, to an extent, but never thought that it existed in Britain. I was wrong.

So a lot of this ska-cast was comprised of songs culled from excellent free samplers put out by Ska Mutiny Records and TNS Records. So while I highlight some other styles too, British ska punk is the surprise star of this episode.

The Simmertones – “One Time Soon” – from the Presenting the Simmertones, Volume 1 album

A 7-piece outfit from Devon that is influenced by traditional ska sounds of the Skatalites and Desmond Dekker but plays it with their own British flair. Catchy and upbeat, they start off the ska-cast the right way.

The Estimators – “Prince of Peace” – SoundCloud track

The Estimators are also influenced by the traditional ska and early reggae and seem to be more of a London party band than a proper recording group. But I do love their style and this track displays it properly.

Tyrannosaurus Alan – “Tunnels” – from the Campaign album

London’s Tyrannosaurus Alan seem to be one of the big bands on the UK punk ska scene and they certainly have the chops. A big punk sound with a 4-piece horn section.

Anti-Vigilante – Virtue of the Vicious – from the Secure Beneath the Watchful Eyes album

Big energy 4-piece skacore outfit from Milton Keynes, UK.  From their Facebook page:

ANTI VIGILANTE took the first half of 2011 out to recover from the passing of Drummer Oli Smith. Driven by the loss of both a band mate and best friend ANTI VIGILANTE are back with greater determination and conviction and ready to hit the road harder than ever.

The band looks to be touring heavily through 2011 and 2012.

Kids Can’t Fly – “Everyone” – Digital single

Not a ska band per se, Southampton’s Kids Can’t fly are more a pop punk band with some horns thrown in. But somehow it still works and we od pride ourselves on featuring all aspects of the ska scene here, even the styles on the fringe.

The Hostiles – “True or False” – from the Always Looking Forward album

Horn driven ska punk from Ayr, Scotland. These guys have been doing it for 10 years and seem to still be going strong…

Detached – “Rid of It” – from the None the Wiser EP

The most anthem-like of the songs featured this episode, xxx’s Detached is a fixture on the Uk ska punk scene

Stand Out Riot – “This is Not a Movement” – from The Gentlemen Bandits album

They describe themselves as a “7-piece Skacore Gypsy Punk Fest” that features a 3-piece horn section and a violin. From Manchester, they already have a couple of albums under their belts.

Harijan – “Curriculum” – from the TNS Records free sampler

Manchester’s Harijan appear to be no more, which is a real shame.  Hard-edged ska punk with a wicked brass section.

On the Turn – “Kidnap And Ransom” – ???

I can find nothing about this band on the interwebs. If you know something about them, let me know. Upbeat, melodic ska punk from London.

The Fractions – “We Were Kings” – from the Release album

Yet another Manchester band. 5-piece ska punk with yet another wicked little brass section.

SonicBoomSix – “Addicted to Bass” – from the Rude Awakening album

These guys remind me of Fishbone. Not is their sound but in their way to blend ska and reggae with a myriad of different styles, do it seamlessly and have it sound completely original. Uncategorizeable music from Manchester (again!).

Rasta4Eyes – “The Herb” – ???

Rasta4Eyes is a relative newcomer and skew far more to the ska/reggae side of the equation than punk. But they balance it well. Straight out of Liverpool.

The JB Conspiracy – “1989” – from the This Machine album

From Guildford, UK. Imagine if two tone kept growing up over the last 30 years. Yeah, it’s a weird description but it works for me.

The Kebabs – “Bluelight” – from the Return of the Kebabulance

The Kebabs hailed from northern England and according to their website, are broken up. But they hint that some of the core members may continue on a new project. Which would be a good thing.

The Talks – “Nothing to Offer” – from the Live Now, Pay Later album

A very polished ska rock sound from these fellas from Hull. Quite an impressive resume for a band that hasn’t been on the scene that long.

The SkaSouls – “Ten Out of Ten” – free download

Another band from London with a more traditional sound and a catchy little 2-tone influenced tune.

Nutty Skunk – “The Phantom” – free download

I love my ska covers and this one is very good. Would liek to hear more from this band from Leeds.

Mr. Bligh – “Brand New Ting” – from the Is This England? album

Mr. Bligh is a one man band from Bristol blending ska with funk and other island sounds. The album is free and it’s pretty damned good.

Episode 4: UK New Ska Spotlight

Ska-Cast Episode #3

Asbestos Records recently re-issued the Skank for Brains split album on vinyl so I chose to play some tracks from the original Beach Records release. If there is such a thing as a punk ska classic, this album certainly qualifies. The Rudiments and The Suicide Machines (known then as Jack Kevorkian and the Suicide Machines) recorded some of these songs for later releases but the rawness and energy of these original recordings is still a lot of fun to hear after all these years. I included the intro, intermission and end announcements on the original CD release, as well as couple tracks from Link 80 and Nothing Cool that were tacked on to the end of the album.

When I say “new ska”, I am typically referring to brand new release from still active bands (like the Less Than Jake track I included this episode) or bands that are new to me, typically highlighting releases from the last 4 years or so. That’s the general definition I’m going with moving forward.

The Rudiments – “Wailing Paddle”, “Sunday Morning Suspect” – from the Skank for Brains album

I talked about The Rudiments last week. Very underrated.

The Suicide Machines – “New Girl”, “Green World” – from the Skank for Brains album

Detroit based ska punk band who existed for 15 years.

Link 80 – “Hey! What’s That Noise?”, “Time Won’t Heal the Pain” – the Skank for Brains album

As far as I can tell, neither of these songs were released on any subsequent Link 80 albums. Enjoy!

Nothing Cool – “My Life” – from the Skank for Brains album

Nothing Cool was (and is) more of a pop punk outfit but do a catchy punk ska version on this Billy Joel cover.

Less Than Jake – “Life Led Out Loud” – from the Greetings from Less Than Jake EP

New release from LTJ as they play with the Warped Tour this summer

Urkel and The Winslows – “Murphy’s Law” – demo track

Ska/Reggae/Rock from Brooklyn. Formed in October 2009, the band plans to have a full album out this fall.

Shortstop From Tokyo – “Aged to Delusion” – from the Suck On This! EP

Third Wave style ska rock from Chicago.

Murphy’s Kids – “I Still Miss You Alex Levine” – from the Departures album

Band from Richmond, VA who have seemed to merge into the DC ska scene. Good poppy punk ska.

The Sidewalks – “Ready, Set, Go!” – from the Better Late Than Never album

More Third Wave style ska from PEI, Canada. The band played a farewell show on August 4th but still have one last album coming out before the end of the year.

Tip the Van – “Place Like Home” – from the Passion, Love and Pride EP

I didn’t plan it this way but this is another band that just split up. Tip the Van announced that they are on “indefinite hiatus” earlier this week. A sad development as bands that feature sweet female harmonies are few and far between.

The Brass Action – “Handyman” – random track from Facebook (?)

Big brassy ska from Vancouver, BC.

Royal City Riot – “I Should’ve Known Better” – from the Coast to Coast album

Ska from Long Island, NY.

Green Room Rockers – “Bring It On Home To Me” – from the Green Room Rockers album

Indiana’s soul ska kings bring the soul in a big way on this Sam Cooke cover.

Bigger Thomas – “Radics & Roger A Chat” – from the Steal My Sound album

New Jersey’s Bigger Thomas has been around for 23 years now and released their latest album digitally at the end of last year. Their bassist writes the excellent ska blog, Marco on the Bass.

Bobby Pins & The Saloon Soldiers – “The Revenge” – from the Bobby Pins & The Saloon Soldiers album

A trio of female singers backed by early reggae beats from Dresden, Germany. And somehow, it all works out.

The Fundamentals – “Leaving Me Behind” – from the Leaving Me Behind EP

Sweet, sweet Canadian ska from Montreal. Their latest EP is really, really good.

Ska-Cast Episode #3

You’ll get the idea as we range far and wide over the next hour.

Ska-Cast Episode #2

Unsteady – “Tokyo” – from the Double or Nothing album

Straight out of San Diego, Unsteady combined traditional jazzy ska riffs like “Tokyo” with ska and soul infused rock. Still kickin’ it nearly 20 years on.

Unsteady Facebook Page

Johnny Socko – “They Know Us at the Spa” – from the Full Trucker Effect album

Straight out of Indiana, Johnny Socko released one of the more original and entertaining albums of any genre.

The Offical Johnny Socko Website

Slow Gherkin – “Este Toro” – from the Double Happiness album

Punk-ska from Santa Cruz. Double Happiness was originally released on Raj Records but reissued on Asian Man a couple years later.

The Official Slow Gherkin Website

The Bruce Lee Band – “Hongulmamotaya” – from The Bruce Lee Band album

Originally released by Dill Records, this one is now available on Asian Man. This band consists of former Skankin’ Pickle frontman (and Asian Man Records founder) Mike Park backed by members of Less Than Jake.

Link 80 – “Turn It Around” – from the 17 Reasons album

Formed in San Francisco’s East Bay, Link 80 distinguished themselves among a slew of west coast punk ska acts of the mid-90’s. Lead singer Nick Traina took his own life in 1997 at the age of 19.

The Official Link 80 Website

Slapstick – “Crooked” – from the Lookit! album

Frenetic punk ska from Chicago. Members went on to play in punk concerns The Broadways, Alkaline Trio and Lawrence Arms.

Less Than Jake – “Liquor Store” – from the Pez-core album

Yep. Pez-core was AM-001.

The Official Less Than Jake Website

The Blue Meanies – “Acceleration 5000” – from the Kiss Your Ass Goodbye album

The Blue Meanies did their Chicago-based polka-infused ska-core thing for more than 10 years

Potshot – “Someone To Lean On” – from the Pots and Shots album

Hyper ska punk from Japan.

MU330 – “Hey Now” – from the Ultra Panic album

“Psycho ska” from St Louis. Formed in 1988, still out there playing today.

The Official MU330 Website

Blindspot – “Middleground” – from the Mailorder is Still Fun! compilation

Although they formed in 1993, Blindspot did not release a full length album until 1999, focusing on live performance instead.

Mealticket – “Picture This” – from the Lisa Marie EP

Mealticket derived a distinct sound among West-coast ska bands with unusual arrangements and the near operatic vocals of Genai Canale. This was their only Asian Man release.

The Rudiments – “Terror in the Heartland” – from the Bitch Bitch Bitch album

The Rudiments were a very underated ska punk band, producing at least one all-time classic in their short career called “Skank for Brains” (a split LP with The Suicide Machines…more on that next time…). Bitch Bitch Bitch was their final full length release.

The Schleptones – “Too Little Time to Waste” – from the Mailorder is Fun compilation

The Schleptones were a just one guy, Robert Berry, a San Fran session musician (I suppose that’s what you’d call him). He made a polka-ska classic for this compilation and I’m not sure he did much of anything else as The Schleptones after.

King Apparatus – “Buy Our Stuff” – from the Mailorder for the Masses compilation

Canadian Third-wave ska and an opus to capitalism.

The Chinkees – “Run Away” – from the Peace Through Music album

After the end of Skankin’ Pickle, Mike Park formed The Chinkees and adopted a more straight forward ska punk sound than his former band.

Pushover – “Yo Se” – from the Mailorder is Still Fun! compilation

After Mealticket split up, some members went on to form Pushover, a band that emphasized rock and power punk over their ska elements. They would record two albums with Asian Man.

Monkey – “Hot Lunch” from the Lost at Sea album

Traditional ska from San Francisco. Still gigging.

The Official Monkey Website

Let’s Go Bowling – “Esta Noche” from the Freeway Lanes album

One of the better Third Wave bands (and one of the first) hailing from Fresno, CA. A wonderful live record and their only Asian Man release.

Buck-O-Nine – “Sailing Away” – from the Sustain album

This was Buck-O-Nine’s last full length release and came after their major label successes. The San Diego band still plays around the country.

Chris Murray – “One Everything” – from the 4-Trackaganza album

The former front man of King Apparatus now does his solo thin, mostly lo-fi 4-track recordings but wtill with a lot of ska and reggae influences.

The Bruce Lee Band – “Don’t Sit Next to Me Just Because I’m Asian” – from The Bruce Lee Band album

I had to end with this one, didn’t I?

Ska-Cast Episode #2

Detailed playlist follows…

Click the link below to listen to the podcast:

Ska-cast #1

Johnny Moore – “Red Is Danger (Take 1)” – from the Ska-Ta-Shot: Top Sounds from Top Deck, Vol. 4 compilation

Founding member of The Skatalites

Roland Alphonso – “20.75” – from the Ska Bonanza: The Studio One Ska Years compilation

Ditto.

Desmond Dekker & The Specials– “Sammy Dead” – from the King of Kings album, a
1991 release. Just came across it, interesting record. You’ll be hearing more from this…

Byron Lee – “007 Shanty Town” – from the Great Jamaica Ska album
Byron Lee Official Website”>Byron Lee Official Website

Mobtown – “Coming To Get You” – from the Moonshot! compilation

The Pietasters – “Model Citizen” – from the Skarmageddon compilation

The Pietasters Official Website

Skunks – “Big Haired Girl” – from the Mixed Nuts album
Members of the Skunks went on to form Eastern Standard Time and to play for Checkered Cabs, The Toasters and The Pietasters

The Toasters – “2-Tone Army” – from the Hard Band for Dead album

The Toasters Official Website

Gal’s Panic – “Gal’s Panic” – from the Skarmageddon comp

The Skatet – “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You” – also from the Skarmageddon compilation

Maddie Ruthless And The Secret Affair – “Heat Fever” – from the Hold the Phone album
Hold the Phone was my favorite release of 2010. You can download it for free but it was so good I felt guilty and bought the vinyl.

The Maddie Ruthless Official Website

Crazy Baldhead Sound System – “All Dressed Up” – from the The Reggae Will Not Be Televised release

“Started in the Version City dungeon in N.Y.C., in 1997 by guitarist Jayson (Agent Jay) Nugent, Crazy Baldhead has been recording skinhead-reggae and rub-a-dub ever since. Primarily a rhythm section, Crazy Baldhead hosts a veritable who’s who of the world ska scene as featured artists on numerous cd and vinyl releases.”

The Aggrolites – “Raggae Hit L.A.” – from the Raggae Hit L.A. album
The Aggrolites Official Website

The Dropsteppers – “Hot Mess”

New-ish ska band from Minneapolis

The Dropsteppers’ Facebook Page

The Fundamentals – “She Don’t Feel The Same” – from The Fundamentals EP
Ska band from Montreal

The Fundamentals’ Official Website

The Caroloregians – “Donna Donna” – from the Funkify Your Reggae album

The Planet Smashers – “The Hippopotamus”

New single from the new album “Descent into the Valley of the Planet Smashers”. Free download here.

Obi Fernandez – Pills – released digitally on the Paper + Plastick Records website

Lead singer of Westbound Train. Free tracks from upcoming release.

Ska-cast 1

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