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Fort Skumpter
164 Posts |
 Posted - 07/09/2004 : 1:23:55 PM
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It's frustrating, though to see young kids say things like "My favorite ska bands are Catch-22, MxPx, and Rancid".
I've said it before and I'll say it again.
Ska is like a tree.
It has its roots and branches.
Put down your axes.
But like any tree, if you don't take care of the roots, the branches will wither and die.
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And now, a shameless plug!
CA Ska: A Yahoo group!
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/CA_Ska
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FB
91 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2004 : 2:04:06 PM
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Quick recap:
I've collected ska in all its various forms since 1979, I guess this gives me some knowledge of the scene.
And its changed, as has every other form of music.
My only comment is: you've seen the crap they call R&B now? Consider the ska scene lucky.
http://www.scooterboy-world.com
Scootering, traditional UK style. |
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Percussed
Netherlands
1246 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2004 : 2:26:38 PM
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quote:
It's frustrating, though to see young kids say things like "My favorite ska bands are Catch-22, MxPx, and Rancid".
I've said it before and I'll say it again.
Ska is like a tree.
It has its roots and branches.
Put down your axes.
But like any tree, if you don't take care of the roots, the branches will wither and die.
I hear ya man, and well put btw, I guess to look at it possitivley you could say at least they know the word "SKA" and maybe one day they will check out the old family tree.
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skanonymous
USA
117 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2004 : 11:47:22 PM
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ska has done like most musics, its changed with the times, picking up new influences. i like third wave, my band is pretty third wave. which i have no problem with as long as people who hella like third wave know and respect the roots. my favorite shows are those ones at the starry plough and ashkanaz(however you spell it) where people of all ages are gettin down to that old school up beat sound.
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John Public
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2004 : 10:53:45 AM
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I originally wrote this big long post , and I felt like a preachy old man when I read it back. I think I can simplify and not piss anyone off, so here is what it means to me...
Selection- Justin Hinds and the Dominoes "Rub up, push up"
If you have this recording, put it in and play it loudly. If not, sustitute it for Desmond Dekker and the Aces doing "Get up Edina"...but be sure to by the Justin Hinds.
While it is playing, think about how it makes you feel.
Now, regardless of when and where (stop reading the liner notes lads and listen to the tunes), that is what Ska is...a way to forget how screwed up life can be and enjoy yourselves on the weekend when the Sound System rolls into town.
There was a time when it told me to dress up in funny outfits and go out and get really drunk, but that was a long time ago. I hope everyone realizes that although the scene is neccessary to support the music, the music is independant of the scene because the music is supposed to mean more then the scene. Do not blur that distinction.
It may have taken near 20 years to realize...but Toots was the same in shorts and an Uncle Tupelo shirt as he'd ever been in boots and braces
OK- maybe still a little bit preachy- sorry
As for a dormancy in the '80's (who said that) I remember all night dances where we rented halls and spun our own RECORDS all night. 30 scooters outside, and never many fights. Not dormant, just harder to find.
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PepsOne
Mexico
1071 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2004 : 9:22:29 PM
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John, I'm in awe. Great post, great words. You summed it up!  
>>-+-+-+-+-+-+-+->
"SKA-pUnK-LoCo" |
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Craig
Niue
344 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2004 : 11:59:36 PM
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| I love Ashlee Simpson. |
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Percussed
Netherlands
1246 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2004 : 3:33:15 PM
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quote:
I love Ashlee Simpson.
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Craig
Niue
344 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2004 : 03:10:54 AM
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| Copycat. |
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ted
Kyrgyzstan
1864 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2004 : 08:20:50 AM
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Craig? You're alive? I thought you'd been eaten by a Grue or something....
"I like my coffee like I like my women - tied up in a burlap sack and dragged across the Andes on the back of a donkey."
-Some guy on Slashdot |
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Craig
Niue
344 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2004 : 4:03:05 PM
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I do not know what is a Grue and I am afraid to Google the Grue.
I am alive though, biologically speaking. |
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ted
Kyrgyzstan
1864 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2004 : 4:44:48 PM
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A grue is a monster from one of the first text-based role playing games on the computer.
"I like my coffee like I like my women - tied up in a burlap sack and dragged across the Andes on the back of a donkey."
-Some guy on Slashdot |
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Craig
Niue
344 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2004 : 9:20:56 PM
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| I do not think one of those ate me. |
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SKArred4life
Djibouti
29 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2004 : 5:57:58 PM
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I'm new to the ska scene, but not to ska. Ska means...something to me. I grew up listening to Desmond Dekker et al. When I dance- to any kind of music, really- I can't help but skank away. It's just what happens. It wasn't untill I started going to shows that I noticed other people doing the same thing as me.(copycats!!) To me, ska is...stuff. I don't know much about history, or what stuff is called, but it makes me dance my tush off so I love it. Isn't that what's most important?
I got my motorcycle jacket but I'm walking all the time. |
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wish
3 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2004 : 7:25:46 PM
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hey!!!
I am so glad I saw your posting. I am doing a project for my college about ska, and before this project never listened very much to the music. I was wondering if you could give me and insight to the feeling of ska.
I am trying to create a poster and having a hard time visualizing the imegery for it. I am trying to stay away from the checkers and black and white stuff. trying to capture more of the feeling.
I will soooooo grateful if you could help!!!
thanks
wish
quote:
There are people around the country, like myself, who have worked diligently over the years to basically bring ska back from the dead.
(And trust me. It was pretty dead.)
What we're seeing is a bunch of new bands spring up. But instead of being ska bands, they're more like rock-bands-with-horns.
So, maybe, a lot of you simply just don't know what ska is supposed to sound like.
Well, pull up a chair cuz class is in session.
Ska is Jamaican music.
In the simplest of terms, it's basically a mix of Motown and an African type of music called mento.
Boss Sounds - A History Of Jamaican Music
http://www.geocities.com/boss_sounds
Eventhough it had gained its independence from England in 1962, Jamaica was still part of the British Commonwealth. A few years later, in the mid-70's, there was great political unrest in Jamaica and a lot of musicians fled the country. Some, because Jamaica was part of The Commonwealth, fled to the UK.
In England, musicians like The Clash and The Police started working Jamaican riddims into their music. Well, thanks to the Sex Pistols, a lot of punk was banned, and punk started to fall out of fashion.
In 1979, a punk band from Coventry called "The Coventry Automatics" decided to dabble in ska, or bluebeat as it was known in England. They decided to play a mix of punk and ska, and changed their name to The Specials.
The Specials Official Website
http://www.thespecials.com
At the same time, there was great social unrest in the UK because unemployment was high and a lot of these new Jamaican transplants, as well as other foreigners, were taking up jobs as cheap labor. Race retlations in the Uk were at a fever pitch. Along comes this band called The Specials, and they are an integrated band.
What the fook??
To show their support for racial solidarity, The Specials formed their own label, Two Tone Records, and started recruiting other ska acts.
Two Tone Info
http://2-tone.info
What followed has been described as a "Dance Craze". Ska was white hot in England. The black-and-white checkerboard design could be found everywhere. Two Tone bands ruled the British Pop Charts. But before you could say "One Step Beyond", it was all over. Two Tone Records was bankrupt, and in 1984, the whole craze folded.
Ska lay dormant for most of the 80's. Sure, The Toasters, Fishbone, The Loafers, and other bands were active, but with Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Bon Jovi being forced down your throats, did you really notice?
Around 1989, things began to change in the US. Bands like The Toasters, Fishbone, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones stopped being local bands and started gaining national recognition. (Who remembers hearing "Skanking To The Beat" in the movie "Say Anything"?)
At the same time in California, bands like No Doubt, Let's Go Bowling, and others started dabbling in ska. By 1994, with Moon Ska Records well under way, ska exploded onto the US music scene. Other record companies, always looking for the next big thing, started signing bands left and right. A Ska Boom, also know as The Third Wave, was on.
Pretty soon, any band with a couple of horns was being signed to a label. It didn't matter if you were a traditional band like Hepcat, or a punk band with horns like Reel Big Fish.
Ska was everywhere.
But with every Boom, there comes the Bust. And with the explosion of Boy Bands like NSync. Ska bands were dropped like flies from the labels. Moon Ska went bankrupt when bands couldn't make due on their contracts. (For more on Moon Ska, check out this interview with Bucket Hingley. http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/66h03.html )
Ska was dead, as far as the US was concerned.
But it wasn't really. A lot of bands did fold, but some just went back to being the local band they were in the beginning.
In the past 3 to 4 years, a lot of people having trying to get a national ska scene back up and running. Some people, like myself, have worked on a small scale. Some people have worked on a regional scale. Others like Chuck Wren and Bucket Hingley have worked on a national scale with the founding of Megalith Records.
So please, if you want to start a ska band, at least try to work some recognizable ska aspects into your music. Keep in mind that ska is dance music. It always has been. If you need more info on ska's history, check out these links:
http://hem.passagen.se/qhp/75/history.html
http://www.geocities.com/lvbernard
http://www.skajerk.com/historyframe.html
Or check out these US bands that play a more traditional ska style:
http://www.twoandahalfwhiteguys.com
http://www.akarudie.com
http://www.chrismurray.net
http://www.easternstandardtime.com
http://www.iration.com/hepcat
http://www.kingdjango.com
http://www.lascabriolas.com
http://www.letsgobowling.com
http://www.rudeindc.com/rsg
http://www.theslackers.com
http://www.toasters.org
http://www.theuprights.net
http://www.westboundsound.com
and many more that I'm forgetting.
Thanks for listening.
-Andrew
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What ska means to me....
