Ska
 

yes I'm making a ska post... I've seen so far several people who like it (also after being told there were many on the board) So post crap about ska if you want. Oh yeah and if you have an extreme hatred towards ska I'd prefer you not say anything.

FIVE IRON FRENZY, Yes, i know they broke up november 22 of the year 2003 and that was a GREAT concert. but They're actually my most favorite ska band. I also like such bands as streetlight manifesto, The toasters, some reel big fish, some less than jake (although I question whether to call them a ska band), and many others (tons of more underground stuff i found on MP3.com before it began to be remade).

favorite song Riot Gear.

Yeah, there have been a lot of music posts, but the thing is I like to talk about myself, and that includes my interests, so I'm going to post stuff that most people know about me anyway.

I like ska. Look at my avatar. I got interested in it when my parents bought me a mighty mighty bosstones cd for christmas with the stereo they got me. Truth is, they didn't really know what kind of music I liked, so they got a cd of each genre they could think of, and lucky me, it was just about the end of the third wave ska revival.

I didn't really know what the bosstones were until a friend explained to me the terms "ska" and "ska-core," and I've been a huge fan of the BossToneS for a very long time (They're on "Hiatus" right now, so sad...).

After the induction by the BossToneS, I started to listen to other third wave stuff like Five Iron Frenzy and Less than Jake. That, and the greatness that was internet radio, led to my discovery of the first and second waves of ska, which brought me The Toasters, The Specials, Laural Aitken, The Skatalites, Kemuri, Two and a Half White Guys, The Agents, DanceHall Crashers, Mustard Plug, The Pilfers, The Mad Caddies, Skankin' Pickle, and many others.

Of course, now a days it sucks being a ska fan. Despite the huge ska revival of 1997, no one remembers it. Ska had its own section in record stores, its place on Mtv, and still no one remembers. Its like a twilight zone episode, I swear.

Well, thats enough of my lengthy post about nothing. I don't know if that many ska aficianados are really on the site, though I know many out here have at least listened to ska, and like a few ska bands. Oh well, I guess we'll see how this post turns out.

Excuse my music ignorance, but what is Ska?

I need to save a document describing what Ska is. I end up having to explain it to 2 out of 3 people I meet. (Im just not in the mood to explain it again right now, so I'll let someone else do it)

Anyway, I'm a major ska fan as well. Since I live in the OC, I get to see a lot of great ska bands play. For me, its the best part of living here.

I actually have a ska band of my own, heh.

Ska is a form of music originally formed in the late 50's early 60's in Jamaica, Of which it was a branch off of reggae. Known for it's bright fast sound SKA will traditionally have the guitars playing on the upbeat and usually a Horn sectoin (trombone, trumpet, sax, etc.) There have actually been many types of Ska from the two-tone up to the third wave. Though popularized in the 90's with the third wave movement (led by such bands as reel big fish from OC, psycho mantis you are a very fortunate person) The ska of today seems to have a real modern rock influence such as punk-ska (Less than Jake). Yet nowadays Ska is to exotic for the mass media, though I don't mind a whole lot it does suck that no one knows what the music your listening to... I've left out some but that should give you a good idea. You may want to go to some of these bands websites that have been listed so far and listen to get a good idea about it. asian man records has tons of ska bands though not all of them are still signed on to asianman another that has several canadian bands is Stomp Ska canada well... I guess I did allright...

oh yeah and allthough some of five irons early stuff was third wave I feel there newer cd's are more of an individual sound...

The worst part of explaining ska is when they go: "Oh! Like No Doubt!"

I just shake my head and say "No, no, no..."

Yeah there earlier stuff was close to ska but they are in no way ska... and they are what you call MAJOR SELL OUTS.

Actually, I'm pretty sure ska has nothing to do with reggae.

Ska was developed in the fifties in jamaica as their version of dancehall and blues. The legend is that the jamaicans heard the blues and dancehall music coming down from new orleans, except the signal was so bad, that they what they heard was just choppy. So, they copied the music, including the chopping sound, which created ska. So, thats why I say ska doesn't really have much to do with reggae, its really the child of blues and dancehall music.

Oh, the chop. Its hard to explain, but I can describe how its played on the guitar, a style called "ska-tar." You play on the upstroke, and mute the downstroke. The result is a sound that pops up right in the middle of beats, which is the essence of ska.

Later, during the two tone era (second wave), ska was infused with new age punk in 80s england. Then, the revival (third wave) in the 1997, which infused ska with metal, rock, and just about anything else.

Homework: First wave, listen to Laural Aitkin. For second wave, The Toasters or The Specials. For third wave, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish (any album except for cheer up), and Less than Jake.

Well, thats the end of this post that no one asked for.

its a pretty big discussion as to who spawned who (ska or reggae).

yeah, i loves the ska. My brother was into ska and punk for a while, and i got introduced to RBF and Goldfinger through his record collection back when i was like 14. I was pretty much hooked ever since then, and I was lucky enough to hook up with a group of kids who actualy knew what ska was, and liked it alot. for whatever reason, Ann Arbor was a really good Michigan town for ska: lots of local bands, lots of punks and rudies roaming around, and two dedicated ska programs on the radio (which are still on to this day i believe).

I mostly like 3rd wave stuff because its got a little rock & roll bite to it, but i very much 1st and 2nd wave stuff as well. I've been slowly working on getting my roommate more exposed to ska, now if i could just get him to practice his skanking.

I'm fortunate that Chicago is a good town for ska, lots of east and west coast bands are crossing through, and lots of midwest ska bands call Chicago home. in fact, whenever Johnny Socko comes through on tour, they always play at a bar just a few blocks away from my appartment. just a few months ago i caught the Toasters, and a moth before that i saw the Kingpins and Mustard Plug.

I think my favorite ska bands are Johnny Socko (kind of obvious i would assume), The Slackers, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger, The Planet Smashers, Big D and the Kids Table, The Specials, and the Mad Caddies.

also, Union Lable is another good record lable (actualy, in this case its a lable amalgamation). http://www.unionlabelgroup.com/

Yeah, I got to see the Planet Smashers and Big D around January/Feb. They stopped by here, and wow, they're both really great live.