Ska music!

[Venom]

So I saw someone in another thread mention something about Streetlight Manifesto and Catch 22, and it got me wondering how many ska fans we have on this board? And if you're a fan, what's the local scene like where you live/who are some of your favorite bands?

Also, I know there are a lot of people who hate ska and everything associated with it, so if those people could not yell at me for posting this, that'd be pretty cool.

[Whoo]

WHOOOOOOO! Ska <3333

The ska scene is pretty sick around here. The best band around here is probably a band called Bob and the Sagets. I could link you to their myspace. We have a nice mix of local ska bands around here. And TONS of the groups with deals and stuff come to the Cafe Metro (Wilkes-Barre, not LA!). Big D and the Kids Table are like, ska legends around here. Same with Bigwig.

Anyway, yeah. GO SKA.

Bob and the Sagets myspace. Listen to them!

Edited July 21, 2005 by Whoo

[ravenjuice]

I wont lie and say im a huge fan, but i love Point/Counterpoint by Streetlight manifesto.

There are quite afew bands that play here (Derby, England) regularly, the best being Monkey Knife Fight (who split i think) and Wagstaff. Spunge played once too, that was a pretty good show.

There's also Squidhunter and Lightyear, my bands vocalists cousin is in squidhunter.

Any reccomendations for other songs by streetlight manifesto?

[Whoo]

Anything off of Everything Goes Numb. It's a great album. Streetlight Manifesto are awesome. But I'd say if you just wanted to hear a few songs, try and find "Here's to Life", "We Are Few", "Point/Counterpoint", "Everything Went Numb" and "Failing, Flailing". Those are my favorites.

Check out Big D and the Kids Table, too. :-D

[Venom]

You definitely gotta listen to "Here's to Life" by Streetlight, it's a masterpiece.

Whoo, where exactly do you live? I'm on Long Island (until I leave for college in August), and there's a pretty good amount of local ska bands around here. We also get a lot of the NJ bands playing here pretty often, so it's pretty cool.

And yeah, Big D is ridiculous. I saw them open for Streetlight last year, and they were great live.

A few of my favorites:

Catch 22 (Keasbey Nights is one of my favorite albums of all time)

Reel Big Fish

Rx Bandits

Streetlight Manifesto

The Arrogant Sons of Bitches (on hiatus )

High School Football Heroes

Bomb the Music Industry!

Big D and the Kids Table

The Superspecs

I Voted For Kodos

And a load more locals, etc. Hopefully we can get a good multi-person discussion going here, that'd be cool.

[The Dork Knight]

I've always like The Mad Caddies. I recommend picking up their album Just One More. Good stuff.

[FunkAsPuck]

Bob And The Sagets? Ha...I was on Soulseek about 6 months ago chatting in the Ska room. One of the members enters and starts talking about his band and then asks me to download and check out the EP. I don't have it on my computer anymore, but it wasn't bad.

As for ska - Can't go wrong with The Toasters. Absolutely adore them.

Personally, I think in the ska community, Steetlight Manifesto are overrated. They sound very similar to Catch 22 (Which is to be expected given the bands members) but I still prefer Catch 22 to SM any day. I like Everything Goes Numb, but I just think Keasby Nights is a much better album.

[Johnny Drama]

Less Than Jake, Streetlight Manifesto, Catch 22, Mad Caddies (bit ska-ry at times), Big D & The Kids Table and Reel Big Fish are all amazing.

Check out

milk2sugars - www.myspace.com/milk2sugars

Adequate 7 www.myspace.com/adequate7

No Comply

[Benji]

Anyone who says Big D and the Kids Table deserves to die...

... because only I'm cool enough to say how much they rock

[Venom]

Bob And The Sagets? Ha...I was on Soulseek about 6 months ago chatting in the Ska room. One of the members enters and starts talking about his band and then asks me to download and check out the EP. I don't have it on my computer anymore, but it wasn't bad.

As for ska - Can't go wrong with The Toasters. Absolutely adore them.

Personally, I think in the ska community, Steetlight Manifesto are overrated. They sound very similar to Catch 22 (Which is to be expected given the bands members) but I still prefer Catch 22 to SM any day. I like Everything Goes Numb, but I just think Keasby Nights is a much better album.

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[Malenko]

I'll agree that Keasbey Nights might be the best ska album of all time, but you have to take into consideration what Catch 22 has become since then. KN was the only album Kalnoky was with them for, and everything after that hasn't been as good. While I don't hate Dinosaur Sounds as much as a lot of other people in the community, you have to admit that the band that produced that album is a lesser version of the Catch 22 of old.

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[FunkAsPuck]

Keasby Nights best ska album of all time?

That title is reserved only for "One Step Beyond"

Also, No Comply aren't really ska. Hardcore with horns and very good looking singer is what I would call them.

Anyway, check out Capdown and King Prawn. Capdown - Amazing ska band when they want to be. When Jake puts down his sax they just come across as an average hardcore band, but when he starts playing then they start making your jaw drop.

King Prawn on the other hand...well I saw them in 2003 on their last gig and its amazing how overlooked they are considering how original their sound was.

[Venom]

I really can't get into any of the hardcore/ska stuff I've heard. I just don't think the horns mesh well with the heavy guitar riffs and screaming.

And if you want to talk about favorite ska albums of all time, I gotta make a mention of The Suicide Machines' "Destruction by Definition", and Operation Ivy's "Energy".

[VerbalPuke]

I really like the Jamaican Ska that is quite similar to reggae. Stuff like Baba Brooks Band, Lord Tanamo, and Desmond Dekker. Alot of this sort of ska is actually associated with the skinheads who worked the docks of that region. One notable ska group directly related to the traditional skinhead movement is Symarip. Symarip are alot of fun, and probably my favorite of the older ska groups.

The Offs were considered to be one of the original ska bands of the punk movement. From San Francisco they played with bands like Dead Kennedys, The Lewd, No Alternative, The Dils, and many more from the LA/SF region between 78-82. Their albums are hard to come by, but if you can, look for their albums California Skapunk Pioneers, Live at the Mabuhay Gardens, and First Record.

Another group I've taken a liking to are the Trojans. It's basically upbeat ska mixed with gaelic/celtic folk sounds. It's unfortunate that the Trojans didn't release very many albums, as I love the Irish influenced ska they produced. I'm not sure if they are still active or not, if they are, then they oughta release more material.

[Whoo]

You definitely gotta listen to "Here's to Life" by Streetlight, it's a masterpiece.

Whoo, where exactly do you live? I'm on Long Island (until I leave for college in August), and there's a pretty good amount of local ska bands around here. We also get a lot of the NJ bands playing here pretty often, so it's pretty cool.

And yeah, Big D is ridiculous. I saw them open for Streetlight last year, and they were great live.

A few of my favorites:

Catch 22 (Keasbey Nights is one of my favorite albums of all time)

Reel Big Fish

Rx Bandits

Streetlight Manifesto

The Arrogant Sons of Bitches (on hiatus )

High School Football Heroes

Bomb the Music Industry!

Big D and the Kids Table

The Superspecs

I Voted For Kodos

And a load more locals, etc. Hopefully we can get a good multi-person discussion going here, that'd be cool.

←

[Malenko]

Someone said the Slackers were the best ACTIVE ska band around. Well, they're a close second to Bid D and the Kids Table. Big D are coming up huge and they're just fuckin' ... amazing. I'm going to Warped just so I don't have to wait until October for them to come back around. But the Slackers still kick some serious ass.

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[Venom]

A few people I know saw the Slackers play a show on a cruise ship a few days ago. They said it was an awesome show, and it was quite interesting to try and dance while the boat was swaying .

[Malenko]

A few people I know saw the Slackers play a show on a cruise ship a few days ago. They said it was an awesome show, and it was quite interesting to try and dance while the boat was swaying .

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[Venom]

Haha, seriously. I think my central nervous system would actually explode.

[The Sultan of Swank]

Wow, how did I miss this thread. I'm a massive ska fan.

I'm really into Planet Smashers(they're local heroe's) General Rudie, Catch-22(KN-era), Streetlight(they're pumping out a new CD soon), Big D are cool, Toasters. I can really go on forever.

I've got a question for the Ska Community here. What's you'r favourite live show(ska of course) you've seen.

For me, a show as a whole would be Ska is Dead(the first tour). It was at Medley, had General Rudie, Mustard Plug, Big D, Planet Smashers and Catch-22. The place was oversold, and it was an insane atmosphere. I think the show started at 8 and ended around 1:30 - 2 AM. Smashers must have played a 2 1/2 hour set, with an awesome cover of Jump Around to close out the show.

Individual band would be Streetlight Manifesto. They were in town about a month or so ago with Gym Class Heroes and some local's. Everything they play, was just that much better live, and their horn solo's kicked fangorious amounts of ass.

Ok, I'm done marking out like a 11 year old