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Ska!

8K views 19 replies 17 participants last post by  augustgarage 
#1 ·
Hey there! I know many of you haven't, but I'm sure many of you as well, have listened to ska before.

Anyone know any real good ska bands I should know about? I can't get enough of the stuff I do know, it's just a lot of fun to listen to, with some really good sax sounds too. :D


Streetlight Manifesto is definitely one to listen to if you're going to hear it for the first time (try to listen to the song "everything goes numb" for some really cool bari =]).

Also, the aquabats are awesome...just weird lyrics :).

And Rancid is played quite a bit too!



If anyone has any recommendations or just wants to contribute their opinion to ska, feel free!
 
#4 ·
Nachoman is right on.

Blindside, it sounds like you're into the more "modern" or current ska/punk type thing.

Slapstick. Do it. They broke up about a decade ago, but they're classic.

Less Than Jake. "Losing Streak" and "Losers, Kings, and Things We Can't Understand" etc.

Hepcat.

The Pietasters.

Skankin Pickle. The list goes on.

www.asianmanrecords.com Their old stuff is often in the ska/punk veign.

Read the "thanks" sections in the records that you like. They can sometimes serve as a pretty comprehensive list of other bands that you might like.
 
#5 ·
streetlight manifesto, katty whompus, bosstones, catch 22, reel big fish, Buck o Nine, Skaker Moms, Big D and the Kids Table, Mustard Plug, Mad Caddies, Caffinated Superheroes, Goldfinger, Dance Hall Crashers, The Specials, Bim Skala Bim, voodoo Glowskulls, Supernothing, link 80, Cypher

Maybe think of more later, thats just off the cuff
 
#6 ·
Well, I'm into a LOT of music, so I wouldn't say I'm into more "Modern ska", I will probably find the good in just about anything =].


Thanks for recommendations guys, I guess I have some buying to do! ^_^
 
#11 ·
Ska came in three 'waves':

1st Wave: Bands like The Skatalites and The Aces, i dont really know much about this era.

2nd Wave (or 2-tone): Madness, The Specials, The English Beat (sometimes borders on 80's britpop, but still worth a listen)

3rd Wave: Popular from the nineties thru today. Reel Big Fish, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Streetlight Manifesto, alot more.
 
#13 ·
1st wave

Desmond Decker
Bob Marley
Skatalites
The Ethiopians
Jimmy Cliff
Prince Buster
Toots and the Maytals
Eric Morris

2nd wave

Madness
The Specials
Bad Manners
The Selector
Judge Dread

3rd wave ska

Skavoovie and the Epitones
The Toasters
Hepcat
The Scofflaws

Lots of others gave good lists of current 3rd wave ska. I think that Mighty Mighty Bosstones is probably one of the originators of that sound (i.e. punk/ska) along with Operation Ivy.

I seem to vaguely remember playing shows back in the 90's with some of these 3rd wave bands you guys are name-dropping. Fun times.
 
#17 ·
I always thought of third wave as a style as much as chronologically. Meaning that anything that is real punky and brash is third wave. While there were/are bands that are from this era that are more second wave in their sound.

In the 90's my band warmed up for a lot of the touring Ska bands. We weren't really a Ska band at the time but we had that influence I guess and were maybe the closest thing in town at the time. The only straight ska song that we did was Sam Cooke's Chain Gang. I can remember a couple of shows where the skinheads were obviously waiting for us to finish because they really wanted to hear the super fast polka beat hardcore stuff. Have to say they did listen to us politely and didn't throw anything at us:shock:

Let's see we opened for The Toasters, Pie Tasters, Skapone. All I can remember at the moment.
 
#19 ·
i got to hang out a bit with The Skatalites when we were on the same bill at a gig in scotland - great bunch of guys, really generous. they were still sounding great too!
 
#20 ·
Just to add to the list...

I prefer 2nd wave Ska (though there are some great 1st wave bands and a few 3rd wave as well)

A good 3rd wave band I hadn't seen mentioned: The Slackers

Also, a couple bands that incorporate ska into their sound: Camper Van Beethoven and Fishbone.

There was a pretty good ska scene in California's Central Valley (otherwise a cultural wasteland) during the 90s. Some of my favorite bands that I remember seeing:

Checkmate!
Crawdaddy
Unsteady
 
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