Ska Blah Blah

More News From Ska Blah Blah

Posted on August 13th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: site update.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve address you all-  I didn’t mean to stay away so long, but at every turn something new required my attention.  My weeks were filled with hospital visits, computer upgrades, and two trips across America’s West.  Forgive me, valued readers I thought about you the whole time.

I’ve also been running around with my head cut off preparing for my new gig as the host of The Ska’s the Limit.  My local community radio station, 88.1 KDHX St. Louis has picked yours truely to run STL, the world’s longest running ska radio show.

It’s truely an honor- I’ve been a fan of the show since high school, and I used to tape it when I was too broke for cds. Paul Stark, the show’s host for the past 15 years, has been more than suportive in getting Ska Blah Blah attention and in helping me land the position as his replacement.

I don’t know exactly how this will affect Ska Blah Blah- community radio comes with a hefty set of rules, and I’ll have to keep Ska Blah Blah and Ska’s The Limit very separate entities.  But I have every intention of running this blog and maintaining it’s focus, bring you the best ska and reggae links on the web.

If you have liked my interviews, on Ska Blah Blah; you can count on more to follow on the new show.  I hope to get as many bands into the studio as possible.  You hear me, bands?

In addition to jjloy@skablahblah.com I can also be reached at skasthelimit@kdhx.org

Previous posts and archives of the last two weeks are available here.

Ska’s the Limit airs this Saturday night/Sunday Morning, Aug 17 at 2 AM Central Time, in the St. Louis area.  Not in the St. Louis area?  Listen live online here.

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The State of Ska Blah Blah

Posted on July 21st, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: interviews, podcasts, site update, special episode.

I’ve come to the end of another series of interviews.  Small Talk concluded with just as much punch as it began with- and I am honored to have spoken with each and every artist featured within.

I know the site has been wonky with Safari and Opera, lately- and I think that issue is resolved at the moment.  Please let me know if you are still having trouble viewing SkaBlahBlah.com.  A site overhaul is in the works.  Until then, here’s a complete hunk of links- everything I’ve produced for Ska Blah Blah:

Series One - Conversations on a Revivalist Movement

01.Chris Murray
02.Victor Rice
03.Dave Hillyard
04.Joey Altruda
05.Vic Ruggiero

Series Two - Cut the Chit Chat

01.New Ska
02.Skinhead Reggae
03.Hard Edged Dub
04.Ska Rap
05.Ska Demos
06.Even Newer Ska

Series Three - Small Talk

01 - Victor Axelrod
02 - Green Room Rockers
03 - Babylon Party Machine
04 - The Impalers
05 - The Aggrolites

Special Episodes

00 Field Trip to Ska Weekend ‘07
00 A Look Back at The Skatalites Middle Period

New episodes aren’t in the near future, but the blog side of Ska Blah Blah will continue to bring you lots of Ska Links and Videos.  If you haven’t already, please subscribe with your favorite feed reader.

Thank you all so much for reading the blog and listening to the podcasts, especially those of you who have really contributed by commenting on the various posts.  I encourage everyone to leave a comment or drop me a line with your thoughts on all things Ska.

Thanks,

-JJ Loy

jjloy@skablahblah.com

1 comment.

Ska Blah Blah Mashup Album Label

Posted on July 8th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: site update.

I love vintage Jamaican album art.  Some of my favorite designs are (not-so-coincidentally) from JJ Records.  Last week, John V, and I were discussing these fun 45 labels as well as his obsession with converting all Ska logos into vector based graphics.

John took these scans and whipped up this mash-up style label for me and SBB.  In fact, this is the first bit of fan art made for Ska Blah Blah, and I couldn’t be more impressed!

Here’s the original scan followed by John’s redesign:

More Reggae and Ska album art sites:

Jamaican Label Art

Dance Crasher

Stir It Up (a book of Jamaican Album Art) Amazon Link

1 comment.

Crossover Event - Pressure Drop vs Ska Blah Blah

Posted on May 8th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: podcast spotlight, site update.

I’m a bit late in writing about this, but it bears a post none the less.  Gabe over at Pressure Drop Soundcast called me up and we discussed podcasting and the state of the current ska scene.  It was a lot of fun and he gave me the entire set list to play some new and not so new stuff.  You’ll hear some brand new Slackers, lots of Greg Lee and Alex Desert tracks, and yours truly supplying long winded answers to Gabe’s questions. Link

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Feed Issue Resolved

Posted on May 7th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: off topic, site update.

I must apologize for the state of my site for the past week.  Ever since I released the latest episode of Small Talk, my feed has showed no content.  This took several days to sort out, but I think it’s all better.

Subscribers should be seeing the new (Green Room Rockers) interview show up, and you might even be reading this post from a news reader.

If anyone out there has any issues with the feed, please bring them to my attention.  Again, I’m sorry for any trouble this has caused.

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Combination13 makes Ska look good.

Posted on November 12th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: site update.

So by now, you’ve probably noticed that Ska Blah Blah is sporting a new logo. Pretty nice, eh? It’s the work of Steve at Combination13, who designs album covers and promotional designs that often fit a very ska aesthetic.

Steve is the designer-in-residence at UK’s Do the Dog Records and is responsible for their main logo and all promotional material. The bands signed to Do the Dog also get the benefit of Steve’s artistic touch- he’s designed album covers for such bands as Too Many Crooks, Squid 58 and 3 min Warning.

You can see a variety of this work at Combination13’s Gallery. Surf shops, skate companies, and independent clothing lines have all employed Steve’s talents, as well as your pals The Slackers and King Django.

Like a digitized tattoo, his work feels vintage in approach but modern in it’s execution. Classic icons as wide ranging as Betty Page and Sailor Jerry as well as Walt Jabsco and Spy vs Spy, influence his clean vectored lines. Despite his polished graphics, many of Steve’s projects have a used- almost tarnished veneer that keeps the look from getting too slick. This salty-sweet combination epitomizes DIY, with a professional touch.

He’s a fan of the show, and kindly offered to work on my new flyers and logo. All he’s asked for in return is a graciously placed link on my site. Now that fits my budget. The flyer below is a preview for the new episode, which should hit the net tonight.

1 comment.

Ska Blah Blah has Moved!

Posted on November 9th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: site update.

Well, it’s taking longer than I expected, but my Wordpress site (the new site) is up and running. It will from this forth be found at SkaBlahBlah.com

No Blogspot, no Blogger. The feed has been giving me trouble so if anyone reading this is experiencing weird downloads, or any nastiness, please let me know. I’m sorry about any inconveniences, especially to anyone who tried to contact me by email during this mess. jjloy@skablahblah.com is up and running.

Like the new look? the new Logo? I’ll be telling you more about it in this coming week. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a higher functioning side bar. And the final episode of Cut the Chit Chat will be hitting the net either Mon or Wed.

Thanks for sticking with me,

-JJ

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Ska Blah Blah is moving!!

Posted on October 26th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: site update.

Those of you reading this off of my feed won’t be too effected by this, but those that have bookmarks for http://skablahblah.com won’t find there way here for a couple of days, while I switch hosts. My email will also take a moment to reactivate.

Expect a new site, new look, and new logo in the coming week.

-JJ

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Canadian Re-Broadcast

Posted on April 5th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: news, site update.

You gotta love local community radio. Many ska fans have depended on public and college radio DJs to bring them some of the only shows dedicated to Ska and Reggae in the world.

One such DJ, Aaron Lakoff, contacted me recently about the rebroadcast of a couple episodes of Ska Blah Blah, on his station, CKUT, 90.3FM. His show broadcasts out of Montreal, bringing a fabulous selection of Ska, Rocksteady, Reggae and Punk with every episode.

He handled my interview with Victor Rice very respectfully, and plugged Ska Blah Blah so earnestly, that I just had to return the favor. I highly recommend downloading the podcast version of his show at: CKUT

My Odeo Channel

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