Ska Blah Blah

Pick It Up Zine features Yours Truly

Posted on September 19th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Online.

Madie Ruthless isn’t just the coolest lo-fi acoustic ska act to come along since the one, Chris Murray, but she’s also the person responsible for New Orleans’ Pick It Up Skazine.  I nearly forgot that she reprinted my review of the newest Slackers record, Self Medication.

Of course you can read it here on Ska Blah Blah, but then you’d be missing out on interviews with Sic & Mad, Tommi Infamous and Deal’s Gone Bad.  And Pick It Up will take you back to the days of zeroxed, DIY zine’s that used to connect us all to the scene. Check it out.

1 comment.

King Django on CKUT

Posted on September 19th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Online.

I didn’t get the chance to promote the episode of Roots Rock Rebels that featured Gabe Pressure, Bobby Babylon and myself, but I was very happy with Aaron’s troicket of podcaster interviews.  Right on the heels of his media spectacular comes another interview- this time with King Django!

Django and his Version City and Stubborn Records institutions have fallen on some hard times and several tragedies have plagued Mr. Baker, this summer.  But on the bright side of things, it sounds like some really killer records are on their way out.  Look forward to new Sic and Mad as well as a new Victor Rice Dub record.

While your at it, go ahead and listen to the show:  Listen to Roots Rock Rebels interview with King Django

And if your still in an interview listening mood, surf over to Pressure Drop and check out Gabe’s new chat with Horrace Painter from the Specials.

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Ska Online: The World Loves JA Music

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Online.

I can’t believe how many times I’ve heard a great NPR or PRI story that covers Jamaican music recently.  That’s National Public Radio and Public Radio International, for those that aren’t hip.  This time around, The World, an afternoon world news program presented by PRI and BBC World News, sent their host down to Jamaica to file a few reports on the regions musical history.

It’s clear that someone behind the story, be it host, Marco Werman, or another producer, loves Jamaican Music.  These stories didn’t cover the recent Dancehall or Reggaeton crazes- the focus is on the old school stuff.  One piece goes back to Alpha Boys School, while another finds Werman on the streets in search of Studio One.

This stuff was nothing new to me and there were a few things said that I don’t think are true- but they were definitely worth a listen if for no other reason than to hear our favorite music being characterized as a vital part of today’s musical framework.

Here’s the links:

Report on Alpha Boys School (Featuring Errol Dunkley!!)

Rise and Fall of Jamaica’s Music Scene

DJ Dice Set List - A reconstruction of an oldies Sound System party, thrown every week in Rae Town, Kingston, JA.

Geo Quiz - Largest City in Jamaica - A total freebie, from what is usually a really hard geography quiz- but with a shout out to Ska.

Related Ska Blah Blah posts (hours of listening within these links):

Dub Online: NPR profiles Reggae Ice Cream Truck

Ska Online: NPR hearts Jamaican Music

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Winehouse Does The Ska

Posted on July 7th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Online.

Earlier this year, I followed a link to an underdeveloped MySpace page that boasted some Specials covers by the retro-licous, Amy Winehouse.  These not-so-impressive tracks were obviously demos and weren’t worth repeated listenings- let alone an official release.  That’s why I wasn’t in too big of a hurry to check out what’s been described as her Ska EP, when I read about it here and here.

Man, was I wrong.  Winehouse’s versions of Monkey Man, Hey Little Rich Girl, You’re Wondering Now and Cupid are clean and polished- spic and span.  Cupid is done as an upbeat Reggae tune while the others are arranged a lot like the Specials’ versions, but Winhouse’s vocal flourishes save the tracks from feeling unnecesarry.

But the tracks from iTunes from the Back to Black B-Sides Collection

Or if you want The Ska EP for Free.

3 comments.

Dub Online: The Drastics In STL

Posted on June 5th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Online.

The Drastics have posted a live cut of Prophet Song on their MySpace. Recorded by Ron from Green Room Rockers during their last trip to St. Louis, a few weeks ago. I was five feet from the band during this recording- what a great show.

Also, Anthony from The Drastics recently spun an all dub set for the podcast Echo Beach. It features The Drastics, Deals Gone Bad and Victor Rice- as well as Dub legends, Augustus Pablo, King Tubby and King Stitt.

2 comments.

Vic Online - Full Live Set on YouTube

Posted on May 27th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Online, video.

These vids were recorded a little over a year ago, at The Elbow Room, but they are new to me.  Maybe they’re new to you too.  This set is automatically better than your average Ruggiero live video set, in that you can actually hear the music and see the artist.  This is Vic in full One-Man-Band mode, playing mostly stuff from his solo songbook, and a little bit from The Slackers’ cannon.  Please enjoy:  Link to The Entire Set

Here’s a sample from the set in question, California:

Bonus!  Not from the Elbow Room set- but what a great performance:

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The Slackers Recorded Live in Ithaca, NY

Posted on May 3rd, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Online.

Here’s another great recording from Tom, who did the fabulous Funk’n Waffles Slackers set, this time from Ithaca NY.

Here’s Tom on making ska bootlegs:

Funny that there are a lot of people recording all kinds of live music these days, yet, there aren’t a whole lot of live recordings of ska/reggae bands.  My aim is to change that somewhat.

and on the Ithaca show in particular:

feel free to post it…its not the most even sounding record because the board is all over the place at times..but 90% of it is excellent.

Click here for the FileFront Link.

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Ska Online: Tim Armstrong and Aggrolites - Live in mp3

Posted on March 29th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Online.

I don’t want this site to be one of those blogs that posts a lot of zShare and RapidShare content, however, I love bootlegs and live recordings. Since the kids over at punktorrents.com didn’t seem too interested in my offering of this great live set, I thought maybe my loyal readers would be.

This was recorded (not by me) live at the KROQ Weenie Roast ‘07 and features Tim and the Aggrolites performing a lot of songs from A Poets Life. Plus, for the last two songs, Lars Fredrickson joins the group for some old fashioned Rancid tunes. The recording itself is better than average, with only a little bit of noise and glitch- if I had to grade it, I’d give it a B.

Click here for the zShare link.

Related Ska Blah Blah coverage:

A Poets Live Review and Vids

1 comment.

Ska Online: Desirable DVDs Abound

Posted on March 27th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Online, news, video.

My last post pointed you to an upcoming Rocksteady documentary, but that is far from the only interesting documentary coming down the pike.  Here’s three other projects with accompanying trailers:

Legends of Ska: The Movie

This one looks to be a similar idea as the Rocksteady doc-  get all the heavy hitters from around the world, film a concert, record some music, and shoot some interviews.

The Birth of Ska in Britain

Here we have a doc that will cover the migration of Jamaican music to the UK, featuring Duke Vin, Count Suckle, and Daddy Vego, to name a few.

The Skatalites - Live in Sao Paulo

Here’s one I mentioned a few months ago.  Victor Rice and the folks at Radiola Records have put together a live presentation of this not-so-original line-up.  Release date is as soon as April 7.

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Tommy McCook Interview on YouTube

Posted on March 14th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Online, video.

Here’s a cool little vid from the 70’s or early 80’s, where Mr. McCook covers his early career and plays a few of his Skatalites compositions. My favorite part is how seriously he shoos away the noisy kids from the back yard- you really get a sense of how important it is to McCook to put his story on record. His story covers a lot of familiar ground, but it’s fun to see the man speak and play live.

This is only a partial clip, if anyone has leads to the full presentation I’ll add it to this post.

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