What’s my most anticipated release of the summer? Maddie Ruthless & The Secret Affair, easily. I’ve been following Maddie’s low-fi, acoustic rocksteady solo career for a couple of years now, and I’ve just now gotten a few hints as to where her studio sound will take her. So far, it seems like her work with The Secret Affair (AKA Fatter Than Albert) is more polished than her early recordings, but decidedly raw and rough. EDIT: I completely neglected to mention that the record will be released by Community Records.
When I interviewed Joey Altruda in 2006, I was very impressed with the laundry list of musical legends the man has worked with… Ernest Ranglin, Plas Johnson and especially Roland Alphonso. So it’s no surprise how excited I got when I discovered that there is a TON of live JWJ material on YouTube, including a bunch of sets featuring Alphonso himself.
If you’ve never seen Alphonso or Altruda live, do yourself a favor and check this sound:
Most of these videos have been uploaded by Jump With Joey drummer and co-founder, Willie McNeil. Here’s a link to all of the JWJ videos that feature Roland Alphonso, 24 clips in all. [YouTube]
I’m not sure where I got my first copy of it- and I certainly didn’t know much about it once I had it. What I did know was that this was digital ska gold. This album I’m speaking of, this ska masterpiece that’s never been released in physical form, and hidden away from the world is Tooth- and for years, it’s been my secret weapon.
I’ve dropped Running For The F-Train and Intello Punk on countless mix tapes, and Out Of The Fryin’ Pan and Banker have blown minds when played on Ska’s The Limit. The response is always along the lines of, “Where’d you get this?,” “Who was that band?,” “Where can I get it?“ Until yesterday, I’d normally just smile and shake my head, “Oh that’s Da Whole Thing. What you don’t have that?”
Da Whole Thing was a short-lived NY super-group and they were like the Sex Mob of Ska. The group was the brain child of Patrick Carayannis and executed by some of the top names in US Ska, Victor Rice, Vic Ruggiero, Chris Murray and Agent Jay, so you don’t need to take my word for it. Those of you that have been coming to Ska Blah Blah from the beginning might remember Da Whole Thing being a point of topic in the first series of podcasts.
Da Whole Thing’s first record, @Version City has been available online for several years, but Tooth has always been my preference- for it’s chaotic brilliance, it’s creepy humor and it’s sheer rarity. Scratch that last one off the list, it’s time that Tooth was available to the masses, and time you got your hot little hands the mp3′s that have been my secret weapon for too long.
Whatevski Records, the online record shop that’s been dishing up Slackers bootlegs for almost a year now, is branching out. Along with Tooth, Whatevski’s also hosting digi-downloads of The Great Rocksteady Swindle, and Mr. T-Bone’s Heroes- both available with drool-worthy bonus features.
Boogie Woogie pianist and enthusiast, Jools Holland has been making music for years. Having recorded 20-some-odd albums, and supported some of the top musicians in the world with his session work, Holland has most recently been focused on his musical television series, Later With Jools Holland.
I first heard of Jools when I bought my copy of his 2005 record, Swinging the Blues, Dancing the Ska- which I found to be quite lacking in the Ska dept. No matter, it was a fine helping of Boogie Woogie, and besides, he’s proven his love for ska in other ways.
From his show, Later With Jools Holland, here’s a few samples of Holland’s more ska-leaning guests, starting with Desmond Dekker:
Here’s an interesting concept for what I can only assume to be an upcoming documentary: The untold story of three young black musicians that helped shape the 2 Tone movement, and in turn, music in England. Check it:
NEVILLE STAPLE – Out of borstal. Directionless. Hanging out with his rude boy mates Trevor and Rex. His one talent is “toasting” on the microphone: “The place that I come from it is a Ghost Town… somewhere in England they call Coventry”
ERROL CHRISTIE – Boxing since he was eight years old – desperate to go professional. A young man capable of defending himself but with a code of honour. Never hit a man when he’s down. “My fists are my weapons”
PAULINE BLACK – Educated, bright, mixed race. Burning to succeed. Through her music, she will reach out to Coventry’s racist skinheads: “Half Jewish. Half Nigerian. So what’s the National Front going to do? Send half of me back to Africa & the rest to Israel?”
Britain’s missing black generation. The children of the post-war Windrush immigrants. Their fight created today’s multicultural Britain. But they had to fight hard.
Their story has been under wraps – until now.
The project is called Ghost Town: We Are The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For. You can find out more at the EMUFilms Website
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Jun 11 2010
