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.

Cut the Chit Chat - 06 - Even Newer Ska

Posted on November 13th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: cut the chit chat, podcasts.

Way back before Episode 01 of Cut the Chit Chat I had scoured the internet trying to find the newest bands and the newest tracks. But I always felt the episode still wasn’t reflective of the unique time/space location that is late 2007. Luckily for me, the episode opened some doors with several prominent labels. Since the begining of this series, I’ve been swamped with samples from bands that I’ve never heard of.

New Skool and Traditional Style Ska are seeing a huge push in Europe and South America. Not to be counted out, the old USAok has it’s share of Traddy bands dotting it’s wide landscape.

Let me tell you a little bit about each band featured on this episode:

Downbeat Alley - Django Kill - Born from Royal Roost this group delivers heavy organ Reggae.

Deal’s Gone Bad - Rough and Ready - Chicago’s up and comers with a cut from the new album.

New Town Kings - Fire In the Hole - Do the Dog Records sent me this song, it’s fast, it’s rockin’ but it’s not typical.

The Dualers - Money - I found these guys on MySpace and was immediately impressed by their unique sound.

Bedouin Soundclash - Trinco Dog - See? I like them.

Miss Mad-e Ruthless - Dia De los Muertos - This fellow ska enthusiast has decided to lay down some tape of her own with this pretty song about scary things.

The Pepperpots - Be My Baby - Less of a band and more of a Ska Review, The Pepperpots prove their slickness with this classic cover.

3 Minute Warning - Sussed Out - Another Do the Dog offering seems to blaze past in an flash of high energy.

Green Room Rockers - Divided - A Soul Reggae group from West Lafayette, IN of all places, unplug their instruments and criticize foreign policy.

Rebelation - Minor Incident - This instrumental track takes it’s time and allows for so many solos; it might be my favorite cut on their whole cd.

Lord Mike’s Dirty Calypsonians - Rub My… - Classic Calypso tune- raised from the dead by this Chicago Revivalist group.

Ticklah/Victor Axelrod - Mi Sonsito - If you don’t have this cd- get it! A member of Easy Star All-Stars and many other dubby projects, Ticklah is Axelrod. But is the converse true?

The Slackers - Wanted Man - Vic and the guys cover the result of a Johnny Cash/Bob Dylan team-up.

Kingston Kitchen (Dr. Ring-Ding) - St. James Infirmary Blues - Another classic cover, with the Doctor taking on a very Tom Waits style voice.

The Pietasters - G to F - One of the best songs of last year. Great album great song.

The Toasters - Run Rudy Run Redux - I talk a lot of shit about the silly side of ska. But I’ll let you in on a little secret: I have a huge soft spot for cheezy spy-style ska. Run Rudy Run was on the second ska album I ever owned and this reworking of the classic Toasters track is really fun.

As I state on the show, this will be the last episode of the Cut the Chit Chat series. However, it is not the end for Ska Blah Blah. Expect a new interview series in January, and the blog will continue throughout. So keep your subscriptions active and you won’t miss a thing.

2 comments.

Cut the Chit Chat - 05 -Ska Demos (RERELEASE)

Posted on November 9th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: cut the chit chat, podcasts.



It’s the day after the sites big move, and the only major issue I’ve discovered is a broken link to my most recent episode of Cut the Chit Chat.

After tweeking the original post a million times, to no avail, I’ve decided to repost the link in a new post.

To read the original show notes, click here.

2 comments.

Cut the Chit Chat - 05 -Ska Demos

Posted on October 23rd, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: cut the chit chat, podcasts, rare ska.



This Episode of Cut the Chit Chat isn’t the pretteiest or the most accessible; I’ve made- but it’s one that I’ve been dying to make for a long time. The reason being that I’m an amateur tape trader, and I get very few excuses to show off some of my rare stuff.

If you put up with the raw mixes and the loud hisses, you’ll be rewarded with alternate takes and a backwards engineered reflection of the recording process.

The introduction to the show features what can’t be aptly described as a demo, but is just as scratchy and hard to find, as anything else in the show- Bob Marley’s Rudie Cut. I started the first set off with three rare Slackers tracks that embody their early Two-Tone style, including the earliest version of You Don’t Know I, that I’ve ever heard. I keep the sound in NY for the next couple of demos by Mephiskapheles: Doomsday and My Three Favorite Americans. The first set ends with tracks from Fishbone and The Toasters, respectively. These tracks aren’t exactly rare, but might serve as a curiosity to those who haven’t heard them before.

The next set kicks off with the Violent Femmes’ Reggae-licious demo of Please Don’t Go (compare this to the original studio version to note the progress of this amazing bass solo). A pair of Hepcat demos follows, early cuts of Nigel and Take Dat. Although, these versions have never been released, you’ll find a lot of Hepcat fans already have these tracks on their ipods. The 7 Song Demo that Hepcat made for Moon Records is standard fare for Ska bootleggers. Following right behind comes some early Specials, or rather, The Coventry Automatics. This (hornless) version of Dawning of a New Era has been released dozens of times, but is very much a rough outline of the track we all know and love. And much the same could be said of the next demo track by The Clash, Rudie Can’t Fail from the Vanilla Tapes- not hard to find, but not quite ready for the big leagues.

The final tracks are what I believe will be of most interest to my listeners- but first, a bit of history: I’m sure many of you remember when the first Give ‘em the Boot compilation dropped. Nearly every track on that $5 cd was steller, but one song stood out over all the others, in my opinion. The Silencers’ Policeman was that song- ghostly and urban, the sound was very Two-Tone, faster than The Slackers but not as Punky as Rancid. The liner notes confirmed that this was a team up between Vic Ruggiero and Tim Armstrong, and promised a forthcoming album. Years go by and still no sign of a Silencers record. Ruggiero mentions in an interview, that an albums worth of songs were, in fact, recorded an are just waiting for some attention, but also, to not hold our breath. Then, about two years ago, I found (through a P2P service) a folder labeled, Life Won’t Wait Demos. Sure enough, many of the files were early demos of songs that would end up on Life Won’t wait, but the last few in the folder were unique. They would never become Rancid songs, and they featured Ruggiero more prominently. I believe this session, the Life Won’t Wait demos, to be all there is to The Silencers rumor. But please correct me if I’m wrong. This also reconfirmed a theory of mine, that Ruggiero had a great deal of influence on Rancid’s Life Won’t Wait. To finish the show, I picked two tracks from these bootlegs, the demo for Policeman and a much lower-fi version of the Rancid B-side, Brad Logan.

Also, check out the previous episode, Ska Rap, to hear another Silencer Sessions cut, Express Yourself (an NWA cover).

2 comments.

Cut the Chit Chat - 04 - Ska Rap

Posted on October 1st, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: cut the chit chat, podcasts, ska oddity.


This episode was born from a post I submitted a few months ago, where I told you all about a strange Acid House/Ska remix record I found. After that, I found a bunch of other tracks that feature a similar DJ meets Ska sort of mash-up.

You’ll hear some Rap Ska tracks from Wyclef Jean, Dr. Ring Ding, and DEL tha funkee homosapien; as well as House, Electro, and Dance tracks by artists like Asian Dub Foundation, Roughneck, and Pama International. Plus, if you stay tuned til the end you’ll hear a cut from the ultra-rare Silencers/Life Won’t Wait demo sessions, in which Tim Armstrong and Vic Ruggiero cover Express Yourself.

4 comments.

Field Trip - Ska Weekend ‘07 - Special Episode

Posted on September 19th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: interviews, podcasts, special episode.

I drove from St. Louis to Knoxville, TN to attend the big Ska Weekend, in the hopes of snagging a few interviews and catching a bunch of live sets from today’s top Ska artists. And wouldn’t you know it? I did just that.

While this piece tracks my day, the people I talked to and the music I was most interested in, it is by no means a report on the event as a whole. You’ll hear live songs by Deals Gone Bad, Westbound Train, Dr. Ring Ding feat. The Drastics and The Slackers. Plus, interviews with King Django, Anthony from the Drastics, Dr. Ring Ding and Agent Jay Neugent.

Links of Interest:

Ska Weekend Website
Musical Occupation’s coverage of the event

0 comments.

Cut the Chit Chat - 03 - Hard Edged Dub

Posted on September 11th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: cut the chit chat, dub, podcasts, video.


Maybe I’ve had the wrong impression for a long time, but I had always seen Dub Reggae as chill-out music- something to be passively and herbally enjoyed. Dub is a Weapon was the first band, that I encountered, to change the vibe from relaxing to energetic, with squealing guitars and double-time rhythms. And now, groups like Dub Trio are fulfilling this aggressive dub destiny by mixing creepy Dub FX into Bad Brains style Hard Core.

This episode brings you this sound, plus other non-traditional Dub approaches from bands like the Beastie Boys, Gotan Project, and the Drastics.

Babylon Motorhome - Big Band Vid Link
The Drastics - Al Q’runka Live Vid Link
Beastie Boys - Suco De Tangerina Vid Link
Dub Trio - Illegal Dub Vid Link
Slackerland All-Stars - Dub #1 Live
Dub is a Weapon - Unlabeled Live Track Live Vid Link
Crazy Baldhead - Controls
Gorillaz feat. Terry Hall - M1A1 Terry Hall Vid Link
Gotan Project - El Capitalismo Foraneo Vid Link
Pepper Pots - We Must Believe (Remix) Live Vid Link


Other Link of Interest:
-Archive.org has a ton of live Dub sets form many of these groups. Plus it’s free! Link (search for Dub)

0 comments.

Cut the Chit Chat - 02 - Skinhead Reggae

Posted on August 22nd, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: cut the chit chat, podcasts, skinhead.


These days, it seems like a most of the bands that had been releasing straight ska albums, several years ago, are now cutting their fair share of Skinhead Reggae tracks. Sure, the popularity of the Aggrolites has probably spurred this on, but maybe there’s a lot of folks like me, that don’t want a bible lesson every time they listen to Reggae.

This Rasta-free Reggae isn’t so much about social messages as it is about funky organs and foot stomping. This episode is exclusively Skinhead Reggae, and in keeping with this series’ theme, I’ll be interrupting the music as infrequently as possible.

The Vulcans - Vulcan-ized
The Aggrolites - Make it Reggae
Crazy Baldhead - Eye Jammy
Pama International feat Dave & Ansel Collins - It Ain’t Funny
Tim Armstrong feat. The Aggrolites - Among the Dead
The Moon Invaders - Don’t Touch the Dog
The Upsessions - Pharaoh’s Last Wish
The Skoidats - Smash Your Fucking Head
The Rhythm Doctors - Mark’s Mood
Downbeat Alley - Nobody but You
Westbound Train feat. Alex Desert - Soul Revival
Monty Alexander and Ernest Ranglin - Double Barrel
The Slackers feat. Glen Adams - Live Injection
The Aggrolites - Don’t Let Me Down


Other links of interest:
-A lengthy but informative essay on the Skinhead/Reggae connection. link
-A brief bit on early Skinhead culture. link

Oh, and Nazi Punks can Fuck-Off.

0 comments.

Cut the Chit Chat - 01 - New Ska

Posted on August 10th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: cut the chit chat, podcasts.


My next series of interviews is still a ways off, so I thought I’d try to keep everyone interested by running an all-music series. Look forward to episodes featuring Skinhead Reggae, Dub Revivalism, and more.

In this episode, I play some of the best Neo-Trad Ska to come out of the past couple of years. You’ll hear bands from the States, Europe, and Asia; all of them calling back to Jamaica, but adding something modern.

I’ve added links where I can, and I encourage you to buy something from any of the bands that you like.

The Caroloregians - Super Bikini Link Ska Cubano - Istanbul Link, Link

Pepper Pots - King of the Street Link

Westbound Train - Fatty Fatty, Boom Boom Link

The Debonaires - Interrupted Link

The Determinations feat. Ego Wrapping - A Love Song Video Link

Heavy Step - You Got It (Newish - I couldn’t find any Deal’s Gone Bad)

ASPO - Nuthouse Shuffle Link, Video Link

The Moon Invaders - Consciousness Link

The Pepper Pots - Runaway Video Link

The Upsessions - Cool Ska Time Link

The Slackers - Robots


If you are in a band or know of one, that plays Jamaican Revivalism in any form, and would like it to be featured on an episode of Cut the Chit Chat, please contact me: jjloy@skablahblah.com

0 comments.

05 - Vic Ruggiero - Conversations on a Revivalist Movement

Posted on April 16th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: interviews, podcasts.

Being the band leader, songwriter, keyboard player, and vocalist of The Slackers, Vic Ruggiero is a very busy man. But he took an hour out of his schedule to talk to me in this, the final episode of the series.

Vic picks up where Joey Altruda left off, last episode, talking about working within a genre’s parameters. And Ruggiero also answers my many questions about his lyrics and the various themes that appear in them. In doing so, he represents the connection between American and Jamaican Roots Music. All this plus Vic’s take on fate, collective thought, and Os Mutantes.

You’ll also hear lot’s of live music from The Slackers, as well as New Vic Solo Stuff.

Links of Interest:

- The Slackers live sets on Archive.Org
- The Slackers merch page
- Ruggiero’s MySpace with Downloadable tracks for Free and for Fee
- JupUp Records sells Vic’s Japanese Solo Record, Hamburguru
- Vic and The Slackers on NPR
- And On Austin Radio

1 comment.