Ska Blah Blah

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.

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Ska Blah Blah: Small Talk Episode 01 - Victor Axelrod

Posted on April 15th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: interviews, podcasts.

Your eyes have not deceived you- It is a new series for Ska Blah Blah. This time around, the interviews are a bit shorter and the artists are a bit newer. I’ve also broadened the focus from mere Ska Revivalism to a more encompassing umbrella of Jamaican Revivalism. This is to better fit with this millennium’s crop of bands and DJ’s.

I’m starting off strong with my interview with Victor Axelrod, but subscribe to the feed and you’ll automatically get interviews with The Impalers, Babylon Party Machine, The Aggrolites, and The Green Room Rockers as they become available.

Multi-instrumentalist, producer and Dub mixologist, Victor Axelrod isn’t quite a household name, even if you live in the hippest of households. He’s worked with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Antibalas, Easy Star All-Stars, Lily Allen, and even Amy Winehouse- so it isn’t like he’s shying away from the spotlight. However, Axelrod’s love of pseudonyms has at times prevented audiences from connecting the dots of his work. His newest solo record seeks to reconcile this by featuring a virtual soundclash between himself and his better known alias, Ticklah.

I spoke with Victor about making retro music, working with Victor Rice, and of course his newest solo record, Ticklah Vs. Axelrod.

Ticklah Vs. Axelrod is out now on Easy Star Records where you can purchase the cd or digital download LINK

National Geographic’s Podcast Interview with Ticklah LINK

Wishtank’s bit about Ticklah’s Don’t Trip Studio with lot’s of extra info LINK

Rock Paper Scissors bit about Ticklah with a great review and press pack goodies LINK

Be friends with the man himself at MySpace LINK

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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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Hoodska Explosion are Israel Ska

Posted on February 2nd, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: news.

It is not surprising that Tel Aviv has it’s very own Ska group , what’s surprising is that they are so good. Hoodska Explosion aren’t Ska-Punk formula pushers, in fact, each of the 4 tracks found on their MySpace page show a wide range of influence. Tracks, Misleading and Cigarette, hint that the band listens to a lot of Firebug and Victor Rice, while The Whistle finds Hoodska in a late ’80’s Game Show Ska kind-of-mood. They’ve got songs in English and Hebrew, and they boast that their sound incorporates elements of Polka, Klezmer, and American Jazz. Truly, music for the world. LINK

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Take it or Leave it - Top 5’s of 2007

Posted on January 2nd, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: album review, news.

In case you haven’t noticed, we are now living in a New Year. It’s a time to reflect on the year before, a time to ask, “what were the best Ska and Reggae albums of the past 12 months?” More importantly, it’s a time where I answer that very question, in the form of various Top 5 lists.

Top Ska Albums

1. The Pietasters - All Day I hesitate to call this a Ska album since it is largely Reggae with a fair share of Rock n’ Roll and Garage mixed into the track list. But the Pietasters will always be a Ska band at heart, and this album is their best yet.
2. The Pepperpots - Shake It! I’d really like to hear the Pepperpots get a bit rawer. Shake It! is fantastic all over, although sterile at times. These girls are onto something.
3. The Skatalites - On the Right Track I’ve reviewed this album previously, so to make a long story short: It’s far from the original line-up, but this album delivers new songs in the quintessential, straight forward Ska that you would expect.
4. Kingston Kitchen - Today’s Special Not a full album, but Dr. Ring Ding fronts this Jazzy outfit through 6 tracks that push the stylistic boundaries of Ska-Jazz.
5. Deals Gone Bad - The Ramblers These guys seem poised to be major players in the Ska scene. This album, once started, has a tendency to play all the way through. The soulful vocals and jazzy solos keep my fingers off of the skip button. But don’t rest on your laurels yet DGB, with power comes responsibility.

Top Dub Albums

1. The Drastics - Waiting Easily my most played album of last year, and I haven’t had it for very long. Their brand of Dub is heavy and multifaceted, but never a nuisance. It’s mellow enough to be background music, but experimental enough to pay attention too. It is perfect Dub.
2. Crazy Baldhead - Has a Posse Agent Jay has a very home made approach to Dub, and his recording aesthetic directly effects the end product. Warm and analog- very Version City.
3. Ticklah - Ticklah vs Axelrod Brilliant Ska and Jazz Dubs in the style of Victor Rice. Rice is, in fact, on about half of the tracks. However, unlike In America, TvA has vocal tracks by a handful of musicians, while Rice tends to play straight instrumentals. I predict big things for Ticklah in the coming years.
4. The Eternals - Heavy International This is not the mellow Dub Reggae that you used to see in the genre, this is noisy- circus style syncopation with mind warping effects, urban poetry and unsteady beats. The Eternals aggression has not fallen on deaf ears.
5. Unnamed - The Good, The Bad and The Queen Damon Albarn now has side projects to his side projects. Blur and The Gorillaz front man, teamed up with the Clash’s Paul Simonon and Danger Mouse. Not a Dub album, and certainly not a Reggae album, GBQ is slow tempo Rock with moody Dub elements that make it worth mentioning here.

Top Early/Skinhead Reggae

1. The Aggrolites - Reggae Hit LA My downstairs neighbor must hate it when I play this disc, because nothing gets my feet going like The Aggrolites.
2. Tim Armstrong - Life of a Poet This record, backed by The Aggrolites is like a night out with the band and Armstrong, themselves. The tempo is steady and the drop is Skinhead, but there’s a Punky- sometimes Clubby sound to Life of a Poet.
3. Green Room Rockers - Hoosier Homegrown These guys seemed to pop up out of nowhere, and now they’re winning over audiences on the East Coast. There is room for them to grow still, but a very impressive first album.

• I have to give Honorable Mention to a few other bands who had Early-Style Reggae offerings from 2006, but didn’t become easily available (to me) until this last year. The Upsessions and The Caroloregians both released records that would have rivaled The Aggrolites for the top spot. I hope that in ‘08 I will hear more from both bands.

Favorite Tracks

1. Dr. Ring-Ding and Vic Ruggiero - What it Takes
2. Tim Armstrong - Inner City Violence
3. The Slackers - Mind Your Own Business
4. The Pietasters - G to F
5. Bedoin Soundclash - Nico on the Night Train

Albums Worth Mentioning

Some of these listed here are being noted for being torch carriers in other revivalist genres; and some for adeptly mixing various traditional sounds. It’s this that I look for in music, Jamaican influenced or not.

1. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - 100 Days 100 Nights
2. Antibalas - Security EP
3. Beastie Boys - The Mix Up
4. Manu Chao - La Radiolina
5. Ozomatli - Don’t Mess with the Dragon

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Ska News To Me

Posted on December 13th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: Ska Online, news, obits.

Here’s a quick rundown of a very busy week in the world of Ska:

After months without any new Slackers bootlegs, a new set hit the internet hit the internet like a cannonball. Recorded in Syracuse, NY on 11.15.07, the set has been dubbed Funk n’ Waffles, after the venue of the same name. I can attest to the live set’s quality, so feel safe clicking here for the .zip file, or here for the original post at Stubborn Records Forum.

Speaking of The Slackers, Dave Hillyard recently posted a very optomistic, State of the Scene-type blog post. What does he say? Ska is making a comeback. But you knew that. Link

This isn’t breaking news, but in light of Hillyard’s positive post, it serves proof of the scene’s recent strength. The popular series of Ska compilations, United Colors of Ska has just released their fourth installment, or 4.0. Much like my recent selections, the UCS folks have been using MySpace as the catalyst for finding new Ska music from around the world. Link

The Holidays are upon us (is Hanukkah really over, already?) and DC Ska is making it easy for you to find the perfect gifts for all the Ska Geeks on your list, with their handy Gift Guide. Link

Go Jimmy Go has gotten into the X-Mas mode, as well, giving us all the gift of a Holiday themed album, Holiday Hell Yeah. Link

Victor Rice is still bustin ass and maintaining his rep as the go to guy for all things Ska. Look for new recordings by Stingers ATX, Buford O’Sullivan, Chris Murray Combo, and Crazy Balhead (feat. Alex Desert, King Django, Steve Jackson, Bucket, and Vic Ruggiero) with Mr. Rice at the mixing board, next year. He’s also involved (to some degree) with a new Skatalites Live DVD.

It would seem that the rumors are sadly true, Lynette Knackstedt, founder and guitarist for Skankin’ Pickle died at the young age of 37. Here is the post where I found out. Here is Mike Parks personal blog post on the subject. And here is an odd turn of events effecting Lynette’s estate.

The other night, my roommate and all around cool guy, Jameson played about 6 Skankin Pickle songs for me and Dira at the 521A. We remarked at how long it had been since we played them. Jameson translated a few Korean lyrics for us. I commented at what a bad-ass guitarist the Pickle’s had. I would later learn that Lynette died sometime that evening. It was an eerie coincidence that my friends and I were missing Skankin Pickle while Knackstedt’s family was missing her.

Sources: DC Ska, Dancin Mood, Stubborn Forums, Asian Man Records, and Do the Dog Skazine

2 comments.

Secret Victor Rice DVD

Posted on December 10th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: video.

If you would be so kind as to remember the second episode of Conversations on a Revivalist Movement, you’d recall Victor Rice describing the mechanics of bringing studio Dub into a live venue. He also mentioned that a DVD was being produced to feature his live performance.

This has generated more inquiries than almost any other topic. Kids from all over the world have written me, trying to track down this DVD for themselves. Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. The Good: The DVD is done. The Bad: it’s not for sale, Victor uses it for promotion not profit. More Good: I have a copy, and it’s rad.

I understand Mr. Rice’s decision to not give the live show an official release; the camera is static for half of the show, and Victor’s face is obscured by shadows, almost completely. This is not the type of DVD to make a big splash at Tower Records- there’s no interviews or guest appearences, no clever editing or new release tie-ins. This is what it is: Victor Rice at the sound board, running reel-to-reels of his production work and Dubifying every beat.

And who wants marketability anyways. This is the mysterious Guru of Jamaican Revivalism giving us a glimpse of his process. Lee Perry and Mad Professor would do everything they could to keep their signature Dub techniques a secret, but Rice allows us behind the mixer to see how Dub gets done. And it is absolutely amazing.

I predict that this DVD will become what so many Ska and Reggae videos have already, a hard to find cult masterpiece. All of the ingredients are there.

PS Do not ask me for a copy, it’s not mine to give.

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Ska Blah Blah: The Song

Posted on September 27th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: MP3.

Well, to tell the truth, the song was recorded years ago by Brazil’s own, Radio Ska. The track has been in a limbo of sorts until just recently, when Victor Rice stepped in to put the finishing touches on it.

Although the track I’m sharing with you now is not the final edit, the guys from Radio Ska thought it would be fun for me to show it off.

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02 - Victor Rice - Conversations on a Revivalist Movement

Posted on March 3rd, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: interviews, podcasts.

This edition features the words and music of Victor Rice. Recorded in Sept. of ‘06, from his home in Sao Paulo, Rice talks about his early career in the NYC Ska scene, and the work he did for Moon Records and Version City. In the 90’s, Rice was a prolific producer and bassist for such bands as The Scofflaws, Mephiskapheles, New York Ska Jazz Ensemble, and many more. We also discuss some of his lesser known projects, his current work as a Dub engineer in Brazil, and the future of Samba Rocksteady.

Other Links of interest:
- Rice’s Resume
- A place to get Age of Insects
- Get music from Victor
- A place to get many of the records Rice has produced

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