BAJL Day 28: Ska Is Not Dead!

             Those of you who know me personally are aware of my obsession with ska music. I first became interested in ska in the mid 90s with the popularity of bands like No Doubt, Save Ferris, Sublime, and Reel Big Fish, and the Aquabats. But as I grew up and that music trend faded, I forgot about it and moved on to liking punk rock bands like AFI, Pennywise, Rancid, and the Dropkick Murphy's ( I still like all of those bands). My affinity for punk rock reached its zenith in high school and I ended up getting a beaten up drum kit which I put in my room and tried to play (I was terrible). In my junior year of high school I joined the marching band (I played the Baritone). Later that year I became friends with a dude named Jesse. Jesse was a huge punk fan like I was but was also really into Reel Big Fish and ska music in general. The fact that I even knew who Reel Big Fish was may have been the reason we started talking and hanging out. He burned me some copies of Reel Big Fish albums and I was re-hooked! Ska was perfect for me because it had the edge of punk that I loved but had horns in it which I could appreciate, as a band geek, and I soon taught myself how to play the trombone and started writing tabs for horn lines that I heard in ska songs. I unsucessfully attempted to form two different bands with my friends, Better Than Usual (Drums) and The Gerbil Squad (Trombone). Soon my love for ska grew out of control and my cd collection became dominated with ska albums.
             For those of you that have read this far and are thinking to yourself "What is ska?" Here is your answer. Ska is a musical genre that was established in Jamaica in the 1950s. Jamaicans were able to listen to American radio being broadcasted from military bases on the island which exposed them to Rythm and Blues music as well as Jazz. Jamaicans combined this with calypso music which they were already listening to on radio stations from Cuba and Miami. Ska was the precursor to reggae and rocksteady music. The genre is characterized by accented by walking bass lines and rythms on the upbeat. Like for instance if you have a 4/4 time signature in a ska song, you would count out the beats as 1 and, 2 and, 3 and, 4 and. The "ands" in that example represent the upbeat. So the guitar/organ/piano/horns would play on the "and". Hopefully that made sense. So the music enjoyed much popularity through the late 50s and 60s until the late 60s when reggae became immensely popular. This is known as the first wave of ska. Some of the more popular artists of the first wave include Prince Buster, The Skatalites, and The Wailers.
           The second wave took place in the UK in the 70s with punk rock explosion. This new brand of ska became known as 2-tone as all the bands were mixed race (whites and blacks). The music took its lyrical influence from punk rock with many of the lyrics being of a political nature. Also, the guitar chords had a more aggressive sound (also stemming from punk rock). Ska stood together with punk rock as being completely against racism which was still a fight going on in Britain with apartheid still in full effect in South Africa. The most well known bands of that era were The English Beat, Madness, and The Specials.
          The third wave began in the 80s and has still not disappeared.  The third wave is defined by a stronger combination of ska and punk which is known as ska-punk. Some of the bands which really laid this foundation were The Toasters, Operation Ivy, Fishbone, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Ska punk rejects more of the rythm and blues influences and instead favors fast tempos and guitar distortion. The third wave really rose into prominance during the mid 90s in Orange County. I love listening to first and second wave ska but third wave will always be my favorite. This is a match made in musical heaven as far as I am concerned!
         So now that you have been educated here are my top 5 favorite ska bands ( in no particular order, each with an example for your listening pleasure).

• The Aquabats (old Aquabats)- This band has an AMAZING live show!

• Less Than Jake- One of the best live bands I have ever seen.

• Suburban Legends- A great band to see live. Plus, they cover Disney songs, what more can you want?

• Reel Big Fish- my favorite band of ALL time! If you ever have the chance to see them live you MUST!

                                                              
                                                       A live recording
                                                      

                                                This is to illustrate how insane their shows are.

• Streetlight Manifesto- the richest sounding horn section in ska. This band writes epic songs with some of the most intense horn lines you will ever hear.

         There it is folks! Some honorable mentions on my list would include Save Ferris, Operation Ivy, Oingo Boingo, The English Beat, Goldfinger, Big D and the Kids Table, The Forces of Evil, Jeffries Fan Club, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and No Doubt. Do you remember ska? Any mentions to add on to this list?

BAJL Day 23: The Idiot Box: 5 Unknown Shows I Enjoy

             I would like to thank all of you who gave me suggestions for blog topics. It means a lot to me to know that people are actually reading this. Today I am going to suggest a few television shows to you, the readers, that I really enjoy. So here is my list, in no particular order, of shows you may not know of but should watch.

• Supernatural- this is a show that my wife and I did not start watching until about two years ago. The show centers around two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, who hunt supernatural creatures (ie. vampires, werewolfs, demons, ghosts). Apart from the monster hunts in the individual episodes, there are overarching storylines that run throughout the show. Also, the show features a lot of classic rock music which I enjoy. The last thing I like about this show is the dialogue between the two brothers. There is a certain dry humor to the conversations that they have. This show really delves into the origins of the monsters and further explains the lore behind them.

• Being Human- this a SyFy Channel series based on the BBC original series. The show is about a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost that all live together in a house in Boston. Together, the three of them are trying as hard as they can, to be less monstrous and become more human. The werewolf locks himself away during the full moon as to not hurt anyone, the vampire drinks blood from the hospital's donation bank where he works as a nurse, and the ghost is trying to find a way to move on. They each have their own individual struggles because of what they are, but they don't let that stop them from trying to be better. The second season of the show gets a lot more bloody as the vampire, Aiden, begins to drink live blood again and the werewolf, Josh, changes in the woods and eats a vampire. If you are squeamish about blood this may not be the show for you as there is a TON of it. It shows vampires feeding many, many times in this series. Other than that, my wife and I both really enjoy this show.

• Chopped- I miss not having cable specifically because of the Food Network, but mostly for this show. I love cooking competition shows, and this show is by far my favorite one. The show begins with 4 chefs who are eliminated one by one through three rounds until only one remains. The first round is appetizers, the second round is entree, and the third round is dessert. However, in each round the chefs are given a basket filled with mystery ingredients that they are required to use in their dishes. At the end of each round their dishes are critiqued by renowned chefs/restauranteurs. This show combines all the right elements: cooking, improvisation, and competition. It is everything that I loved about the old Japanese program Iron Chef tripled in intensity. A word of warning though, watching this show WILL make you hungry.
• The Aquabats Super Show!- I just finished season one of this show and it is absolutely hilarious! I have been a fan of The Aquabats for well over a decade and have been to a couple of their live shows. Any of you who have seen them live know why they are perfect for a television show. For those of you that don't, here is a breif synopsis: The Aquabats are a band, formed in Huntington Beach, that take on the personas of fake superheroes that they have created. The band wears costumes on stage and in between songs at live shows, they fight villains on stage, throw foods and beverages into the audience, play funny commercials on a giant screen behind the band, and encourage their fans to dress up with them. Their shows are by far some of the most intense I have ever attended. Their fans are insane and go completely nuts during their live performances. During their shows you will see mosh pits, circle pits, skank pits, and crowd surfing pool raft racing. The band has been shopping a pilot episode to networks for years but with the success of Yo Gabba Gabba ( created by the singer of The Aquabats), the band was finally able to get their show picked up. The only way I can describe the show is that it is like a crappier, cheaper, slapsticky version of the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. The villains they fight on stage are feature in the show and the action is cheap and chessey. The dialogue is intentionally poorly written and delivered almost sarcastically most of the time. This show cracks me up and I am excited to say that it was picked up for a second season which is currently being filmed.
• Portlandia- I hate hipsters! So naturally a show that focuses on satiring the hipster culture would bring a smile to my face. Portlandia is a sketch comedy show on IFC (the independent film channel), but seasons one and two are on Netflix. The show features Fred Armisen (former SNL cast member) and Carrie Brownstein (musician and actress) as they embody different characters in the Portland area. This show is great! My favorite sketch so far is about this couple who dumpster dive for food, not because they are poor, but as a social/political statement about how wasteful people are. Not enough good things I can say about this show. Give it a try.

 

        What shows do you enjoy? Leave any suggestions you may have in the comments.