People often say to us, “You’re a ska and reggae band… er… what’s ska then?”
You can give a potted history of the music, from the its roots in the soundsystems of Jamaica in the 60s and maybe talk about how it evolved into rocksteady and then reggae but people want a popular reference point. I mean, everyone knows reggae don’t they? Easy – Bob Marley!
Well, we used to think it was easy with ska too. We would say, “Remember The Specials or Madness? They did ska. They didn’t invent it, but they played their version of it. The original ska was Desmond Dekker, him off the Vitalite margerine advert…” etc, etc.
But now it doesn’t work, we meet people at gigs who don’t remember Madness or that margerine advert. We kind of forget that Madness and The Specials on Top of the Pops was 30 odd years ago, and that some people asking about the band weren’t around for Nirvana in the early 90s, nevermind the 70s and 80s 2-Tone heyday.
Does it matter? No, not at all good music is good music. We listen to the stuff we do because it’s still good music, regardless of when it was recorded.
Our crowd is made up of guys who got into the music in the 60s, when it was imported by a few specialist record shops; Birmingham Blue Beat was one of the labels it got. We also attract fans who were swept along on the 2-tone wave in the late 70s and early 80s. A lot of the band are of that age group. It’s the reason we play this music but we don’t play 2-tone as such.
In the late 80s and 90s ska mixed with other styles of music, got a punkier, rockier edge. Fishbone and then Reel Big Fish and the Bosstones got a whole new generation into the music and now… Paulo Ntini had a hit with a ska style tune, Lily Allen mixed in reggae elements, countless ads on the TV have a ska background – it’s still around and people still want to listen!
So that’s ska. Don’t worry about what it is exactly, just come and listen to it and enjoy it!
every year there is a “summer of ska” predicted.
it’d be great for guys like yourselves, but the charts would end up saturated with weak imitations sung by winners of tv talent shows.
long live ska.
(you forgot to mention Toots Hibbert)
hi Sime
I know, and Justin Hinds. I love Justin Hinds. And Byron Lee of course
ALL music is reggae /ska based. but iT stems from JAMAICAN INDEPENDENCE. 1 LONG HOT SUMMER . THEN ROCKSTEADY CAME IN AS THE WEATHER was to hot. so the music cool a bit .. rnb blues jazz MENTO DRUMMING THAT’S SKA.
The best way I’ve heard to describe ska is reggae’s grandad. It started in the late 50′s early 60′s in Jamaica when local people did their own take on r & b and shuffle music played on the radio airwaves coming over from new orleans. This inspired Jamaicans to pick up a guitar, but it seems they got bored with learning after just learning the basic chords. It’s these basic chords that give ska it’s “jump”. Ska slowed down into rocksteady, and rocksteady slowed down further to become ska. If there was no ska then there would be no reggae. Check out The Wailers 1964 version of “One Love” to see the difference in pace – this was the original ska version of the song that later appeared on his 1977 “Exodus” LP. Lesson over.
hi Des, thanks for reading and replying.
if ska’s Reggae’s grandad does that mean rocksteady is the dad? Just picturing the family tree now
Back in ’86 or 87 (I think) I read a review or interview with Fishbone in Kerrang magazine. It was following the band’s Truth and Soul album (which everyone should own by the way, it’s a perfect mix of ska, jazz, reggae, country, metal, punk, folk, funk and soul) and the writer called ska “reggae with a rock backbeat”!
Will definately look for that older version of “one love”.