Jacob Wake Up! is managing editor of Boston Ska (dot) net. He's been going to ska shows since high school and never looked back. Jake lives in Roslindale and works in communications by day. You can see him perform with The New Limits or strike up conversation with him at a local ska show.
RadioBDC is giving away tickets and a “VIP Experience” (read: bottle service and lap dance from Dickey) to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones Hometown Throwdown. Actually it’s a sweet package that includes a stay at the Boston Harbor Hotel. Enter here.
Pressure Cooker’s recent release, “Wherever You Go,” got a great review from the Boston Globe. “It’s hard to say which wave of reggae and ska we are currently on, but whichever one it is, Pressure Cooker is riding it very well.”Read the review. Buy the record.
Rochester’s Mrs. Skannotto has (have? I never know) been added to The Toasters’ show at TT The Bear’s on Friday, March 1st. Tix/info here.
Yesterday, A Guy Named Guy released their Terminals Split with D-Cent Jerks from Puerto Rico. The D-Cent Jerks tracks swing a little pop/punk while the AGNG tracks swing a bit more post-punk. Give it a listen. (and then buy it if you dig it! It’s only $2!)
Reel Big Fish in NYC, June 2012 / photo by Bryan Kremkau, Skapunkphotos.com, used with permission
I’m happy to think about January because I’m entirely too stressed about December. Reel Big Fish and Pilfers return to Boston on January 27 with support from Dan Potthast of Mu330. Anyone who was at Skalapalooza this past October knows that Pilfers is generally a show-stealer. Hopefully they’ll have a longer set this round and possibly play a new tune or two like they a did a few reunions ago… But I should mention Reel Big Fish continues to put on a totally fun show. I’ve seen them a few times (even in a post-Scott world). The new sax player is great and if anything gives them a more “Turn the Radio Off” era horn section and I’m a huge fan of the new record, “Candy-Coated Fury.” Naturally, we all expect some Reel Big Fish/Pilfers on-stage mash-up. (Actually, on the Skalapalooza tour, Nick from Pilfers played keys for Spring Heeled Jack. Maybe he could sit in on a few RBF tunes. HINT HINT.)
I’ve never seen Mu330, but I’ve seen The Stitch Up, Dan P’s pop/punk act and the song-writing is totally the same. The most recent thing he’s done is Dan P and the Bricks which has a new wave/early toasters thing going on. I’m curious to see what he brings to this show.
Maybe it’s the seasonal good cheer or maybe it’s all the college students home on winter break, but there are more ska shows this December than there have been since I move to Boston in July.
New to the list:
12/14/12 – Home for the Skalidays: Allston – A Guy Named Guy, Short Handed Goal, Llama Tsunami, FORT! The Band, Mr. Furious – The Audio Jungle – All Ages, $5 or a Toy Donation – Facebook Event
Am I too old for this one? I have no idea [yet] what the house show scene is like. For all I know I might get shit for publicizing this show. Either way it doesn’t matter because I don’t have a clue where the Audio Jungle is. Give me a few weeks and I’ll figure it out. What you don’t know you don’t know. This is night one of a two night thing and part two is in Providence the next night. Love to Llama Tsunami from CT who are a total party.
12/21/12 – A Guy Named Guy, Poor Jeremy, The Mahlors – All Asia – 18+, 6pm
12/29/12 – Patent Pending, Survay Says, The Motions, Yellow Team – Middle East Upstairs – All Ages, $10 adv, $12 doors – Tickets – Facebook Event
Okay so really Survay Says is the only ska band on this bill but I adore those guys. My NYC ska/punk band played with them once or twice. Also, in the mid-2000s, Patent Pending used to play great CT Ska shows and I’m a sucker for good pop/punk. I’m a big fan of their most recent record, Second Family (the video for Douchebag is hilarious). I’m going to try to go even though I have to be at the House of Blues an hour later to see Bosstones.
Here’s the video for “Gas Money Millionaires” by Survay Says:
This is actually what I would classify as “too many ska shows.” I’ve seen this before. People are only gonna go to so many shows and then promoters complain ska shows don’t draw. Here’s to hoping this won’t be the case…
Everyone’s favorite punk/ska/folk/etc collective/band/guy/party play at the Middle East Downstairs on Thursday, December 20th. Last time I saw them was almost a year ago at Irving Plaza in New York City with The Slackers and The Pietasters. Between their commitment to playing affordable all-ages shows and general party atmosphere (Bring Your Own Band tour anyone?), I’m a fan. Oh and every song is a sing-a-long. Oh and their fans know every word. Every. Word. I’m always impressed by the dedication of their fans.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Bomb the Music Industry! (special guests tba)
All Ages, $10, 7 PM Doors Tickets – Facebook Event
UPDATE 12/3/12 8:00 PM: Math the Band added to this bill! Hooray!
One of my favorite tech blogs, Mashable, runs a Music Monday feature. I know I’m always in need of fresh tunes on a Monday morning. The Causeway Bandits have released another song on YouTube, this time it’s a far more punk rock sound than the so-ca reggae tune they debuted with. Sounds like they’ve been … Read more
The English Beat in NYC, August 2010 / photo by Bryan Kremkau, Skapunkphotos.com, used with permission
About 6 years ago I was living in Tucson, AZ, going to shows at the Rialto and Hotel Congress. The hotel was having a Halloween Block Party of sorts with a few different stages of music, including a special outdoor stage on their back patio. There were a ton of bands playing, but the only one I wanted to see was The English Beat. I had a handful of questions that needed answering: when did they start playing again? Who was in the band these days? Who was still interested in seeing this band?
Having only been in Boston for a few months now, I’m not exactly an authority on the scene (yet). It’s not necessarily my place to decide who’s new and old, but the following three bands all introduced themselves as new in the Boston Ska Facebook Group.
This may say more about my own interests or how plugged-in I am (read: my age), but I find it interesting how much ska/punk seems to be coming out of Boston right now. It seems like the other scenes seem to still be generating more traditional ska or reggae revival acts. I think I’m partial to the later, but I’m also stoked to see new faces interested in ska of any sort.
What was significant was that they posted a few more openers for the Hometown Throwdown on their website (and possibly on the radio show but I tuned out shortly after they went back to music). So far we know: Dogmatics open Dec 29, Bouncing Souls on Dec 30, Big D and Amazing Royal Crowns on Dec 31. I’ve got tickets to the 29th so I naturally had to go listen to the Dogmatics. They’ve got a garage-y Ramones thing going on.
Boston punk act Stray Bullets have re-released their 2004 album, “The Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune” on their own bandcamp. Originally released on Fork in Hand records, it’s hard to come by online (Interpunk is sold out and Amazon has a few copies for $80). I’d only heard of the band having read the bio of the Have Nots, but I finally got to see them when they opened up Skalapalooza this past October. They sounded just about like a proto-have-nots act (so, for fans of Rancid and Suicide Machines) and that was just fine with me.
Everyone’s favorite punk/ska/folk/etc collective/band/guy/party play at the Middle East Downstairs on Thursday, December 20th. Last time I saw them was almost a year ago at Irving Plaza in New York City with The Slackers and The Pietasters. Between their commitment to playing affordable all-ages shows and general party atmosphere (
