Duff News: Pepper Pots, RiceRokit Alert, Bad Manners/English Beat Tour, Ska is Dead 4 Tour

Spanish vintage ska/soul act The Pepper Pots (the three singers are pictured, right) will be playing this year's South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas this March. (There may be a New York City gig on their way back to Spain, so stay tuned.) Megalith Records will be releasing their excellent "Shake It" album, which previously was only available in Spain and Japan, at some point early in 2009. At the end of January, the band is planning to enter the studio with a "world renowned" producer to record their third album.


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For the ever-growing legion of RiceRokit fans out there (and if you haven't heard the band, listen to "Dull Boy" on the RiceRokit MySpace page, and you'll quickly become one) who happen to live in or be visiting Southern California, there are two excellent opportunities to see the band in action (where they will, no doubt, be previewing some of the new cuts from their forthcoming sophomore album, Pidgin English--make sure to request their cover of "Bela Lugosi's Dead"!):

February 3, 2009: Hollywood, CA - 3 Floors of Ska/Ska is Dead 4 Tour @ The Knitting Factory, with The Toasters, VooDoo Glow Skulls, Buck-O-Nine, Deal's Gone Bad, Boogaloo Assassins, Hub City Stompers, The Roundabouts, Raskahuele, Kingston, Delirians, Half Past Two, One Pin Short, plus DJs

February 27, 2009: Solana Beach, CA @ The Belly Up Tavern with The English Beat!

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The English Beat/Bad Manners US Tour:

1/22/09 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
1/23/09 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues w/Pato Banton
1/24/09 Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
1/25/09 Saint Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing
1/27/09 Cocoa Beach, FL @ Chili Pepper Supper Club
1/28/09 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
1/30/09 Baltimore, MD @ Ram's Head Live w/The Pietasters
1/31/09 Richmond, VA @ Toad's Place Richmond
2/2/09 Alexandria, VA @ Birchmere
2/3/09 Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
2/5/09 Farmingdale, NY @ The Crazy Donkey w/Big D and the Kids Table
2/6/09 New York, NY @ The Fillmore at Irving Plaza w/Big D and the Kids Table
2/7/09 Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony w/Big D and the Kids Table

Haven't seen either of these bands in ages, so it might be time to see them both at Irving Plaza...

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Ska is Dead 4 Tour

Bands: The Toasters, Voodoo Glow Skulls & Deal’s Gone Bad (all dates)
Monkey (Jan. 22 - Feb. 1), Mustard Plug (Jan. 23 - 25), Buck-O-Nine (Feb. 4 - 8)

January
Wed. 21: Norman, OK @ The Deli
Thurs. 22: Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
Fri. 23: Colorado Springs, CO @ Black Sheep
Sat. 24: Ft. Collins, CO @ Aggie Theatre
Sun. 25: Denver, CO @ The Gothic Theatre
Mon. 26: Grand Junction, CO @ Mesa Theatre
Tues. 27: SLC, UT @ Avalon Theatre
Weds. 28: Boise, ID @ The Knitting Factory
Thurs. 29: Seattle, WA @ Studio 7
Fri. 30: Portland, OR @ Hawthorn Theatre
Sat. 31: Orangevale, CA @ Boardwalk

February
Sun. 1: San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
Mon. 2: Los Gatos, CA @ The Venue
Tues. 3: Anaheim, CA @ The House Of Blues
Weds. 4: Victorville, CA @ KARMA
Thurs. 5: Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee
Fri. 6: Las Vegas, NV @ Game Works
Sat. 7: Los Angeles, CA @ The Knitting Factory w/RiceRockit!
Sun. 8: San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
Mon. 9: Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
Tue. 10: Lubbock, TX :@ Jake's Back Room
Wed. 11: Tulsa, OK @ Rose Bowl Event Center
Thurs. 12: Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room
Fri. 13: Minneapolis, MN: TBA
Sat. 14: Houghton, MI @ Michigan Tech Univ.
Sun. 15: Lansing, MI @ Mac's Bar
Mon. 16: Louisville, KY: TBA
Tues. 17: Toledo, OH @ Frankies
Wed. 18: Indianapolis, IN :@ES Jungle
Thurs. 19: State College, PA @ The Brewery
Fri. 20: Allentown, PA @ The Crocodile Rock (Masquerade)
Sat. 21 TBA
Sun. 22: New York City, NY @ Highline Ballroom

[While I realize that the "Ska is Dead" label is now a brand of sorts, it has kind of lost its irony, don't you think? We're almost a decade out from the crash and burn of the third wave, and there are many hopeful signs that the fourth wave, for lack of a better term, is gaining ground. Plus, it plays too much into the hands of those who hate the scene and the bands and fans that never lost faith.]

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The Pepper Pots
"Stay on Your Way"




RiceRokit
"Dance with You"




Bad Manners
"Skaville UK"




The English Beat"
"Save it For Later"

Haven't seen this video in years. Yeah, it reeks of the early 80s (and I love it), but I never realized until now that Gaz Mayall of The Trojans can be spotted throughout the video...




The Toasters
"Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down"

Yes, I'm in this one, too.