In the mail today, I received the first copy of my new paperback book The Duff Guide to 2 Tone --and am thrilled to announce that it is now...
Steve Shafer/The Duff Guide to Ska
For most of the 1990s, I was the promotions, marketing, production guy for Moon Records (RIP). It was one of the best jobs I ever had. Seriously, I miss it badly. During 1999/2000, I ran 7 Wonders of the World Music, the first digital download-only ska label that was too ahead of the curve for its own good (RIP).
I filmed and edited this Toasters video for $2,500, which made its debut on MTV's 120 Minutes. I also put together these compilations for Moon: the first three Skarmageddons; Ska United: A Global Ska Sampler; Skank Down Under; This Are Moon Ska I, II, and III; and Moonshot!
Here's an old interview with Adam Monkey from Read Magazine that covers my days at Moon and 7 Wonders. I also did a somewhat more recent interview with Read Junk.
I've been interviewed about ska music and Moon Records for The New York Times, Heather Augustyn's "Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation," Aaron Carnes' "In Defense of Ska," Kenneth Partridge's "Hell of a Hat: The Rise of '90s Ska and Swing," and Marc Wasserman's "Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History" (I also wrote the introductory chapter "1985: The Year American Ska Broke" for Wasserman's book).
And I'm the author of "The Duff Guide to 2 Tone," which can be ordered from Amazon--and is available in the US from Jump Up Records, and in Europe from the 2 Tone Village Shop (Coventry, UK), Champion Sound Records (Hull, UK), Aggroshop (Nijmegen, Netherlands), and Copasetic Mailorder (Hamburg, Germany). Plus, my book was on sale in the museum shop for the "2 Tone: Lives & Legacies" exhibition (May 28 - September 12, 2021), curated by Simon Reynolds, Cory Barrett, Pete Chambers, Jennifer Otter Bickerdike and Daniel Rachel, at the Herbert Art Gallery Museum in Coventry, UK.
I'm now working on my next book, "Calling All the Rude Boys: The Duff Guide to The Toasters, 1981-1992," to be published in 2023.
If you have a ska or reggae release that you'd like me to consider reviewing, please send an e-mail to Steve at duffguidetoska@gmail.com. You should know that I am old school and prefer music in tangible formats (plus I might use your music when I DJ ska events). I'd also appreciate any news or tips you may have about bands.
All reviews and interviews posted on The Duff Guide to Ska are copyrighted and are the sole property of Steve Shafer. Please contact me for permission to reproduce anything on this blog.
3 comments:
To coincide with the upcoming Specials tour, Neville Staple is signing copies of his book, Original Rude Boy, at these stores and on these dates...
1 November Borders Cardiff The Hayes, Cardiff, CF10 1AH
2 November HMV Scarborough 109 Westborough, Scarborough, YO11 1LD
4 November HMV Blackpool Unit 1, Tower Shopping Centre, Bank Hey Street, Blackpool, FY1 4RZ
5 November Waterstone’s, Drake’s Circus, Plymouth 1 Charles St, Plymouth PL1 1EA
7 November HMV Thanet Unit 9A, The Fort, Westwood Cross, Margate Road, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 2BF
9 November HMV Wolverhampton 8 The Gallery, Mander Square, Wolverhampton, WV1 3NJ
12 November HMV Edinburgh Princess 129/130 Princes Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH2
19 November HMV Brighton 48-50, Churchill Square Shopping Centre, Brighton, BN1 2RG
21 November Waterstone’s Nottingham 1-5 Bridlesmith Gate Nottingham, NG1 2GR
25 November Waterstone’s Notting Hill Gate, London 39-41 Notting Hill Gate, London - 020
And as a titbit of gossip....Film Four is in talks to back a film called "Ghost Town" optioned by Manchester based EMU Films - the idea sold to them by Tony McMahon, who co-wrote Original Rude Boy with Neville Staple. Neville is a semi-fictionalised character in the movie, as is Pauline Black and Coventry boxer Errol Christie. Christie's biography, No Place To Hide, is being published by Aurum Press in March 2010.
Tetarchy:
Thanks for the Neville book signing update and the possible related film!
Best,
Steve
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