NYC Screening of "Riot on the Dance Floor: The Story of Randy Now and City Gardens"

Check out The NY Citizens button on Randy's bag!

I'm sad to say that I never made it down to see a ska show at the legendary, but long-closed City Gardens in down-and-out Trenton, NJ. While in the 80s and 90s this venue run by promoter New Wave DJ and postal worker Randy Now showcased some of the best punk, hardcore, hip-hop, metal, New Wave, and alternative acts around, Now also put together tons of ska shows that featured bands like Fishbone, The Skatalites, The Toasters, Bim Skala bim, The NY Citizens, Panic/Bigger Thomas, King Apparatus, Dance Hall Crashers, The Skunks, Mephiskapheles, and many more. So, as the US ska scene grew in the late 80s and early 90s, City Gardens became a vital spot along the ska touring route along the I-95 corridor between NYC and Philly.

With this in mind, NYC-area ska fans will want to catch a screening of a new documentary titled, "Riot on the Dance Floor: The Story of Randy Now and City Gardens," which is playing tomorrow night (Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 7:00 pm) at the AMC Loews Village 7 (66 Third Avenue in Manhattan).

There will be questions and answers session after the film with the director (Steve Tozzi) and members of the Butthole Surfers (Gibby Haynes), Rollins Band (Sim Cain), and the Cro-Mags (John Joseph), as well as an after party at Bowery Electric with Gibby Haynes DJing.

Fans of Bigger Thomas (and Rude Boy George) will find this documentary of interest, as Roger Apollon and Marc Wasserman are interviewed in the film (they're also in a new book about City Gardens titled, "Notice: No Slam Dancing, No Stage Diving, No Spikes: An Oral History of the Legendary City Gardens," by Amy Yates Wuelfing and Steven DiLodovico).

Bigger Thomas Recording Songs for New EP/Track for City Gardens Documentary Soundtrack

In NYC ska news, we're psyched to let you know that Bigger Thomas are prepping a set of new songs for an EP to be released digitally (and possibly on vinyl) early next year. Basic tracks will be recorded in New Jersey and then Bigger Thomas will work with Agent Jay of The Slackers on vocals, horns, and all other overdubs at his studio in Brooklyn.

The Duff Guide to Ska has been lucky enough to hear rough demos of two of these new tracks Bigger Thomas tracks--"Super Moon" and "Weird Lenses"--and is stoked to report that they're fantastic and will be sure to please fans of the band's super-charged, 2 Tone-influenced NYC ska sound.

In related news, an instrumental version of "Super Moon" will be featured on the soundtrack of the upcoming City Gardens documentary Riot On The Dancefloor (The Story of Randy Now and City Gardens), which includes interviews with Roger Apollon, Jr. and Marc Wasserman (since Bigger Thomas played this Trenton, NJ venue back in the late 80s/early 90s, along with other ska bands like The Toasters and The NY Citizens).

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Here are two videos of Bigger Thomas in action, performing "Simple Man" and "Can't Remember My Name" with Roy Radics of The Rudie Crew at the recent Electric Avenue show at Characters NYC: