Roddy Radiation, The Scotch Bonnets, and Rude Boy George at Fontana's in Manhattan on 4/25/15

(Words and video by Steve Shafer)

I arrived a bit later to this gig than had planned, so I was bummed to find that I had missed The Scotch Bonnets' opening set, as I'm a huge fan of their ska/rocksteady/soul sound. The Scotch Bonnets' two records--the Live Ya Life album and their Quest EP with HR of Bad Brains--are two of the best releases the American ska scene has produced in recent memory. However, I did catch them backing Roddy Radiation, as he played a batch of tracks he penned for The Specials ("Rat Race," "Concrete Jungle," "Hey Little Rich Girl"--dedicated to Amy Winehouse, who covered it--and "Bonediggin'" off Guilty 'til Proved Innocent, as well as Lynval Golding's "Do Nothing," which is one of my favorite Specials' songs, hands down) and some of his terrific skabilly cuts from 2011's Blues Attack, like "Another Rusty Nail" and "Judgment Day." Roddy was in fine form, playing his guitar with dramatic rockabilly flourishes (and introducing each song with a little story about it), while the excellent Scotch Bonnets kept everything firmly grounded in bubbling and propulsive, R and B-tinged ska. While the crowd wasn't as nearly large as it should have been for such a quality pairing (what's up with that, NYC ska massive?), Roddy and the Bonnets nonetheless put on damn fine and satisfying show, one worthy of a much larger audience. (Roddy Radiation and The Scotch Bonnets are currently on a tour of the US Midwest and South for the remainder of April and first half of May--watch the videos below for a preview and make sure to catch them if they come to your town!)





While I've had to significantly dial down my participation in Rude Boy George, due to family and work commitments, I'm still partially involved in the band (and even was asked to come on stage to sing during their version of "Kids in America"). So, while I can't really review their set here, I'll let these two videos convey how amazing they were last night and why they deserve your love.





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NYC Goes 2 Tone: The Specials and Roddy Radiation This Week!

The Specials
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Pier 26 at Hudson River Park
Manhattan
$35 in advance/$40 day of show

I first heard about The Specials at their end. Sometime during the week of July 11, 1981, when Britain was convulsing with riots due to a toxic combination of high youth unemployment and the police's abuse/oppression of people in non-white communities and The Specials' magnificently haunting and relevant swan song "Ghost Town" happened to top the UK charts, NBC Nightly News--of all places--ran footage of the riots with "Ghost Town" as its soundtrack (and commented on the irony of it all). I didn't see the actual music video for "Ghost Town," directed by Barney Bubbles, until years later (MTV didn't exist at the time), but if the sights of Brixton, Handsworth, Chapeltown, and Toxteth burning, with pitched battles between youth and the police in the streets didn't sufficiently portray the dread and apocalyptic societal meltdown conveyed in Dammers' song, I don't know what would've.

Even though I had been a middle schooler at a boarding school in Manhattan in the late 70s/early 80s (how I came to be there is a long story for another time), I had completely missed all of The Specials' NYC performances, such as their January 25, 1980 date at Hurrah's or their August 12, 1981 date at Pier 84 on the Hudson with the Go-Gos (and, much to my regret, The Clash's legendary residency at Bond's in June 1981)--my school wasn't very far from any of these venues (and during the summers I was home in nearby Yonkers). My friends and I just weren't plugged into these scenes yet (and info on non-mainstream, UK bands was really hard to come by). Much of what I knew about music, and new wave in particular, came by word-of-mouth or happy accident (my boarding school bunk mate introduced me to The B-52s at a time when most of my peers were into Kiss and Aerosmith; I first heard The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated" at a middle school dance--where they also played "Rock Lobster" at least three times by popular demand; though I don't remember who lent me the cassette of Devo's Freedom of Choice--I played "Whip It" over and over until the tape practically disintegrated).

I heard much more of The Specials (and all of the 2 Tone-era bands) on WLIR, the brilliant modern rock/new wave station on Long Island that became my lifeline during high school in the first half of the 1980s (and introduced me to some of the greatest music ever produced). Since I hung out with a multi-racial crowd in Riverdale/Yonkers, I found one of the most appealing aspects of The Specials, The Selecter, and The Beat to be their strongly anti-racist stance (in addition to their incredible music). And even though it wasn't exactly ska, The Special AKA's "Free Nelson Mandela" and In the Studio were mind-blowingly good and hugely popular in my circle of friends. But my full-on passion for The Specials was revived/rebooted in the mid-to-late 80s (college years), as I discovered the stellar NYC ska scene (The Toasters, The Scofflaws, The NY Citizens, and Skinnerbox), Fishbone and The Untouchables, as well as the incredible post-2 Tone ska scene in the UK (Laurel Aitken, Potato 5, The Deltones, Bad Manners, The Loafers, etc.). Years later, Jerry Dammers' musical, political, and cultural vision had spawned so many extraordinary bands, so I made it a point to more closely examine/enjoy the source (which, of course, only led me back to genre's real origins with the 1960s bands in JA).

Several years later, when I was working for Moon Records, I found myself in the wing of the massive stage at the Manhattan Center watching The Scofflaws (I think!) perform at the NYC date for the 1993 Skavoovee Tour (Special Beat, Skatalites, Selecter, and Toasters). At one point, I looked around and the only other person nearby was Specials' drummer John Bradbury who was equally as captivated by The Scofflaws' performance as I was. I was too shy to approach him, but I found that simple moment to be pretty cool and memorable (I felt too awkward/intimidated to hang out with bands backstage then).

When The Specials MK II played out in the mid-to-late 1990s, I avoided seeing them (I had been scared off by the less-than-stellar Today's Specials and felt that they really shouldn't have been touring using The Specials' name with several key members missing). However, when all of The Specials (with the frustrating exception of Jerry Dammers) decided to reform and tour several years ago, I had desperately wanted to see the band at Terminal 5 in April 2010, but obligations at my job at the time kept me from going (I was running a fundraising event at a non-profit I worked for that same night). All of my friends who went were kind enough to tell me what an amazingly good concert I had missed. Much appreciated, guys.

So, The Specials' NYC date this week feels like a once-in-a-lifetime/last chance for me to see (most of) them live (since I can't really imagine that they'll do another big tour after this). I'll be the middle-aged guy in the 2 Tone shirt with a full head of spikey hair enjoying the hell out of himself and making up for a lot of lost time.

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Roddy Radiation
The Pandemics
(plus Selector Steve and DJ Marco on the Bass)
Friday, July 19, 2013
Electric Avenue at Characters NYC
243 West 54th Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue
Manhattan
$10; doors at 9:00 pm

While I don't expect to get anywhere near the stage at The Specials' show this week, Roddy Radiation will be up close and personal at his solo Electric Avenue performance this Friday night. Roddy will be playing his own fantastic ska-influenced rockabilly tunes (usually played with this band The Skabilly Rebels), as well as the well-known Specials' tracks he penned ("Concrete Jungle," "Rat Race," "Hey Little Rich Girl"). NYC's terrific Pandemics will be opening the night and it's rumored that they'll back Roddy on The Specials' songs. I'll be sharing the decks with my friend Marco on the Bass--playing an eclectic mix of vintage and modern ska. Hope to see you there!

(For some background on Roddy, check out this interview I did with him for The Duff Guide to Ska back in 2011 here.)

The Specials to Disband after Autumn Gigs

A posting by Roddy "Radiation" Byers on his Facebook page today succinctly states:

"Specials to split after November."

It should be noted that there is nothing to confirm this on the official Specials website. While this doesn't come as a huge surprise (how many reunion tours can they do without moving forward and writing/recording new music?), it is probably a big disappointment to the many ska fans in the Americas who weren't able to make the few gigs that took place in 2010 at Coachella and in New York and LA. (I keep kicking myself for not being able to make their NYC show here in April 2010--I had a work event that night that I was running, so there was no way to finagle my way out of it...)

Obviously, this is not the last we'll see of many of the band members in the future; Roddy will be playing out with his Skabilly Rebels, Lynval is writing his autobiography with Paul Willo, I thought I read something about Terry doing a new album, etc.

So if you're able to make any of The Specials' shows in Europe or the UK this fall, take it all in while you can...

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Update: Roddy also writes on his Facebook page that a Fun Boy Three reunion is up next (but we're not sure if this is true or in jest).

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Update #2: As of 9/13/11, the post has been removed from Roddy's Facebook page (no doubt he heard an earful from some of his band mates or the band's management). There is a discussion about it on The Specials Fan Site.

Duff Interview: Roddy "Radiation" Byers of The Skabilly Rebels & The Specials

Roddy "Radiation" Byers is well-known to generations of ska fans as the lead guitarist for The Specials who penned such classics as "Concrete Jungle," "Rat Race," and "Hey Little Rich Girl"--and helped create The Specials' groundbreaking 2 Tone sound with his rockabilly-influenced guitar riffs. In the years since The Specials dissolved, Roddy has been involved in The Specials MK2 in the 90s, as well as a series of rockabilly and ska-billy bands, including The Tearjerkers, The Bonediggers, and his current act, The Skabilly Rebels. (Any fans with turntables wanting to pick up The Skabilly Rebel's latest album "Blues Attack" should head over to Jump Up Records now--they're releasing the vinyl LP version on August 23, 2011.) The Duff Guide to Ska is delighted to present this interview with Roddy, which was conducted on 8/17/11. (Photo credits - top: Stu Rennie; other photos: Julian Hayr.)

The Duff Guide to Ska: For those not familiar with The Skabilly Rebels, how would you describe your sound? In particular, what aspect of your music holds the most appeal to ska fans?

Roddy Byers: Well as the label on the can says "Ska and Rockabilly" with a bit of punk and country, blues, etc.

DGTS: At your Skabilly gigs in the UK and Europe, do you have a good mix of ska and rockabilly fans or does it tend to favor one scene?

RB: It varies, depending on the country and the city, but we usually get a good cross section of skins, mods, punks, and rockers.

DGTS: Do you have any plans for The Skabilly Rebels to tour the US after The Specials’ European and UK dates this fall?

RB: Would love to get my band over the pond, but if that's not possible, I've recently been chatting to Slim Jim Phantom (The Stray Cats) about doing a Ska-Kats kinda thing hopefully next year.

DGTS: Why do you think so many of the ’77 British punk-era musicians (you and Joe Strummer, for instance) ended up exploring 1950s American rock and country music? The whole ethos of punk was to break from everything that came before it in order to create something new—the “No Elvis, Beatles or Rolling Stones” of The Clash’s “1977” manifesto (even if that didn’t end up happening). What’s the attraction?

RB: Well I know Joe and Mick of The Clash were big rock'n'roll fans, but back in the early punk days, we all pretended like we weren't!

But punk, like the early blues, hillbilly, and rock'n'roll, wasn't that far removed, it's all about energy and emotion.

DGTS: Both the ska and rockabilly scenes are often dismissed by critics as mere revivals—limited to hashing out old musical styles. What’s your take on this?

RB: Just about every pop/rock act you can mention started by playing music which had come before, then developed their own style using that influence as a basis to work from.

DGTS: You launched The Tearjerkers back when The Specials were on a break, just before the band broke up in 1981. The band you were in previous to the Coventry Automatics, The Wild Boys, was more into glam and proto-punk. So why were you eager to go in a rockabilly direction at that point? And how was the band received by Specials fans?

RB: I formed the Tearjerkers mainly because a lot of my songs were being rejected by The Specials' leader Jerry Dammers. He was moving in a very different direction from me, mixing jazz and cocktail lounge music, while I was writing tortured rock'n'roll songs.

The Wild Boys were influenced by my love of Iggy Pop and Bowie, Bolan and the New York Dolls. But all my music has always had that early Presley/Gene Vincent vibe going on.

Some Specials fans who are more broadminded seem to enjoy what I do and some who are just into the fashion of ska don't.

DGTS: Back in the early 80s, the popularity of ska and rockabilly in the UK crested about the same time (both scenes forced underground by the rise of the New Romantics)—but why do you think this took place? (In the US at that time, 2 Tone and bands like The Stray Cats and Polecats were considered to be part of New Wave and had stronger staying power.)

RB: I wanted The Stray Cats to support The Specials on our Seaside tour after seeing them at Gaz's Rockin' Blues club in Soho, London. We even had the tee-shirts printed, but as their first single broke big in England, they didn't need the support slot.

DGTS: Your rockabilly guitar licks helped create The Specials’ brilliant signature sound—though I read in Horace Panter’s autobiography that during the recording of The Specials’ debut record, producer Elvis Costello tried to sack you because he didn’t think it fit in with Jamaican ska (kind of ironic coming from a musician who has borrowed from and delved into so many other musical genres). In the years since, has he ever admitted to you how wrong he was?

RB: I just played the only way I knew how at the time on the early Specials recordings--mixing Duane Eddy with Johnny Thunders and the like.

Apparently Costello suggested The Specials fire me as he didn't hear the connection, but since then I've been called the godfather of ska-punk! But we weren't trying to revive 1960s ska, but take it somewhere else.

Elvis supported The Specials recently in Japan and he was very friendly. I commented on how well he looked, but I never mentioned the sacking business.

DGTS: Back in the 90s, Bucket from The Toasters wrote a song called “Chuck Berry,” which was essentially a history of ska that notes how significant and influential Berry’s early rock’n’roll had on the first Jamaican ska musicians (who heard his records via radio stations transmitting from New Orleans). How aware do you think most ska and early rock fans are of this connection?

RB: Chuck Berry has to be one of the greatest songsmiths in the history of popular music.

I've been told that in Jamaica they could pick up the Southern states on the radio and Fats Domino toured there several times, so there is a big connection which has been mostly overlooked.

DGTS: These days, it seems that a lot of people are crediting The Specials with having created the ska-punk genre that became popular in the 1990s. I have to cop to being a bit puzzled by this. I’ve always felt that The Specials captured the fury and energy of late 70s British punk in their attitude and super-charged performances, but that your guitar sound is much more Vince Taylor than Steve Jones or Joe Strummer. I’ve always though of ska-punk of having been more of a late 80s creation from pioneering bands like Operation Ivy, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and The NY Citizens who were heavily influenced by the US hardcore scene. What do you think?

RB: The Clash were an influence on The Specials and Joe Strummer gave us our first break when he asked us to support them on their 1978 U.K. tour.

Me and Terry [Hall] were some of the first punk rockers in Coventry and I traveled to most of the very early punk shows in London before I joined The Specials.

I'm not really up on the U.S. punk scene after 1980. My influences were more the late 70s NYC--The Ramones, Heartbreakers, etc.

DGTS: I’ve read that when you first played some of the Jamaican covers that became a part of The Specials’ set (like “Monkey Man”), you had never heard the originals. So you had no preconceived notions as to how they “should” sound and were freed up to interpret and play the songs in your own fashion. It seems like so much of went right for the band was just The Specials doing things the way they preferred to or simply knew how to do (in true DIY spirit, natch). In other words, the band wasn’t looking for fame—fame found you. Did it seem that way back then?

RB: I may have heard some, but I just played whatever came into my head. I suppose it was a punk D.I.Y. approach?

I think Jerry Dammers had a plan--record label, ska band, movement, but most of us were just out to have fun as you do when you're in your early twenties.

DGTS: Is there a remote chance that The Specials will come back to the US after their fall European and UK tour?

RB: I really don't know. I would love to, but it's not my shout, as we say in England.

DGTS: For the fans in Europe and the UK, what do The Specials have in store for them this time out?

RB: Well, we have included most of the second Specials album for this year's tour and there's a few surprises show-wise.

DGTS: Through all your years performing with The Specials, Tearjerkers, Bonediggers, and Skabilly Rebels, what have been your best and worst experiences up on stage?

RB: Ha, ha! Well, playing an outlaw biker club rally clubhouse tent with the Bonediggers, which was different! And I've played police station social clubs before too.

Life's always full of surprises!

DGTS: What are your thoughts about the UK riots? It seems that David Cameron’s austerity policies (echoing Margaret Thatcher’s) have created some of the frustration and circumstances that led to this social unrest.

RB: I'm not sure what to think. Is it politically motivated or just thugs grabbing what they can? One thing's for sure, things are very similar to 1980 when "Ghost Town" first came out as a single with unemployment and the youth them a getting angry.

DGTS: What are your plans for The Skabilly Rebels for the next year?

RB: Release another CD called Fallen Angel and maybe take the Skabs down under to Australia.