The Duff Guide to Ska Year in Ska Reviews 2017, Part 1!

From The Duff Guide to Ska badge collection (click on image to enlarge)!

(All reviews by Steve Shafer)

Basement 5 In Dub (Five-track vinyl EP, PIAS Recordings, 2017 reissue; originally released on Island Records, 1980): Dub meets end-of-days post-punk in this really fantastic mash-up of styles (produced by Martin Hannett, who collaborated with the Buzzcocks, Joy Division/New Order, Psychedelic Furs and others). The source material is Basement 5's sole punky reggae album, 1965-1980, which is very much worth tracking down (it was also reissued this year on CD with these dub tracks), but it doesn't work quite as perfectly as this. (For those are interested in band ancestry, Basement 5 bassist Leo Williams went on to co-found Big Audio Dynamite with Mick Jones and Don Letts.)

Rhoda Dakar The Lotek Four, Volume 1 (7" vinyl EP/CD EP, Pledge Music, 2016): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

Jackie Mittoo Striker Showcase (2xCD, 17 North Parade/VP Records, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

King Kong 4 "You Lie Awake" (digital single, Winterbeard Records, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

King Kong 4 "More Than Just a Plate Full"(digital single, Winterbeard Records, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

King Kong 4 There's Not Much That You or I Can Do About It (Five-track digital EP, Winterbeard Records, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

Let's Go Bowling Music To Bowl By (LP, Asian Man Records, 2017 reissue; originally released on CD, Moon Records, 1991): Read The Duff Guide to Ska appreciation here.

Massive Attack v. Mad Professor No Protection (heavyweight vinyl LP, Virgin Records, 2016 reissue; originally released in 1995 on Wild Bunch Records): Read The Duff Guide to Ska appreciation here.

Monty Neysmith and The Bishops "Fung Shu" b/w "Skin Flint" (7" red or blue vinyl single, Jump Up Records/Mad Butcher, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

Monty Neysmith and The Bishops Monty Neysmith Meets The Bishops (CD/LP, Jump Up Records, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

The Offs First Record (LP, CD Presents, 1984): Read The Duff Guide to Ska "Shots in the Dark" appreciation here.

Rude Guest Lost Chicago Ska 1982-1993 (CD/LP/cassette, Jump Up Records, 2016/2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

The Selecter Daylight (CD/LP, DMF Records, 2017): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

The Selecter/The Beat "Breakdown" b/w "Side To Side" (7" PS vinyl single, DMF Records, 2016): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

The Sentiments Hi-Fi (digital album/CD, Simmerdown Productions/Bandcamp, 2016): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

The Ska Flames Turn-Up (vinyl LP, Sun Shot, 2016): Read The Duff Guide to Ska review here.

Various Artists: Recutting the Crap, Volume 1 (LP/digital, Crooked Beat Records, 2017 Record Store Day release): I first heard The Clash's Cut the Crap back in 1985 after devouring Big Audio Dynamite's This is Big Audio Dynamite (both were released within months of each other) and was profoundly disappointed to find that while Jones and company had taken the Sandinista and Combat Rock musical gumbo (punk, hip-hop, dance rock, reggae/dub) to the next evolutionary level, Strummer had made u-turn back toward 1977 punk (at manager Bernie Rhodes' urging), but had been t-boned by Rhodes' god-awful musical direction/production (replete with session musicians, synthesizers, programmed drums, and football terrace-like shouted choruses) and several profound life experiences Joe was dealing with at the time that distracted him from the task at hand (the deaths of both of his parents and the birth of his first child). History has not been kind to Cut the Crap (generally it's not considered canonical by fans and band members alike), but in many cases the acts on Recutting the Crap have revealed in their versions that there were some seriously decent-to-great songs buried under Rhodes' dreck--Strummer's tunes were solid at the core. The Scotch Bonnets' terrific, stripped-down reggae take on the anti-nuclear war cut "Are You Red...Y" alone is worth the cost of this LP.  Other notable tracks include The Violets' ska-ified "Cool Under Heat," Dom Casual's ska-jazz-punkabilly "Sex Mad Roar," Basnji's "Dirty Punk" is loads more faithful to the Clash's '77 sound than the original (Too Much Joy's version of the cringe-y "We Are The Clash" is a valiant effort in this category, too), and Winterdrinks' "Play to Win" sounds like a deep cut from Sandinista. There are even a few covers of demos for Cut the Crap (which was originally titled Out of Control before Rhodes unilaterally renamed it)--I particularly liked Sussed Out with Sol Roots' raucous cover of "Backwoods Drive." A second volume of Recutting the Crap is slated for 2018, which presumably will include the last good and legit Clash single, "This Is England." (If you're in the NYC area, Rock and Soul has a good number of this limited edition LP in stock.)

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Part 2 of our Year in Ska Reviews is up next...

(And Part 3 is up on the blog, too.)

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Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: The Sentiments "Hi-Fi"

(Review by Steve Shafer)

The Sentiments Hi-Fi (digital album/CD, Simmerdown Productions/Bandcamp, 2016): This Portlandian ska supergroup of sorts (comprised of members of Easy Big Fella, Francesca, Engine 54, Crucial DBC, and Cornerstone) released their all out fantastic debut album just prior to the Christmas holidays. So, of course, it got lost in my end-of-year mad blur and I'm just now becoming clued in to what I've been missing (which is a lot)! The Sentiments play a sweet and pleasing blend of ska, soul, rocksteady, and reggae (paging all fans of The Pietasters!) Indeed, with lead singer Erin Wallace's wonderfully soulful alto voice, one could imagine that The Sentiments came into being when she took a wrong turn backstage and ended up on stage being backed by a ska band, rather than a soul one...

The Sentiments' Hi-Fi is an album stacked up with great songs (that seem so cinematic--some appropriate for films noir, others in the classic "let's put on a show" type musical vein, if the American song book had been written in ska 'n' soul) full of genuine emotion (the highs and lows of love) and razor sharp performances (by Mike Anderly on trombone, Sir Ryan William Bley on bass, Newel Briggs on guitar, Mike Birenbaum on piano, organ, and vocals, Tadd Enright on tenor sax and guitar, Matt Griffin on drums, Paul Howard on barit sax, Christian Lyons on trumpet, and Erin Wallace on vocals). The defiantly jaunty ska/soul of "Moving On" is all about being way past the pain of a break-up and eager for freedom again ("So, take all the time that you need/To try and get yourself straight/I'm out the door before/Before it gets too late"). Even the fast rhythm of the song sounds like the thump, thump, thump of the highway joints under the tires as you head out of town. If you're a citizen of a certain political persuasion during these dark, nonsensical times, the Doreen Shaffer with The Skatalites-like "This House" offers shelter, relief, and the chance to recharge your batteries of resistance (maybe an alternate reading could be that it's neutral ground, a place where we can all come together and figure out our way back to common ground?): "This house will be filled with love/This house can be an escape/This house will be filled with love/So come in/Sit down, and know it's okay...'Cause outside there's so much trouble/And outside there's heartache and pain/And inside there'll be no more struggle/'Cause inside this house we all share the same name..."

"You Don't Know" is a raucous showstopper--a fantastic duet between Wallace and keyboardist Mike (Mikey Sha Sha of Easy Big Fella) Birenbaum--about how hard each of them has it in life, but also that they need to get dressed up, go out and lose this stress with some fun. You'll swear "Why Did I Stay" was a Motown-era hit, but it's a heartbreaking original full of regret about two people who brought out the worst in each other ("You make me a liar/I make you a thief"). "Go On"--a ska pop hit if I've ever heard one--gives him enough rope to hang himself ("Go on/And tell me how you'll find another/Go on/And tell me I'm not your favorite lover/Go on/And tell me how we were only meant to be friends/Go on/Let me tell you how it ends..."). Nice little Bob Marley nod in there, too. The swing ska of "Every Time" is another terrific duet between Wallace and Birenbaum with a very Toasters-like horn line. The last two tracks have a decidedly '70s bent to them--"I Don't Want to Fight" has a bit of country and Latino pop in there, while The Sentiments' cover of Ashford and Simpson's 1968 song for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell "You're All I Need to Get By" is an amazingly inspired choice.

So, now I just need to figure out if The Sentiments' Hi-Fi should go on my best of list for 2016 or 2017...

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The Big Ska Gamble 7" Record Club Kickstarter Project

If you follow this blog with some frequency, you know that I'm a big proponent of the Kickstarter model as a way forward for many non-mainstream bands who want to be in a position to be able to produce--and actually be paid for--recorded music housed in a physical format in this dark age of worldwide file-sharing/pirating of digital music. And it's a fantastic way for fans to directly support the bands they love and be able to acquire music that is highly-collectible, as these projects are typically limited-edition pressings of vinyl or CDs. Several highly-successful ska-related Kickstarter projects that I've had the pleasure of being involved with include those for Moondust Records/Reggae 69 Club; The Sentiments; and most recently, The Shifters.

The latest ska Kickstarter project I'm backing is The Big Ska Gamble: a Seven-Inch Vinyl Record Subscription Club, which was put together by Brian J. Polk of the "23min of Ska" podcast (many of these bands have appeared on his show), and features a mix of traditional ska/rocksteady, reggae, and ska-punk acts from across the USA.

While you can learn all the details of this project on The Big Ska Gamble Kickstarter page, it essentially boils down to this: for a $36 pledge (if the project is fully funded), the subscription club will send you two 7" records starting this July from the following acts:

The Action League - ska/punk from San Luis Obispo, CA
Do It With Malice - ska/metal/hardcore punk from Buffalo, NY
The Georgetown Orbits - ska, reggae and dub from Seattle, WA
Lockstep - reggae punk from Indianapolis, IN
The Shifters - rocksteady from Washington D.C.
Stop the Presses - ska/surf/punk from Miami, FL

The project will only be funded if at least $5,000 is pledged by Sunday, May 6, 2012 at 2:59AM EDT.

I was compelled to make my pledge because of my fan-boy devotion to The Shifters (though I'm definitely eager to discover what some of these other bands come up with), but it seems like with all of the various permutations of ska represented in this project that there is definitely something for every ska fan to love here...

The Echoes of Kingston Tour Featuring The Legendary Skatalites!

In celebration of their 48th anniversary (as well as the 50th anniversary of Jamaican Independence!), The Skatalites are embarking on The Echoes of Kingston Tour of the Southwest, West Coast, and Western Canada this April. In addition, the band, led by Lester Sterling, is planning a new release later this year, All Roads--and will be selling a new 7" single featuring two songs off the album exclusively on this tour. (Following their US dates, The Skatalites will storm the UK in May--check out the dates here).

The Echoes of Kingston Tour launches on Friday, March 30th in Houston, TX and heads north to New Mexico and Colorado, then on to Arizona, Mexico, California, Washington and Canada--and back again to finish at the Viva Ska Vegas blowout in Las Vegas.

Along the way, The Skatalites will play with some of the best young bands the US has to offer, including Keysor Soze, Los Skarnales, The Sentiments, The Georgetown Orbits, and more. Joining the band on most of the AZ-CA dates will be Los Angeles' leading proponents of ska and reggae, The Delirians. The band has been forging a sound rooted in the past, yet distinctly their own--and they've backed and performed with Jamaican legends such as Derrick Morgan, The Melodians, Derrick Harriot, Stranger Cole and more.

The tour will also include support on certain dates from some true legends, such as one of the original Studio One songstresses Norma Fraser, and son of hitmaker Toots Hibbert, Junior Toots.

The Echoes of Kingston Tour is also supporting the Alpha Boys School Project--and will be accepting donations of used instruments along the tour route, which will be cleaned, repaired and delivered to this legendary school in Jamaica that had such an extraordinary impact on many of Jamaica's finest and most celebrated musicians (including, of course, many members of the original Skatalites). Find out much more about the project--and the types of instruments the school needs--here.

THE ECHOES OF KINGSTON TOUR DATES:

Fri 3/30 Houston, TX: Mango's Cafe Montrose
Sat 3/31 Austin, TX: Flamingo Theater
Mon 4/2 Santa Fe, NM: Sol at Santa Fe Brewery
Tue 4/3 Colorado Springs, CO: Black Sheep
Wed 4/4 Fort Collins, CO: Aggie Theater
Thu 4/5 Denver, CO: Cervantes
Fri 4/6 Durango, CO: Abbey Theater
Sat 4/7 Phoenix, AZ: Compound Grill
Tue 4/10 Yuma, AZ: Strummer's Village Tavern
Thu 4/11 San Diego, CA: World Beat Cultural Center
Wed 4/12 Ensenada, Mexico
Fri 4/13 Los Angeles, CA: Los Globos
Sat 4/14 Santa Cruz, CA: Moe’s Alley
Sun 4/15 Sparks, NV: The Alley
Mon 4/16 Santa Rosa, CA: Last Day Saloon
Tue 4/17 Arcata, CA: Humbrews
Wed 4/18 Portland, OR: Goodfoot Lounge
Thu 4/19 Vancouver, BC CANADA: The Venue
Fri 4/20 Victoria, BC CANADA: Club 9ONE9
Sat 4/21 Cumberland, BC CANADA: Waverly Pub
Mon 4/23 Bellingham, WA: Wild Buffalo
Tue 4/24 Seattle, WA: Nectar Lounge
Wed 4/25 Eugene, OR: WOW Hall
Thu 4/26 Sacramento, CA: Harlow’s
Fri 4/27 Oakland, CA: The Uptown
Sat 4/28 Las Vegas, NV: Viva Ska Festival

New Slackers/Agent Jay Occupy Wall Street Benefit Single

To help support Occupy Wall Street (which despite all the grumblings about its supposed lack of specific goals has succeeded brilliantly in framing the national discussion and forcing politicians and the mainstream media to acknowledge the dire problem of the extraordinary wealth/income inequity that currently exists in the United States), The Slackers and Crazy Baldhead (AKA Agent Jay, The Slackers' guitarist) have recorded a cut each and are donating all proceeds to this righteous cause. This vinyl-only release (as a 7" single) features The Slackers' "Volunteers" on side A, backed with Crazy Baldhead's "Cutback."

Matthew Griffin of Simmerdown Productions (who is also the drummer for The Sentiments--they have a new EP out, by the way--and he spins ska on the radio at KPSU on the "Rude Boy's Revenge & Coffee Hour" show) is issuing the benefit single on his venerable label.

Only 500 copies of this single are being pressed (and it will be delivered from the plant in a few weeks)! Pre-orders now being accepted. Send $7.00 check or money order (U.S.)/$11.00 international/Canada to: Simmerdown Productions, P.O. Box 344, Portland, OR 97207 (or via PayPal to djsimmerdown@comcast.net).

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Crazy Baldhead - CUTBACK by Crazy Baldhead on Mixcloud

Music Junkies

From a recent article in The New York Times:

"About 95 percent of music downloads in 2010 were unlicensed and illegal, with no money flowing back to artists, songwriters or record producers, according to Alex Jacob, a spokesman for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry."

I have to admit to being completely bummed out after I came across that paragraph in The Times. How can bands and labels--particularly those on the underground scene--ever hope to survive (let alone thrive) if they can't expect to even cover their expenses? Why should they ever bother to go through the huge effort to put out recorded music if they're just going to be ripped off by the "fans"? (As many of you know, I'm old school and believe that people should actually purchase recorded music--and have written extensively about the evils of illegal file sharing here, here, and here.)

But then I came across the picture below today and it makes me think that everything will be alright! The music fanatics like Jason Lawless (and many others) will always find a way to keep things going!


This photo is from the pressing plant where the first Moondust Records release is being readied from the late and absolutely great Laurel Aitken: "Reggae 69" b/w "Big Fight in Hell Stadium." I'm a member of Reggae 69 Fan Club, which funded this project through Kickstarter--yes, a whole bunch of us ska and reggae fanatics got together and put up our money in order to make a whole series of 7" releases happen. So, I'll be receiving one of these sweet babies in the mail soon! (Get in touch with Jason to find out how you can join, too!)

Perhaps this is really the only feasible way forward for the independent side of the music industry--the new (and somewhat awkward and unorthodox) model for selling recorded music: the fans have to become investors in a project before it can be put into production and fully realized. It may be the only means for recorded music to re-acquire value and significance in the digital era. Collectively, we have to pay in advance, in terms of both cold hard cash and an unshakable trust that the band will make the most of our faith in them and create some amazing music. It's sort of a Darwinian way approach to making records and CDs--only the strong will survive to reproduce. But I suppose it's much more preferable than the slow slide into oblivion. (Really, the future is now: I've already helped to sponsor Portland, OR's new ska/rocksteady act The Sentiments in their effort to record and release two 7" singles...)

Is this the only way back from the brink for all of us?