Preview the New Beat Brigade Album!

Beat Brigade circa 1987!

One of the albums slated to be released soon that I'm dying to get my dirty hands on is the debut long-player from NYC's own Beat Brigade. While they were really big on the NYC ska scene in the mid-to-late 80s, they didn't lay down many tracks in the studio for posterity (to date, their only two released recordings are the boss ska-calypso-rock of "Armageddon Beat" on the NY Beat! Hit and Run compilation in 1986 and the raucous ska of "Try and Try Again" on a split double A single with The Toasters' "Talk is Cheap" in 1987), which is a shame, since Beat Brigade were one of the top bands in the city at that time.

Beat Brigade were a great example--along with The Toasters, Urban Blight, NY Citizens, Second Step, The Boilers, AKings, and City Beat--of the gritty, aggressive, and adventurous NYC ska sound that had developed in the wake of 2 Tone (and helped bring about the rise of the so-called Third Wave of ska in the 1990s)! Yet, these were no Specials/Madness/Beat/Selecter wannabes--though they clearly loved those bands and built upon/expanded the 2 Tone sound to incorporate all sorts of diverse musical elements from funk to punk to New Wave and beyond. Indeed, Beat Brigade's sound can best be characterized as the modern, punky ska of The Specials crossed with the New Wave bite and verbosity of Elvis Costello, and the musical exploration of The Beat, all topped off with the political awareness/attitude of The Clash.

Fortunately for ska fans in the 21st century, Beat Brigade reunited a few years ago (with original members Carmelo Dibartolo, Jack Hoppenstand, Frank Usamanont, Erick Storkman, and Dave Barry, along with Ramsey Jones and Michael Kammers) and have been putting on some amazing shows ever since. Plus, they've finally been able to record many of their excellent, socio-politically aware songs from the 80s, along with some equally fantastic new tracks. You can whet your appetite on previews of several of their new tunes--including my faves "Keep Still Dark," "401 Kill," and "Another Cause," which are linked below--on Beat Brigade's new SoundCloud page!

We'll pass along details regarding Beat Brigade's album release when they become available...
 

N.Y. Beat 25th Anniversary Reunion on 4/10/10

It's hard to believe, but a quarter of a century has passed since the first-ever US ska compilation was released on Moon Records in 1985 (I was a senior in high school and remember picking up a copy of N.Y. Beat: Hit & Run at Sounds on St. Mark's, not quite sure what it would contain--but knowing that I liked ska, The Specials, Fishbone, and this band called The Toasters).

To celebrate this milestone in the history of NYC/American ska music, Marc Wasserman of Bigger Thomas (and the 2 Tone/80s ska blog Marco on the Bass) has organized a N.Y.Beat: Hit & Run reunion for Saturday April 10, 2010 at 8:00 pm at the Dusk Lounge in New York City (co-owned by A-Kings/Thick As Thieves bass player Sid Reitzfeld). Members from almost all of the 13 bands featured on the album are expected to attend--and fans, family, and friends are all encouraged to come. (If it makes a difference, I'm also deejaying the event with an offbeat mix of vintage, 2 Tone, and modern ska.)

For more info about this extraordinary event, check out the Marco on the Bass blog and the Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Ska Compilation N.Y. Beat: Hit & Run Facebook page.

If you are anywhere near the NYC area, I hope to see you there...

Urban Blight (!) at the Canal Room

I'm not going to be able to make it, but Urban Blight is playing the Canal Room here in Gotham City on Thursday, May 29th (for the first time since 1998!). Expect a lot of 30 and 40-somethings to be there, reliving the glory daze of the mid-to-late 80s. Seriously, their brand of ska/reggae/R&B/funk drew a huge and well-deserved following in the metro area... If you ever come across their From the Westside to the Eastside EP, pick it up--it's fantastic.