Duff Review: Flying Vipers "Green & Copper: The First Two Tapes"

Vinyl LP (green or copper vinyl)
Jump Up Records/Music ADD Records
2022

Editor’s note: Since the Flying Vipers’ first two cassette-only releases were just issued on colored vinyl for the first time by Jump Up Records and Music ADD Records, it seems like a good idea to revisit my reviews of each of these tapes! 

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

[The Green Tape; review originally published September 21, 2015] 

Brothers John and Marc Beaudette (the former on bass, guitar, and melodica; the later on drums and percussion) from Boston's mighty roots reggae outfit Destroy Babylon have teamed up with keyboardist Zack Brines from Pressure Cooker for a new dub project titled Flying Vipers--which is inspired by the incredible analog dub reggae of the 1970s and early 1980s produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry, Keith Hudson, King Tubby, Dennis Bovell, Scientist, and many others.

In seeking to capture that spirit, sound, and vision for their own original tracks, Flying Vipers recorded their instrumentals on an old-school, Tascam 8-track cassette console (and performed using vintage drums, bass, and keyboards). The final dub mix (by Jay Champany of Truth and Rights) was recorded live on the same Tascam deck, utilizing classic dub techniques and effects--and the results are really pretty phenomenal (and having Kevin Metcalfe, who has worked with David Bowie, The Clash, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Dr. Alimantando, UB40, Dennis Brown, Black Uhuru, Prince Far I, and others, master the final mixes certainly must have helped!).

Flying Vipers' The Green Tape contains six fantastic tracks of tangibly warm, vibrant, and crisp dub instrumentals with great melodies--earworms, really--that will move your body and elevate your mood. My favorite cut here, "Beacon Street Version," features a lilting, very Rico-like trombone melody on a song that sounds like it could have been off Warieka Dub. Other great touches abound throughout the tape--from the jazzy, bell-like sound of the Fender Rhodes on the lovely "Bell Crickets," to the haunting melodica lines on the slow spooling of "Tape Hiss," as well as the urgent and slightly dangerous "Dragon Snout," to the trippy, wah-wah pedal effects on the guitar line of "Cannabaceae" (which is a family of small flowering plants including Cannabis and Humulus, or hops), and the tension on display between the relaxed sax and the hyper, almost martial percussion in "Coffee Kush" (yes, apparently a strain of coffee-flavored marijuana now exists--does one have the Pavlovian jolt from the taste of coffee, but then mellow out when the THC kicks in?).

My only complaint about this release is that I want more of it. For now, hook up your dad's old tape deck to the stereo or bid on a used Sony Walkman on eBay--and then have someone over forty show you how to insert the cassette (and enjoy)!

[The Copper Tape; review originally published on April 2, 2017] 

This is the second release from Boston's mighty Flying Vipers, which is comprised of members of Destroy Babylon and Pressure Cooker, who specialize in '70s-sounding instrumental roots reggae and dub recorded on analog equipment that reminds this reviewer most strongly of Dennis Bovell's output. The Vipers create incredible, mesmerizing dub tracks that never quite deconstruct things to the point where the tune is entirely lost--melody is everything here (like on all Bovell productions). I love this whole tape (eight cuts on the cassette), but standout tracks for me include the sublimely ethereal "Smoke and Dagger" (paging Jackie Mittoo!), the Western reggae-ish "Heady Topper Headon" (of course, named after The Clash's phenomenal drummer), and the mysterious Lee Perry-like "Return of the Living Zero" (which rely on organ, melodica, and clavinet respectively to carry each song's tune). You may think me bold, but Flying Vipers' The Copper Tape is most likely the best new dub release you'll hear all year.

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Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: Destroy Babylon, Roger Rivas, Smoke & Mirrors Soundsystem, and Roy Radics' last recording with Dope Sagittarius!

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

Destroy Babylon--the powerhouse reggae/rock/post-punk band led by the Beaudette brothers when they're not doing their dub thing with Flying Vipers--have released a digital single that is a follow-up to their 2017 concept album Shapeshifters (read my review of it here). That album was about the Pandora's box of white supremacy, disinformation, lies, conspiracy theories, and potential for political violence that was unleashed by Trumpism and DB's latest extraordinary single "World's Straightest Line" b/w "Course Corrections" (Digital, Music A.D.D., 2021) continues in a similar vein with songs about the ongoing degradation of our society and disintegration of the social contract. At first, I thought "World's Straightest Line" (a fierce punk rock/hardcore-ish track) was about America's war on drugs, the mass incarceration of Black citizens, and the poverty-to-prison pipeline, but then realized it's about casting social media as a pusher--how it taps into people's lurid, insatiable desire for intimacy with other people's worst moments (and what it extracts from them/us in turn). If the post-punk cut "Course Corrections"--about giving in to authoritarian rule in order to survive ("If you want peace, don’t spare the rod/Closed fist--your new god...I have seen the awful truth/I would do the same to you")--had come out a couple of decades ago, you would have thought it was a good take on 1984. But listening to it in 2021, when it has become crystal clear that the right wing in our country is openly working to dismantle American democracy, is a chilling experience. The distorted, dubby, guitar effects that slip in and out of the shadows of this song are incredibly effective; they're the sounds of a slow-motion dystopian nightmare coming true. 

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Sean Flowerdew's Happy People Records is in overdrive lining up some of the best ska, rocksteady, and reggae singles one could hope for; I believe they're almost up to their 100th release already! (US fans--did you notice that there's a new Happy People Stateside imprint, so you can order these great records and not get killed by international postal rates?) One of the latest singles is Roger Rivas' terrific "Heading West" b/w "Last Goodbye" (7" vinyl single/digital, Happy People Records, 2021), which come from Rivas' out-of-print 2014 LP Last Goodbye (which is still available digitally on Bandcamp). "Heading West" is a bright, bubbly Western reggae/rocksteady trip to a better place that promises even better times, while "One More Dance" sounds a bit tentative and melancholy, as if someone's holding out hope that a rift can be patched up before the end of the night with a close and silent slow dance.

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I meant to write about the John Roy-driven Smoke and Mirrors Soundsystem project much earlier this spring. This is the relaunched New Normal Collaboration project that released the excellent Quarantined on Easy Street last fall (read my review of it here), but ran into issues with one of the people co-leading the effort. Roy (of '90s ska act The Unsteady) has since re-recorded all of the drum tracks and remixed the album, and the new version--retitled Strength in Numbers--can be heard/bought here (at some point soon it will be released on vinyl, too). Smoke and Mirrors Soundsystem also has been working on an album of awesome ska/reggae covers of '80s classics like Bowie's "Let's Dance," Echo and the Bunnymen's "Killing Moon," and Tears for Fears "Mad World," as well as cuts from Junior Byles ("Fade Away"), Sam and Dave ("When Something's Wrong with My Baby"), Smokey Robinson & The Miracles ("Second That Emotion"), Edwin Star ("25 Miles"), Spencer Davis Group ("I'm a Man"), and more.

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A few weeks ago, Luqman Brown (from the NYC "soul core" NYC band FunkFace, which includes members of Beat Brigade) reached out to let me know that another band of his Dope Sagittarius is re-releasing a special edition of their latest album that features Roy Radics' last recording. Radics, of course, was the beloved lead singer of the NYC ska and reggae band The Rudie Crew who passed away unexpectedly in the prime of his life in 2016. The Dope Sagittarius track that features Radics is "Sacred Places"--the title track of this incredible funk-electro-hip-hop-rock band's latest album (which is available from Buddahbug Records on vinyl and digital via Bandcamp). Radics delivers some wickedly fantastic toasting during a dancehall break in this cut about the place you're transported to when you lick the chalice ("I'm stuck between the now and the sacred space"). He sounds so good here and hearing him do what he did so well will make you miss Radics all the more. Anyone who knows about and is into the Black Rock Coalition bands (who incorporate "the spectrum of Black music" into their songs) like Living Color, 24-7 Spyz (I caught them opening for The Untouchables years ago and they were on fire!), FunkFace, and Fishbone will want to devour Dope Sagittarius' Sacred Places.

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Duff Review: Flying Vipers "Cuttings"

Music ADD Records
Digital (July 3, 2020)/LP and cassette (Fall 2020, Jump Up Records)
2020

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Back in the mid-nineties when I ran the Moon Records promo department out of a bedroom in my apartment (with my assistant and an intern or two), I often played dub albums (loads of Lee "Scratch" Perry after reading an extensive overview/ranking of his recordings in the Beastie Boys' magazine "Grand Royale"), as the rhythms and melodies would help keep us working at a steady pace without being too intrusive or overpowering. While I'm certainly not implying that dub is akin to background music a la Muzak, it is great music to play either while doing something else or when taking the time to do nothing but be alone with your thoughts. If Flying Vipers' Cuttings had been available back then, it would have been in heavy rotation on the office stereo, as well as during the off hours.

After releasing a series of superb cassettes (The Green Tape, The Copper Tape), and physical and digital singles ("Highest Region," "Nervous Breakdub (Pandemic Version)" b/w "PMA Calling") over the past few years, Flying Vipers have finally issued their first long-player Cuttings, which, as one would expect, is crammed with incredibly hooky, dubby roots reggae instrumentals reminiscent of Dennis Bovell's magnificent productions and Perry's recent and awesome collaborations with Adrian Sherwood and Daniel Boyle.

Cuttings, of course, refers not only to the leaves that have been harvested from cannabis plants, but these musical fruits of the band's labors in the studio--and they have one bounteous crop here. Highlights include "Leaf Miner," which has a wonderful interplay between a rigid and relentless bass riff and a series of answering free flowing Rhodes piano lines; the prescient, apocalyptic "Two Twenties Clash" (and people thought things were bad back in '77!); the Bunny "Striker" Lee tribute "Flight of the Gorgon" with its majestic, panoramic horns; the bad-ass "Scorpio Son" and its version "Son of Scorpio"; and the supremely confident and untouchable "Puff Adder" (many of the cuts on this album are ripe for being versioned by deejays and singers--and becoming well-known riddims in their own right).

Flying Vipers are comprised of the devastatingly good rhythm section of Marc and John Beaudette (Destroy Babylon, The Macrotones), the gifted Zack Brines (Pressure Cooker) on keys, and Jay Champany (10 Ft. Ganja Plant) on percussion and the master at the analogue controls (plus ace guests on horns, sax, flute, clarinet, and binghi).

If you haven't been paying attention to this band, Cuttings is a brilliant introduction to the mighty Flying Vipers; and if you have, you're going to love this album,

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Duff Guide to Ska Fast Take: Flying Vipers "Nervous Breakdub (Pandemic Version)" b/w "PMA Calling"

Music A.D.D.
Digital single
2020

(Review by Steve Shafer)

While much of the nation--and world--is under heavy coronavirus manners, John and Marc Beaudette of the Boston dub unit Flying Vipers (and reggae-rock band Destroy Babylon) have revisited their really fantastic take on Black Flag's debut Nervous Breakdown EP (which we reviewed last year) with their new digital single "Nervous Breakdub (Pandemic Version)" b/w "PMA Calling." The pandemic version is even better than Flying Vipers' already great first run at this--its now distorted bass more punky and dirty and ballsy, and the use of the forever-locked-in-the-'70s sounds of the Odyssey synthesizer (think of the theme music for the "In Search of..." TV show hosted by Spock) provides a crisp, just shy of cheesy retro-futuristic contrast that works brilliantly. As you might of guessed, "PMA Calling" is Bad Brains-related; it's Flying Vipers' cover of BB's "Jah Calling" from their yellow ROIR tape (Bad Brain's debut release in '82), which turned on John Beaudette and countless other budding American teen punk rockers to reggae (and blew so many people's minds that Bad Brains could play both hardcore and roots reggae so damn well). Flying Vipers again make terrific use of the Odyssey synth with spaced-out sounds that soothe the stressed-out mind/body and float above the insistent, ever forward moving rhythm section (I'd listen to this in a sensory deprivation tank!). These stellar tracks will greatly enhance your lockdown playlist and help keep you going during dark and uncertain times.

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Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: Flying Vipers "Nervous Breakdub"!

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Flying Vipers Nervous Breakdub (digital, Music ADD Records, 2018): Twin brothers Marc and John Beaudette from the mighty Boston reggae/punk/rock band Destroy Babylon are the driving force behind the fantastic dub and roots reggae act Flying Vipers (we've previously reviewed their Green Tape, Copper Tape, and Johnny Clarke Meets Flying Vipers single--all are great). Their latest effort is an incredible dub version of Black Flag's debut Nervous Breakdown EP, released 40 years ago this month. Flying Vipers' version of this punk/proto-hardcore classic conveys the original's edge and general unhinged-ness as one extended dub cut covering all five-plus minutes of Black Flag's short, sharp, shocks of fury ("Nervous Breakdown," "Fix Me," "I've Had It," and "Wasted"), using only drums, bass, melodica, effects, and the space between. Their take on Raymond Pettibone's sleeve artwork is pretty cool, too. If you like Black Flag and dub (and even if you just like dub), you'll get a big kick out of this.

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The Duff Guide to Ska Year in Ska Reviews 2017, Part 4

Unrelated image of releases and posters from NYC area ska bands.

(All reviews by Steve Shafer)

Destroy Babylon Shapeshifters (CD/digital, MusicADD, 2017): A concept album of sorts, Destroy Babylon's extraordinary Shapeshifters is a collection of angry and defiant post-punk, rock, and reggae protest songs aimed at the heart of Trumpism. Beginning with the question of "how much do you pay for protection" (from the police and criminals roaming the streets), the songs traverse a systemically racist, violent, authoritarian-leaning, war-crazy, unfettered capitalist dog-eat-dog American landscape, ending with the singer's demise at the "business end of a knife." In the midst of this, there are pleas for tolerance ("Judgement": "Hey! Leave your judgement unspoken/Shouldn't matter to you if we're living atypical lives/No, we're not gonna hurt nobody/We need no alibi"), a rumination on mortality ("Teeth Dreams": "Got a handful of my teeth staring at me, oh well/Got a long list of things that I can’t be, oh well/Got a lifetime full of enemies/I still curse missed opportunities/with this infinitely finite me, oh well"), and a song about being lulled into apathy, despite one's best intentions otherwise ("Drift": I wanted everything to change/While I stay the same/But I just drifted away")--even a classical instrumental with flute and strings called "Dance of the Demagogues"! It's one of the most unique, compelling, and disturbing records I've encountered this past year (and keep coming back to). Give it a listen!

Danny Rebel and the KGB Lovehaus (digital, Stomp Records, 2017): I'm kicking myself for missing this sleeper of a release earlier this year! Danny Rebel and the KGB's sound is a brilliant and fully-realized blend of rocksteady, roots/dubby reggae, pop, and soul--and their super-catchy songwriting and performances on Lovehaus are phenomenally top-notch. I can't stop listening to tracks like the Heptones-y "Take Me Away"; "Steady Hands" (the life of a gunslinger has to be a lonely one), a punky reggae cut that could have been on Sandinista; "Copper Mountain," which I think is about the long-dead, bad-ass pioneering inhabitants of a ghost town ("I was into anarchy before the war/I used wonder what we're fighting for/Lost my leg to an iron gun/and I never walked back to Copper Mountain") who want to know if we're satisfied with our modern lives; "When the Lights Go Out," a hauntingly beautiful lament (with ice rink organ!) for our collective--and self-inflicted--end-times ("Burn all the forests/And drain the sea/I get my advice/From a cash machine/Build bombs for civilians/Make a million, you'll see/Will we make it out alive?/And if we do/Is the sun going to shine?"); and "1601," a magnificent track that conveys the "Purple Rain"-like emotions unleashed of the end of a relationship. Make sure to check this one out! (Hey, Stomp Records--this deserves a physical release!)

Version City Rockers Fortitude (CD/digital download, Stubborn Records, 2017): As its title might suggest, there's an Old Testament, God-of-wrath vibe permeating this record. Despite significant personal and professional setbacks over the past decade--betrayal, flood, destruction, illness, and several deaths of friends and family--King Django's Job-like grit and determination to persevere (and triumph) in the face of repeated adversity are embodied in this amazing album. Based on the single--but remarkably durable--"Fortitude" riddim Django created back in 2002, this album collects sixteen versions by various dancehall and reggae greats (who contribute their own melodies and lyrics/toasts of positivity); two-thirds of these cuts were issued on 45s via the Freedom Sounds/Jamaican Version City label in 2007-2008, while the remainder are new and previously unreleased. I'm partial to takes by Johnny Osbourne ("Let There Be Love"), Prince Alla ("We No Want No Bomb"), Pompidou ("Selassie I Rule"), ex-Toaster Jack Ruby, Jr. ("Action Time"), Little John ("I Feel Good"), P-Dub ("Solitude"), Kapaichie ("One for All"), Carlton Livingston ("Vex"), and Drew Daniels ("Talk About Love")--and completely relate to King Django's mid-life perspective "The More I Learn" ("... it seem the less I want to say/Things I knew just yesterday/I'm not so sure today/I used to think in black and white/But now it's shades of gray/With open eyes and mind/For all that I survey..."). Each track is beautiful in itself, but taken as a whole, Fortitude is a powerful and profound body of music and message. Use as needed.

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

Read The Duff Guide to Ska Year in Ska Reviews 2017, Part 2.

Read The Duff Guide to Ska Year in Ska Reviews 2017, Part 3!

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Cassette Store Day 2017 (Postscript): Interview with Marc Beaudette of Flying Vipers

Editor's note: For Cassette Store Day 2017, Jump Up Records issued twelve cassettes (!) from acts like The Toasters, The Slackers, Mephiskapheles, Green Room Rockers, Roger Rivas, Danny Rebel (of Danny Rebel and the KGB), CeANNE (of The Mighty Fishers and Pannonia Ska Orchestra), Flying Vipers, The Drastics, as well as a Jump Up compilation titled "Pressure Hop" (a detailed list of Jump Up CSD releases can be found here). This is the last CSD-related interview we're posting this year...

Thanks to Marc Beaudette of Flying Vipers and Destroy Babylon for taking the time to answer our cassette-related questions!

The Duff Guide to Ska: "The Shadow Tape" is the third release on cassette from Flying Vipers--why did you decide to go with this format? Is dub music somehow better suited for tape than vinyl?

Marc Beaudette: "We started this project with a Tascam 8-track recorder and the intent to do as much as we could using only analog gear. The first two releases were tracked and mixed direct to cassette, so offering them on tape seemed appropriate.

For this new release, our producer Jay Champany used previous sessions, extending vocal versions and slowing down tape speeds to give the dubs a new vibe. If we could afford to put everything on vinyl, we would! Most music I think sounds best on wax, though the tape compression does sound great with certain genres like hip hop and hardcore punk."

DGTS: Are you a tape collector? Do you have a lot of dub and reggae on cassette (if so, which are your faves)?

MB: "My brother and I still have a few dozen tapes from our youth, and we both still collect. There are more punk and rock albums than anything else, but there's a good stack of reggae in the mix. Black Uhuru's Red is one that got played on repeat in my car, plus a handful from the Hearbeat label and ROIR. HR's Charge is another one that I played a lot along with his other SST releases."

DGTS: Did you grow up listening to music on cassettes?

MB: "For sure. Before we could even buy our own music, we'd get cassettes and blank tapes for birthdays and Christmas. We were really into making our own mixtapes; listening to the radio for hours, waiting for our favorite songs to come on and hitting record as fast as we could. Even when CDs were gaining popularity, I still rocked my yellow Walkman and wore out early Green Day and Weezer tapes riding the bus."

DGTS: At the moment, a lot of people see this format as a bit of an oddity. Something collectable perhaps, but not a truly viable way to listen to music, given the relative scarcity of cassette players in people's homes, cars, etc. Should bands and indie labels make a more concerted effort to make more releases available on cassette to drive a resurgence of this format? (They are an inexpensive way to release music in a tangible format...)

MB: "It's certainly an affordable way to get something physical out there, but it will most likely remain a very limited audience. Vinyl and CD are also niche markets, so for me it comes down to personal preference. It's difficult to sell digital albums in 2017, now that most listeners pay monthly to stream or just use YouTube/Bandcamp. If a run of cassettes helps album sales, I'd encourage indie bands and labels to look into it. That said, I also think the type of album plays a role. The new Destroy Babylon record we dropped this summer is very high fidelity, and didn't seem to warrant a cassette release (we opted for vinyl and CDs). The lo-fi dub sessions make total sense for tape."

DGTS: Flying Vipers are playing with Lee "Scratch" Perry soon--do you think he still listens to tapes (I assume you'll pass him some of yours...)?

MB: "I could imagine Scratch traveling the world with a bedazzled Walkman and a few choice cassettes. But then again, maybe he just has an iPhone 8."

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Read The Duff Guide to Ska reviews of Flying Vipers' previous cassette releases, The Copper Tape and The Green Tape.

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Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: The Bakesys "Studio Selections 1991-1995," Flying Vipers "The Copper Tape," The Skatalites "Foundation Ska"

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

The Bakesys Studio Selections 1991-1995 (CD, Do The Dog Music, 2017): Even though I was pretty well plugged into the international ska scene in the early 1990s (largely thanks to The Bakesys' keyboardist Kevin Flowerdew, who produced the wonderfully comprehensive Rude Skazine, which morphed into the current Do The Dog Skazine), I somehow missed the thread with The Bakesys--which I'm all the lesser for, since they recorded some truly excellent modern UK ska (a frenetic 2 Tone-power pop blend influenced by The Specials and The Jam, amongst others, and specifically made for maximum dancing), as captured on Studio Selections 1991-1995 (all of which holds up very well 25 or so years later). This release contains their debut album (key cuts: "Looking for Love," "Confused,""Days Gone By," "Life So Dub," and the int'l ska comp favorite "Animated Violence"), plus six sweet rare/unreleased songs/versions (highlights: "Sunnyside Up," "Looking for Version," "Without Warning," and "Days Gone Pop"). Don't be a dope like I was and miss out on The Bakesys' music this time 'round.

Flying Vipers The Copper Tape (cassette/digital download, Music A. D. D., 2017): This is the second release from Boston's mighty Flying Vipers, which is comprised of members of Destroy Babylon and Pressure Cooker, who specialize in '70s-sounding instrumental roots reggae and dub recorded on analog equipment that reminds this reviewer most strongly of Dennis Bovell's output (check out The Duff Guide to Ska's review of The Vipers' debut, The Green Tape). The Vipers create incredible, mesmerizing dub tracks that never quite deconstruct things to the point where the tune is entirely lost--melody is everything here (like on all Bovell productions). I love this whole tape (eight cuts on the cassette, seven on the download), but standout tracks for me include the sublimely ethereal "Smoke and Dagger" (paging Jackie Mittoo!), the Western reggae-ish "Heady Topper Headon" (of course, named after The Clash's phenomenal drummer), and the mysterious Lee Perry-like "Return of the Living Zero" (which rely on organ, melodica, and clavinet respectively to carry each song's tune). You may think me bold, but the Flying Vipers' Copper Tape is most likely the best new dub release you'll hear all year.

The Skatalites Foundation Ska (CD/LP, Studio One, 2017 reissue): This fantastic compilation of Skatalites tracks produced by Coxsone Dodd was originally released by Heartbeat Records in 1997, but has been out of print for some years now--so, this is a very welcome reissue (grab the heavyweight double LP while you can!). While it shouldn't be considered a definitive collection of their work (the in-demand and extraordinarily prolific Skatalites also recorded for Prince Buster, Vincent Chin, King Edwards, Duke Reid, Leslie Kong, Sonia Pottinger, and Justin Yap), Foundation Ska is essential for all fans of '60s ska and captures many of the group's greatest cuts, including "Ska La Parisienne," "Ball of Fire," "Dick Tracy," "Cleopatra," "Beardsman Ska," "Addis Ababa," "Nimble Foot Ska," "Killer Diller," and The Beatles' cover "I Should Have Known Better" AKA "Independence Day." (For what it's worth, I believe the best Skatalites comp--though again, not definitive--is the spectacular 1984 Top Deck release Scattered Lights, licensed by Alligator Records in the US, which helped introduce the band to a whole new generation of American ska fans and musicians in the mid-1980s!)

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New Releases from Destroy Babylon and Flying Vipers

We're very much looking forward to two upcoming new releases that are slated for early 2017--the fifth album from Boston's incredible roots reggae act Destroy Babylon and the second cassette tape from their dub spin-off the Flying Vipers (there's a video teaser for "Dubbin' in the Den" here).

(Read what The Duff Guide to Ska thought of Destroy Babylon's most recent album Long Live the Vortex here and the Flying Vipers' debut The Green Tape here.)

And if you're in the Boston metro area, make sure to check out Destroy Babylon's next show at The Middle East on Saturday, December 17, 2017 with NYC's The Far East and Boston punks Whoopi Sticks! All the details are in the awesome Tom Robinson Band-inspired flyer to the right...

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Duff Review: Flying Vipers "The Green Tape"

Music A.D.D.
day-glo green cassette tape/digital EP
2015

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Brothers John and Marc Beaudette (the former on bass, guitar, and melodica; the later on drums and percussion) from Boston's mighty roots reggae outfit Destroy Babylon have teamed up with keyboardist Zack Brines from Pressure Cooker for a new dub project titled Flying Vipers--which is inspired by the incredible analog dub reggae of the 1970s and early 1980s produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry, Keith Hudson, King Tubby, Dennis Bovell, Scientist, and many others.

In seeking to capture that spirit, sound, and vision for their own original tracks, the Flying Vipers recorded their instrumentals on an old-school, Tascam 8-track cassette console (and performed using vintage drums, bass, and keyboards). The final dub mix (by Jay Champany of Truth and Rights) was recorded live on the same Tascam deck, utilizing classic dub techniques and effects--and the results are really pretty phenomenal (and having Kevin Metcalfe, who has worked with David Bowie, The Clash, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Dr. Alimantando, UB40, Dennis Brown, Black Uhuru, Prince Far I, and others, master the final mixes certainly must have helped!).

The Flying Vipers' The Green Cassette (available, natch, via a day-glo green cassette or digital EP, if you must) contains six fantastic tracks of tangibly warm, vibrant, and crisp dub instrumentals with great melodies--earworms, really--that will move your body and elevate your mood. My favorite cut here, "Beacon Street Version," features a lilting, very Rico-like trombone melody on a song that sounds like it could have been off Warieka Dub. Other great touches abound throughout the tape--from the jazzy, bell-like sound of the Fender Rhodes on the lovely "Bell Crickets," to the haunting melodica lines on the slow spooling of "Tape Hiss," as well as the urgent and slightly dangerous "Dragon Snout," to the trippy, wah-wah pedal effects on the guitar line of "Cannabaceae" (which is a family of small flowering plants including Cannabis and Humulus, or hops), and the tension on display between the relaxed sax and the hyper, almost martial percussion in "Coffee Kush" (yes, apparently a strain of coffee-flavored marijuana now exists--does one have the Pavlovian jolt from the taste of coffee, but then mellow out when the THC kicks in?).

My only complaint about this release is that I want more of it--and I also wish it had been issued on vinyl (music this good deserves it). For now, hook up your dad's old tape deck to the stereo or bid on a used Sony Walkman on eBay--and then have someone over forty show you how to insert the cassette (and enjoy)!

NYC Summer 2014 Ska Calendar #15

Scratch scans the skies for signs of...reggae life?

Wednesday, August 13, 2014 @ 7:00 pm

The Tribal Seeds, New Kingston, The Expanders

The Knitting Factory
361 Metropolitan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$15 in advance/$18 day of show

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Saturday, August 16, 2014 @ 10:30 pm

Beat Brigade, Bikini Carwash, The Purslaines

Arlene's Grocery
95 Stanton Street
New York, NY
$10

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Saturday, August 16, 2014 @ 8:00 pm

10 Ft. Ganga Plant, Destroy Babylon

Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey Street
Manhattan, NY
$23.85/18+

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Friday, August 22, 2014 @ 7:00 pm and 10:15 pm

The Scofflaws

Northport Town Park (Woodbine Avenue and Main Street)
Free/All ages

and

Beau's Bar
54 Broadway
Greenlawn, NY
Free/21+

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Saturday, August 23, 2014 @ 7:00 pm

Rocks Off Concert Cruise with The Slackers

Departs from Circle Line Pier 83
West 42nd Street and the West Side Highway
Manhattan
$30/21+

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Thursday, August 28, 2014 @ 8:30 pm

The Scofflaws

89 North
89 North Ocean Avenue
Patchogue, NY
Free/21+

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Friday, August 29, 2014 @ 7:30 pm

Mrs. Skannotto, Across the Aisle, The Shipwrecks

The Knitting Factory
361 Metropolitan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$10 in advance/$12 day of show

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Saturday, September 6, 2014 @ 7:00 pm

Inspecter 7, Lion's Law, Step 2 Far

The Grand Victory
245 Grand Street
Brooklyn, NY
$15

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Thursday, September 11, 2014 @ 9:00 pm

The Scofflaws

Declan Quinn's
227 Fourth Avenue
Bayshore, NY

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Tuesday, October 14th, 2014 @ 7:00 pm

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra

Irving Plaza
17 Irving Place
Manhattan, NY
$41.50

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Thursday, October 30, 2014

3rd Annual Devils Night w/Mephiskapheles, The Toasters, No Redeeming Social Value, and The Ladrones

Mercury Lounge
217 East Houston Street
Manhattan, NY
Tickets: $23.85 (through this link)
21+

Pressure Cooker Video "Brooklyn Bridge" from Their New Album, "Wherever You Go"

Boston's Pressure Cooker have a fantastic new album out--Wherever You Go on CD and LP--that we'll soon be reviewing here at The Duff Guide to Ska. Below is their video for the track "Brooklyn Bridge," shot at the record release party at The Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA on 12/22/12 (Destroy Babylon were also on the bill).

2012: The Year in Ska - Marc Wasserman (Bigger Thomas/Marco on the Bass)

Editor's Note: As the end of the calendar year sneaks up on me--as it always does, since the fall is always so damn busy!--I always scramble around to put together my "best of" lists of the ska singles, albums, reissues, books, etc. that I really enjoyed over the past year and want to highlight for all the ska fans out there. But I also thought it might be interesting to feature some other opinions, so I approached a diverse group of ska musicians, bloggers, DJs, and label heads to find out what their favorite ska things were in 2012. And thus the "2012: The Year in Ska" series was born! Thanks to everyone who is taking the time to participate--I really appreciate it!

My friend Marc Wasserman is the bass player and one of the songwriters for the 2 Tone-influenced NYC act Bigger Thomas (one of my favorite bands). He also is the man behind the excellent Marco on the Bass blog, which celebrates the 2 Tone era, as well as 80s ska bands in the USA--and he's my co-conspirator in booking and promoting our monthly Electric Avenue ska/reggae nights at Characters NYC.

2012: The Year in Ska - Marc Wasserman/Bigger Thomas/Marco on the Bass 

Top 5 Favorite Ska Releases

1) The UltraInfidels EP - Chris Dowd appears to be a man possessed with the musical spirit again. Nearly a decade out of the musical limelight, the ex-Fishbone singer, keyboardist, and trombonist is back with a new ska band, The UltraInfidels. The band's new six-song EP is dynamic, diverse (he has dubbed the band's sound as The Specials meets Yes and Metalica), thoughtful, intelligent, and incredibly danceable. Even better, Dowd isn't shying away from embracing his Fishbone roots or his love of ska. One song in particular, "Cubicle," could have come from Fishbone's frenetic first EP originally released in 1985. It chronicles Dowd's time when he had a straight, 9 to 5 job. It moves from hyper ska to a Beatles-like psychedelic bridge that reveals Dowd's self-awareness. The emotionally soulful "Time Ain't Long" (like many of the best tracks from Fishbone's classic Truth and Soul) celebrates life while noting its impermanence and the difficult but essential lessons it offers us as we travel from youth to middle age.

2) The Skints - The mean streets of London have proved to be a fertile breeding ground for gritty ska and reggae songs for many years. The Clash, Madness, The King Blues, and now The Skints have emerged from the city armed with bittersweet tales about surviving in the rough and tough neighborhoods across the English capital. While reminiscing about his roots in one of these neighborhoods on "Rise Up," vocalist Joshua Walters Rudge warns of the dangers of growing up there on "Live East Die Young." His lightning-quick cockney chat is complemented by the sublime vocals of Marcia Richards, particularly on the excellent "Ratatat." This is a modern-day dub, ska, reggae, and hip hop-inspired classic and The Skints could be the 21st century version of The Specials we have all been waiting for.

3) The Frightnrs EP - I found myself listening to this brilliant six-song EP of authentic rub-a-dub reggae from the Brooklyn-based band a lot this year. The songs have a timeless quality and the band have done a fantastic job of recreating the rockers phase of early 70's reggae to a 't,' drawing influences and inspiration from Alton Ellis, Horace Andy, and Sugar Minott. It's clear that the band members live, breathe, and love early dancehall, 70's reggae, and rocksteady. This devotion shines through, making this an absolute must listen for all fans of reggae and ska.

4) Tim Timebomb and Friends - Tim Armstrong from Rancid remains a musical force to be reckoned. I also love that he is a music fan at heart. His latest project is to record and post some of his favorite cover songs including an incredibly diverse mix of ska, country, rockabilly, and rock songs that have particular meaning for Armstrong. He took a crack a number of 2 Tone-era covers, but his best may be his acoustic cover of The Beat's "Save It For Later," which gets to core of the song's bittersweet center, and his emotional and moving rocksteady take on The Faces "Ohh La La" may one his best songs ever.

5) Phoenix City All-Stars Two Tone Gone Ska - This inspired and unbeatable collection of mostly instrumental versions of classic 2 Tone tracks that you know and love so well have been taken back to the future from whence they came -- namely 1960s Jamaica. Each song sounds like it was recorded in a small, 4-track circa 60s Kingston studio. The inclusion of legendary guest vocalists Dave Barker (the voice of Dave and Ansell Collins) on Elvis Costello's "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down" and AJ Franklin (The Federals and The Chosen Few) on Smokey Robinson and The Miracles/The Beat's "Tears Of A Clown" complete the musical circle.


Top 5 Favorite Live Ska Shows

1) The Ultrainfidels - December 1st, Bordentown, NJ
2) Madness at Coachella - April 14th, Indio, CA (Live Coachella stream on YouTube)
3) Jimmy Cliff at Coachella - April 14th, Indio, CA (Live Coachella stream on YouTube)
4) Destroy Babylon/The Frightnrs - October 13th, New York, NY
5) The Beat Brigade - September 15th, New York, NY


Top 5 Favorite Ska Merch

I'm a t-shirt freak! So, I always try and pick up shirts for the many bands I see or my band Bigger Thomas plays with. It's also a great way to get some cash into the hands of bands who are getting paid a lot less than you think! I was finally able to grab a classic Beat Girl t-shirt at a show we played with The English Beat this summer which replaces the shredded original I had from 1982. I also got a classic Clash t-shirt (showing my age and roots here!).


Top 5 Ska Regrets

1) Missing the 2012 London International Ska Festival was a huge regret. My band Bigger Thomas was in the running for a fan vote to pick one band to perform at the festival. We finished in the top three, but we were disappointed to miss playing. I plan to attend the 2013 version as a fan!

2) For a lot of very personal and emotional reasons, I was very sad to miss the Rocks Off Halloween Boat Party with Mephiskapheles, Inspecter 7, and Step2Far at the end of October.

3) Hurricane Sandy ruined my debut as a DJ alongside DJ Duff at the The Toasters show at the Knitting Factory in early November. The good news was the show went on and Chuck Zilla and Maddie Ruthless filled in.

4) Missing Lee Perry's show at the Gramercy Theatre here in NYC, which is a short bus ride from my apartment. I'm kicking myself for not going to see a reggae legend. Still have to see him live.

5) Letting a little rain dissuade me from going to see Jimmy Cliff kick off his U.S. tour in Prospect Park in Brooklyn.


Top 5 Ska Wishes for 2013

1) I have high hopes for the Electric Avenue ska and reggae shows I co-book and co-promote with Steve Shafer of The Duff Guide To Ska. I think we are making progress on establishing a monthly destination in Manhattan for ska fans to come and check out the very best bands from all over the U.S.

2) My band Bigger Thomas is celebrating out 25th anniversary in 2013 and we are planning to release an EP of new music. I hope we can play out a lot more in 2013 to mark our 25 years of playing ska and that we can finally record more of the songs we have written.

3) To be part of the backing band for King Hammond on his U.S. tour in November 2013. It would be a real honor to learn some of my favorite King Hammond songs and to play live with him.

4) That The Specials come back to do a proper tour of the U.S. in 2013.

5) Go see more shows. Listen to more music. Play more music. Write more songs. Meet more ska-loving people!

Must See Halloween Gigs: Destroy Babylon, The Drastics!

Even though I usually point out NYC area ska/reggae events, there are two very cool Halloween gigs taking place tonight far beyond our battered, but still standing, city borders...

The first takes place in the city of my birth--Boston, MA--with the fantastic Destroy Babylon, who will be performing the soundtrack to The Harder They Come in its entirety, in celebration of that album's/movie's 40th anniversary, at the Middle East Up in Cambridge! Details and tix for the show can be found here. Destroy Babylon will be sure to do these tracks great justice, so make sure to attend this show if you are anywhere near Cambridge, Mass!

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If you happen to be near or in Chicago area, you have to see The Drastics, who will be performing tracks (with help from Akasha crew, Deal's Gone Bad, and MC ZULU) off their incredible MJ A Rocker EP, which came out a few years ago (The Duff Guide to Ska write up about it can be found here).

Here is how The Drastics are describing their show tonight at Martyr's in Chicago:

"We took six of the King of Pop's biggest tunes and arranged them inna Jamaican style. Imagine if Coxsone Dodd was behind the mixing board instead of Quincy Jones, and you're half-way there. We'll be adding a couple more tunes to the repertoire for this set, BUT this is also probably, most likely, for-realsy, the only time this will ever be performed live, so, ya know, don't blow it."

Much earlier this year, there had been some talk of bringing this show on the road--but unfortunately this never panned out. I would have loved to have seen it. The idea and the execution of it are brilliant!

If you're interested in a free download of MJ A Rocker, go here--and Jump Up Records still has a few copies of this on vinyl.

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Bonus Halloween Treat for New Yorkers: If you're in Brooklyn tonight, head on down to Watch This Sound's "DanceHalloween" at Brooklyn Stable--Grace of Spades, Maddie Ruthless, Jah Point, Sweet V and Bats are spinning reggay way past the witching hour! Details here.

Duff Gig Review: Destroy Babylon and The Frightnrs at Electric Avenue (at Characters NYC) on 10/13/12

(By Steve Shafer)

I really had no idea of what to expect for the third Electric Avenue ska/reggae night (our debut featured The Snails and King Django; the second, Doomsday/Meph Tribute by Meph members, Bigger Thomas, and Beat Brigade)--apart from the fact that the two bands featured on the bill, Destroy Babylon and The Frightnrs, would be certain to serve up some incredible performances. The evening started up fortuitously enough. After I had set up the DJ equipment, my friend Joe (who also graciously served as our door person, collecting the cover to be split between the two bands) and I bellied up to the bar for some grub and a pint before the event started. The afternoon bartender, Larry, had finished his shift and was sitting a stool away from us and struck up a conversation about the bands that were playing later. I described each band's style of reggae, which led him to rave about Linton Kwesi Johnson and his Dread Beat an' Blood and Forces of Victory albums, as well as LKJ's tracks, "Sonny's Lettah" (about the pernicious Sus laws at the time) and "Inglan is a Bitch," which is a fave of mine. He then recounted his teen years in Dublin and the punk acts he had seen and loved that introduced him to reggae, like The Clash and The Ruts (he had also caught The Jam, The Buzzcocks, The Undertones, The Specials, and many more). Larry then told us he had picked up a copy of Vive Le Rock recently which included a free CD that contained a track from a ska band he wanted to recommend to me: The Skints (I've heard the name, but not their music)! All of this just goes to show the world is sometimes much smaller than we think, and you never know who is just one barstool away in a pub in midtown Manhattan!

Another surprising aspect of the evening that manifest itself while both acts were loading in their equipment. Both acts are bands of brothers: The Frightnrs have Chuck (organ) and Preet (bass) Patel, while Destroy Babylon has twins John (bass) and Marc (drums) Beaudette. And, maybe it was just me, but both bands seemed all the more tighter because of these familial bonds (you don't have to believe me, the proof's in the videos below).

Around 45 or 50 people had filled the back room of Characters by the time The Frightnrs started their set at 10:00 pm and they wowed the crowd with their sweet, brilliantly authentic rub-a-dub sounds--kicking off with Dawn Penn's rocksteady classic "You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)." They played several original cuts off their extraordinary, self-titled EP (one of the best new recordings I've heard this year--The Duff Guide to Ska review can be read here; and you can download the EP for free here, but please pay something, as this music is something you'll treasure), including "Walking," "Evening Time," "And I Wouldn't Tell You This," and "Ties Been Severed." Other highlights of their set included "Champion Bubbler," "Admiration," and "Full Up Riddim Ride." One of the many things that I love about this band is that they have the early dancehall sound down so well that you're never completely positive if you're hearing an original track or a tantalizingly familiar riddim track whose name is just on the tip of your tongue. The Frightnrs put on an excellent, tight live show (as captured in the videos I shot below)--so make a point to seem them, as they are, without a doubt, one of NYC's finest.











The roots-rock-reggae powerhouse that is Destroy Babylon went on around 11:30 pm, and by that time the back room of Characters was a large, raucous, enthusiastic, and well lubricated mass (helped by the fact that many in the audience had come over from Comic Con--one of the DB members was working at a booth there earlier in the day). We were thrilled to be able to feature this Boston band, which we've been wanting to see ever since hearing their stellar, socially/politically conscious album, Long Live the Vortex (read The Duff Guide to Ska review of it here). DB performed a good number of tracks off Vortex, including "DB, Inc.," "Bad Draw," "Mr. Money Bags," "#1 Killer," "Free the King" and "Freeze"--as well as some other original cuts like "Come Over" (sung by the fantastic Kelli Webb) and "Cold Blooded Killer." Plus they snuck in some really choice covers in their set, like The Clash's "Guns of Brixton," an incredible reggae reading of David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel," The Misfits' "Hollywood Babylon" (also with Kelli), and a dread version of The English Beat's "Mirror in the Bathroom." Destroy Babylon put on one hell of a good live show (again, watch the videos below and you'll get a good sense of what you're in for when you see them) and many more NYC-area ska and reggae fans really, really need to get to know this band (you'll have that chance sometime in 2013, as we hope to bring them back down from Beantown for another Electric Avenue night over the winter).

NYC Fall 2012 Ska/Reggae Calendar #325

Saturday, October 13, 2012 @ 8:00 pm

Electric Avenue presents Destroy Babylon plus The Frightnrs!

(Roots-rock-reggae meets rub-a-dub!)

Characters NYC (back room)
243 West 54th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue)
Manhattan, NY

$5 cover

Doors at 8:00 pm; The Frightnrs go on at 10:00 pm and Destroy Babylon plays at 11:30 pm.

Selectors Duff and Kames Jelly spinning the best in ska, rocksteady, and reggae all night long!

(Electric Avenue is co-sponsored by Marco on the Bass and The Duff Guide to Ska)

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Tuesday, October 16, 2012 (Doors at 6:00 pm; show at 8:00 pm)

The English Beat, The Paul Collins Beat

CMJ Music Festival Show

B.B. Kings Blues Club & Grill
237 West 42nd Street (Between 7th & 8th Avenues)
New York

$25 in advance/$30 day of show

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Sunday, October 21, 2012 at 7:00 pm

Skalapalooza 2012

w/Pilfers, Edna's Goldfish, Spring Heeled Jack (acoustic), Sammy Kay and the Fast Five, Across the Aisle

Gramercy Theatre

127 East 23rd Street

New York, NY

$18

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Friday, October 26, 2012 @ 7:00 pm

Rocks Off Halloween Boat Party w/Mephiskapheles, Inspecter 7, Step2Far

Star of Palm Beach Party Boat
Pier 40
West Houston Street and West Side HIghway
Manhattan

Boarding time: 7:00 pm

$20

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Friday, October 26, 2012 @ 9:00 pm

3rd Annual Halloween Reggae Party Massacre

Witch Dance: The Forthrights/Frightnrs Halloween Session

Tea Factory Lofts #111

175 Stockholm Street

Brooklyn, NY 

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Wednesday, October 31, 2012 @ 8:00 pm

Halloween 2012 w/Maninblack and DOOMSDAY! The Ultimate Mephiskapheles Unplugged Tribute

(Plus Agent Jay spins ska and reggae!)

Double Down Saloon

14 Avenue A

New York, NY

21+ w/ID

Free

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Friday, November 2, 2012 (Doors  6:30 pm/Show 7:30 pm)

The Toasters, The Rudie Crew, The Snails 

(plus Electric Avenue selectors Marc Wasserman and Steve Shafer)

Knitting Factory Brooklyn

361 Metropolitan Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11211

All ages!

Advance tix: $12/DOS: $14

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Saturday, November 10, 2012 @ 8:00 pm

Electric Avenue w/Three Bands To Be Announced Soon!

Characters NYC (back room)

243 West 54th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue)

Manhattan, NY

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Saturday, December 1, 2012 @ 7:30 pm

Chris Dowd's The Ultra Infidels, Funk Face, Bigger Thomas

Randy Now's Man Cave/Consolidated Firehouse

Crosswicks Street and Farnsworth Avenue

Bordentown, NJ

All ages!

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NYC Fall 2012 Ska Calendar #1,459!

Thursday, October 4, 2012 @ 8:00 pm

Easy Star All-Stars, The Aggrolites, Passafire

Irving Plaza

17 Irving Place

New York, NY 

16+

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Friday, October 5, 2012 @ 7:00 pm

Big D and the Kids Table

Rocks Off Concert Cruise Aboard The Jewel

Boards: East 23rd Street and the FDR Drive, Manhattan

Advance tix: $25/DOS: $30

18+

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Saturday, October 6, 2012 @ 12:00 - 2:00 pm

The Bluebeats

YMCA Fall Festival

Great South Bay YMCA

200 West Main Street

Bay Shore, NY 

Free!

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Saturday, October 6, 2012 @ 10:00 pm (two sets!)

The King Django Quintet

Two Boots Brooklyn

514 2nd Street

Brooklyn, NY

Free!

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Saturday, October 13, 2012

Electric Avenue presents Destroy Babylon plus The Frightnrs!

Characters NYC (back room)

243 West 54th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue)

Manhattan, NY

$5

(Electric Avenue is co-sponsored by Marco on the Bass and The Duff Guide to Ska)

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Sunday, October 21, 2012 at 7:00 pm

Skalapalooza 2012

w/Pilfers, Edna's Goldfish, Spring Heeled Jack (acoustic), Sammy Kay and the Fast Five, Across the Aisle

Gramercy Theatre

127 East 23rd Street

New York, NY

$18

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Friday, October 26, 2012 @ 9:00 pm

3rd Annual Halloween Reggae Party Massacre

Witch Dance: The Forthrights/Frightnrs Halloween Session

Tea Factory Lofts #111

175 Stockholm Street

Brooklyn, NY 

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Friday, November 2, 2012 (Doors  6:30 pm/Show 7:30 pm)

The Toasters, The Rudie Crew, The Snails 

(plus Electric Avenue selectors Marc Wasserman and Steve Shafer)

Knitting Factory Brooklyn

361 Metropolitan Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11211

All ages!

Advance tix: $12/DOS: $14

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