The Duff Guide to Ska: 2018 Year-End Roundup, Part 2

Editor's note: I'm still playing catch-up with several 2018 releases that I didn't get a chance to review before December 31...

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

Napoleon Solo Open Channel D (LP, Jump Up Records/Pork Pie, 2018): This terrific Danish band formed in the wake of 2 Tone and was a vital part of brilliant late '80s UK/Euro ska scene (The Trojans, Laurel Aitken, Bad Manners, Potato 5, The Loafers, The Deltones, The Busters, The Frits, and more). Anyone familiar with and a fan of Napoleon Solo's previous releases (their essential How To Steal the World EP was produced by Buster Bloodvessel and their great soul-ska debut album Shot! was released on Buster's short-lived Blue Beat Records) will definitely want to pick up their new one, as they've only gotten better with time. Open Channel D is packed with powerhouse, hook-filled 2 Tone tracks--two of the best ones are proper studio recordings of demos from 1984 that only recently saw the light of day on Jump Up's Early Recordings: First Demos 1984/1984 (proving that a great song in 1984 is still a great song in 2018!). Top cuts include the cocky, I-don't-give-a-damn-what-you-think mission statement in "All I Need" ("I want to live my life/Just the way that I do/I want to get my kicks/Until I'm black and blue/I don't say my life's complete/But it's all I need"); desperately seeking human contact and a cure for intense loneliness via a telephone chat line (anyone remember those from the 1980s?) in "0059" ("Somebody talk, somebody answer me/Somebody please make me feel alive"); and the ecstatic feeling of being head over heels in love and wanting everyone to know how how good you have it in the swaggering "See Her." Even though it was written when they were young pups back in '84, the upbeat but bittersweet "Nobody Told Me" contains the hard-won wisdom of the middle-aged that only comes through living your own life (that often doesn't work anywhere near where you anticipated): "Nobody told me life is like this/Always saying goodbye/Nobody told me life is like this/Always wondering why/Well, you start somewhere and you'll end somewhere/And in between you just go/Nobody told me life's like this/But now I know." It's a "Once in a Lifetime" for the ska set.

The Trojans Top Hits (CD, Gaz's Rockin' Records/Cadiz Music, 2018): This 18-track compilation offers a completely stellar overview of The Trojans' extensive catalogue. (For some key background info on amazing The Trojans and their fearless leader Gaz Mayall, see The Duff Guide to Ska review of the book "Gaz's Rockin' Blues: The First 30 Years.") Top Hits contains songs from 1987 (their first single "Ringo") through 2013 (their most recent LP, Smash It) released on seven Trojans albums, plus several 45 and 12" singles--and there is extraordinary high-quality control throughout (actually, when I was looking over all of their releases, I kept spying many additional tracks that should have been included here; this easily could have been a double or triple album). Guest musicians on some of these tracks include Gaz's friend Prince Buster, Rico Rodriguez, Jennie Bellestar (on one of my favorite songs "Mixed Feelings"), and Zoe Devlin Love. Gaz provides extensive liner notes (that are focused mainly on all of the musicians that comprised the three iterations of the band). If you're not acquainted with The Trojans' sound, its traditional '60s ska mixed with heavy doses of reggae, Japanese, and Celtic music (and the lyrics of theirs songs are often very eco-minded). All in all, this is a fantastic intro to/survey of this exceptional band.

+ + + +

Make sure to read The Duff Guide to Ska: 2018 Year-End Roundup, Part 1!

And there will be several more 2018 releases reviewed in Part 3 TK!

+ + + +

The Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: Notable New Releases from Joe Scholes and Yellow Cap

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

Joe Scholes Songbook Vol. II (CD, Richmond Records/digital download through Bandcamp, 2016): From Joachim Uerschels, singer/guitarist/songwriter for the late-80s German ska band The Braces ("Playing Darts") and force behind the great Reggae Steady Ska website, comes an album full of charming, catchy, and well-crafted acoustic ska-tinged singer-songwriter tracks--about falling in/out of love ("Perfect," "Ballerina Valerie," "Grave Situation," "Seven") or struggling to find the grit to go on when it seems like they're all out to get you ("The Life I Know," "Get Up, Fall Down," "Jam in Amsterdam"). It's a quiet, introspective, Sunday morning-type of record full of great beauty and sadness (and sprinkled with fun pop-culture references throughout), best used when you need to put yourself back together from Saturday night or build up strength to take on Monday morning and the working week. (The CD booklet includes all the lyrics--which are always appreciated--plus chords and fingering charts for the guitarists out there wanting to learn these songs.)

+ + + +

Yellow Cap "Around the World" (heavyweight 7" single and digital download, Pork Pie Records, 2016):

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." -Mark Twain

Inspired by Twain's quote above, Germany's excellent ska/rocksteady act Yellow Cap has released a terrific new single which promotes the message that encountering and embracing different peoples and cultures (and music!) is a powerful antidote to the racism that is often born out of parochialism and ignorance (chorus: "I wanna go around the world with you/See everything with my own eyes"). But Yellow Cap also epitomize this notion, as they sojourned to Sao Paulo (for their fourth tour of Brazil) to record "Around the World" (check out the video!), which was produced, recorded and mixed by American Victor Rice, features Brazilian rapper Lurdes da Luz as well as the band Projeito Brasilidade and their singer Fernanda Sant'Anna, and sung in English, German, and Portuguese. The flip side contains the riddim track for budding DJs to chat over and recount their own journeys of discovery far from home.  Here's hoping that Yellow Cap stay on the road and keep taking quick breaks to record more music like this!

+ + + +

Duff Review: The Frits "The Greatest Frits"

Pork Pie Records
2016
CD

(Review by Steve Shafer)

I can't quite remember how I first learned about The Frits--it may have been a review in George Marshall's essential Zoot! skazine--but I know I mail-ordered their releases through Unicorn Records and managed to buy their entire catalogue in the early 1990s (I just checked The Frits' Discogs entry for confirmation--I even have their CD single "Ebbies Bluff," which has their cover of Guns N' Roses' "November Rain"!). Fortunately, you don't have to go to the lengths that I did (going to the bank, exchanging dollars for pounds, and mailing them off with fingers crossed to the UK) to enjoy some of the best tracks from the band dubbed "the German Specials"--they're all collected on the aptly titled The Greatest Frits.

Like the post-2 Tone UK ska scene, which featured the likes of Laurel Aitken, Bad Manners, The Trojans, Potato 5, Maroon Town, The Loafers, King Hammond, The Riffs, The Deltones, and more, the late 80s/early 90s German ska scene had fostered an equally impressive roster of bands, including The Busters, No Sports, El Bosso und die Ping Pongs, The Braces, Skaos, The Butlers, Blechreiz, and, of course, The Frits. What first attracted me to the band was their hyper-charged 2-Tone ska, but what made keep coming back for each subsequent release was their fantastic songwriting and performances, all of which still sound great and vital twenty-five years on.

The Greatest Frits opens with "Life of Brian" (from The Frits' 1988 single of the same name), their inspired cover of Monty Python's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," which, like The Specials' cover of "Enjoy Yourself" (released at a time when things were becoming increasingly dire for working class youth and non-white Britons under Thatcher's rule), is cheerfully positive on the surface ("If life seems jolly rotten [I always thought it was, "If life seems Johnny Rotten"!]/There's something you've forgotten/and that's to that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing/When you're feeling in the dumps/Don't be silly chumps/Just purse your lips and whistle/That's the thing/And...always look on the bright side of life"), but is really meant to be taken ironically, since it masks a much more ominous message. (In the movie "Life of Brian," the protagonist has been sentenced to death and is surrounded by fellow condemned prisoners who try to cheer him up by singing "always look on the bright side of life," while they're all slowly dying on crucifixes--it's interesting to note that The Busters covered Bobby McFerrin's similarly-themed "Don't Worry, Be Happy" a year later; and, like The Busters, The Frits sing in English, which sometimes results in awkwardly phrased lyrics, but their meaning is always clear.)

While The Frits' material from their first two albums, Die Erste in 1988 and The Rude Message in 1989, is very strong and is concerned with work, women, and generally not being a dope, the band really hit their stride in 1991 with Little Idiots. After the unexpected fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification of (communist and very poor) East and (democratic and prosperous) West Germany, there was a horrific increase in the number of fascist/neo-Nazi groups and hate crimes, primarily in the former East Germany, which had seen an influx of Eastern European refugees (who were being blamed by the hate groups for the high unemployment and economic hardship prevalent at that time). The Frits' 2 Tone-like response to this worsening situation was to write some of the most powerful and catchiest anti-racist/anti-fascist songs of that era (which, maddeningly enough, are still very relevant in many parts of the world today, including the USA).

The absolutely searing "The Most I Hate Is You" expresses The Frits' equivocal feelings about fascist youth and their neo-Nazi leaders who've lured and trapped them in their twisted, dead-end ideology:

"You walk in every morning
The same old naked way
Your head is much too heavy
Your thoughts are full of hate

You think of what you've talked about
Last night with your friends
But now you're on the run again
There is no other chance

The most I hate is you
The most I hate is you
The most I hate is you
What you gonna say?
What you gonna do?
The most I hate is you

They will make you smaller
Smaller than you seem
Tell you, "What is all the work for?"
Tell you, "What do you mean?"

You're sitting in a big cage
But you haven't got the key
The key has got your big balls
There is no way to live"



With its irresistible, sing-along chorus, "Bonehead" tries to reach the very misguided--but not irredeemable--knucklehead, to persuade them to stop their violent, racist behavior:

"You are so proud
Of what you've done
Now I see you standing there
With all your friends
You've had a lot of fun
They show you how to go "right" ways

Can't you feel so tall?
You know every trick
To hide your little weakness now
But I tell you
(I tell you)
You are so wrong
Everyone can see your little sign
Saying...

Bonehead, you are going wrong
Listen to the message
The message of this song, yeah
The black man is all right
There is no reason for a fight, see?
Only stupid reasons are for you, all right?"

[There is only one fan-created video of "Bonehead" out there; it uses footage of neo-Nazi and white power skinheads in an attempt to shame them with the sharp lyrics of this song, but I'm not posting it here, as they don't deserve any kind of exposure that could be misinterpreted as endorsing or glorifying their hateful ways.]

"Searching for Another Place in Town" perfectly captures the loneliness and despair of finding oneself an outcast in one's own neighborhood (because of your anti-racist beliefs) and having no other choice but to leave everything you've known behind:

"I'm searching for another place in town
All the people try to treat me down
I'm searching for another place in town
Without my life, with all the things I do right here

Walking up my home run street I feel so down
Recognize these stupid guys, make me so frown
They never try to understand what is going all wrong
Going on their stupid ways, I never go
'Cause I am strong, yeah

That I'm searching for another place in town
Is because of all the stupid talk of youth
I want you to respect me and all my dreams
And I won't wait while you try to understand..."



It's such an incredibly sorrowful--but ultimately triumphant--track that will haunt you for days after hearing it (I wake up in the night with this one running through my head).

The Frits' following album Not Enough for You (1993), produced by Roger Lomas (The Selecter, The Bodysnatchers, Bad Manners), didn't burn quite as white hot, but they still delivered the goods (see "It's Not Enough for You" and "I Don't Want To Live Alone") and contained some fiercely political songs: "We Fight For You" ("We saw them kill an innocent/We saw them bomb some families and kids/We won't just sit home and wait/We won't just close our eyes and walk away/We fight for you/We'll fight for your rights!"); a cover of Oscar Brown, Jr.'s "The Snake," a jazz/Northern Soul cautionary tale of an act of compassion and charity repaid with betrayal and violence; and The Specials' "Concrete Jungle" with Sir Horace Gentleman making an appearance on bass. The Frits' final (?), live album Always Look on the Bright Side of Live (1994), also recorded by Lomas, showcased the band's considerable live chops (represented here by covers of Specials and Selecter tracks, as well as two Frits originals).

Lastly, there is one terrific newly recorded Frits cut, the defiant "Still Alive," which gives us hope that there may be much more new music to come as long as they're, "On the street/With something to say/Kicking the blues away..."

The Greatest Frits is a fantastic compilation for people new to the band (if you're a fan of 2 Tone, you're likely to be a Frits fan) and will remind long-time followers just how good The Frits were back then--and still are today!

+ + + +

Here's a German translation of this review (courtesy of Google):

Ich kann mich nicht mehr genau erinnern, wie ich zum ersten Mal über die Fritten gelernt - es kann eine Überprüfung in George Marshall wesentlich Zoot gewesen! skazine - aber ich weiß, dass ich für E-Mail aufgefordert, ihre Veröffentlichungen durch Unicorn Aufzeichnungen und verwaltet den gesamten Katalog in den frühen 1990er Jahren zu kaufen (Ich habe gerade den Discogs Eintrag 'Frits zur Bestätigung - ich habe sogar ihre CD-Single "ebbies Bluff" die hat ihre Abdeckung von Guns N 'Roses' "November Regen"!). Glücklicherweise müssen Sie nicht auf die Längen gehen, die ich habe (zur Bank gehen, Dollar für Pfund Austausch und Mailing sie mit Daumen nach Großbritannien aus) einige der besten Tracks aus dem Band zu genießen genannt "die Deutsch Specials "- sie sind alle auf dem passenden Titel The Greatest Frits gesammelt.

Wie die Post-2 Tone UK Ska-Szene, die die Gleichen von Laurel Aitken gekennzeichnet, Bad Manners, die Trojaner, Kartoffel 5, Maroon Town, die Loafers, König Hammond, die Riffs, die Deltones und mehr, die Ende der 80er / Anfang 90s deutschen Ska-Szene hatte eine ebenso beeindruckende Liste von Bands gefördert, darunter The Busters, No Sports, El Bosso und sterben Ping Pongs, die geschweiften Klammern, Skaos, The Butlers, Blechreiz, und, natürlich, die Fritten. Was mich zuerst an die Band war ihre hyper geladen 2-Tone Ska, aber was immer wieder für jede weitere Veröffentlichung kommen würde ihre fantastische Songwriting und Aufführungen, von denen alle immer noch groß und vital 25 Jahre klingen auf.

Die größten Frits öffnet mit "Life of Brian" (aus dem Frits 1988 Single mit dem gleichen Namen), ihre inspirierten Cover von Monty Pythons "Always Schauen Sie auf der Sonnenseite des Lebens", die, wie die Specials "Cover von" Genießen Yourself "(zu einem Zeitpunkt freigegeben, wenn die Dinge immer mehr dire immer für Jugend arbeiten und nicht-weiße Briten unter Thatcher-Regel), ist fröhlich positiv auf der Oberfläche (" Wenn das Leben scheint lustig faul [ich dachte immer, es war "Wenn das Leben scheint Johnny Rotten "!] / Es gibt etwas, das Sie vergessen haben / und das ist zu, dass zu lachen und lächeln und Tanz ist und singen / Wenn Sie das Gefühl nicht dumm chumps sein in den Deponien / Do / So Portemonnaie Ihre Lippen und Pfeife / das ist die Sache / Und ... schauen immer auf der Sonnenseite des Lebens "), aber ist wirklich ironisch gemeint genommen werden, da es Masken eine viel ominösen Nachricht. (In dem Film "Das Leben des Brian", der Protagonist wurde zum Tode verurteilt und ist umgeben von Mitgefangenen verurteilt, die versuchen, ihn durch das Singen aufzumuntern "immer auf der Sonnenseite des Lebens aussehen", während sie alle langsam sterben auf Kruzifixe - es ist interessant, dass The Busters Bobby McFerrin "Sorge dich nicht glücklich sein" bedeckt zu beachten, ähnlich dem Motto des ein Jahr später, und wie The Busters, The Frits singen in englischer Sprache, die manchmal in ungeschickt formulierte Texte ergibt, aber ihre Bedeutung ist immer klar.)

Während die Fritten "Material aus ihren ersten beiden Alben, 1988 Erste sterben und die Rude Nachricht im Jahr 1989, ist sehr stark und mit Arbeit, Frauen betrifft, und in der Regel nicht eine Schmiere zu sein, traf die Band wirklich ihren Schritt 1991 mit wenig Idiots. Nach dem unerwarteten Fall der Berliner Mauer 1989 und die Wiedervereinigung (kommunistischen und sehr schlecht) Ost und (Demokratie und Wohlstand) der Bundesrepublik Deutschland gab es eine schreckliche Zunahme der Zahl der faschistischen / Neonazi-Gruppen und Hassverbrechen, in erster Linie im ehemaligen Ost-Deutschland, die einen Zustrom osteuropäischer Flüchtlinge gesehen hatte (die von den Hassgruppen für die hohe Arbeitslosigkeit und wirtschaftliche Not weit verbreitet zu dieser Zeit verantwortlich gemacht wurden). Die Frits '2 Tone ähnliche Reaktion auf diese Verschlechterung der Lage war heute einige der mächtigsten und eingängigsten antirassistischen / antifaschistische Lieder jener Zeit (die aufreizend genug, sind immer noch sehr relevant in vielen Teilen der Welt zu schreiben einschließlich der USA).

Die absolut Anbraten "The Most I Hate Is You" die Fritten "zweideutig Gefühle über faschistische Jugend zum Ausdruck bringt und ihre Neonazi-Führer, die gelockt haben und gefangen sie in ihren verdrehten, Sackgasse Ideologie:

"Sie gehen in jeden Morgen
Die gleiche alte nackte Weg
Ihr Kopf ist viel zu schwer
Ihre Gedanken sind voller Hass

Sie denken an, was Sie gesprochen haben
Letzte Nacht mit deinen Freunden
Aber jetzt bist du wieder auf der Flucht
Es gibt keine andere Möglichkeit,

Die meisten, die ich hasse, ist, Sie
Die meisten, die ich hasse, ist, Sie
Die meisten, die ich hasse, ist, Sie
Was sagen Sie gonna?
Was wirst du machen?
Die meisten, die ich hasse, ist, Sie

Sie werden machen Sie kleinere
Kleiner als Sie scheinen
Sagen Sie: "Was ist die ganze Arbeit für?"
Sagen Sie: "Was meinst du damit?"

Du bist in einem großen Käfig sitzen
Aber Sie haben nicht den Schlüssel bekam
Der Schlüssel ist Ihre große Bälle bekam
Es gibt keine Möglichkeit zu leben "

Mit seinem unwiderstehlich, Mitsingen Chor, "Dummkopf" versucht, die sehr fehlgeleitet zu erreichen - aber nicht unkündbar - knucklehead, sie zu überzeugen, ihre gewalttätigen, rassistischen Verhalten zu stoppen:

"Sie sind so stolz
Von dem, was du getan hast
Jetzt sehe ich dich dort stehen
Mit all deinen Freunden
Sie haben viel Spaß gehabt
Sie zeigen Ihnen, wie "richtige" Wege zu gehen

Können Sie sich nicht so groß fühlen?
Sie kennen jeden Trick
So blenden Sie jetzt Ihre kleine Schwäche
Aber ich sage Ihnen
(Ich sage dir)
Sie sind so falsch
Jeder kann Ihr kleines Schild
Sprichwort...

Bonehead, du gehst falsch
Hören Sie die Nachricht
Die Botschaft dieses Liedes, ja
Der schwarze Mann ist alles in Ordnung
Es gibt keinen Grund für einen Kampf, sehen Sie?
Nur dumme Gründe sind für Sie, alles in Ordnung? "

[Es gibt nur ein Fan erstellte Video von "Dummkopf" da draußen; es nutzt Aufnahmen von Neonazis und Nazi-Skinheads in einem Versuch zu beschämen sie mit den scharfen Text dieses Liedes, aber ich bin es nicht hier veröffentlichen, da sie keine Art der Exposition verdienen, die als Billigung falsch interpretiert werden könnte oder verherrlichen ihre verhasste Weise.]

"Nach einem anderen Ort in der Stadt Suche" perfekt erfasst die Einsamkeit und Verzweiflung, sich ein Außenseiter zu finden, in der eigenen Nachbarschaft (wegen Ihrer antirassistische Überzeugungen) und keine andere Wahl haben, aber alles zu verlassen Sie hinter gekannt habe:

"Ich bin auf der Suche nach einem anderen Ort in der Stadt
Alle Leute versuchen, mich zu behandeln unten
Ich bin für einen anderen Ort in der Stadt suchen
Ohne mein Leben, mit all den Dingen zu tun ich hier richtig

Gehen meine Home-Run Straße bis ich fühle mich so nach unten
Erkennen Sie diese dummen Jungs, machen mich so Stirnrunzeln
Sie niemals versuchen, zu verstehen, was alles falsch läuft
Gehen auf ihren dummen Wege, ich gehe nie
Denn ich bin stark, ja

Dass ich für einen anderen Ort in der Stadt bin auf der Suche
Ist wegen all dem dummen Gerede von Jugend
Ich möchte Sie mich und alle meine Träume zu respektieren
Und ich werde nicht warten, während Sie versuchen zu verstehen ... "

Es ist so ein unglaublich traurig - aber letztlich triumphierenden - Spur, die Sie für Tage nach der mündlichen Verhandlung hat sie verfolgen wird (wache ich mit diesem einen in der Nacht laufen durch meinen Kopf).

Die Frits folgende Album nicht genug für Sie (1993), produziert von Roger Lomas (The Selecter, The Bodysnatchers, Bad Manners), brannte nicht ganz so weiß heiß, aber sie lieferte noch die Ware (siehe "Es ist nicht genug für Sie "und" I Do not To Live Alone "einige heftig politische Lieder) und enthielt:" Wollen wir kämpfen für Sie "(" Wir sahen sie einen unschuldigen töten / Wir sahen sie einige Familien bombardieren und Kinder / Wir werden nicht nur sitzen zu Hause und warten / Wir werden nicht nur die Augen zu schließen und gehen weg / Wir kämpfen für dich / Wir werden für Ihre Rechte kämpfen! "); eine Abdeckung von Oscar Brown Jr. "The Snake", ein Jazz / Northern Soul warnende Geschichte von einem Akt des Mitgefühls und der Liebe mit Verrat und Gewalt zurückgezahlt; und The Specials ' "Concrete Jungle" mit Sir Horace Gentleman einen Auftritt am Bass. Die Frits 'letzte (?), Live-Album auf der hellen Seite der Live-Schauen Sie immer (1994), die ebenfalls von Lomas aufgenommen, präsentiert die erhebliche Live Koteletts Band (hier vertreten durch Abdeckungen von Specials und Selecter Spuren sowie zwei Frits Originale ).

Schließlich gibt es einen tollen neu aufgenommenen Frits Schnitt, der trotzige "Still Alive", die uns Hoffnung gibt, dass es auf der Straße viel mehr neue Musik zu kommen, solange sie sind ", kann sein / mit etwas zu sagen / Kicking den Blues weg ... "

Der größte Frits ist eine fantastische Zusammenstellung für neue Leute in die Band (wenn Sie ein Fan von 2 Tone sind, sind Sie wahrscheinlich ein Frits Fan zu sein) und wird seit langer Zeit Anhänger, wie gut die Fritten waren wieder erinnern dann- -und noch heute!

Christmas Ska Releases from The Toasters and Friends, Roger Rivas and the Brothers of Reggae, and Dr. Ring Ding!

Cover illustration by Jordan Worley.

Judging by the extraordinary number of Christmas-themed recordings floating around out there, it seems like we just can't get enough music celebrating this religious/secular season (for my money, the best pop Xmas recordings are The Pogues' "A Fairytale of New York" and the Vince Guaraldi Trio's A Charlie Brown Christmas, while my all time fave choral holiday music is Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols; I happen to be on this recording of it back in 1980).

Ska fans--who love this season like everyone else--have the chance to pick up three, great new Christmas releases to help you celebrate the holiday in a ska and reggae style or as a gift for that special someone...

The Toasters and Friends Christma-ska

Jump Up Records has just re-issued the rare (at least in any physical format) Toasters and Friends Christma-ska album on limited-edition red or green vinyl. This compilation of holiday tracks was recorded in 1997 for the Moon Ska Tokyo/Tachyon label and released on CD in Japan. (We had about 15 or so copies for sale at the East 10th Street Moon store--but, other than these imports--you really couldn't find this anywhere outside of Japan.) At the time, Tachyon International had licensed a good portion of Moon Ska's catalogue for release on their Moon Ska Tokyo imprint--but they also wanted an exclusive album of tracks to help promote Moon's sister label in Japan.

In addition to The Toasters, Buford O'Sullivan Experience, NY Ska Jazz Ensemble cuts listed below, the Japanese Christma-ska version also featured recordings by The Bluebeats, The Allstonians, and Skinnerbox. Three of The Toasters' tracks are original compositions ("Happy Christmas," "Christmas Time Again," and "Rudy Christmas A Jail").

Side Tree

1) The Toasters: "Happy Christmas"
2) The Toasters: "Sleigh Ride"
3) The Toasters: "Winter Wonderland"
4) The Toasters: "Little Drummer Boy"
5) The Toasters "Rudy Christmas A Jail"
6) The Toasters: "War Is Over"
7) Buford O’Sullivan Experience: "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer"

Peppermint Platter

1) The Toasters: "Blue Christmas"
2) The Toasters: "Feliz Navidad"
3) Buford O’Sullivan Experience: "Did You Buy What I Bought?"
4) The Toasters: "We Three Kings"
5) The Toasters: "Christmas Time Again"
6) The Toasters: "God Rock You Steady Gentlemen"
7) New York Ska Jazz Ensemble: "Joy To The World"

I've played this album at almost every Christmas party/get-together I've had since it's release--and it's always a crowd-pleaser!

+ + + +

Roger Rivas and the Brothers of Reggae "Deck the Halls" b/w "Jingle Bells"

Jump Up has also released a fantastic skinhead reggae Christmas single (on red or green vinyl) from Roger Rivas (Aggrolites, The Bullets) and the Brothers of Reggae. "Deck the Halls" and "Jingle Bells" have never sounded so good to these ears. This is Xmas straight out of JA, circa 1969!

+ + + +

Dr. Ring Ding Once a Year

While I'm still waiting for it to arrive in the mail, I'm positive that Dr. Ring Ding's Once a Year (Pork Pie Records) is going to be pretty fantastic (as is everything he produces!). The album is billed as a mix of original material and covers of traditional Christmas songs:

1. "Once A Year"
2. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"
3. "Dumpa Ska"
4. "Petit Papa Noël"
5. "Rub-A-Dub Santa"
6. "Lulajże Jezuniu"
7. "Twelve Elves"
8. "All I Wanna Do (On Christmas Day)"
9. "I Believe"
10. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
11. "Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes"
12. "The Christmas Song"
13. "Christmas Again"

In keeping with the holiday spirit of giving to those in need, for every CD sold through Pork Pie, 1 € of it will be donated to a residential group for underprivileged kids in Germany (more info here: www.kinder-jugendhilfe.de).

Here's Dr. Ring Ding's video trailer for Once a Year...



+ + + +

Happy holidays!

+ + + +

Duff Review: Dr. Ring Ding and Kingston Rudieska "Ska'n Seoul" EP

Rudie System
2014
CD EP/digital download

(Review by Steve Shafer)

The great Dr. Ring Ding has been a fervent fan of Kingston Rudieska--South Korea's top vintage ska act in the mold and of the calibre of The Skatalites--since he first encountered their track "Oscar Wilde" in 2007 on Pork Pie's Benetton-inspired United Colors of Ska 4.0 compilation.

So when Dr. Ring Ding's Ska-Vaganza was scheduled to appear alongside Kingston Rudieska at the 2013 Jisan World Rock Festival in South Korea, he and Kingston Rudieska--both great admirers of each other's music and musicianship--took advantage of this opportunity to enter the studio to record an EP's worth of material. This brilliant collaboration yielded the cheekily-titled, five-track Ska'n Seoul, which is mostly likely one of the finest traditional ska releases of 2014.

Ska'n Seoul is bookended by the terrifically smooth--but no less desperate, urgent, and tragic--ska-jazz version of Fine Young Cannibals' (ex-Beat members Andy Cox and David Steele with ex-Akrylykz Roland Gift) dark family drama "Johnny Come Home" (originally released in 1985) and its slick deconstruction in "Johnny Come Home (Worried Dub)." Kingston Rudieska shows the love to the good Doctor with a half-English, half-Korean cover of Dr. Ring Ding and the Senior Allstars' "Bad Company" (off the essential Ram di Dance), retitled here as "Discovery of Life," which Kingston Rudieska has included in their live set for for some time now. The traditional African-American spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (which is not just about being shepherded into heaven, but escaping slavery through the Underground Railroad to free states or Canada) is presented as if the musicians were part of a revved-up, ecstatic ska tent revival and Dr. Ring Ding as an Elmer Gantry-like charismatic preacher. The one new tune here, written especially for this occasion, is Dr. Ring Ding's delightful "Your Sweet Kiss" (about how the only thing the singer would miss when he's dead and buried), which is reminiscent of an ace Lord Tanamo or Laurel Aitken collaboration with The Skatalites from back in the day.

If you can get your hands on this CD, do it now (a digital version is available through iTunes and you can mail order the CD through Dr. Ring Ding's website)! You'll want it and even more from this ska supergroup. May we be lucky enough for their paths cross again very soon in the future.

+ + + +

Duff Review: Dr. Ring Ding Ska-Vaganza "Sammy Don't Go Out No More" b/w "Crazy" and "Dancing with the Fat Man's Lady" b/w "It Don't Mean It's Over"

Jump Up Records
2012
Colored vinyl singles with art by CHema Skandal

(Review by Steve Shafer)

These two phenomenal singles from the immensely gifted Dr. Ring Ding are the first vintage ska musical biscuits from his brand new album Piping Hot (Pork Pie is releasing the CD/Buenritmo is issuing the LP)--recorded with the Freedom Street Band (who serve as the rhythm section; they, along with other guest artists from the ska world, comprise the Dr. Ring Ding Ska-Vaganza). Both singles' A sides feature Dr. Ring Ding compositions from Piping Hot, while the Bs contain songs exclusive to these singles (one cover; one original). All in all, a great bang for the ska consumer's buck.

If you were tuned into the more traditional frequencies of the 90s ska scene, you know that Dr. Ring Ding and the Allstars' Dandimite (1995) and Ram Di Dance (1997) were two of the finest modern old school ska albums ever recorded--in a style similar to that of The Skatalites paired with some of the greatest singers of that era, like Laurel Aitken, Lord Tanamo, Stranger Cole, and a million other incredible JA vocalists (the Mango Intensified, Original Ska 1962-1966 and More Intensified, Original Ska 1963-1967, Vol. 2 comps were like blueprints used to build this band and construct its sound).

Longtime fans will be psyched to find that the new Dr. Ring Ding Ska-Vaganza material picks right up where Dandimite and Ram Di Dance (and Lord Tanamo with Dr. Ring Ding and the Senior Allstars' Best Place in the World) left off, with The Freedom Street Band providing an equally excellent--yet more organic sounding--backing to the good Doctor's colorful vocals.

Side A: "Sammy Don't Go Out No More" is a ska stomper of a tribute/lament to those who retire from or age/drop out of a scene (I, for one, even as I hit true middle age, refuse to consider this possibility): "Sammy don't go out no more/You won't see him walk through that door...No more weekend specials at the bars downtown/No more ladies nights/and no more two for one/These days are long time gone!"



Side B: "Crazy" is a swinging ska cover of the Willie Nelson country ballad immortalized by Patsy Cline. You know a song is expertly crafted if it can be versioned in a completely different genre and sound just as good as the original (of course, it helps to be in the hands of someone of the calibre of the good Doctor!). This is a rare Dr. Ring Ding track that fans will want in their collection.

Side A: "Dancing with the Fat Man's Lady" may remind you of one of Laurel Aitken's more upbeat rhythm and blues/ska tracks mixed with the knowing naughtiness of a song like "Shame and Scandal." Everyone is gleefully indulging in their own vices/transgressions (and getting over/off on others while doing it): "While we were almost mating/the guy was masticating/Having the time of his life..." But the singer is (kind of) redeemed, since the Fat Man is the stereotypical bad guy in JA musical shorthand, so score one for the good guys (or more like, the good guy scored!).

Side B: "It Don't Mean It's Over" is a terrific rocksteady track about not being able to let go of a relationship when the other person's finished with you (but not in a stalker-y way--the singer's forgiving, still deeply in love, and holding out hope for a second chance): "It don't mean it's over/just because you said goodbye/It don't mean it's over/just because you made me cry/It don't mean it's over/just because you made me blue/I'll be standing at your door waiting for you/with flowers in my hand!" Rejection rarely sounds this good.

These two singles--and I imagine the accompanying Piping Hot album--represent some of the best ska music you can expect to hear this year. They're highly recommended.

Preview the New Dr. Ring Ding Album "Piping Hot"!

+ + + + 

Dr. Ring Ding Ska-Vaganza's Piping Hot will be released this November. The CD will be out on Pork Pie Records, the vinyl on Buenritmo, and Jump Up will release two vinyl singles with exclusive tracks from the same sessions.

Check out our recent interview with Dr. Ring Ding here.

Duff Interview: Dr. Ring Ding (on his New Album "Piping Hot")!

Editor's Note: I first encountered Dr. Ring Ding's music when I was working for Moon Records and Bucket passed along Dr. Ring Ding and the Senior Allstars' "Dandimite" album and told me that it was going to be one of the label's releases that year (Moon had licensed it from Grover Records, as we would with their follow-up record, "Ram Di Dance"). When I popped it in the CD player, I was immediately blown away by the super-charged, yet authentically vintage sounding ska coming out of the speakers--and this band was from Germany? It was some of the best traditional ska I had ever heard (and their first two albums remain amongst the finest produced during the Third Wave of ska). While I was never fortunate enough to catch Dr. Ring Ding and the Senior Allstars performing live, I did have the pleasure of meeting and seeing Dr. Ring Ding on stage when he toured and played t-bone with The Toasters in the late 90s (Bob Timm of The Hard Times still has a picture somewhere of Richie and me in the Moon offices...). The good Doctor has a new traditional ska album titled "Piping Hot" coming out this fall and Richie was kind enough to take the time to reply to our questions.

The Duff Guide to Ska: It seems like a lot of your recent work has focused on dancehall instead of ska. Why did you decide to bring Dr. Ring Ding back into the ska fold at this point in time?

Dr. Ring Ding: I am pretty aware that it looks that way. As a matter of fact, I do not really focus on musical styles. I focus, of course, on the individual projects I am working on, but that is regardless of style.

I have done a lot of reggae and dancehall recordings and shows in the past, but also many other types of music, many of them not under the name of Dr. Ring Ding. If people hear more from me in dancehall, it is possibly due to the fact that it spreads faster, as the community is possibly bigger than, let’s say, the ska community.





There have been some ska recordings over the last few years. One album with Kingston Kitchen, comprising members of the Rotterdam Ska Jazz Foundation and myself. Then more recently a new album of El Bosso and die Ping Pongs (the ska band in which I first started playing), as well as some guest appearances on other bands’ albums and singles. Apart from that, I have also worked as a producer for several ska bands.

Then, it is always cheaper to record some rhythm tracks (with a satisfying sound) for a dancehall tune on your computer instead of having to book a studio and record a whole band, especially in a time when neither a music consumer nor a record label is willing to put out money for a recording. Therefore, it is true that a bigger part of the Dr. Ring Ding productions of the past few years are within the dancehall genre, as I would not like to compromise sound quality and musicianship too much. I have done a large number of ska shows though, with Kingston Kitchen, El Bosso, and also a project called “The Rock Steady Revue.”

Anyway, I really felt the urge to record a new ska album (under the name of Dr. Ring Ding) after I had played a bunch of shows last December with the Bartenders from Warsaw and Shots in the Dark from Rome. I have asked a few of my favorite fellow musicians if they would like to participate in the project, and luckily, all of them said yes. I am grateful.

DGTS: What should your ska fans expect on the new album? Can you tell us about the bands backing you--and are there any special guests?

DRD: The new album is entitled Piping Hot and the name of my ska outfit is Dr. Ring Ding Ska-Vaganza. I am really continuing what we started with the Dandimite album in 1995 (with Dr. Ring Ding and the Senior Allstars). It is traditional ska, most of it original compositions--the few covers are instrumental versions of two folk songs (one German, one Catalan)--and a pop song from the 80s.

The wonderful musicians playing are the Freedom Street Band, who provide the basic tracks (drums, bass, piano, guitar). They are a reggae backing band from Barcelona and usually accompany me on my dancehall shows in Catalonia, Spain, Southern France, etc., as they do for the likes of Tippa Irie, Chucky Star, and a number of Spanish artists. But they also can play ska and have backed people like Derrick Morgan, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, etc.



Then there are some German friends on there, Markus Dassmann on guitar and organ--he played in the Senior Allstars and we share the stage in many different projects. Mathias Demmer from The Busters plays a multitude of wind instruments--saxophones, clarinet, flutes, etc. More horns come from Genís Bou (from the fantastic Gramophone Allstars) and Bruno Calvo, a young, exceptionally talented trumpet player. Some more extra people on backing vocals: Stephanie K. (an American jazz singer), Congalero Marcus Passlick (was also on Dandimite, etc.), and I am happy to have Doreen Shaffer sing a duet with me.

DGTS: When will Piping Hot be released and who is releasing it?

DRD: I guess it will be out in October. The CD will be on Pork Pie Records, the vinyl on Buenritmo, and Jump Up will release two vinyl singles with exclusive tracks from the same sessions.

DGTS: Are there any plans for some live Dr. Ring Ding dates in the USA at any point soon?

DRD: Plans no, but it’s been already been four years since I last played in the USA, and I get pretty itchy feet, to be honest. Any promoter reading this interested in bringing me over?

DGTS: What's the German ska scene like right now? Who are some of the better bands that US fans should track down?

DRD: Funny how I always get asked this question. I believe the answer has been the same over the last 20 years… There are some of the old veterans still doing it, and they are definitely worth to be listened to – bands like The Busters for instance. And I am happy to see that there are young and new bands coming out of the woodwork continuously, too. One of my favorites are The Magic Touch (although they are more rocksteady/dirty reggae than ska).

DGTS: El Bosso und die Ping Pongs just released a new album this year--how did you first become involved with El Bosso und die Ping Pongs and what led to the new record? (And while so many other German ska bands at the time--The Busters, No Sports, etc.--were singing in English, why did the band stick with your native language?)

DRD: The band was made up from pupils of my school (but for one). They had played a show at some school festival there. I saw it, I loved it, and asked if I could join. I could, and this is how I started to learn about this music. That was in 1987, when I was 16 or 17…



We split somewhere in the early 90s, but had a few revival shows every four years or such, and then we decided at some point to loosely play together again every now and then. That made the bandleader/songwriter/guitarist Skacus eager enough to compose and record an album’s worth of material – hey presto!

We kind of always kept faithful to the concept of using German in our songs. On one hand, due to the main songwriter’s bad English (and good German), on the other hand, it made us stick out from the rest – so why change a winning concept?

DGTS: The early 90s ska scene in Germany was pretty hot (Busters, No Sports, Skaos, Butlers, Bleichreiz)--what are some of your fondest memories from those days?

DRD: First of all, these were my first years on the road – that is always something special and the music will always remain in my memory as the soundtrack of my Sturm-und-Drang period. The many festivals we played, sharing the bill with the above mentioned, were like big family meetings. And also getting to know some of the bands we had on record, listening to them play live, was great. The Toasters, The Trojans, Desmond Dekker…

DGTS: What are some of your proudest moments/accomplishments with Dr. Ring Ding and the Senior Allstars?

I am really happy that playing this music actively got me deeper into the matter. Getting to know the veterans of ska, playing with them live, recording with them (such as Doreen Shaffer, Lord Tanamo, Judge Dread, etc). Playing in a country for the first time, releasing albums, having them released in different countries, getting people to sing your songs – all that is really satisfying for a musician.











DGTS: What record or experience was your first introduction to ska/reggae music?

DRD: Some of the music I had heard without knowing what it was. I knew Madness’ version of “One Step Beyond” and “Night Boat To Cairo” from the radio, but had no idea what the genre was called. I enjoyed listening, though. I had also heard some reggae, but didn’t quite like it at that time. Everything started when I joined El Bosso and die Ping Pongs. The bassist gave me some music to listen to: The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat, more Madness, and some old stuff, like The Skatalites and some compilations on Trojan Records. I found a few reggae albums in some boxes left over from the last bazaar in the basement of our church, one of which (Burning Spear’s Social Living) is still my favorite to date. I started buying ska and reggae records myself, Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, The Ethiopians… and when I finally went to see a show of Desmond Dekker in my home town, it was clear that I would from now on be a diehard reggae and ska fan. I also started listening to Mutabaruka and LKJ at that time and learned a lot about the language.

DGTS: Which ska/reggae musicians and releases are your favorites (and why)?

DRD: Anything from Toots and the Maytals – one of my first and still one of my favorites.

Anything from Desmond Dekker. A fan since I saw him live.

Burning Spear: Social Living. Roots reggae at its best. Great production.

I am fascinated by Ken Boothe – after a dozen of albums, many hours in the car together, and having him seen live numerous times, I still can’t put my finger on it.

Winston Francis – a wonderful singer and a wonderful person. And totally underrated.

The Skatalites – how can you not love them? I was lucky and privileged enough to join them for two weeks as a trombonist a few years back.

The ska recordings of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. Great!

Prince Buster – a real teacher.

Hepcat – loved them from the first moment I heard them.

Dancehall artists like Josey Wales, Yellowman, then Admiral Bailey and Cutty Ranks; and from England, Tippa Irie and Macka B. They have influenced me a lot.

Damn, this list is getting long…

DGTS: What else is in store for Dr. Ring Ding this year (plug away, baby)?

DRD: There are a few releases coming up. Besides the ska album, the will be one in computerized dancehall style of the late 80s, produced by Dreadsquad from Poland, whom with I have already worked on a bunch of singles. Then a reggae album with the Sharp Axe Band (and guests), my backing band in Germany. Then there is still one album in the pipeline for Stubborn Records, produced by King Django, and I am also working on a French project… and all this is only Dr. Ring Ding, mind you.

Other than that, more shows hopefully – I love to explore new countries and come back to see old friends in the ones I have already been to.

Jump Up Reissues Toasters' 2 Tone Army (AKA Hard Band for Dead) on Vinyl!

While many of The Toasters' releases in the 1990s found their way on to vinyl through licensing deals with German ska labels Pork Pie (New York Fever) and Grover (Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down), the band's 1996 album Hard Band for Dead, which spawned two of their biggest hits--"2 Tone Army" and "I Wasn't Going to Call You Anyway" (a parting shot at a very difficult band)--never found their way onto wax (maybe Pork Pie didn't have the cash to press an LP?). At the time, the ska market for vinyl in the US was very small (even the series of numbered, limited edition 7" singles that Moon Records released in the mid-to-late 90s sold surprisingly slowly), so it made financial sense to import a few copies of the LPs from Europe (where fans still craved vinyl) to sell in the Moon store and through the label's healthy mailorder service.

We flash-forward about a decade and a half later, to when Jump Up Records main man Chuck Wren runs into Bucket at Chicago's Riot Fest. While talking shop, Chuck is very surprised to learn that Hard Band For Dead was never released on LP (the other notable exception is Dub 56, probably one of the most beloved Toasters albums ever). Long story short, Buck and Chuck broker a deal--and now Jump Up has just issued 2 Tone Army on black and green vinyl (the next pressing will be in white), which includes a card that allows you to download six more alternate tracks from the album recording sessions.

Of note, the iconic NYC Ska rude boy (which originally appeared on a Moon Records t-shirt back in the late 80s) on the 2 Tone Army LP cover is not Buck (I had always assumed it was), but Steve Hex (AKA Karl Stephen LaForge), The Toasters' co-founder and keyboardist who appeared on the "The Beat" 7", the Recriminations EP, and Skaboom, Thrill Me Up, and This Gun For Hire albums. Hex died in Berlin in 2005 under questionable circumstances (he was found with a severe head wound and was assumed to have been the victim of a mugging).

For your reference, here is the original 1996 track listing for Hard Band for Dead:

1. 2Tone Army (Hingley)
2. Talk Is Cheap (Hingley)
3. Friends (Hingley/Ugbomah/Toasters)
4. Secret Agent Man (Barri Sloan)
5. Chuck Berry (Hingley)
6. Mouse (Reiter)
7. Hard Man Fe Dead (C. Campbell)
8. Don't Come Running [Extra Intro] (Faulkner)
9. Properly (McCain/Ugbomah)
10. Maxwell Smart (Irving Szathmary)
11. I Wasn't Going To Call You Anyway (Hingley)
12. Speak Your Mind (Hingley/Rice)
13. Skaternity (Reiter/McCain)
14. Dave Goes Crazy (Rimsky-Korsakov)

The album featured guest spots by The Godfather of Ska himself, Laurel Aitken (on "Speak Your Mind"), The Skatalites' terrific saxophonist Lester Sterling (on "Mouse" and the cover of Prince Buster's "Hard Man Fe Dead"), The Ventures' guitarist Jerry McGee (on "Friends"), and King Django (chatting on "Properly").

From what I can tell (my copy hasn't arrived in the mail yet), two additional tracks have been added to the LP reissue proper:

15. 2Tone Army [Special Forces Version] (Hingley)
16. Skar-Toon [Unreleased] (Brown)

And here are the 2 Tone Army bonus digital download cuts:

Retroactive [Unreleased] (Reiter)
Speak Your Mind [Instrumental] (Hingley/Rice)
Skaternity [Demo] (Reiter)
Moon Ska Stomp [Unreleased] (Hingley/Toasters)
Speedy Gonzales [Unreleased] (Hingley/Toasters)
2Tone Army [Blues Reprise] (Hingley)

Megalith Records will be releasing 2 Tone Army on CD--which will include all of the tracks above--a little later this year.

+ + + +

There was a CD re-issue of Hard Band for Dead/2 Tone Army back in 2009 on Party House Records in the UK (a label that I think is now defunct). In response, back in July of that year, I wrote up some notes about Hard Band for Dead and posted them on this blog--and they might be worth revisiting here...

Some Duff Guide to Ska Notes to Hard Band for Dead:

In an attempt to capitalize on the intense music press/industry buzz in the mid-90s (Billboard and others declaring ska "the next big thing," and every major label wanting a ska-like band in their pocket), Moon Records produced two of its first music videos, "2 Tone Army" and "I Wasn't Going to Call You Anyway," to help promote this album (which also received a good amount of airplay from college radio, according to the CMJ charts at the time). In true DIY fashion, I shot "2 Tone Army" on Super 8 film at a Toasters show (with Lester Sterling in the line-up!) at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Chelsea; outside the first Moon shop on 2nd Street in Alphabet City; and in my UES living room. The footage was digitally edited with the assistance of the late video and performance artist Dieter Froese at Dekart Video in Chinatown (they typically did most of their work with PBS, museums, and video and performance artists, but occasionally edited videos for major label bands like REM). The whole production cost about $2,500--and it ended up premiering on MTV's "120 Minutes" and going into fairly regular rotation on MTV and M2 (hell, they even created a special "Skaturday," when they featured ska viddys for a couple of hours).



Contrary to all of the label's/band's expectations, MTV gave the "2 Tone Army" video an extraordinary amount of support because: a) they genuinely liked The Toasters' music and knew how long they had been plugging away on the scene; 2) they didn't want to miss out on ska craze (the hype really was brutally intense, even if the major labels really didn't know ska from Adam or how to market it)--and there weren't that many new ska videos being produced; and 3) they got a kick out of the fact that we had the nerve to submit this somewhat crude, low-budget video, while many other indie acts were lavishing tens of thousands of dollars on theirs trying to make the big time.

Originally, I had planned to shoot a music video for "Chuck Berry" (the single on the record player in the video is the limited edition "Chuck Berry" 7", which was released well before the rest of the album was finished), but switched it to "2 Tone Army" after hearing an advance copy of the song. Since these were untested waters, The Toasters were minimally involved in the making of this video (I came up with what little concept there was and basically showed up to film them at both the FIT show and their promo photo shoot on 2nd Street before they went off on a tour--one of these pictures ended up on the back cover of the CD--we never scheduled anything specifically for the video) and Bucket didn't see any footage until the editing was completed (either he had complete faith in me or was entertaining my flight of fancy). I spoke with him on the phone after he first saw the video and could tell that he was extremely underwhelmed--but as things progressed, he seemed pretty pleased with all the mileage the band/label got out of it.

Like "2 Tone Army," "I Wasn't Going to Call You Anyway" (which was directed by Drew Sentivan, who also made several higher-end videos for Moon in collaboration with Crazy Duck Productions, all of them great, including The Toasters' "Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down" and "I'm Running Right Through the World," as well as The Scofflaws' "Nude Beach," Isaac Green and the Skalars' "High School," and the Skoidats' "Last Night" ) went into regular rotation on MTV and M2 (remember that station--completely devoted to actually playing music videos, many of them from alternative/indie bands?). For better or worse, Moon also permitted MTV to use excerpts of several songs off of Hard Band for Dead for shows like Singled Out and The Real World, in the hopes of expanding the band's audience and stimulating CD sales.

After the recording sessions for Hard Band, the souring relationship between Coolie Ranx and the rest of the band hit an all time low--and he left/was booted from The Toasters soon after. (One memorable, cringe-worthy event from this period took place at The Toasters' Central Park SummerStage gig, a big deal back then since they were one of the first ska acts ever featured in this concert series, as when it came time for the band to hit the stage, Coolie was AWOL--Bucket and Sledge had to take over Coolie's vocal duties; he finally showed up several songs into the set, dramatically leaping onto the stage from the audience.) As a result, just before the Hard Band for Dead masters were sent to the printing plant, most of Coolie's tracks were dropped from the album (I'll always remember Toasters bassist Matt Malles telling me how bummed he was that one of the songs he co-wrote with Coolie was left off the record--he thought it was the best track of the bunch.) Interestingly enough, the "2 Tone Army" video inadvertently captured the transition between Coolie Ranx (who is in the photo shoot segments) and Jack Ruby, Jr. (who was on stage as a member of the band at the FIT show).

One last tidbit: a version of "2 Tone Army" (recorded months before the Hard Band sessions by the Moon Ska Stompers, which was comprised of members of The Toasters and NY Ska Jazz Ensemble, as well as Victor Rice and King Django) became the theme music for the very cool animated/stop action Nickelodeon show "Kablam!".