Sadly, The Specials won't be making it back across the pond during their final farewell reunion tour of Europe and the U.K. this fall, but anyone who happens to live in the Midwest of the U.S. can enjoy the next best thing -- America's 2-Tone band The Crombies!
Combining their love of ska, reggae, punk, and rock, The Crombies may be the finest American 2-Tone All-Star tribute band I've ever seen or heard! Founded by vocalist Mike Park (ex-Deal’s Gone Bad, Lord Mike’s Dirty Calypsonians) and Deal’s Gone Bad guitarist Dave Simon, the six-piece band perform fantastic, pitch perfect versions of songs by The Specials, Madness, Bad Manners, The Beat and more.
The Crombies have made such an impression on crowds around Chicago, that none other than super ska label Jump Up Records are about to release a 7" single by the band featuring a fantastic 2-Tone inspired cover version of Niney The Observer's reggae classic 'Blood & Fire' backed with 'Mad At The World'. The song is a revelation taking the best of The Specials and The Selecter and mixing it with a hint of punk and reggae.
In order to celebrate the release of the single, Jump Up Records has kindly offered to give away 10 FREE copies of the single to Marco On The Bass blog readers living in the U.S. (sorry rest of the world!). The first 10 people to send their snail mail address to marcoonthebass@gmail.com with 'The Crombies' in the subject line of the e-mail will receive a free copy of the single in the mail courtesy of Jump Up Records. [NOTE: All 10 copies have now been spoken for! Stay tuned for more cool giveaways in the future.]
And, if you live in Chicago, be sure to stop by The Late Bar this Friday July 22nd for a release party for The Crombies 7" hosted by DJ Chuck Wren, who will be spinning 2-Tone Dance Craze favorites plus hundreds of private press ska rarities on vinyl.
Cant' wait to get the vinyl? Give a listen to a live version of The Crombies performing 'Blood & Fire' below as well as live versions of some of the other great 2-Tone tracks the band performs. Long live 2-Tone!
The Crombies perform 'Gangsters' by The Specials
The Crombies perform 'Night Boast To Cairo' by Madness
The Crombies perform 'Twist & Crawl' by The Beat
The Crombies perform 'Lorraine' by Bad Manners
Wow..great band! Please send them to Philadelphia, we could use a good ska show!
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