The next Electric Avenue show will kick off on Saturday, November 16, 2013 at Characters NYC in the heart of midtown Manhattan with a rare east-coast, headlining set by international ska troubadour Chris Murray, New York-based ska/punk/Latin upstarts The Ladrones and Rude Boy George, which is a new musical project that I am part featuring members of my band Bigger Thomas, The Toasters and Across The Aisle, that performs ska, reggae and rocksteady versions of 80's new wave songs. Doors are at 9 pm and the cover is a super low $10!
Chris Murray is a unique force in today's music scene. Born in Toronto, he earned a strong reputation as a dynamic performer and gifted songwriter as leader of influential Canadian ska group King Apparatus. Upon the band's breakup, he relocated to Los Angeles, emerging as a solo artist with The 4-Track Adventures Of Venice Shoreline Chris, recorded in various locations on a portable 4-track cassette recorder. Entering LA's ultra-purist rock steady scene armed only with an acoustic guitar, Chris has become a leading figure in the world's foremost authentic Jamaican music community. As host of Bluebeat Lounge (2003-2009), a popular weekly concert series focusing on reggae and ska, Chris promoted more than 350 shows over seven years at Hollywood's Knitting Factory. His musical journeys have taken him throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, the UK, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia.
Check out videos of each band below including Chris Murray performing "Ex-Darling," The Ladrones performing "Nada Pasa" and Rude Boy George performing a soulful rocksteady version of "Tempted" by Squeeze.
Electric Avenue is a partnership between myself and my fellow New York City ska blogging pal Steve Shafer (Duff Guide To Ska who also happens to be a member of Rude Boy George). We have teamed up to present monthly ska and reggae shows at Characters NYC, a midtown Manhattan Irish pub (243 West 54th Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue in Manhattan) with a big back room ideally suited for live music.
Since last fall, we've been undertaking this labor of love--doing it for free (the bands split 100% of the cover, nobody else takes a cut)--to support ska bands and their fans, and have some fun in the process. Electric Avenue shows already have featured some of the best acts on the Northeastern U.S. ska scene, including King Django (NJ), The Snails (Philadelphia), The Frightnrs (Brooklyn), Destroy Babylon (Massachusetts), Bigger Thomas (NY/NJ), Beat Brigade (NY), Doomsday! (NY), Los Skarronerros (Brooklyn), The Pandemics (Long Island), The Scofflaws (Long Island), The Bullbuckers (Wilmington, DE), The Reggay Lords (Brooklyn), The Copacetics (Providence, RI) and The Rudie Crew (NY) and The Royal Swindle (New Haven, CT). This summer we were blessed to have Roddy Radiation and Lynval Golding of The Specials perform a solo show for us.
The Facebook Electric Avenue event page can be found here. And take a moment to "like" the Electric Avenue FB page, so you keep up on our shows.
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