I strive to celebrate and venerate the best of ska and reggae music on this blog. The many artists who made the music a cultural phenomena are all heroes to me and many others. However, as ska and reggae music made its way into the charts of the U.K. (and the U.S, to a lesser extent) and its influence and popularity spread, many mainstream singers, bands and musical artists began including the rhythms and sound in their own songs. Some of these efforts were magnificent and some less so. Others were just plain terrible.
I've previously highlighted some of the better attempts at this (see Paul Simon, Blondie and Johnny Nash), However, I felt it was high time I trained the spotlight on some of the more dreadful attempts of what the Brits call 'Cod Reggae' (which is a term I have always loved). This list is neither exhaustive or complete and focuses on the late 60's and 70's. (I'll look to do a similar post for the 80's and 90's in the new year). With reggae making real inroads in the U.K. and the U.S. musically in the late 60's to mid 70's I looked for reggae and Caribbean music from the era that actually did the genre no favors artistically. So without further ado I present a selection of some of the worst attempts to play this beautiful music. Consider yourself warned!
But first, let me say I am an open minded fan of calypso, ska, reggae and all other forms of Caribbean music. While there are certainly social, political cultural reasons why 'cod reggae' tracks may be more popular with mainstream audiences then than tracks recorded by the original artists (e.g. racism), what I will say is that I have a real soft spot for certain musicians' attempts to 'go reggae'. They never get it quite right, but it can often result in something really interesting and different. This post is about those attempts that don't get it right!
The grandfather of 'cod reggae' music has to be Bernard Cribbins and his 1962 track ‘Gossip Calypso'. The song was inspired by Lord Kitchener's wonderful ‘London is the Place for Me’ which is a gorgeous ballad that extols the beauty and splendor of London from a recent Jamaican immigrant's perspective. I can't say the same for Mr Cribbins' attempt which sounds like an outtake from a bad Saturday night variety show as sung by a comic.
A few years later saw Millie Small's joyful ‘My Boy Lollipop’ hitting the charts, riding a wave that included Prince Buster, John Holt, Ken Boothe, Desmond Dekker and Jimmy Cliff. From these great moments, one of the most awful sub-genres, loomed. Calypso required huge bands and great skill, but reggae was much easier to recreate to the ears of the uneducated. Reggae sounded like two chords, a jaunty bass line and required a singer to pipe “dat” instead of “that”. While The Beatles's 'Ob la di, Ob la da' is likely the first massive 'cod reggae' hit, it inspired Marmalade's cover version which was likely totally unnecessary (though it may be better than Sir Paul's version and hit #1 in the U.K. pop charts in 1969!).
But I've saved the worst for last. My all time favorite worst 'cod reggae' song has to be Paul Nicholas and his song 'Reggae Like It Used To Be'. Nicholas was better known on this side of the pond for his hit 'Heaven On The Seventh Floor' which I distinctly remember dancing to at a 6th or 7th grade dance in the late 70's. It wasn't until very recently that I was introduced to his left turn into reggae. Here it is as performed on Top Of The Pops in May 1976. The song actually reached #17 in the charts which doesn't speak kindly to the taste of the British listening public! Luckily, punk and 2-Tone were just months away from washing this type of clap trap off the charts.
And before I go, here is truly awful piece of 'cod reggae as performed by 60's pop icon Sandie Shaw on a popular British TV show called '2 G's and The Pop People' in 1972. In a word this is 'horrendous'! Sadly the song borders on the worst aspects of minstrel. And while Shaw was no racist, this was the era of television when Black and White artists sadly remained mostly separate. You may want to clean your ears out with soap after listening to this one!
Today marks the 30 year anniversary of the release of the Blue Riddim Band classic reggae track 'Nancy Reagan'! To honor the original, Rougher Records have re-released a special 30th anniversary, remastered edition of the track. The song has the distinction of being one of the best and most overlooked American reggae songs ever recorded and released. The timing of this release couldn't be better as the Republican Party is weeks away from beginning the process of selecting a Presidential nominee who will seek to claim the mantle of conservative Republican values and economic policies espoused by Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Reagan. These policies have continued to make the 1% very wealthy and the 99% struggle to make a living. The track is available for download from iTunes. Below is a short video teaser:
During the 1980's in the U.S., alternative music continued to be a strong voice of protest against President Reagan and his policies. Perhaps the catchiest song to poke fun of the Reagan's came from the Blue Riddim Band, an American reggae band, who wrote and recorded the satirical track 'Nancy Reagan' about the President's wife. With brilliant lyrics including, "All my clothes are from the best designers/All my china is a perfect match', the song is a fantastic piece of Studio One inspired bass, drums and brass that may be one of the most overlooked reggae rhythms ever recorded. It used humor to make a cutting political statement about where the First Lady's (and our country's) misguided priorities lay during the 1980's. It couldn't be more relevant today in this era of Occupy Wall Street protests around the U.S.
More significantly, this all-white band hailing from Kansas City, Missouri have the distinction of being the very first American reggae band to be invited to play at Reggae Sunsplash. Their blazing set of ska and reggae covers and originals as dawn was rising over Jarrett Park on August 15, 1982 is legendary. They earned two encores from the crowd of 20,000 Jamaicans who were mesmerized by their 'blue eyed reggae.' Their Sunsplash performance was recorded for the LP 'Alive In Jamaica' released in 1984 which was nominated for a Grammy for best reggae album in 1985. The record's highlight is a blistering live version of 'Nancy Reagan'(see video below).
According to noted Reggae music author, historian, DJ and commentator Carter Van Pelt, few groups have played reggae outside Jamaica as convincingly as the Blue Riddim Band. The group coalesced as Rhythm Function in the mid-70s under the guidance of multi-instrumentalist and composer Bob Zohn and percussionist Steve "Duck" McLane. The group earned a reputation skillfully playing soul and R&B at clubs in the South and Northeast of the U.S. The original line-up included McLane (drums, bass, percussion & vocals), Zohn (guitar, drums & lead vocals), Andy Myers (bass & trombone), Scott Korchak (trumpet & lead vocals), Pat Pearce (keyboards, percussion & vocals), Jack Blackett (saxophone), and Howard Yukon (guitar, percussion & vocals.
So what was the band like live? According to Gavin B. who was at the 1982 Sunsplash performance, "I was operating the video camera that was doing the pan shots of the crowd in this video and I was stunned at the enthusiastic reaction of the mostly all Jamaican crowd. Look closely at the crowd shots and you'll see an ecstatic Winston Rodney (aka Burning Spear) skanking away to the music. He was good friends with the band and was largely responsible for getting BRB as performers at Sunsplash." The band were voted co-'Best Band' of the entire Sunsplash festival. According to McLane, they were surprised by the reaction they received, "It blew me away that we blew them away. I was expecting pineapples and cantaloupes thrown at us. We're playing these old songs, and we're also from America, and we're also white. It's five o'clock in the morning, and they're going, 'What in the ... ?'"
The 'Nancy Reagan' track soon became the band's calling card and it inspired a young fan of the band living in California to showcase the track and Blue Riddim Band further. Roberto was known to Southern California reggae fans as host of a weekly reggae radio program. He envisioned creating a protest song that would be critical of the ongoing Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and his view that it was being perpetuated by Reagan. Calling in a few favors, he was able to land the help of reggae enthusiast David Lindley, who mixed the "Nancy Reagan Re-Election Remix" side, and of Ranking Roger, who featured on "America & Russia/Selective Service System" and a free-style toast over the basic 'Nancy Reagan' track.
According to an interview he conducted with the Los Angeles Times when the record was released in early 1985, Roberto explained that the record's packaging was designed to reflect his anti-Reagan message: the record sleeve features a newspaper-style layout with the headline 'Special $18 Million Inaugural Edition' over a striking Paul Bedard painting of Nancy Reagan holding a bowl of jelly beans while five starving black children stand at her feet. The $18-million figure, Roberto said, represented the amount spent on the 1985 inaugural celebration. "I can't see how they can spend $18 million on a four-day gala when there are people dying of starvation in this world," he said. "There is a time and a place to party, but that is just too much."
According to the Los Angeles Times story, Roberto first met Ranking Roger in 1981, when Roger and fellow General Public founder Dave Wakeling were still members of The Beat. "Roger did not have to do this (record)," Roberto said, "but he was sympathetic with my concerns and my concept that came from being fed up with the current administration." While recording one of the songs in New York, Roberto tracked down veteran Jamaican producer-engineer "Maxi" McKenzie, who mixed the two tracks with Ranking Roger.
Operating as a one-man record label and basing himself in Orange County, California, one of the most pro-Reagan parts of the U.S.. Roberto set out to get his message and record out. According to the interview with the Los Angeles Times, Roberto said, "It might be an impossible task," he admitted, "but you've got to start somewhere. Those who are offended will be offended anyway. But if I can open some eyes, raise some people's consciousness, then I'll be satisfied."
So what did the band think of the final product? I had always assumed that the band had collaborated directly with Ranking Roger. Apparently that was not the case. I interviewed Todd "Bebop" Burd who joined Blue Riddim on bass in 1983, about the collaboration with Ranking Roger on the remix of 'Nancy Reagan'. According to Burd, "'Nancy Reagan' was originally recorded at Channel One in Jamaica in 1982 while the band was on the island to perform at Reggae Sunsplash and was released on our label as an EP along with five other songs."
"The remix of Nancy Reagan was produced in 1985 by this guy named Roberto in California. He knew Ranking Roger; he knew us; he borrows the master tape; flies to LA; records Roger; flies back to Kansas City; flew in Maxie from Channel One in Jamaica to mix the whole thing in New York. We never saw each other during the recording process. Ranking Roger joined us briefly on stage on Catalina Island a few years later."
What was Blue Riddim Band's reaction to the finished tracks? According to Burd they weren't completely happy. "So one day , we show up at the band house to discover several boxes of the new remix . The response to the cover varied from shock to hysteria. The song 'Nancy Reagan' was never really a political statement , it was more of a well natured poke. Roberto never checked with us on the art work , and next thing we know is we've got this LP with Nancy Reagan handing out jelly beans to starving Ethiopians . To say he took liberties is an understatement. According to Burd, the remix played well in California on College radio , but it didn`t help that the " Alive at Sunsplash" record came out at the same time and was receiving more press because of the Grammy Nomination."
I interviewed Carter Van Pelt to get his take on Blue Riddim Band and their legacy in Reggae history and why they never seemed to get the credit they deserved as one of the greatest Reggae bands of all time.
Put Blue Riddim Band into context for me. In particular around the song 'Nancy Reagan'. Was 'Nancy Reagan' a protest song or a good natured poke?
It was a strange diversion for the band to record a novelty song considering how serious they were about their music overall. I can't imagine anyone in the group was really good natured about the Reagan's, but humor is the greatest way lampoon the powerful.
The song seemed to be very popular with people in the know about reggae in the 80's but did it get airplay beyond college radio reggae shows?
Probably not, but I'm not sure. They had a big ally in Ken Williams here in New York, who played their music. They were respected by all who heard them, especially the Jamaican musicians. Tommy McCook was one of their biggest advocates.
Why did the band record so little during their years together? I'm only aware of 'Alive In Jamaica' and 'Restless Spirit'
Duck has said their biggest mistake was being the 'ultimate road warriors,' because they didn't leave enough of a recorded legacy. They have an unreleased album recorded at Channel One in Kingston in 1982. Chris Blackwell had Jack Nuber (engineer for Bob Marley, et al) record
a session in Kansas City circa 1980. Blackwell opted not to do anything with them because he said he'd have to spend too much money to market them while eager Jamaican acts were a dime a dozen.
What is the band's legacy?
Their legacy is hampered by the fact that the recorded work has never been officially released on cd and there isn't much of it to begin with. It really hurt them when Bob Zohn died, because he was the main songwriter.
Anyone who ever saw them live will attest that they were one of the greatest live reggae groups, and they couldn't have impressed the Jamaicans at Sunsplash if that weren't the case. Ask Sly Dunbar about them, and he'll remember Duck as a wicked drummer. Also check out on the youtube videos from San Francisco, and how they would switch instruments -- Bob Zohn playing drums and singing, Drew switching between bass and trombone, etc. They did have a strange way of going through keyboardists, faster than Spinal Tap went through drummers, but I digress.
One of my favorite quotes about them is from Roger Steffens, who said, and I paraphrase, "All the attention that UB40 ever got, it should have been lavished on Blue Riddim." The problem that ultimately hampered them is that they were victims of white audiences' perceptions of 'authenticity,' which is sometimes a bullshit concept but it something that white musicians who perform in black idioms have to deal with. While they should have to deal with it to an extent, frankly, it says more to me that Tommy McCook, Lloyd Parks, Mikey Dread, and Sly Dunbar loved them than the fact that no major record deal ever materialized and they are relatively unknown. If there is any such standard to be met, they exceeded it in my opinion.
Next week sees the airing in the U.K. of the next instalment in the This Is England series. This Is England '88, a three-part TV series will be screened on consecutive nights on December 13-15th on Channel 4. Billed by series creator Shane Meadows as a "sort of broken nativity play", fans of the series will have a chance to catch up with Shaun, Woody, Lol, Milky and the gang. This Is England '88 picks up 18 months on from where its predecessor left off, with Woody and Lol struggling to cope with the emotional fallout following her killing of her rapist dad. Shaun, meanwhile, is learning all about the ups and downs or romance with Smell. It will be followed in 2012 by 'This Is England '90', which will focus on the ecstasy-fuelled rave scene of the era.
Meadows has described the three-parter as 'kind of like a very brutal Nativity play… I just remember Christmas being shit… I wanted to make a sort of broken Nativity play, but there’s a real positive outcome, I hope.'
I'm a huge fan of the series, having first been introduced to the story and characters via the movie 'This Is England.' I loved its take on a mostly affable group of ska loving skinheads living in the north of England in 1983. I was impressed with how 'This Is England '86' showed the group moving on and growing up and was struck by the depth of character development. Indeed, Vicky McClure who plays Lol won a BAFTA in May for her performance in 'This Is England '86'. As a Yank, I'm hoping to find a way to view the series. Hopefully some of my friends in the U.K. will share a link!
The trailer, with a soundtrack of 'What Difference Does It Make' by The Smiths, gives glimpses of most of the main characters familiar to fans, including Gadget, Milky, Kelly, Trev, Harvey and of course the jailed Combo.
As we get ready to bring 2011 to a close, I'm happy to report that it looks like 2012 will be another exciting year for fans of 2-Tone ska and its many musical purveyors who are still keeping the flame of the sound alive.
Madness to play in Mexico City in 2012!:
As the band readies its new batch of songs (which were previewed at the House Of Fun Weekender), Madness is also gearing up to finally cross the big pond to play a show on the North American content! Thanks to a tip from one of The Duff Guide to Ska's readers in Mexico, the news is out that Madness will be playing the Vive Latino Festival in Mexico City from March 25, 2012. With the band in Mexico in March, it begs the question: Will Madness finally play shows in the U.S.? The last time the band performed in the U.S. was during a very short 2005 tour as The Dangermen.
The Selecter release Christmas single:
The Selecter have just released a double 'A' side digital Christmas single. According to the band, the single represents the 'yin and yang' of the holiday season, including including the light side 'Skank Til Christmas' and the dark side 'A Christmas Fable'. The single is available as a download from iTunes, Amazon and other online music retailers. Check out the video for 'Skank 'til Christmas' which includes video clips submitted by fans showing off their best 2-Tone style skank dances.
All hail the King! King Hammond (the alter ego of Nick Welsh) will be gracing New York City with two shows this weekend -- backed by NYC dirty reggae band The Hard Times--on Thursday, December 1, 2011 at The Shrine in Harlem and Saturday, December 3, 2011 at The Lake in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Welsh remains one of the busiest and most prolific ska musicians on either side of the Atlantic and his resume is a mile long. He has worked with and produced A-list artists like Prince Buster, Laurel Aitken, Dave Barker, Rico Rodrigues, and Judge Dread as well as Lee 'Scratch' Perry with whom he worked on the Grammy Award winning album 'Jamaican ET'. Welsh has also been the bassist and song writer in Bad Manners and The Selecter (helping to shepard both band's post 2-Tone careers - he wrote 'Skaville UK). If that wasn't enough, he also writes music for U.K. and U.S. television shows and video games. Welsh revived King Hammond in 2010 and since that time has released three albums (“The King and I,” “Jacuzzi,” and “Showbiz”) and a slew of vinyl EPs on his own N.1 Records imprint. In June 2011, King Hammond was a featured performer at the Ink ʼn ʼIron Festival in Long Beach, California.
I had the pleasure to meet Welsh in 1991 when my band Bigger Thomas was the support act for The Selecter's first tour of the U.S. since the band had broken up in the early 80's. Welsh, Pauline Black and Neol Davies were all very kind to us (it was our first proper tour) and they always made sure we got a sound check and a dressing room (which is more unusual than you might expect in the cut throat music biz). As a fellow bass player I was also always impressed that Welsh played a Steinberger bass (which is a very sleek guitar that has no tuning pegs.)
To get you in a royal mood, here's a little taste of The King. Give a listen to 'Rockin' On Ridley Road' from King Hammond's latest LP 'Showbiz' and 'Tatoo Girls' (there should be plenty of them at The Lake on Saturday night!). I'll be at The Lake on Saturday night, so if you make it out be sure to say hello!
The first step in Jimmy Cliff's musical comeback is out today. While the four song, Tim Armstrong-produced EP 'Sacred Fire' includes three covers, its the throwback energy and choice of covers which should resonate with ska and reggae fans of multiple generations. A full length album is due out in 2012.
Cliff started recording as a child in the early 1960s with producer Leslie Kong. In the late 1960s, he moved to Britain where he enjoyed considerable success with the song 'Wonderful World, Beautiful People'. He became a massive star after starring in 'The Harder They Come', the 1972 low-budget movie based on the exploits of Ivanhoe 'Ryghin' Martin, a gunman who terrorized sections of west Kingston in 1948. The film's soundtrack contains songs that are Cliff standards, including the title track, 'Sitting In Limbo' and 'You Can Get It If You Really Want'.
Cliff appeared on Jimmy Fallon last night where backed by The Roots he performed his classic cut 'The Harder They Come' and 'World Upside Down'.
Everyone I have ever met who is a truly devoted and passionate fan of 2-Tone and ska music tends to have followed a similar path no matter where in the world they are from. Like alien abductees, we all remember in great clarity and detail that singular moment when we heard The Specials first album for the very first time. And almost to a person, I have noted that the lightning bolt 'religious' experience of hearing that record has stayed with us and shaped our lives. For me it was when a friend at school played me The Specials first album in late 1979 (I sat opened mouth and was actually a bit afraid!). I rushed out and bought my own copy and that started a regular routine every Friday after school when I haunted the local record store near my house. I pestered and annoyed the clerks there so much about The Specials that when they saw me coming they would suggest new records for me to buy. This was the start of my ska and 2-Tone education and it lead me to where I am today.
ChacÃn's love of ska and 2 Tone started in Caracas in the early 80's, when as a heavy metal loving teen he was given The Specials first album. It set him and his band mates along the path to starting the one of the very first South American ska bands. Now after 25 years of popularity and success in Latin America, including eight studio albums, several greatest hit releases and live performance in over 30 countries, Desorden Público have reached superstar status throughout South America. Taking their name from Venezuelan military police trucks that had 'Orden Publico' [Public Order] written on the side, the band's name is political, but it is more tongue-in-cheek and humorous about advocating any serious form of public disorder.
With Desorden Publico a musical institution and celebrating their 25th anniversary, I thought it was high time I connected with Chacin to learn more about the beginnings of the band, their influences and what it was like growing up in Caracas, Venezuela as a Rude Boy in the 80's! For the uninitiated, imagine if Madness or The Specials had emerged in Venezuela. And while the band emerged just as 2-Tone peaked, they had trouble imitating the 2-Tone sound too closely. It just didn't work for musicians steeped in local Latin rhythms, culture and beats. The music of Desorden Publico has continued to evolve, thanks to near relentless playing and recording during the past two decades. The band has a dozen or so releases to their name and have had platinum sales, #1 and top 10 hits. They have tours that have taken them all over Latin America, North America and Europe.
What was it like growing up in Caracas, Venezuela in the early 80's?
It was great! I was born in 1964 and it means that I really had the eighties as my very influential years. Thank God it wasn't the 70´s!
Finding music in Venezuela in the 80's wasn't an easy task, so we had to beg every friend, every father or mother or relatives, who were travelling outside, to buy the new releases, and when you buy 2 or 3 LP´s and try to transport them in a luggage it´s kind of a nightmare.
Well, the thing is that here in our country many good and bad things came as an avalanche: Heavy metal, Punk Rock, New Wave, Hard Core, New Cool, Post Punk, Ska, Reggae. And before becoming musicians we were DJ´s of our own Sound System called ASEO URBANO. It was the only one in Caracas that specialized in New Wave, Punk and of course Ska, so we were the natural Sound System at the gigs of many new acts of the underground Punk scene of Caracas.
How did that experience effect you socially, politically and musically?
Being a teenager, here in Caracas in the 80´s was incredible. In a certain way Venezuela was for many years (in the decade of the 70´s) a country drunk on Petrodollars (money from the sales of oil), so we had an incredible “Bonanza” where the most of our government leaders were super corrupted. But suddenly, a serious crisis brought a hard fall of the prices of oil and our economy began to feel the consequences of many years of bad guidance. So suddenly we started to know a different country with a cost of living that was more and more expensive every day.
This was a perfect time for many young people to realize that too many things were going wrong in our country, and some of us started to open our eyes and do our own criteria of the society. Now we also had the lyrics of people like The Clash, Dead Kennedy's, Sex Pistols, The Specials, and also Latin American artists like Ruben Blades, Ali Primera, Soledad Bravo to help start to make sense of our own lives and Venezuelan society. We became critics and non-conformists with our reality. And we started this band!
Most people I've spoken to who are into ska remember the exact moment when they fell in love with it. How did it happen for you?
I remember I was a kid loved Disco Music to Heavy Metal. (I loved the first era of Van Halen, and still like it). But after 3 or 4 years of hard rock, I started to listen New Wave music: Devo, The B-52´s, Oingo Boingo, Wall of Voodoo, XTC, Joe Jackson, The Jam. One day I was working as a DJ at our Sound System and a good friend gave me a very badly recorded cassette of the first LP of The Specials. The first song 'A Message To You Rudy' was immediately the biggest revelation of lure lives. We didn´t understand what kind of music this was. I remember I had listened to the first two Madness albums but I could not engage with their version of ska. But The Specials definitely was the BOMB! An ATOMIC Bomb in our minds.
What was your first ska album you bought?
After I listened to that tape, I immediately order that first album by The Specials and when a good friend gave it to me, I just couldn´t believe how good the whole album was. Even today I still feel that sensation of how GREAT and how good that first album is.
How did you go from being introduced to ska music to starting Desorden Publico in 1985?
We were tired of waiting for the start of a ska band in our city. We finally decided to form our own band and we sold many of the equipments of our Sound System in order to save money to buy our first used instruments.
When did you decide to become a bass player? Did you play the bass before you were into ska?
At the same moment we decided to form DESORDEN PÚBLICO...
Can you explain what your band name means for readers who don't speak Spanish? Does it have a social or political connotation?
DESORDEN PUBLICO = PUBLIC DISORDER. It was a joke against the military trucks with the name of PUBLIC ORDER on the side. There are a very repressive institution here in our city
Fashion was such a huge part of the ska scenes here in in the U.S. in the 80's. Can you describe the importance of fashion in the Venezuelan and South American ska scene?
Here in Venezuela, especially in Caracas in the 80's, you could see Punks, Rockers, Rastas and of course Trendy's. There was not an Ska scene, so when we started to use our suits, we were like strange birds in this jungle! We didn´t look like Punks, Rockers nor Rastas and we had to explain that we were Rude Boys, hahahahahaha!
Your band tours the world regularly. Can you share any unusual stories about any live shows the band played that were particularly memorable?
Wow! There are many, many good and bad experiences, but talking about good ones, the fact of being in a same stage with people like Prince Buster, Jerry Dammers, Ray Barreto, Ruben Blades, The B-52´s, The Selecter, Ranking Roger and his version of The Beat. To be backstage with all the guys from Madness, thanks to the courtesy of my very good friend Coolie Ranx and all the guys from The Pilfers, that was magic!
I remember meeting Paul Weller in New York City. He was a very nice guy to me and my wife. Another magical moment in my life was the time I found the one and only Andy Summers of The Police totally lost in the corridors of the radio station where we have our radio show.
Last year, I was walking on the streets of Berlin visiting the best record stores, and to my surprise, I saw a very tall man walking just in front of me. It was none other than one of my all time musical heroes: Joe Jackson! This was great!
There are many anecdotes and good situations.
What was it like for the band to tour the U.S. in 2004? What kind of reception did you get from American ska audiences?
We were helped by our good friend Bucket from The Toasters and that was a good introduction for us to the North American ska audiences. It also helped that we had many good friends in New York and Boston, and many of them were at our first gigs. This helped provide the impression that the audience knew who were were! Hahahaha!
In those early tours, we also had the chance to do things for the Latin American market in the USA and also for the American public into the Ska scene. Surprisingly, I must say the reception we received from Ska audiences was 1000 times better than the reception we had from Spanish speakers! During that time most of the people from Latin America in New York were Mexicans, Puerto Ricans or Dominicans and those audiences were a bit hostile with bands from other Latin countries.
The band is celebrating 25 years this year! What has kept you all together and what plans do you have for 2011?
Well, here we are in 2011 and we have a new album called 'Los Contrarios', and we gave been promoting it all year long through national and international tours. The release party in Venezuela was on April 7th and we did a press conference in front of more than 3,000 people in one of the most popular shopping centers of our city (the owners were expecting 500!) In less than a month our first edition of 2,500 copies was totally sold out.
We also had a couple of good shows celebrating 25 years of playing music along with our good old friends from Argentina: Los Pericos, and that same night we traveled 2 hours for a second gig in Valencia here in Venezuela with King Chango. This summer we also played a great concert here in Caracas with our good friends The Busters from Germany. In June we travelled to Europe to do our 9th European tour and we did a Venezuelan tour in August. Hopefully we´ll return to USA with this new album! We are in conversation with an agency from Los Angeles.
Below is video of the band paying homage to their 2-Tone heros on a London double decker bus and performing Derrick Harriott's 'Monkey Ska' while on tour in London in 2005. The song appears appears on their 2007 album "Estrellas del Caos".
Below the band performs their distinctive mix of Latin and ska with the song 'Valle De Balas' live in Venezuela in 2010.
Finally, here is 'El Poder Emborracha (Power Drunk) from the band's new album 'Los Contrarios'.
