Madness Confirmed To Play San Diego on Tuesday April 17th

News out today should warm the hearts of Madness and ska fans across the U.S.,  Humphrey's By The Bay, a well known concert venue in San Diego, has announced that the Nutty Boys are confirmed for a show there on Tuesday April 17th. Tickets for the show start at $48 and there are dinner show and premium suite packages that range from $115 to $499!   If you live in or near San Diego, I suggest you move quickly to get tickets as I suspect this will sell out FAST!

Hopefully this announcement means that more shows (and more shows outside California -- hint hint don't forget New York City kind Madness booking agents!) are in the works for the long anticipated Madness tour of the U.S.  Its been seven years since the band toured here under their alter ego The Dangermen.  It looks like the long wait may be over...

UB40 Preview Wille Nelson's 'Blue Eues Crying In The Rain' Live: Song Slated For New Album

UB40 are proving to be a resilient lot.  Despite some negative press around the news that members of the band had to declare bankruptcy this past fall, the band are currently on a short European tour and are putting the finishing touches on a new album of original tracks and at least one cover (it wouldn't be UB40 without a cover right!) that should be out this Spring. People who have earned music degrees from accredited online colleges must be familiar with UB40’s covers.

The band previewed that cover track, Willie Nelson's 'Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain' last night at a show in the Netherlands and its caused a stir among the hard core UB40 faithful known as 'Loonies'.  The song became Nelson's first number one hit as a singer in October, 1975, and at year's end was the third-biggest song on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" #302 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

UB40 have given the Nelson classic a nice spin through their well oiled reggae riddim machine and the Campbell brothers (Robin and Duncan) harmonize quite nicely a la a blue-eyed reggae version of the Everly Brothers.  Its all topped off with a nice bit of slide guitar over the band's patented loping bass and drums, making it a serious contender for a new fan favorite among the band's many popular cover songs.  Its got crossover radio radio hit written all over it, but alas, who still listens to the radio these day?

Have a look and listen and let me know what you think.

Fishbone To Perform on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! Monday January 30th

Life is good for Fishbone in 2012! The band have a new EP 'Crazy Glue' out, a February tour and a band documentary, 'Everyday Sunshine' about to finally be available to the masses.  To celebrate all this well deserved good fortune, the band is slated to perform live this Monday, January 30th on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' on ABC.  If you live in the LA area, you can be part of the studio audience by reserving free tickets online.

In addition to this exciting news, in celebration of Black History Month during February, 'Everyday Sunshine' will finally become available for digital download via iTunes starting February 1st, 2012 and the DVD with over 100 minutes of bonus features will be released on February 21st, 2012 through all major retailers nationwide including Amazon, Best Buy and more. Pre-orders are now available directly from the filmmakers on the documentary's website. Read my interview with the filmmakers from 2010 when the documentary was first released in limited release.

Check out video for the insanely catchy 'Crazy Glue' below:

Madness Release Ska Collection 'Forever Young': Features Two Unreleased Tracks

In what is likely a teaser for the long awaited announcement of U.S. tour dates this spring,  Madness has announced an early April release date for 'Forever Young - The Ska Collection'.  The 24 track album will feature ska and ska influenced tracks from across the band's entire massive catalog, with an emphasis on many of their classic Nutty Boy anthems ‘Baggy Trousers’, ‘One Step Beyond…’, ‘Night Boat To Cairo’, ‘The Prince’, ‘Swan Lake’ and many more.

While Madness branched out from their initial embrace of ska to become a massive mainstream pop act and the most successful singles band of the ‘80s, they have always kept ska close to their hearts (e.g., see Suggs solo singles and Lee Thompson's Ska Orchestra) the genre can be heard on every single one of their studio albums including their most recent, ‘The Liberty Of Norton Folgate’.

Of particular interest to hard core fans will be the inclusion of two previously unreleased tracks; a cover of Jimmy Cliff’s ‘Vietnam’ and a rollicking version of Edvard Grieg’s ‘In The Hall Of The Mountain King’.  As a bonus, the album includes a special fold-out poster booklet and liner notes featuring new interviews with Chrissy Boy and Lee Thompson.

Dave Wakeling of The English Beat Records Two Songs For An Episode Of Scooby Doo!!

In case you missed this rather amazing bit of 2-Tone-related ska news from earlier this month, Dave Wakeling of The English Beat has revealed that he and his California-based band have just finished recording two songs that will be used in an upcoming episode of Scooby Doo!

According to an interview Wakeling conducted with the San Francisco Examiner, the tunes, will feature in a ghoulish battle-of-the-bands episode pitting a zombie ska band versus recurring Scooby Doo musical combo the Hex Girls. “This was my first opportunity to do anything for television as a gun for hire, and I actually managed to record and mix two songs in 12 hours. It was like running at double speed with no brakes, but it was exciting, and Warner Bros. really loved them. So the zombies have a song called ‘You’re Dead Right, Mate,’ and the Hex Girls have one called ‘We’re the Good Bad Girls,’ which has a definite Ramones-Runaways vibe to it,” says Wakeling. “But frankly, I’m really happy I did it, because I’ve always loved ‘Scooby-Doo." 

Check out a picture of Wakeling in the studio taken during the Scooby Doo recording session:

In other Wakeling/English Beat news, the band are readying a re-release of their entire back catalog.  The General Public back catalog is also slated for a re-release.  This begs the eternal question -- will Wakeling and Ranking Roger follow in the steps of The Specials and join forces one again for a reunion?  Only time will tell.

In the meantime keep you eyes open for that ska themed episode of Scooby Doo!

Mr. Anonymous Teams With Ranking Roger & Ranking Jr. Of The Beat On 'Champion Sound'

It's a long way from the jam band environs of Boulder Colorado to Birmingham, England, but Mr. Anonymous (AKA Jeep MacNichol) has made the physical and musical journey to create and record a new album 'Champion Sound' with Ranking Roger and Ranking Jr. of The Beat.   Calling the project, "...a mix of The Clash’s Black Market Clash and Miles Davis’s Kind Of Blue meets The Police's 'Regatta De Blanc," the album is the third in a trilogy of records that MacNichol has recorded and released with a variety of his ska and reggae music heroes. His first self-titled CD called 'Mr Anonymous' was released in 2005. The second 'Mr Anonymous 2' came out in 2009.

MacNichol cut his musical chops as the drummer for The Samples in the 1990's when the band was at its peak and building a large and loyal audience from its regular slot on the HORDE tour and its sold out national tours across the U.S. (featuring an unknown opening act named the Dave Matthews Band). Though The Samples fell more squarely into the jam band scene of Phish, Blues Travellers and Dave Matthews Band, MacNichol brought a strong ska and reggae sensibility to the band that can be heard throughout their music.

After leaving The Samples in 1997, MacNichol recorded two solo records and toured the U.S. four times. His second solo record included Michael Rose of Black Uhuru on two tracks and this gave him the inspiration for the Mr. Anonymous project. MacNichol tracked the first 'Mr. Anonymous' album during a ten-week period in 2003 that involved three separate trips to Jamaica. Teaming up with music legends Sly and Robbie, Bounty Killer, Black Uhuru's Michael Rose and Dave Wakeling from The English Beat, he created a unique blend of reggae, trip-hop and dub. He followed the first CD up with volume number two which fit nicely into the footsteps of its predecessor featuring an eclectic and creative endeavor that fuses reggae, dancehall, dub, hip-hop and electronica in unique and surprising ways.

I've always been a huge fan of the understated majesty of 'Good Vibe' that MacNichol crafted for the first 'Mr Anonymous' album with Dave Wakeling and Michael Rose of Black Uhuru. It sounds like a lost track from 'Special Beat Service'.



MacNichol's latest, 'Champion Sound' explores new musical territory, blending trippy, psychedelic vibes, with the combination reggae chatting style of Ranking Roger and his talented son Ranking Jr. There is a fresh organic feel to the songs that feature only live instruments and that touch on reggae, dub, soca, and jazz.   MacNichol has also decided to make 'Champion Sound' (and all his music for that matter) free.  In a post to his web site, he explained, "I tried the traditional route with my first 2 releases, hired publicists, signed to 2 different labels and solicited every other record label in existence, management companies, and booking agencies and the result was me staring at boxes full of cd’s in my living room with less than 400 sales(no joke). They made great coffee tables, and I named one of them “Kevin”, but things ran their course. And now since my music has been free, I’ve had thousands of downloads(just hit 12,000) and there’s been a smooth free flow of my songs going directly to the ones who REALLY want to check them out."

I urge you to give 'Champion Sound' a listen (download link below). MacNichol clearly loves ska and reggae and true to form he is constantly looking for ways to expand the sound by injecting other sounds into it.  While its not straight up ska or reggae, there is enough going on musically to capture the attention of open minded fans of those genres.  Long-time fans of The Beat and Ranking Roger will also certainly enjoy hearing the iconic toaster and his son Ranking Jr. expanding their own musical boundaries with a sound that comes close to some of the musical experiments the original version of The Beat (see 'Psychedelic Rockers, 'Hit It') tried out.

Mr Anonymous - Champion Sound

Radiation Across The Nation!: Roddy 'Radiation' Byers of The Specials To Tour U.S.

If you missed The Specials during their quick stops in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto during their 2010 tour, I have some great news for you! Roddy 'Radiation' Byers, the iconic lead guitarist of the Specials and the songwriter of 'Concrete Jungle,' 'Rat Race,' and 'Hey Little Rich Girl,' has just announced a limited engagement 'Rebellion America Tour' of California and the Southwestern U.S. this February and March. He will be backed by an American version of his band, the Skabilly Rebels, that will feature Danny Dean of The Homewreckers.

Byers is slated to play a total of 12 shows on this leg of the tour, that will feature a mix of his favorite tunes by The Specials and many of his own songs written for The Skabilly Rebels, that showcase the ska/punk/rockabilly sound he invented with The Specials. The tour kicks off on February 23rd, 2012 and will go until March 11th, 2012. More dates and venues will be announced this week, and will include stops across California, Reno and Phoenix. Rumors are that Byers may plan to hit the East Coast of the U.S. later this year.

Tickets are on sale right now for shows on March 2nd at The Casbah in San Diego, March 3rd at the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, and March 8th at The Mint in Los Angeles. Fans can receive up to the minute tour date information at www.roddyradiation.com.