SKA!

[groovemaster_flex]

So I've been asked to play in a ska band, and this genre is pretty much foreign to me. I've just gotten into it, but all I've heard are local bands...
So can anyone point me in the direction of good ska bands/drummers/guitarists?

Much appreciated! :)
Thanks!

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Google is your friend

http://www.users.cloud9.net/~dab/ska.html

[KLittle123]

Flat ska? Or ska fusion?

[NIMBY]

third wave ska? if so, Catch 22's "Keasbey Nights" album is pretty much the definition of it.

some other great ska bands are Streetlight Manifesto, The Flatliners, The Aquabats! (older stuff), Less than Jake, Sublime...just to name a few...

check out these bands and your well on your way to skankin' the night away!

[Ozzy Biz]

A bit of a mix of different styles of ska bands to check out:
Sublime
Reel Big Fish
Less Than Jake
NoFX (they did some old ska stuff back in the day)
Operation Ivy
The Specials
Madness
Goldfinger (they did a bit of ska stuff)
Area-7
Catch 22

Think happy punk, or fast reggae. A lot of boom chuck boom chuck.

[groovemaster_flex]

Originally Posted by KLittle123

Flat ska? Or ska fusion?

Err. More like ska/punk like Ill Scarlett.
But I'll take anything I can get :)

[driver]

Originally Posted by groovemaster_flex

Err. More like ska/punk like Ill Scarlett.
But I'll take anything I can get :)

It's more punk than ska but try Capdown they are really good and have alot of ska elements listen to 'Ska Wars'.

[Bob Smith]

i like the O.C. Supertones
they are a christian band

[Matt-a-tat-tat]

the specials yes, madness yes, reel big fish yes. sublime no no no no; horrible. desmond dekker yes. the skatalites yes. fishbone yes! the mighty mighty bosstones were perhaps the masters of punk/ska hybridism. i must warn you though: to punks and skins, ska is sacred territory. and there is a real tendency for ska bands to suck royally (mainly because they don't really know what it is, how to play it, or the variations of it, the history of it). i say play it. learn it. but don't stick around too long. it's fairly easy to get stuck in that whole ska/clown kinda thing. i mean there are guys who are rudies or scooter boys or actual skins who are totally immersed in that lifestyle and play the ska thing and do it right. then there are the guys who think it's cool and know nothing about it and get into a "ska" band and it's a disaster. believe it or not, gwen stefani was in a band called 'no doubt' and they claimed to be ska. ya it was as far as some of the elements employed in their music but as far as being taken seriously as a ska band by those who hold that kind of thing dear (skins for sure): no, they were not. they just looked like a bunch of idiots in braces playing a bad prankish kind of impersonation . . . good luck.

[criz p. critter]

I break it down into three groups:
1) the original stuff outta Jamaica and the UK in the '60, like the Skatalites, The Pyramids, and early stuff by reggae artists like Toots and the Maytals and Desmond Dekker.
2) the revival around 1980 (Specials, The Selector, Madness)
3) everybody else since then

My all-time favorite? Specials, Specials, SPECIALS!!!!

If you like the Specials, definitely check out The Selector. They were on the same label, 2 Tone, and were unique (at that time) in that they had a chick singer.

And you can find lots of compiliation CDs of ska.

It's happy music... have fun!

[criz p. critter]

I agree with most of what matt said, particularly regarding No Doubt. Can you say "giant sucking sound?" I wonder if they could have been a good band if they didn't have Gwen the future superstar (and the record execs, I'm sure) dragging them into Top 40 territory.

OH! One more thing. I can take or leave Sublime, but Long Beach Dub Allstars are GREAT!

[Vinnysimmo]

Originally Posted by criz p. critter

1) the original stuff outta Jamaica and the UK in the '60, like the Skatalites, The Pyramids, and early stuff by reggae artists like Toots and the Maytals and Desmond Dekker.

Cool.

Originally Posted by criz p. critter

2) the revival around 1980 (Specials, The Selector, Madness)

Cool.

Originally Posted by criz p. critter

3) everybody else since then.

Pfffffff.

[Dozza]

I'm quite a big ska fan myself, and play in a ska band now but i think this ones been covered by everone who's replied before me.
If you want some advice on listening material, listen to Reel Big FIsh - Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album. I think Ryland Steen does a good job there, and should point you in the right direction

[FourOnSix]

Originally Posted by Ozzy Biz

A bit of a mix of different styles of ska bands to check out:
Sublime
Reel Big Fish
Less Than Jake
NoFX (they did some old ska stuff back in the day)
Operation Ivy
The Specials
Madness
Goldfinger (they did a bit of ska stuff)
Area-7
Catch 22

NOFX doesn't play ska anymore, cause it sucks...

Ha. (For those of you who don't know, that's the name of a NOFX song, ska doesn't actually suck)

[oikroitnik]

I've gurning out with this great compilation from my collection. loadsa early ska from the 60`s

http://www.discogs.com/release/583279

here is the first link I found for it I am sure you`ll find others...jah bless...KH

[Matt-a-tat-tat]

just about anything from Trojan Records will rule. Trojan Records. I think I'll revise what I said earlier about Ska being for punks and skins . . . er, that was the impression that I think I made. Not so. Symaryp (Moonstomp, you know?) sang songs about skinheads but they're weren't skins. The skins embraced ska. So there you go, ska can be made by anyone. Cheers.

[matthew]

And I can't believe no one has mentioned the Slackers.

check them out. they do more than just the genre of ska, but definitely the drumming is something you would learn from.


edit:
also sublme are a fantastic, one of my favourites, but they are more reggae than ska. they do ska, but they are more reagge to my mind... regardless, you will learn from listening to them, and hearing their style.

[Dr Drums]

Reel Big Fish man.

They're the Led Zeppelin of Ska music.

[NIMBY]

Originally Posted by FourOnSix

(For those of you who don't know, that's the name of a NOFX song, ska doesn't actually suck)

dont you mean a Propagandhi song?

[FourOnSix]

Originally Posted by NIMBY

dont you mean a Propagandhi song?

could be. i vaugely recall hearing this song on a nofx live bootleg, but i could be terribly wrong. ha

[NIMBY]

Originally Posted by FourOnSix

could be. i vaugely recall hearing this song on a nofx live bootleg, but i could be terribly wrong. ha

yeh, NOFX covered it. they did it pretty good too.