Ska Boom - An American Ska & Reggae Podcast

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ac...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat."Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant act...

Hi! It’s Marc Wasserman! It’s been a minute. But I’m glad to be back. Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast and welcome to Soul Salvation, a limited edition series about the English Beat and their third and final album Special Beat Service that was released in 1982. I have a question for you? Can music save your life? I believe it can. Not surprisingly, many great thinkers across the ages have considered this question. The 18th century German romantic writer Jean Paul Friedrich Richter s...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. When it came time for The English Beat to create a logo for their first album and for marketing posters and advertisements they called upon Hunt Emerson who is a noted British cartoonist and comic book artist. Emerson drew the Beat Girl from an origin...

In this episode, I focus on the incredibly influential and often overlooked role that Eddy Grant has played in merging the sounds of ska, reggae, pop, dance and rock music. I’ve always been a huge fan and consider Grant a musical futurist who has successfully combined the best of James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley into something completely unique. I’ll be taking a look at Grant’s diverse musical career and will also dig into his most well known American hit “Electric Avenue” which ...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of this podcast is talk about ska with an emphasis on American ska history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. In this episode, I’m speaking with Noah Shachtman, the edito...

Welcome to Ska Boom Stories which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of the Ska Boom podcast is talk about ska with an emphasis on American ska history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. Though Augustus Pablo never gained the international rec...

Welcome to Ska Boom Stories which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of the Ska Boom podcast is talk about ska with an emphasis on American ska history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. Like me, you’ve probably heard 'Pass the Dutchie' many t...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of this podcast is talk about ska with an emphasis on American ska history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. In honor of the 30th anniversary of Stubborn Records, I inte...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae. The musical development which ignited Danny Elfman’s interest in starting Oingo Boingo and inspired him to start writing his first conventional pop songs was the emergence of British 2 Tone ska bands whose music reminded him of the Highl...

In honor of Black History Month and as part of my mission to share unique and often untold American ska stories, this episode of Ska Boom Stories is dedicated to John Spence the original lead singer of No Doubt.Spence often gets short shrift whenever the story of No Doubt is told and regrettably his contribution to the band has been somewhat overlooked and slightly scrubbed from No Doubt’s history. On the one hand I understand that because his story is a sad one. But the truth is that wi...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae.If any band deserves the title of punky reggae kings its Steel Pulse. They helped invent British reggae and their debut single "Ku Klux Klan: is definitely one of the great punk singles, without actually being a punk record. Steel Pulse w...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae.If any band could give the 2 Tone bands and The Clash a run for their money when it came to singing about the state of politics in the late 70s and early 80s, it was the Gang Of Four. And, if you listen carefully, many of the band’s earli...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae.On February 27, 1986, the Cosby Show, then the most popular TV show in America aired an episode that featured the music of Black Uhuru. Let that sink in for a moment. How often did you hear roots reggae on American network television in t...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae.I first became aware of Grace Jones late one night during the mid 80s when I happened upon her video for “My Jamaican Guy” on Friday Night Videos. For younger listeners, Friday Night Videos aired on NBC and was an attempt by the network t...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of this podcast is talk about ska and reggae with an emphasis on American ska and reggae history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. In this episode, I’m speaking with Gra...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae.The Members were one of the prime movers in the era's cross-cultural mix of reggae and punk. The NME wrote of the band in 1978: “Of the many rock bands co-opting reggae into their act, few do so with as much love and style as th...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae.So it was only a matter of time before I got around to talking about The Police and their embrace of reggae. If you are of a certain age -- I’m looking at all of my fellow Gen X-ers – then the band’s early records Outlandos D'Am...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of this podcast is talk about ska with an emphasis on American ska history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. In this episode, I’m speaking with Horace Panter – bassist f...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of this podcast is talk about ska with an emphasis on American ska history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. In this episode, I’m speaking with Jayson Nugent – guitarist...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggaeThe convergence of punk with reggae and ska in the late 70's and early 80's resulted in some significant musical developments leading some punk and post-punk bands in England to experiment with the sound of reggae and dub in particular.Reg...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggaeThough drum and bass rhythms drive the various eras of ska, rocksteady, reggae, 2-Tone, dancehall and beyond, drums and drummers have defined each distinct phase. And like the divide in rock music that occurred in the mid 70's when s...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggaeThe convergence of punk with reggae and ska in the late 70's and early 80's resulted in some significant musical developments leading some punk and post-punk bands in England to experiment with the sound of reggae and dub in particular.Reg...

Welcome to the first episode of “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae The convergence of punk with reggae and ska in the late 70's and early 80's resulted in some significant musical developments leading some punk and post-punk bands in England to experiment with the sound of reggae and...

Welcome to a special edition of the Ska Boom podcast which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History. I was very sad to hear that Astro, the vocalist and DJ for UB40 and later the splinter group UB40 featuring Ali and Astro passed away at the age 64 on Saturday November 6th. This episode is a tribute to him and the iconic role he and UB40 have played in popularizing reggae around the world. Astro – born Terrence Wilson – got his nickname as a k...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. In this episode, I’m speaking with Brendan Tween the guitarist and vocalist who co-founded Mephiskapheles along with drummer Mikal Reich. The two now play together in the New York-based ska band Barbicide Mephiskapheles started in New York City in 1990 after Brendan's hardcore band The Shaved Pigs sp...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. In this episode, I’m speaking with Dave Kirchgessner, who is the lead singer of Mustard Plug. 2021 is the band’s 30th anniversary and as of this recording they have played 1,900 shows, recorded 8 albums and sold hundreds of thousands of records, becoming one of the most well-known and popular Americ...

Welcome to Ska Boom Stories, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. I’m heading out to Los Angeles this week to take part in Top Rankin’: The ON Klub & Birth of the LA Ska Boom -- at the Grammy Museum on Saturday 10/23 this episode celebrates the 40th anniversary of the O.N. Klub and the two bands –The Boxboys and The Untouchables -- that were responsible for giving rise...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. In this episode, I’m speaking with Mike Sosinski -- who is the guitarist and lead singer of ska punk band Kill Lincoln and also the head honcho of Bad Time Records, a ska punk label based in Alameda, California. Bands on the Bad Time label include many of the bands now making waves in the American ska and ska p...

Welcome to a special edition of the Ska Boom podcast which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History. I was very saddened to hear that news that Everett Morton, the original drummer of the English Beat passed away at the age 70 and this episode is a tribute to him and the iconic role he played in creating the unique sound of the English Beat and 2 Tone ska. I think its fair to say that the timeless quality of The Beat's sound is defined by...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available through DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. In this episode, I’m speaking with Heather Augustyn who writes extensively about the history of ska music in Jamaica, the U.K., the U.S., and all over the world. Her books, scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, and online publications aim to give recognition of these artists and this marginalized ge...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available through DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. In this episode, I’m speaking with Andrew Sacher, who is a senior editor at BrooklynVegan and one of the few music journalists who is regularly writing about and covering ska and ska music. I'm turning the tables on Andrew and interviewing him about his ska origin story and the importan...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available through DiWulf Publishing. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/books In this episode, I’m speaking with music journalist and author Ken Partridge, whose new book "Hell of a Hat: The Rise of 90s Ska and Swing" is now out and available. Ken is a writer and editor with bylines in leading music publications including Billboard, The AV Cl...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available through DiWulf Publishing. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksIn this episode, I’m speaking with my Rude Boy George bandmate Jenny Whiskey about her American ska story. I’ve known Jenny since the mid 90s when her band Professor Plum opened for my band Bigger Thomas at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. She was just 16 and...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available through DiWulf Publishing. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/books Though my band Bigger Thomas –originally called Panic! -- is not featured in Ska Boom, our 80s American ska story contains a lot of the same trials and tribulations experienced by the 18 bands whose stories I've documented. That is to say, the human condition set to a ska a...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available through DiWulf Publishing. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/books The X-Streams remain the band I wished I had seen live and their story is one that continues to draw me in. Perhaps because they came so close to success before self-destructing. Perhaps because they brought an energy and intensity that was both mesmerizing and a litt...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available through DiWulf Publishing. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksOften compared in look and sound to Steel Pulse, the Babylon Warriors were one of the first bands in Los Angeles in the early 80s to play nothing but reggae. Though the never became a big name in the U.S. reggae scene of the late 70's and early 80's, they did manage to...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available through DiWulf Publishing. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksThe Specials released their first single Gangsters in May 1979 and it is considered the spark that lit the ska-punk flame that still burns to this day. Though The Specials get the lion share of the credit for being the band that popularized the 2 Tone take on punk and reggae...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available through DiWulf Publishing. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksIf I could have, I would have included a few more chapters on other important bands who also deserve credit for helping to develop a uniquely American version of ska and reggae. For a variety of reasons, I wasn’t able to include them all, but over the next few episodes...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for sale through DiWulf Publishing. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksIf you were one of the lucky people to order a pre-sale copy of Ska Boom! you should have received a copy of an amazing 80 minute CD called “Ska American Style 80s edition” curated by DJ Chuck Wren of Jump Up Records. The CD digs deep into the obscure world ...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available through DiWulf Publishing. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksIn this episode of Ska Boom I’m going to explore the brief marriage between ska and acid house music that took place in the late 80s. Depending on how much of a ska purist you may or may not be, the acid ska (or skacid) phenomenon was either 1) a highly danceable ska re...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for sale through DiWulf Publishing. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksThe Boilers were one of the most innovative and influential ska bands to emerge from 1980's NYC Ska scene that you may have never heard of. Though they burned brightly for a short time, The Boilers were the starting point for a core group of musicians who have...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for pre-sale through DiWulf Publishing. The first 500 pre-orders get a rare 80 minute all USA ska mix CD courtesy of DJ Chuck Wren of Jump Up Records. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksThe release in the U.S. in early 1973 of 'The Harder They Come' -- a movie that required subtitles so that American audiences could follow the dia...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for sale through DiWulf Publishing. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksThe New York Citizens retain a certain mystique for those of us who remember them in their late 80s to early 90s prime. And if you missed seeming them, I feel bad for you. They embodied the spirit of New York ska in the late 80s like no other band on the scene....

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for pre-sale through DiWulf Publishing. The first 500 pre-orders get a rare 80 minute all USA ska mix CD courtesy of DJ Chuck Wren of Jump Up Records. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksIn this episode I focus on the origin story and the important role that Mephiskapheles have played in American ska. From its early beginning...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for pre-sale through DiWulf Publishing. The first 500 pre-orders get a rare 80 minute all USA ska mix CD courtesy of DJ Chuck Wren of Jump Up Records. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksWhile Los Angeles and New York get the lion's share of the credit for the nascent American ska scene of the early 80's, in this episode I highligh...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for pre-sale through DiWulf Publishing. The first 500 pre-orders get a rare 80 minute all USA ska mix CD courtesy of DJ Chuck Wren of Jump Up Records. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksIn the episode I look at the important role that 171A, a recording and rehearsal and performance space in the East Village of New York City and a ...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for pre-sale through DiWulf Publishing. The first 500 pre-orders get a rare 80 minute all USA ska mix CD courtesy of DJ Chuck Wren of Jump Up Records. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksIn this episode I highlight the story of The Uptones from Berkeley, CA. If any city in the US was open to the message of 2 Tone it was Berkeley.&n...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for pre-sale through DiWulf Publishing. The first 500 pre-orders get a rare 80 minute all USA ska mix CD courtesy of DJ Chuck Wren of Jump Up Records. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksMore than most American ska bands, Gangster Fun were a product of their home. In a matter of decades, Detroit went from being one of America’s mos...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for pre-sale through DiWulf Publishing. The first 500 pre-orders get a rare 80 minute all USA ska mix CD courtesy of DJ Chuck Wren of Jump Up Records. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksIn this episode I highlight the key roles that Lionel and Constant Bernard -- two Haitian brothers from Brooklyn – played in the New York City ska...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for pre-sale through DiWulf Publishing. The first 500 pre-orders get a rare 80 minute all USA ska mix CD courtesy of DJ Chuck Wren of Jump Up Records. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksI became enchanted and obsessed by the ON Klub in Los Angeles during the early days of writing my ska blog Marco On The Bass. As I dug deeper into...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for pre-sale through DiWulf Publishing. The first 500 pre-orders get a rare 80 minute all USA ska mix CD courtesy of DJ Chuck Wren of Jump Up Records. Click here to order: http://www.diwulf.com/booksNow that the book is finally finished and going into production, I want to use this series to share a behind the scenes look at what readers can e...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for pre-sale through DiWulf Publishing. Now that the book is finally finished and going into production, I want to use this series to share a behind the scenes look at what readers can expect from the book. In 400+ pages across 19 chapters, I’ve attempted to knit together the origin stories of groups of passionate musical pioneers who helped cr...

Welcome to Ska Boom! Stories, which is the audio companion to my new book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available for pre-sale through DiWulf Publishing. Now that the book is finally finished and going into production, I want to use this series to share a behind the scenes look at what readers can expect from the book. In 400+ pages across 19 chapters, I’ve attempted to knit together the origin stories of groups of passionate musical pioneers who helped cr...

Welcome to the first episode of Ska Boom Stories -- a new podcast series that will highlight stories, anecdotes and gossip taken from all 19 chapters of Ska Boom! An American Ska & Reggae Oral History that is now available for pre-order through the DiWulf Publishing website. The book will be available on 7/4/21. While Ska Boom! focuses on telling the story of the birth of a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that developed in the late 70s and early to mid 80s, there were early Am...

In this last episode of I Don’t Like Reggae, I Love It, a special audio series on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music, I focus on the 1976 UK top 20 hit “Reggae Like It Used To Be” by Paul Nicholas , who before he took a turn as a pop star had a very successful career in musical theatre starring in Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar and more. Nicholas was also cast as “Cousin Kenny” Tommy’s sadistic biker punk cousin in The Who’s 1975 rock opera film Tommy. Some...

Unlike the macho posturing of 80s heavy metal, which I found misogynistic and dumb, goth bands and music appealed to me. The music was moody and danceable and explored the more existential and darker questions of life and death. Where 2 Tone molded my emerging political sensibilities and gave me a world view and an identity, goth spoke to the misunderstood romantic in me who was interested in exploring my shadow self. I viewed goths as a tribe of long-lost musical cousins who like the r...

As reggae and punk rock were colliding and coming together in the UK in the 70s, The Clash’s version of Junior Murvin’s "Police and Thieves" would create a cultural domino effect that would result in several iconic songs including Bob Marley’s “Punky Reggae Party” which gave the new social phenomenon a name. It was also to serve as a direct influence on a young up and coming singer-songwriter named Declan MacManus. He would later change his name to Elvis Costello and write the fir...

In this episode of "I Don’t Like Reggae, I Love It" a special audio series of the Ska Boom podcast about the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music, I focus on the king of all cod reggae songs -- "D'yer Mak'er" by Led Zeppelin. As a new wave and ska kid who completely ignored hard rock, I was completely caught off guard when I started hearing the song, we Americans mispronounce as DIRE MAKER -- more on that mispronunciation in the episode. It confused me th...

In this episode of I Don’t Like Reggae, I Love It, a special audio series of the Ska Boom podcast, on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music, I focus on Patti Smith’s embrace of reggae that started with the song “Redondo Beach” on her 1975 debut album “Horses.” The origin story of Redondo Beach is fascinating. Originally written and published as a poem in 1972, “Redondo Beach” was recorded, then lost, then re-recorded finally making it onto Horses. It may be ...

In this episode of I Don’t Like Reggae, I Love It, a special audio series about the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music, I focus on the 1971 UK one hit wonder “Johnny Reggae” by The Piglets that reached #3 in the charts selling 5 million copies! “Johnny Reggae” was notable as the first hit song with a cod skinhead reggae sound to have been written and recorded by white English singers and musicians. It was an attempt to capture the energy of an early 70s, whit...

In this episode of I Don’t Like Reggae, I Love It, a special audio series on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music, I explore the convergence of punk and reggae music in the late 70s in England and how that extraordinary coming together of Black and white street culture helped to change the sound of popular music as punks looked to apply the techniques of reggae music to rock and roll.While The Stranglers may not immediately come to mind as a punky reggae ba...

In this episode of I Don’t Like Reggae, I Love It, a special audio series on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music, I go back to the beginning and tell the story behind the granddaddy of all cod reggae tracks – Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da by The Beatles. As Beatlemania was reaching a frenzy in 1964, ska music was also exploding in popularity in the UK. And like everyone else in England, The Beatles were listening. After an early and brief exploration with ska in their...

This is the first episode of I Don’t Like Reggae, I Love It, a special audio series I’m doing on the historical origins and impact of cod reggae on popular music. The series will explore the socio-political cultural and racial implications of cod reggae's development. The series title is taken from the 10CC song “Dreadlock Holiday” which is one of the more controversial cod reggae songs that I’ll look into. As reggae became part of the musical landscape, more established white rock and n...

On this episode, I focus on the Jamaican band Third World and their iconic song "1865 (96 Degrees In The Shade) from their 1977 album of the same name. As a kid who loved social studies and world history and paid attention to current events, '1865 (96 Degrees In The Shade)” really drew me. In case you aren’t familiar with the song, it is a dramatic and powerful retelling of the events of the October 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion, headed by Baptist deacon and preacher Paul Bogle who led...

In this episode I turn my ska gaze up to the Great White North and focus on the amazing story of The Villains. Never heard of them you say….well, its your lucky day. Sit back and have a listen to the story of the band of Brits who snuck into Canada and were then arrested and sent to prison for playing ska!The Villains became one of the most popular bands in Canada in the 80s and made a huge impression on the Canadian media and public becoming synonymous with ska. For those who never saw...

Listening to London Calling as a teen required an open mind and a willingness to follow The Clash on an existential and esoteric journey through the darkness of recent history and the darker realms of the human psyche. It was a bit like a history and philosophy class set to music and it didn’t always make sense to me but listen I did, and as I listened, I found myself drawn more and more to the ska and reggae anthems on the album like “Guns of Brixton” with powerful calls to action and ...

On this episode I take a look at a number of key Gen X era musicians who dabbled in or experimented with playing ska and reggae music before they went on to have huge star making careers. While kids in the UK lived next door to Jamaican neighbors and were accustomed to hearing reggae music all the time, there was no corresponding culture or experience with the genre here in the U.S. Occasionally a song like “My Boy Lollipop” or “The Israelites” or “Mother and Child Reunion” w...

In this episode, I focus on the incredibly influential and often overlooked role that Eddy Grant has played in merging the sounds of ska, reggae, pop, dance and rock music. I’ve always been a huge fan and consider Grant a musical futurist who has successfully combined the best of James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley into something completely unique. I’ll be taking a look at Grant’s diverse musical career and will also dig into his most well known American hit “Electric Avenue” which ...

On this episode, I focus on the story behind the Madness song “It Must Be Love” which along with "Our House" is the song most Americans are familiar with by the band. Each of them charted in the top 40 with Our House hitting #7 and It Must Be Love at #33 in 1983. Madness came along at just the right time for me. I was a newly minted teenager when their music entered my consciousness and wouldn’t leave. Where The Specials were angry and confrontational, Madness was funny in a ...

On this episode, I focus on the story behind the 1990 live compilation album NYC SKA LIVE. It’s hard to believe its been 30 years since it was recorded and released. The NYC SKA LIVE concert was originally organized by Moon Records so that the crop of bands then on the NYC ska scene could be filmed by director Joe Massot for New York City Ska Craze, a planned sequel to his 2 Tone era film Dance Craze released in 1981. The show was taped live at the Cat Club, which was located on ...

In this episode I focus on Ranking Roger and his autobiography “I Just Can’t Stop It: My Life In The Beat” co-written with Daniel Rachel. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, I highly recommend it. Sadly the book was released after Roger passed away in March of 2019 at the age of 56. I fell in love with all of the 2 Tone bands around the same time when I was 14 years old and each had a big influence on me personally, but there was always something about Ranking Roger that drew ...

In this episode, I look back at the International Ska Festival held at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA on Earth Day in April of 1990. The all day festival with a sold-out crowd estimated at 10,000, is a key event in the development of a uniquely American version of ska. First, the line-up included a number of leading American ska bands featured in my book including The Uptones, Gangster Fun and Let’s Go Bowling – who were then at the forefront of the late 80s American ska scene. ...

My guest on this episode of the Ska Boom podcast is Josh Harris, keyboardist and vocalist for The Untouchables, who has a long history helping to popularize Jamaican music in the US. He also has the distinction of being in two the band featured in my forthcoming book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History which will be published in 2021.Josh was one of the very first American musicians to play reggae after he joined a band called Huey & The Titans in Berkeley, CA in 197...

My forthcoming book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History will feature 19 chapters that tell the stories of important bands -- some well known, others not so much -- who deserve credit for giving birth to a uniquely American version of ska and reggae. The stories of each band are intrinsically linked to the songs they wrote and performed and and in this episode I tell the story of The Boxboys from Los Angeles and their song “American Masquerade”. I think its probably...

My guest on this episode of the Ska Boom podcast is Aaron Carnes, the author of the forthcoming ska book "In Defense of Ska" that will be published in May of 2021 by Clash Books. Aaron's book asks the important question: "Why doesn’t ska get its due as a rich, diverse genre the way punk, metal, hip-hop and electronic music does?" Or more to the point, why are ska fans so embarrassed of this music they love? In a mix of interviews, essays, personal stories, historical snapshots, obs...