February 2009

  • I Was A Teenage (Skinhead) Ska Aficionado

    By cobwebsandstrange on 2/26/09 6:08pm
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    I count myself as one of the lucky folks that got to see Hepcat play (twice actually). Both of those shows left an indelible mark on me and basically set the bar at a ridiculous height for ska bands. I'm gonna say that the Slackers and Dr. Ring Ding are the only two that have come close thus far, although I have a bad habit of missing Aggrolites' shows. So, perhaps, they should be tossed in there as well.

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  • Barry Brown: The Best Things in Life...

    By cobwebsandstrange on 2/16/09 4:58pm
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    <!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> One problem in considering Jamaican music – in addition to the holes in the records being too small - is the fact that different folks claim different dates for specific occurrences. So, since I wasn’t around at the time, I can’t really say if Step It Up Youthman came out in 1978 or ’79. I suppose it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, it’d just be nice to be able to place it specifically in time.

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  • Version City Podcast: Third Try

    By cobwebsandstrange on 2/16/09 2:51pm
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    <!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> It has finally come together. With the immense history of the ska scene in New York during the ‘90s, it’s taken King Django a good three tries to nail it down, but now he’s done it. While his voice should be enough to get any podcast over, the diminished length of both previous episodes really limited listener’s ability to enjoy the interaction between Version City’s honcho and Steady Rocker.

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  • Rico Rodriguez: Blow Your Horn

    By cobwebsandstrange on 2/15/09 5:38pm
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    <!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> The instrumental imperatives of Jamaican music before the ska era, based largely on religious motifs, really assured that the playing of Rico Rodriguez matured at a more than respectable rate. Born as Emmanuel Rodriguez on October 17, 1934, Rico soon recognized that music was to be at the center of his life.

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  • Check Your Time: Westbound Train

    By cobwebsandstrange on 2/12/09 5:43pm
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    If not for the patronage and foresight of the time tested players on the American Ska scene, the past and present of Westbound Train might in fact be drastically different. If not for the patronage and foresight of the time tested players on the American Ska scene, the past and present of Westbound Train might in fact be drastically different.

     

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  • The Morwells x King Tubby

    By cobwebsandstrange on 2/9/09 7:49pm
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    <!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 &lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt; &lt;![endif]--> As is with most stories of this ilk, King Tubby didn’t begin as a musical genius – he developed into one. Beginning as a repair man in Jamaica and honing his technical skills, King Tubby understood, mechanically, everything there was to know about the music business. He could, perhaps, be considered the foil to Lee Perry’s outrageous behavior (which continues even to this day).

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  • Denial: Lucky Dube

    By cobwebsandstrange on 2/2/09 9:59pm
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    The legacy of Lucky Dube begins outside of Johannesburg. He was born to a mother whose previous child died very young. And the survival of Lucky earned him his moniker.

    He was raised, in part, by his grandmother who cared for Lucky and his siblings while his mother worked. But work too found Lucky at a young age. To help support his family, he left school for a time to contribute to the household. However, upon returning to his education, he began performing with the school choir. And one day, when the instructor decided to simply leave, Lucky took over conducting the student ensemble.

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  • Mike Dread x The Clash x Bankrobber Dub

    By cobwebsandstrange on 2/1/09 2:20pm
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    The Clash have maintained a pretty high level of importance over the years. Countless bands have co-opted not only their political positioning, but also that of incorporating as many different musical elements into punk as humanly possible.

    Lead singer and main songwriter, Joe Strummer, may have sought to bring in all these disparate musical elements because of his background. While he was grounded in the British upper-middle classes, he was actually born in Turkey as his father worked in service of the empire. Regardless of that, though, Strummer’s re-immergence during the ‘90s with his new band the Mescaleros served to revitalize his image in the eyes of the Warped Tour crowd as well as his fans that never really stopped paying attention.

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