Ohhh Boy...

Band: Mustard Plug

Country: USA

Notable Album: In Black & White

Favourite Song: "Hit Me! Hit Me!"

So. It's Thursday. Last update? Last Wednesday. Ouch. LET'S IGNORE THIS ok? Let's just pretend I actually started my WHOLE blog a full week later than I really did... so last Wednesday is now yesterday and I'm still on track. DEAL.

Ok, so today's band is brought to you by the Letter "M!" I had a hard time choosing this band because I actually have I think 6 "M" bands that I really like and so it was a toss-up. But I chose Mustard Plug because they are not as obscure as Mouthwash or Morning Glory, and not as well-known as the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Good middle ground. Good talk. Mustard Plug hails from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and have been playing third-wave ska-punk since 1991. Their band is as old as I am! You can usually find them on the Ska Is Dead tour, alongside bands like The Toasters and Catch 22. Their music has legitimately evolved for the past while, and In Black & White really blew my mind when I heard it for the first time. I don't really know how to explain it... but I think the evolution of their music is very audible on this album - if you liked them before, you'll love them after you hear this!

Mustard Plug and the Planet Smashers performing together
Ska Fest at the Phoenix, October 2010 - good night of ska

In Black & White is Mustard Plug's newest album, although it was released back in 2007. I remember listening to the album for the first time while playing Quake III at home on my computer - I just put it on repeat and listened to it over and over. I probably learned most of the lyrics that night! This album is simply awesome - I think what gets me the most is that the horns don't get annoying! That was a problem I had with Mustard Plug's earlier releases, on all the albums except this and Pray For Mojo, the horns got super annoying super fast. I don't know if they were a tiny bit out of tune or what, but what I DO know is that I can only listen to a few songs at a time from their older music. Also, Pray For Mojo is weird because it was released in 1999, but Yellow #5 came out in 2002, and I STILL prefer Mojo. Whatever. Music is crazy sometimes. The other thing that got me about this album was the drumming. In all their releases, I always felt as though the drumming was kind of... soft? On In Black & White, though, the drums are loud and powerful, and quiet down when they need to. But they always provide a strong and forward-moving backbeat that really help each song move along. The one negative thing I have to say about the album is about the similarity of tempo across the tracks. I would venture to say that all the tracks are withing 20bpm of each other, and so at some points you may think you're listening to one track, while you're actually 3 or 4 tracks past it. But that's the only thing I don't like about this album - it's just all-around awesome.

"Hit Me! Hit Me!" is In Black & White's third track, and a super song off this album. It's short, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does exactly what it was made to do - be as skankable as possible! The chord progression is somewhat original, little drum fills add a fun flair to the track, and the tempo is perfect - not too fast as to inhibit the ability to skank, but not as slow as a reggae or original ska song. Absolutely perfect for everything from toe-tapping, to head-bobbing to full-out skanking and singing along! Other awesome tracks from this album are "Who Benefits?," "Over The Edge," "Something New," "You Can't Go Back," and "Puddle of Blood."

Grab this album here, and I will try my very best to have "N" up for tomorrow as to not break this chain of posts. Again.

I AM SO BAD AT THIS

Band: Los Furios

Country: Canada!

Notable Album: Run Devil Run

Favourite Song: "Landslide" (No link for this song, SAD)

This is ridiculous - I can't find a way to remember to do these! So sorry for forgetting 3 days in a row - but here is yet ANOTHER Canadian band, Los Furios! These guys play a wicked latin-infused blend of ska and reggae, and really stand out from many other ska bands. They hail from our West Coast, over in BC, and have been playing music since about 2000. Their lineup has changed over the years, and I'm pretty sure they re-recorded a bunch of stuff - I knew about this band about 5 years ago from a song called "Bodybag" and then forgot about them, but last year when I found them again, "Bodybag" had been re-recorded! I would assume that they didn't just re-do that one song, but I could be wrong.

Run Devil Run is Los Furios' most recent album. Each track is very original, not only in content, but in the music as well. Los Furios has once again done a great job of trying to stay away from "traditional" ska and punk-rock chord progressions - and when they do fall into that trap, their unique style of playing at least makes it SOUND original! The one complaint that I have about the album is in the lyrical content. Sometimes, and ONLY SOMETIMES, I think the lyrics are a bit lame... almost as if they just needed something to use as a rhyme and didn't really think about if it went with the rest of the idea or phrase. Other than than, the music has kept me entertained for a few months, and I just picked up another one of their albums, Warning Shot, the other day!

ALL OF THE TRACKS THAT I TALK ABOUT TODAY CAN BE FOUND ON THEIR MYSPACE PAGE, EXCEPT FOR "LANDSLIDE" :(

My favourite song on this album is "Landslide," although my all-time favourite Furios track is "Bodybag." "Landslide" is a more mainstream, poppy-ish track, but still really fun to listen to. The chromatic-ish horn line and the harmonic singing make this a great song, no matter if you even like ska or not! "Bodybag," on the other hand, is a wicked ska/reggae mix. The original version was a lot slower but now it's fast and powerful, with the horns blaring a lot harder than before! The other standout track for me from Run Devil Run was "Playing With Fire." Although the beginning sounds like a ripoff of Sublime's "Caress Me Down," SIT THROUGH THAT PART because the rest of the song is awesome!

You can buy the album here, and remember, the Canadian music scene ALWAYS needs your help!

I Missed Another Day...

Band: Keepin'6

Country: Canada!

Notable Album: Uncensored

Favourite Song: "Step Back"

So I am a lot more lame that I thought, even compared to the 3-day gap between posts a little while back - and I forgot to post again yesterday. Sorry... but here we are with letter "K!" Keepin'6 are a Mississauga ska-punk band that play a fusion of ska-punk and metal that keeps the scene refreshing, just when things get a bit boring. Uncensored was released in 2007 - I picked it up in 2008, and although they haven't released another album since, 2 years have gone by and I'm not bored of the music! The tracks are just as exciting as their live performances, which makes either way of listening just as entertaining! Although they are good friends with the Johnstones, their musical style are ridiculously different and with the Johnstones selling out as fast as a band can, these guys help me keep my faith in the future of ska and ska-punk.

Keepin'6 opening for the Johnstones and Mad Caddies
Opera House, November 2009

Uncensored is a quick, 11-track album from 2007. It's also the only full-length album that Keepin'6 has released, although at their last few shows I've heard some new stuff that didn't show up on their early split albums. So chances are that either the end of this year or the beginning of next, they'll have some fresh music for everyone to hear and enjoy! Each track on this album is an angry outburst at something or someone. But I don't think that should be a turn-off - in fact, it makes the music stand out a lot more than most ska-punk bands. I think ska and ska-punk have a large opportunity for "joke" music (much like our song "Delve") so when a band comes along with something of substance to say - no matter how angry it ends up being - I think it's always worth the listen. Especially in Keepin'6's case, when the music is also incredible, it's definitely of a quality that a lot of bands can't boast about!

"Step Back" is a super cool track, most notably for the way the guitar is played. It's strummed 6 times with each beat, with the accent on the 4th strum. This still gives it the offbeat feel, but there's so much more going on behind the accents that it's almost necessary to see it live just to understand! It's also a very short track - which is good, considering only 3 chords are used for the whole song. After about 2 minutes of the exact same thing it could get pretty boring, so the 1:51 mark ends the song. And if that's not enough for you, well, you can always listen to it again! Other tracks that I love from this album are "Scapegoat," "Forget It," "Handle It," and "TFY 634," which is a cool hip-hop kind of song.

The only negative thing I have to say about the album is that they didn't include their cover of Operation Ivy's "Yellin' In My Ear." That is definitely my favourite song by these guys, and if it had shown up on Uncensored then it would definitely be the top track. You can check that song out here - you won't be disappointed! Desmond Dekker's "Get Up Edina" is their other cover song, and it shows up on the Unity: A Tribute To Desmond Dekker compilation album.

Uncensored can be bought here, and supporting the Canadian music scene is ALWAYS A GOOD DECISION!

How Hard's A Johnstone?

Band: The Johnstones

Country: Canada!

Notable Album: Word Is Bond

Favourite Track: "Action"

Well well well - today not marks letter "J" for the blog, but also the FIRST Canadian band on here! The Johnstones hail from Ajax, Ontario, and are known best for their outrageous performances that go along with pretty ridiculous songs.

Julien, master keyboardist and trombonist

This was in Burlington at the Red Rooster, January 2011

Today's blog is a little different, because I'm promoting the album more than the band - since Word Is Bond, The Johnstones have lost their ska-punk edge and play a raw-ish pop-punk-with-horns style of music. Although it isn't bad music, knowing them for a few years as a ska-punk band makes it hard to accept the material from the Sex EP and onwards. I think I listen to 2 tracks from Sex and 3 from Can't Be Trusted - but I love most of the songs off Word Is Bond! One thing that has always impressed me about these guys is the musical diversity of the members. Changing vocal styles from rapping to singing to chanting in no time flat, Julien changing from keys to trombone sometimes in the same song, and Ryan singing, rapping, and drumming all at the same time (only the best musicians can do this), these guys make their music their own simply by the way they present it.

"Action" is by far my favourite track on this album, but it's followed closely by "Gone For A Long Time" and "Living In The Gutter." "Action" is the quintessential ska-punk track, featuring quick upstrokes, a wicked walking bass line, and horns everywhere! I bought Word Is Bond at SCENEfest back in 2007 and I was blown away by this song, and it was even better seeing it live the same night! all 3 tracks named above are wicked, and anyone who is new to the Johnstones will love them, and all the old fans will already know and (hopefully) love them!

Pick up the album here, and stay tuned for letter "K" tomorrow!

Not-Not-Not Dead Yet!

Band: The Infested

Country: UK

Notable Album: Myths, Lies And Hypocrites

Favourite Song: "Not Dead Yet"

Well howdy there folks, today is letter "I" for my ska blog! I figured I'd start off with some shameless advertising first though. My band Nobodies Home is playing a show on April 20 at L3 in St. Catharines. We are opening for Toronto ska-punk band The Flatliners, who are coming through St. Catharines for their first time since S.C.E.N.E. last summer! The event on Facebook, along with all related info, can be found here. We have a bunch of new songs, and I'll be extra excited, since it'll be the night after going to see THE SPECIALS in Toronto! Hope to see lots of people there!

Anyways, on to the music! The Infested are a crack rock steady band from the UK. If you don't like hardcore punk, or crack rock steady bands like Leftover Crack or The Antimaniax (from earlier in the blog), then you probably won't like this band. However, if you like a more hardcore, angry ska-punk / hardcore punk feel, you will love this band! With all songs on Myths, Lies And Hypocrites written by G Infested, the tracks are fast, intense, and to-the-point. Lots of quick ska-punk tracks mixed in with fast hardcore punk songs, I have had this album for 2 years and never gotten bored of it! Now, with that being said, if you want music variation, you will not find it on this album - the first three songs use the exact same chord progression, and that particular progression (some sort of transposed C, Em, Am, F) shows up a LOT throughout this album. But, I am a fan of such things - maybe I have no musicality to me at all - and I thoroughly enjoy each song on this album.

"Not Dead Yet" won the Favourite Song Race for me this time, but it just barely won against "You Think You're A Hero." Interestingly enough, neither of these songs are ska-punk - just straight-up fast hardcore punk-rock tracks. My favourite ska-punk on this album is "Keep Droppin'" and it gets the bronze medal for my favourite tracks. "Not Dead" and "Hero" both use this consistent chord progression, but in different keys - so listen closely, and you will know both songs off by heart in no time! "Friends/Mistakes" is also a great ska-punk track, with an almost hip-hop feel for most of it. It's actually the same chords as the other two, but just one position back - if we kept it in C, it would be Em, Am, F, C, and so on and so forth - so now you actually know three tracks!

The things that I find interesting about this band is the use of distorted vocals. I tried it once to freak out the guys during band practice and it definitely does NOT fit with anything except hardcore music! It's sometimes hard to hear what G is singing, but the music is so good I don't even pay attention to the lyrics anyways. If you pick up this album, turn your bass up! It's recorded without much low-end, but the bass lines are incredible in each song and the bass drum drives the music forward relentlessly - so if you can, PUMP THE BASS!

Pick up the album here if you like these tracks - I have a feeling the guys might really need the money!

The Have Nots!

Band: The Have Nots

Country: USA

Notable Album: Serf City USA

Favourite Song: "Anchor For A Drowning Man"

So I guess I am a lot more lame than I thought and forgot to do a blog again yesterday. So, hopefully, I will be able to squeeze in two today to make up for lost time! Anyways, this is your "H" band - The Have Nots. Forming after the break-up of another ska-punk band Stray Bullets, The Have Nots essentially pick up where Stray Bullets left off. Same singers, almost identical instrumentation, and a similar message - you could actually just call this the second Stray Bullets album. In any case, I have been listening to this album for over a year now and I don't see myself getting bored of them anytime soon!

Each song is fast, powerful, and feature an interesting take on the traditional ska-punk sound. I find it interesting because they are one of very few bands that I know of that choose to use one clean guitar for offbeats and one distorted guitar over top for either soloing or just additions to each song. Obviously, it's recorded in Stereo, so the right speaker or headphone features the offbeats, and the left features the distorted guitar - it's pretty cool to hear. If you know the song "Scumpunch!" off of The Flatliner's debut album Destroy To Create then you might know what I'm talking about (they do this after the intro) - but even if you already understand, check out the Have Nots' music!

I checked out their MySpace page for the first time a few minutes ago after having trouble finding any songs other than "One In Four" (which is probably one of my least favourite songs by these guys), and lo and behold - there were all my favourite songs! So instead of giving you links for each YouTube-posted song, I'll post their MySpace page a few times and you can go check out all the tracks on there. My favourite song off Serf City USA is a super-short track called "Anchor For A Drowning Man." I can't really explain why I like it more than the others, but I think it's because it's not as punky as the other songs, it's a little more folky and that's a nice change from the rest of the album. However, since I am a die-hard ska-punk fan all the way through, I absolutely love the tracks "Used To Be," "There's Gonna Be A Riot," "My Way," and "Muerte De Perros." "Riot" and "Muerte" aren't on their MySpace page but if you pick up the album then you'll be able to enjoy them too! At the very bottom of their playlist is a track called "Uphill Battle." IGNORE THE CRAPPY QUALITY AND LISTEN TO THAT SONG. I just heard it today (since this was my first venture onto their MySpace page) and it blew my mind! This isn't on the album and is a few years old so I doubt it will resurface, but it's just as good as any of Serf City USA's tracks - and wayyy better than some of them!

One last note - Vinnie from Less Than Jake has a record label called Paper + Plastick. This album is featured as a free download right now so if you like the tracks, you can download the whole album, LEGALLY, FREE! This is the link, and if you scroll down the page you'll see that each song is listed as "free download."  HOW AWESOME IS THAT!  This is a great way for up-and-coming bands to get their music out there, and you can help them get on their way! So once again, head over to the site here to grab the entire album for free!

Hellcat Records' Secret Weapon

Band: The Gadjits

Country: USA

Notable Album: At Ease

Favourite Song: "Party Girl" (There is no link for this song, SAD)

WELL the past few days have been just ridiculous! So ridiculous that I totally forgot about this (massive fail) until it was too late every day. This weekend, I made a movie and won a film festival, did a lot of all-night work, ate a lot of ice cream, and was re-acquainted with an old friend - but I refuse to give this up, so here we are now at letter "G!" The Gadjits are no longer called The Gadjits - they operate under the alias The Architects - the 4 members released At Ease in 1998, under the wing of Tim Armstrong's Hellcat Records.

Not totally ska or ska-punk but too much so to be considered anything else, At Ease has been a constant go-to for me for almost 3 years now. There are a few songs that I'm not a huge fan of, but that's to be expected with almost any album. But the majority of the songs are SUPER good, so this is still an amazing album. Their only album even remotely close to ska, At Ease is just as soulful as it is fun and upbeat. Other tracks I love from the album are "Sh'bop" (which reminds me of Grease!), "Traffic Tickets," "Backup," and "Holes In My Shoes." They also do a crazy cover of "Mustang Sally!" A guitar, a bass, a drummer, and wicked keys make all these songs fresh and exciting to listen to!

Despite a whole bunch of songs being pretty awesome, "Party Girl" is the top track on this album. It clocks in at just over 2 minutes, and the frantic pace makes this a really fun track to listen to. The chord progressions used are fairly original (not very common for ska), but not overly complicated. The chorus is really easy to learn, so almost right away I started singing along and it got stuck in my head in no time. Even listening to it now I'm getting distracting humming and singing along! I actually think the song is too short - I would have loved another verse in there so end it off, but what can you do?

As always, you can go here to buy the album, and I will make sure to have a post up tomorrow for letter "H!"

Listen To This Band!!

Band: Fandangle

Country: UK

Notable Album: Fly Away

Favourite Track: "I'm High"

If you know me at all, you will probably know about this band, or at least heard me mention them once or twice. I found this Fandangle album in December 2008, and it absolutely blew me away. Less Than Jake's GNV FLA had come out in late June of the same year, and although they continue to be my absolute favourite band, I definitely listen to this album way more than I have ever listened to GNV FLA! Full of ska and horn-infused pop-punk tracks, Fly Away is easily one of my favourite albums of all time. Of course, and this seems to be a trend in my posts, Fandangle is not actually a band anymore - however, most of the members are still together in another ska-pop-punk band called New Riot, with their debut album Riot.Sleep.Repeat due out on March 11!

So, like I said, I found this album in December of 2008 (same year as its release), and almost right away it became my favourite album of that year. There is only one track out of the full 15 that I outright don't like, and even then I can listen to it without much complaint. Aside from that, the only real problem I have with the album is the opening track, "Once Over." I feel as though it doesn't actually do the rest of the album justice - it's a full-out pop-punk track without horns, but the majority of the other tracks are ridiculously good ska-punk songs! I have no complaint with the song itself, just don't base the rest of the album on it. Overall, Fly Away is absolutely stellar. The guitars are loud and clear, even in the ska sections, the bass walks everywhere and it sounds amazing, the keys cut through every once in a while for a fun refreshment, the drums are not complicated but they suit each track as well as they can, and the horns... oh the horns... Trumpet, sax, and trombone blast through each song with unbelievable power and each horn line is just as catchy as the rest of the music around it. in addition to all of this, each member of the band is a vocalist, so all of a sudden there's a Bad Religion-esque chorus of people singing vocal chords above the rest of the music! Unreal, absolutely unreal.

I'm having trouble writing this as I listen to the album. I keep getting distracted and singing along or tapping my hands or feet - and I've written way more than I planned already so I'm going to post my favourites below here for you to take a listen to. "I'm High" is my absolute favourite, but the others are worth the listen - and this album is definitely worth the money to buy if you can find it!

I'm High

Cheap Escape

It Came To This

And if you can find the song "S.I.C." from their Suburban Nights EP, check it out too!

EDIT** S.I.C. is on their MySpace playlist - if you enjoyed the other tracks, you will LOVE this song too!

Pick up the album here if you like what you hear - you won't be disappointed!

Another "E"xciting Post!

Band: The (English) Beat

Country: UK

Notable Album: I Just Can't Stop It

Favourite Song "Ranking Full Stop"

Well good evening to all you internet people! I thought today's installment could be something a little different - so I give you The (English) Beat! Known as The Beat in the UK, but as The English Beat in North America (there was another band already called The Beat), these Two-Tone rockers have been around since the late '70's! You may remember the song "Mirror In The Bathroom" - yup, that's them! Undergoing several lineup changes between their beginning, end, and reformation, they are now once again on tour playing their own brand of soul and reggae-infused British ska.

I Just Can't Stop It is actually the only Beat album that I can listen to all the way through. The others just don't have the same energy that this one does - and all my favourite ska tracks need to have that energy behind them to really allow me to enjoy them. Full of political messages, including lots about racial unity, these guys know how to speak and rock out at the same time! I nearly threw up from how lame that was... just sayin'. ANYWAYS, if you're a fan of any '70's or '80's ska, or you're interested in what kinds of music influenced current ska bands, check this album out!

Like always, I had a hard time choosing my favourite song - but this time, "Ranking Full Stop" takes the cake! This is one of the most fun songs I have ever heard, and although the entire album is full of energy, I chose this track because the offbeats were so much more apparent than with others. I love "Two Swords," "Tears Of A Clown" (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles cover, and a wicked one at that!), and "Best Friend," but "Ranking" is just perfection for these guys. Ranking Roger (get the title of the song now?) is featured doing his fun style of toasting throughout song, and that makes it one of the coolest songs I know.

And of course, you can buy their albums here - check back tomorrow for letter "F"! I am off to listen to the brand new New Riot tracks from their upcoming album!

A Dan-"D" Post!

Band: Dan Potthast

Country: USA

Notable Album: Eyeballs

Favourite Song: "I've Set Sail"

Hello all! Today's installment of my blog is all about Mr. Dan Potthast, lead singer of MU330. Dan is a member of several different groups - MU330, his own solo career, another band called The Stitch-Up - he is about as active in music as you can get! However, I'm trying to focus on his solo career, especially his debut album Eyeballs. Mainly composed of just his vocals and guitar playing, and an accompanying bass (and several auxiliary instruments for fun), he's put together 14 tracks of very original ska, folky, acoustic music. As always, it's a little unknown if what Dan sings about is actually a metaphor for something, or just musical nonsense - but no matter what, the music is fun and fresh to listen to!

"I've Set Sail" is by far my favourite track on the album. As you may have noticed, the first track of an album makes the biggest impression on me, and "I've Set Sail" comes in right after the 23-second introduction. This particular track sticks with me because it's odd for Dan to write a "conventional" song with overly-used chord progressions - but he chose to do so on this track... and it works! I was always impressed with MU330 and Dan's solo work because they were so good at staying away from boring, old chord progressions, but it's almost refreshing to hear something familiar for once. And even though the music itself is not necessarily extremely original, Dan's singing style still makes the track his own - definitely worth the listen.

As always, feel free to purchase the album here - and stay tuned for letter "E" tomorrow!

The "C" Word - I Mean, Band...

Band: Capdown

Country: UK

Notable Album: Civil Disobedients

Favourite Song: "Cousin Cleotis"

So things are very insane at the moment, so this post is going to be pretty short - but don't think that the band is any less important!

Capdown is a defunct ska-core band from Milton Keynes, UK. They have 3 full releases, but my favourite is their debut, Civil Disobedients, from 2000. This album has a lot more ska-punk than newer releases, which is why it stands out for me. Their music is very original, straying from traditional 3 or 4 chord punk progressions towards something closer to full-chord scales. I don't really know how to explain it, other than it's SUPER GOOD and you should check them out! Their lead singer, Jake, not only has a unique and powerful voice to go along with their political messages - he is also a saxophone master, and my favourite track, along with most of the others, feature his unique style of playing.

"Cousin Cleotis" is one of the coolest ska-punk songs I have ever heard. The sax is featured, doing some crazy chromatic scale stuff and although I can't even understand what they're saying, it's so catchy I've never gotten bored of it! It's a very tough song to describe, and I won't be able to do it justice, so check out the song here to see for yourself!

If you like what you hear, feel free to buy their albums here, and stay tuned for for a DAN-D post for tomorrow!

Oh wordplay...

The "B" Band!

Band: Big D & The Kids Table

Country: USA

Notable Album: How It Goes

Favourite Song: "The Sounds of Allston Village"

SO! Big D takes the "B" spot for my ska list! These Allston, MA ska-punksters have been recording album after album since 1995, with no signs of slowing down - well, that's not completely true. Everything after How It Goes has been steadily slowing down as they try to mature and find a more permanent spot in the realm of third-wave ska. I have to honestly say, however, it was a real disappointment to hear their newest album, Fluent in Stroll, after secretly dancing to songs like "Noise Complaint" and "Fly Away" from their 2007 album Strictly Rude. So I dance to ska when there's no one else around. Get over it. It's awesome. Try it.

Pretty sweet, right?  This was at Warped tour 2009

It's hard to choose between How It Goes and Strictly Rude, but How It Goes takes the cake for several reasons. Firstly, Dave McWane's voice has NEVER changed - ever. But it's hard to listen to a band mature while the singing style stays the same - and that's a big problem that I have with Fluent in Stroll. How can a band change their sound or style when not everything changes? Especially with someone with such a recognizable voice as Dave, the new style just doesn't fit. Anyways, I chose How It Goes over Strictly Rude because Dave's voice fits much more with their frantic ska-punk albums than their smoother, more melodic ones - and How It Goes is just as much ridiculous punk rock as it is ska-punk. This album is also a lot closer to the style they started out with, and that's another reason why I chose it. I believe that bands create music in a genre because that's the kind of music that they love to play, and it also gives the band itself an identifiable style or genre. But if a band all of a sudden decides to play something totally different, then it destroys what they've created as that band. I'm totally up for members of bands creating different music, but put it under a different name! But I digress. Although some tracks stand out more than others for me, I can easily listen to this album all the way through over and over, and I have been doing so all day!

"The Sounds of Allston Village" is an obvious throwback to Big D's stomping ground - Allston, MA. It's a semi-instrumental track, with backup girls singing some ooh's and ahh's and Dave's voice cutting in every once in a while to add some extra flair. It's a smooth and relatively short song, but probably the best out of all the tracks to open the album (did I mention it's the opening track?). Other tracks that I absolutely love from this album are "You Lose, You're Crazy," "My Girlfriend's On Drugs," and the greatest Specials cover ever (yes, Nobodies Home can't even do it better than these guys!) of "Little Bitch." But "Allston" is my absolute favourite because it's so simple - you'll know it each time you hear it, and it'll get stuck in your head so fast and so sneakily that you won't even notice that you've been humming it for the last three hours. 3 chords (perfect!), funky bass (snazzy!), fun little keyboard intro at the beginning (oh yeah!), very traditional ska drumming (bonus!), and one of the sweetest horn lines ever (cha-ching!) make this an absolute perfect song for anyone!

If you want to relax, listen to this song. If you want to pump yourself up but calm your mind first, listen to this song then the rest of the album. If you want an easy song for your band to cover, listen to this song.

If you want to support the band by buying any of their albums, go here.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's installment, the "C" word (GET IT?)!

"A" Band

Band: Antimaniax

Country: Austria

Notable Album: I'm Without Sleep... In This Desert of Concrete

Favourite Song: "

Don't Steal Because The Government Hates Competition

"

Hello all, today is "A" day for my list of ska bands! The band for today is called the Antimaniax, and they hail from Austria! Very cool crack rock steady, ska-core kind of music, obvious influences from Choking Victim (they cover the track "War Story" on the Choking Victim Tribute Album) and Leftover Crack. Although they're from Austria, all their songs are in English.

Antimaniax are a very "traditional" crack rock steady band - promoting anarchist values and outcries at the current way of life. If you are interested in anarchist and vegan beliefs, then this band is worth a listen - and if you like the music of bands like Choking Victim, Leftover Crack, and The Infested you'll sure like these guys too!

I've posted my favourite track as "Don't Steal Because The Government Hates Competition" but it's a tie with a track called "In Front Of Our Eyes." "Don't Steal" starts with some ridiculous dark, metal-sounding guitars, but quickly changes into a fast punky-ska thing for the rest of the song. It's a great opening song to the album, and sets the pace for the rest of the tracks. The changes from upbeat but dark-ish ska-punk to super-fast punk rock create an exciting song that can appeal to any ska-punk fan. "In Front Of Our Eyes" is a more upbeat ska track - happier music that makes you want to skank!

So this is my "A" band - the Antimaniax. You may not be a fan if you don't like angrier, more intense ska-punk, but for anyone who wants a powerful message or some different music, these guys are for you!

They offer both their albums online for free, so head on over here, and click on the albums on the right to grab them!

The First Band!

Band: 3 Minute Warning

Country: UK

Notable Album: Scooters Loose Change

Favourite Song: "Have This"

Alright! The first band is here, and they are (or were, I should say) such a crazy mix of ska, punk, and everything keyboard that I just HAD to give them recognition.

3 Minute Warning is a now-defunct ska-punk band that has a HUGE emphasis on their keyboard player. Changing the keyboard style from piano to organ to weird scratchy sounds track-by-track, no song sounds even remotely close to the one before or after it. Super cool stuff, but I sometimes wish they stayed with one sound - some of them don't sit well with me! Vocals are also super cool - Billy's voice is higher, but always pitch-perfect so even the high notes don't pierce your ears. He also adds in a gruff-ness (don't judge me, I'll make up words if I want to) every once in a while that adds a fun intensity to their music.

I put the album on today while setting up for a band practice, and I had totally forgotten how unique it really is! The first songs starts off with what sounds like a normal 12-bar blues, but quickly steers away from such a generic path. By the middle of the album it might be hard to remember exactly what the first songs sound like, but if you listen to it again you'll know right away what song it is. Each song features a very unique chord progression (with some exceptions), but the keys ALWAYS stand out - and their keyboard player definitely deserves all the exposition he gets!

It was nearly a tie for favourite song, but I had to go with the last track "Have This" over the rather bluntly-titled "Shut The F**k Up." I actually prefer "Shut The F**k Up" in terms of musical progression, but the keyboard sound can get pretty annoying on the track. However, it is still a super good song, and definitely deserves to be listened to. "Have This" wins my vote because of Chuzz, master keyboard player, and his awesome powers of musicality. The sound of the keyboard on this track is sort of scratchy, but perfect for the song.

You can pick up the album here, and stay tuned for the "A" band tomorrow by 10pm!

Well Hey There!

Mitchell here, from Nobodies Home. I got bored with the whole not-doing-lots-of-ska-related-stuff thing, so I've set up this space for everyone who's interested in learning more about the kind of music we play as a band - or if you just want to hear some fun ska tunes!

Every day, starting tomorrow, I will be posting information about a ska band - going in order from a number, all the way to the letter Z (and NO, Nobodies Home will NOT be letter N - ok maybe...). So in just under 30 days, you can finally get off the computer and go "WOW! I know SO MUCH MORE than I did before about this awesome ska music!" If all goes well, I'll start a second list after this one, with different bands for each letter of the alphabet!

So check back here tomorrow - your "numbered" ska band will be up by 10pm!

Hope you all enjoy reading this, I know I'll have fun posting stuff - feel free to post comments on the bands, or give me your links so I can check out your music!