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!