In Defense of Ska

Latest Episodes:

In Defense of Ska Ep 59: The Life and Times of Skatalites trombonist Don Drummond Mar 02, 2022

Show notes

Ska forever changed the course of music. Not only in Jamaica, but all over the world. Many talented people were involved with its development in the late 50s/60s. But a lot of credit is owed to The Skatalites for perfecting and elevating the genre.

Within the Skatalites camp, trombonist Don Drummond was incredibly important and influential. He wrote and/or arranged a majority of their songs. He also brought a somber vibe to the otherwise upbeat genre of music, often writing songs in minor keys. And he also forever linked the trombone with ska, something that remains true to this day, even as the genre has mutated in surprising ways.

Today we look at the life and times of Don Drummond. On one hand, he was one of the greatest musical geniuses to ever walk the earth. His impact is immeasurable. On the other hand, he was a troubled and tragic figure, riddled with mental illness. He murdered his girlfriend Anita "Margarita" Mahfood in 1965 and then died a few years later while imprisoned at Bellevue Asylum.

We bring on a panel of guests to tell the story of Don's life and to understand the impact that he had. Our panel includes Heather Augustyn, author of Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist, Adam Reeves, who is currently working on a comic book adaptation of Heather's book. It will be called Trombone Man: Ska's Fallen Genius. And lastly, Ken Stewart, who's been the keyboardist/manager for The Skatalites since the late 80s.

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon!

If you like our theme song, go download the EP Lives by Slow Gherkin. They wrote the opening and closing songs for our podcast. You can get both tunes from their Lives EP. Also, check out Dan P and the Bricks two LPs. They provided the mid-roll ad transition music.

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024.

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023.

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

Support In Defense of Ska by checking out StubHub: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/DLXVmMB
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In Defense of Ska Ep 58: Kyle Kinane (Drunk History, Those Who Can't, Right Now Kapow) Feb 23, 2022

Show notes

Comedian Kyle Kinane is known for his hilarious storytelling-style comedy specials, his epic Drunk History appearances, and his love of punk rock. But he's also a fan of ska. In high school, he even played sax in a ska band called The Skabeatles. He tells us all about it

We also talk about his history growing up in the Chicago punk and ska scene where Slapstick reigned supreme. He saw Slapstick play more times than he can remember. He also saw Less Than Jake, Mustard Plug, and Skankin' Pickle. And of course, we discuss the legendary venues where he spent much of his youth, like The Metro and Fireside Bowl

We also talk about some more recent events, like the time in 2016 when he toured with Chicago super-group The Falcon (Brendan Kelly, Neil Hennessy, Dan Andriano, Dave Hause), There is also a ska-heavy scene he was in for the show "Those Who Can't" (Along with members of The Aquabats and Jon Daly. And of course, we talk about the time he appeared on Drunk History and got so drunk he completely blacked out the entire time.

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon!

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024.

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023.

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

Support In Defense of Ska by checking out StubHub: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/DLXVmMB
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Defense of Ska: Behind the Curtain with Ted Leo...on why Madness were great (Preview) Feb 18, 2022

Show notes

On this Patreon exclusive episode, we sit down again with Ted Leo. This time we discuss the brilliant 2 Tone band Madness, a band that all three of us loves dearly. Ted even pulls out his Madness records and goes track by track to tell us what he thinks about each and every song.

To listen to the entire episode, sign up for the "In Defense of Ska" Patreon

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon!

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024.

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023.

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

Support In Defense of Ska by checking out StubHub: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/DLXVmMB
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Defense of Ska Ep 57: Lili Trifilio (Beach Bunny) & Jeremy Hunter (Skatune Network, We Are The Union) Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

In 2020, Chicago indie-pop group Beach Bunny released their debut LP Honeymoon to much acclaim. One of the people that fell in love with the album, was Jeremy Hunter, ie Skatune Network. It was one of their favorite records of the year. Just a month earlier, they’d recorded a cover of an earlier Beach Bunny tune, “Prom Queen.” After Honeymoon was released, they considered covering another Beach Bunny song. Instead, they recorded the entire album.

Jer did this project in secrecy, not even telling Beach Bunny’s singer/songwriter Lili Trifilio until it was nearly finished, earlier this year. And then on Valentine’s Day, they surprise-released it to the world—Beach Bunny’s record in its entirety, but all ska, and titled Honeyrude and complete with some delightful ska easter eggs that reference The English Beat, Bob Marley, and The Specials.

On this episode, we bring on Jeremy Hunter and Lili Trifilio to talk about Honeyrude. We talk to Lili about what inspired the original record, learn about Jer’s process of transposing the album to ska, and get her reaction to the record. We analyze this album from all angles to understand what makes ska unique, and why a ska cover of a non-ska song is so infectious when it’s done right.

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon!

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024.

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023.

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

Support In Defense of Ska by checking out StubHub: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/DLXVmMB
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Defense of Ska Ep 56: Steve Borth (Link 80, Satori, Chllngr) Feb 09, 2022

Show notes

Link 80's debut record, 17 Reasons, gets a lot of attention, rightfully so. But the group has other records worth your time, particularly their excellent 2000 album The Struggle Continues. On the album, you can hear the group's maturity as musicians, and their broader influences, which include deeper hardcore, and even some nu-metal elements. Our co-host Adam Davis was very involved in the band during this record, as was our guest today, Steve Borth.

Steve joined Link 80 on sax shortly after Adam started playing guitar in the group. Steve brought a lot of skill to the group. After his time in Link 80, he joined RX Bandits and contributed to a handful of their best records from the early/mid-2000s when they were balancing prog-metal, math rock and a sprinkling of ska. Later Steve moved to Denmark and has continued to play music, generally keeping his foot in reggae/dub projects. (Satori, Chllngr)

Today we discuss his groups in great detail and even dive into his father's career as a traveling Christian musician in the '60s and '70s. We also discuss Steve's current project of bringing together Danish and Jamaican musicians together to play reggae music. We also devote some time to the Sacramento scene that Steve grew up in and talk about the first ska band he ever played in: Lesdystics

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon!

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024.

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023.

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

Support In Defense of Ska by checking out StubHub: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/DLXVmMB
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Defense of Ska Ep 55: Anthony Fantano (The Needle Drop, Fantano) Feb 02, 2022

Show notes

This week we are excited to bring on YouTube music critic Justthony Skanktano...or sorry Anthony Fantano. Justthony Skanktano is the name he used on his review of Jeff Rosenstock's SKA DREAM, which he gave a Strong 8, a better score than he gave NO DREAM, the original non-ska version of the album. He even placed SKA DREAM in his top ten records of 2021. So obviously, we had to bring Skanktano...sorry Skanktano on the show and talk about ska. And he had a lot to say.

Since reviewing SKA DREAM, he's also reviewed Catbite's "Nice One," and randomly shared Flying Raccoon Suit's "Afterglow" record on Twitter. We also found during this interview that in his younger years, he's listened to plenty of ska and has attended (and skanked at) several ska shows. He recounts, with vivid imagery a life-changing Flaming Tsunamis show from back in the day.

We also ask Anthony for his opinion on the new crop of ska bands, what his roommate Cal Chuchesta thinks of ska music, and at the very end, we even get his review of this very interview. You're going to want to hear his insights on our ska conversation!

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon!

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024.

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023.

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

Support In Defense of Ska by checking out StubHub: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/DLXVmMB
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Defense of Ska Ep 54: Jenny Whiskey (Hub City Stompers, Rude Girl Revue, Rude Boy George) Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

Everyone at 2021's Supernova International Ska Festival was talking about Rude Girl Revue, an all-star, all-women, 16-piece ska band, comprised of members of many bands (The Scotch Bonnets, Catbite, Half Past Two, Stop The Presses, The Pandemics, The Skluttz, and more). Today we talk to one of the group's founder's Jenny Whiskey, who's also been a longtime member of Hub City Stompers, and has been more recently, playing with Rude Boy George.

Jenny started playing ska in the 90s. She almost got to play in Catch 22, but her mom wouldn't let her. However, in the early 2000s, she joined Hub City Stompers and helped keep ska music alive during a time when the music was in decline.

We talk about this unique period of time, as well as how she perceives the sudden interest in ska in the last few years from Brooklyn Vegan and other non-ska outlets. She also gives us the story of the viral song "Jesus is a Friend of Mine" and we all make a plea to Mephiskapheles to record a split with Sal Polichetti, who re-recorded the song with Rude Boy George.

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon!

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024.

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023.

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

Support In Defense of Ska by checking out StubHub: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/DLXVmMB
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Defense of Ska Ep 53: Mike Sosinski (Bad Time Records, Kill Lincoln) Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

It seems like nearly every major ska record these days has been released by Bad Time Records. What’s going on? Today on the 1st episode of the 2nd season of In Defense of Ska, we bring on the owner of Bad Time Records himself, Mike Sosinski. He explains it all!

There’s a lot to the story of Bad Time Records. It starts with Mike’s band, Kill Lincoln, which started in Washington DC a little over a decade ago. Mike tells us how his scrappy ska-punk band started at a time when no one cared about the genre, to him starting his own record label—that quite a few people cared about!

And we walk through the Bad Time Records catalog and see how Mike created steady growth and a revived interest in ska-punk. It didn’t hurt that Brooklyn Vegan took an interest in the genre in 2020 and gave Bad Time a lot of much-deserved attention.

So, listen as we discuss, at length, a whole bunch of great BTR bands: Catbite, We Are The Union, Bad Operation, Best of the World, Kill Lincoln, and others. Hopefully, you’ll leave with a better understanding of how the ska-punk scene grew in the last couple of years.

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon!

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024.

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023.

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

Support In Defense of Ska by checking out StubHub: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/DLXVmMB
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Defense of Ska Ep 52: John Bunkley (Gangster Fun, Atomic Fireballs) Jan 12, 2022

Show notes

The Midwest played a key role role in the development of American ska. Bands like Mustard Plug, MU330, Suicide Machines, Slapstick and Blue Meanies pushed and pulled on the genre's boundaries, with little concern for what a ska band was supposed to look or sound like. The band that influenced every single one of these groups was Detroit's first ska band: Gangster Fun.

Formed in 1986, the group got huge locally within months. And not long after that, they developed a sizable following throughout the Midwest. Their impact elsewhere was minimal. And as they were slowing down, other Midwest ska bands gained traction.

On this episode, we speak to lead singer John Bunkley. We talk about the group's history, legacy and penchant for crazy ska covers that includes songs by Duran Duran, Nirvana, KISS and Billy Ray Cyrus. We talk about how Detroit shows were a bit more chaotic than anywhere else in the country, and he spills the beans on which now famous musicians used to skank at Gangster Fun shows. Hint: It's Insane Clown Posse, Kid Rock and Jack White.

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon!

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024.

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023.

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

Support In Defense of Ska by checking out StubHub: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/DLXVmMB
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Defense of Ska Ep 51: Ted Leo (The Pharmacists, Chisel, Citizens Arrest, The Both) Jan 04, 2022

Show notes

In 2003, indie-punker Ted Leo released the dissonant, Thin Lizzy-esque rocker "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?" The song pays tribute to The Specials, but also comments on the state of rock 'n' roll in the US during the post-911 era. On this episode, we bring on Ted and he gives us a full explanation of what inspired him to write this critically lauded song. He tells us he's previously been coy about fully explaining the song's meaning. So sit down and listen to its fascinating backstory.

We also dig into Ted's history as a ska lover. He's a huge 2 Tone fan, and also loved the 80s New York ska scene, with bands like The Boilers and N.Y. Citizens. He tells us about having his mind blown after seeing Fishbone in the 80s in New York.

The episode is also takes journey through Ted's career as a hardcore singer to mod/post-punk/indie musician in the 90s, and how he further evolved in the 2000s and beyond. As he grew confident as a songwriter, he wielded influences from the 70s, without coming off as retro. He also navigated the DIY touring landscape while also gaining critical praise and feeling completely out of touch with many of his rock 'n' roll contemporaries.

He comes armed with lots of good stories, including a solo gig he tells us was one of his worst.

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon!

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024.

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023.

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

Support In Defense of Ska by checking out StubHub: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/DLXVmMB
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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