History of US Third Wave Ska

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The Origins of the Third Wave

OK, So the First Wave of Ska began in Jamaica and the UK in the 1960's (a fine example for the reasons for the export of the music from Jamaica to England exists in the intercut moments in the Song Goodbye to Empire by Maroon Town). The sound featured the melding of jazz, soul, local island musics and blaring horns to great affect. The Second Wave, 2-Tone, ruled the UK, and made small waves in the US, in the earliest moments of the 1980s. With a more stripped-down sound, 2-Tone managed to catch on with younger crowds through frequent radio play.
As 2-Tone was ending its run and the years preceding the 1993 mainstream appearances, three majour pockets of US Ska interest were popping up, one radiating from New York City out to Washington and Boston, a Midwest scene and another in California(though Ska continued to come from the UK with Bands like The Potato 5 and the Loafers and around the World with bands like the Porkers and Potato 5).

The East Coast Ska Scene

The East Coast scene can be best divided into three geographic areas. While the sound didn't differ much, the different areas had varying foundations.

The Boston scene

Boston, with the largest number of colleges in the US, became the perfect place for Ska to grow. In the late 80s/early 90s, groups like Bim Skala Bim, Mr. Cranky and the (later Mighty Mighty) Bosstones. The sound tended to be highly influenced, particularly by the hard core sound that eminated from clubs like the Ratskeller and TT the Bear's. The Bosstones blended the two to make SkaCore, which would make a big splash with the country in the mid-1990s with the records SkaCore, the Devil and More and Don't Know How to Party. The SkaCore scene included bands like Thumper, and Voodoo Glow Skulls out west. Boston has always been a hot bed of ska activity, as can be seen on the Mash It Up compilation cds that hit the shelves in 1993. Other bands worth finding include Steady Earnest and Beat Soup.

Meanwhile, In New York City

Gotham had the band that for a long time was considered to be the US Ska band: The Toasters, and the US Ska Label: Moon Records. While their sound may have been the closest to 2-Tone, they received much praise as being the ones to usher in the new age of Ska in the US(this of course coming in 1989). While there has always been a strong New York scene, including bands like The New York Citizens, the Soul/Ska of the Slackers and Skunkinutti sound of Perfect Thyroid, most of it is derived from the various members of the Toasters and those bands on Moon Ska, including the excellent New York Jazz Ensemble. To this day, New York ska has remained strong, with the Toasters always leading the way.

The Ska Capitol?

Washington DC became a hot spot for ska in the early 1990s. With the Chequerboard club hosting shows every other week, and shows on campuses such as George Washington University and Georgetown, bands like the Pietasters, the Checkered Cabs, Boy O Boy and the Skunks made a big impact, as well as visits from bands like the Toasters, Bim Skala Bim, the Slackers and Perfect Thyroid. Also helping out the D.C. and environs scene was B.O.B records, whose compilations recorded the sound perfectly, capturing what an up and coming scene would look like. In the mid-90s, the ska scene slowly faded in and around DC and picked up in the deep south, with strong scene in and around Raleigh-Durham and Florida.

Ska, Midwestern Style

Midwest Ska had one of the greatest party ska bands of all time: Gangster Fun. The fun-based, hyper-party sounds of Gangster Fun and Tom Collins and the Cocktail Shakers, Mustard Plug and Skapone made for some of the best skankin' throughout the US music scene. Many other bands formed, frequently from the rubble of departed bands like Etch-a-Sketch and Pickle Betty Brown. This section of the country has several good compilations, including American Skathic, which many consider to be the finest Ska Compilation of the early 1990s, which also introduced Evan Dorkin as the Ska CD Cover Artist of the decade.

Skalifornia, Here I Come!

The California scene was basically kicked off by Fishbone releasing their first album, and The Untouchables becoming college campus favourites. Bands using punk, funk, and soul to layer the ska with popped up throughout Cali, with bands like Skankin' Pickle, Sublime and Buck-O-Nine being some good examples. The first majour US Trad Ska movement had it's most visible example in Let's Go Bowling(though bands like Skavoovie and the Epitones and the Alstonians in Boston may beg to differ), but also bands like Ocean 11, Mobtown and Jump With Joey. One of the reasons that the Southern California scene is so well-known is a radio programme called The Ska Parade. Tazy Phillips and friends started the show and brought in various groups to perform. The first majour radio play of bands like No Doubt, Save Ferris and Sublime came from KUCI. Northern California Ska had several bands that gained followings, like Skankin' Pickle, Dance Hall Crashers, and Operation Ivy, who helped usher in the Punk/Ska combo(and would later break up and half would form Rancid). The South Bay Area had the Edge for all ages ska shows on Wednesday Nights once a month, and San Francisco had a half-dozen clubs that regularly brought in ska acts, including Maritime Hall.

This is the End

When Ska hit the forefront with the Bosstones, No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom, Sublime's Date Rape and Reel Big Fish, the Third Wave got itself an expiration date. As the 1990's came to a close, many bands broke up, or more damaging to the movement, lessened the amount of Ska in their sound, bringing forth more mainstream friendly pop. While there are still many excellent ska bands out there, the Third Wave story can now be told as we await whatever the 4th Wave will send our way.

Recommended Listening

Fishbone- Fishbone

The Skunks- Mixed Nuts

Various Artists- American Skathic

Various Artists- Mashin' Up the Nation vol. 1 and 2

Gangster Fun- Time Flies When it's Gangster Fun(very hard to find)

No Doubt- The Beacon Street Collection

Various Artists- The Mash It Up series(1993-1995)

Various Artists- Aces. Two and Fews

Mighty, Mighty Bosstones- SkaCore, the Devil and More

Various Artists- California Skaquake

Various Artists- NME's Rude Awakening(incredibly hard to find, but an amazing document of post 2-Tone English as well as international Ska)


Let's Go Bowling- Music to Bowl By

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