Checkered Past: The Ska'd Cast

Time once again to pop sugar tabs from disembodied heads! Checkered Past digs in on the maybe Ska, maybe not Ska debut album of CanCon band Pezz (different Pezz hardcore punk fans!). Rob and Engineer Joey dig in on the bands one and only record, Watoosh! blind listening from front to back. Then, Rob pulls the rug out and reveals who the band would become and listens to their far more popular moder...

By popular demand CPSC is moving up a fan favorite segment to a full length episode in a new series: Label She's The Bomb! For the first iteration Checkered Past welcomes Tennessee Ska-Punkers Stuck Lucky to talk about Community Records! Will and Jonsy start by discussing their Checkered Past, the origin of the band and swap stories from the Dark Ages. Then with the Checkered Past Crew they dig in...

Back by popular demand our favorite Skacore-respondent (who is also a dog), Maxi Taxi is on the ground at The Fest 22 in Florida to interview concert goers and bands on the ground for another patented series of Back Alley Interviews. Hear interviews with Plastic Flamingos, Hans Gruber and the DIe Hards, Flying Raccoon Suit and more while Rob, Celine and Joey listen and discuss from the Skankatoriu...

Checkered Past is crossing the pond once again to get in touch with our Wildstyle! Rob, Celine and Joey welcome Barney Boom of the one and only Sonic Boom Six to dissect King Prawn! First, Barney discusses his checkered past, the origin of the band and the uniqueness of the London Ska scene. Then, the foursome dig in on King Prawn from their anarcho-punk origins to their ska'd-up breakthrough to t...

It's going to get VERY Boston on this week's CPSC! The crew heads back to the dark ages to shallow dive the ska-influenced tracks of street punkers, The Have Nots! First, Joey picks it up with his recent spat of Faux Doubt shows, then him and Rob dig in on The Have Nots from their not-quite-rancid ska debut to their minor scene hit to their angry-Springsteen second album. Grab a scally cap and get...

Back for his annual appearance on Checkered Past is the Hyperska Superstar, Eichlers! To kick the episode off he catches Rob and Joey up on his new album Ike World, his various other projects and his new, shocking, musical obsession. Then, the trio dig in on the Ska discography of Mest from their Ska-punk indie days to their pogo punk breakout to their smash records in the 00's. Unlike Ike's last...

Checkered Rob's Birthday comes but once a year, and always a round the spookiest season. Engineer Joey has decided HE will make the games and is ready to surprise Rob and Celine for a special games-only episode... but both are missing! Enter Jigska and his nemesis The Skabadook who have their own torturous plans but were thwarted by another new Ska Serial Killer on the scene. The games are flipped...

It's another Ska Pod crossover! CP/SC welcomes on In Defense of Ska book author and podcast host, Aaron Carnes to discuss Mike Park's The Chinkees. First, Rob and Joey did a brief pick it up before talking to Aaron about his Checkered Past, the new edition of his novel and the early days of his podcast. Then the trio dig in on The Chinkees from their post-Pickle origins to their touring years as p...

Time for a companion piece to CP/SCs Blue Meanies episode... a primer on the Ska scene in the American Midwest from 1990-2010! First, Celine regales Rob and Joey with her trip to Italy before the trio run through 15 tracks of the weird, the trad and the punk. Rob builds the playlist focusing on the scenes in Chicago, Detroit and Chuck Wren's Jump Up Records. Expect tracks from Hot Stove Jimmy, Gan...

Checkered Past heads to Illinois to talk about the TV Smashers themselves: Blue Meanies! For the discussion they bring along return guests Aaron, Eric and Justin of Western Mass genre band: PWRUP! They talk about local shows in Edmonton, Eric's Checkered Past and the angular Chicago music scene before diving into the meanies from their stoner, jam band roots to their million-mile-an-hour heyday in...

It's time to take a breather from the Heptember bracket to dig in on another dark ages Ska cult classic, Zox! Rob and Engineer Joey do a quick pick it up before digging in on Zox's 00's discography from their ska heavy first album to their Side One Dummy sleeper hit to their indie rock inspired final album. Oh and they have a violin!  Hosts: Rob and Joey Engineer: Joey Editor: Cutman Skassoci...

The quest to determine the greatest Reel Big Fish cover song finishes with return guest and podcaster extraordinaire, Jordan Morris! The CP/SC crew kicks off with a quick pick it up before chatting with Jordan on his new graphic novel Youth Group, Christian Ska and 90s YA Horror Comedies. Then, Rob, Celine, Joey and Jordan all dig in on both the Semis and the Finals to crown the ultimate winner. P...

The quest to determine the greatest Reel Big Fish cover song continues with first timers, Bad Mary! The CP/SC crew kicks off with a quick pick it up before chatting with Bad Mary on the formation of their band and their new EP Better(er) Days. Then, Rob, Celine, Joey, Amanda and Mike all dig in on the next 4 matchups of songs whittling down to the semifinals in preparation of next weeks finale. Fo...

The quest to determine the greatest Reel Big Fish cover song continues with fan favorite guest, Devon Kay! The CP/SC crew kicks off with a quick pick it up before finding out what's new in the world of Devon Kay and is Ska-djacent project The Solutions. Then, Rob, Celine, Joey and Devon all dig in on the next 8 matchups of songs whittling down to the quarterfinals. Its filled with hot takes, upset...

It's the continuation of the annual Heptember bracket! This year, CP/SC is on the hunt to determine the greatest Reel Big Fish cover of all time, pitting 32 songs in mortal combat. In Part 2 of Round 1, it's just the Checkered Past Crew as they run through the final 2/3 of the bracket, eliminating tracks as they go. They go on Vibrato Watch, discuss the bands style-emulations and decide on the son...

It's the debut of the annual Heptember bracket! This year, CP/SC is on the hunt to determine the greatest Reel Big Fish cover of all time, pitting 32 songs in mortal combat. In Part 1 of Round 1, it's just the Checkered Past Crew as they run through 1/3 of the bracket, eliminating tracks as they go. They also discuss the Heptember Miracle, lay the ground work for the next 4 weeks and discuss what...

If you're still walking on sunshine then this episode is for you! Rob and Engineer Joey sit down to do a full blind listen of the first two albums by modern metallers Ice Nine Kills! Both have only heard the Reel Big Fish song and are going in completely unaware as they listen to the entire Pop-Punk-Ska years compilation and INK's official debut, Last Chance To Make Amends. All the while they comm...

Hot off their Top 10 episode of 2023, Joystick returns to continue chatting about the one and only Voodoo Glow Skulls! From the airport on their way to a tour of the UK, Bex and Duck share their thoughts on the crowdstrike crash, mall shopping and bad tattoos before diving into VGS for a second time. They discuss the bands next era from their funk and hiphop influenced Symbolic to their ripping Vi...

Heptember is BACK for 2024! Rob, Celine and Joey sit down to prepare for another month long bracket to determine the best song by a band! In the pre-show they go through this year's band's side projects, other bands and the songs that didn't make the cut to mentally prepare themselves for the upcoming challenge. Which band will it be? Which guests will storm out in anger? Which song eliminations w...

Don't be scared by the title! In light of the controversies surrounding Bosstones singer Dicky, Rob makes an impassioned plea to reconsider the scene contributions of the bands legacy. First, Rob and Engineer Joey pick it up with a conversation about he carnival and IMAX movies before doing a shallow dive on the Coles Notes history of MMB from their heavy metal early days to the coining of the ter...

It's a very special episode of Checkered Past! On this episode we invite in the man who was the first ever to wear the famed Banana Suit and dance at Ska shows: The Real Banana Man H! He walks through the early days of the scene, his business making banana juice cleanses for celebrities and his tragic relationship with Jackfruit. Then, he brings with him the original recordings of famous Ska songs...

What is Post-Third Wave you ask? Why it's a subgenre coined by Checkered Rob of course! It's a regional Ska-Punk boom that existed between 1999 and 2005 after the death of mainstream Ska and before the advent of the true Dark Ages. It consisted of bands that were in high school or college, made rough studio recordings and were highly influenced by the Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake and the Bosstone...

Hey elitists from the internet! Checkered Past is finally tackling one of the most requested subject bands: Big D and the Kids Table! To help with the discussion, Rob, Celine and Joey welcome Saxton of Prog Ska Midwesterners, Runaway Ricochet! They dig into Saxtons history with Ska, the evolution leading to their new record Diminishing Returns and the various influences that went into it. Then, th...

Take a deep breath, cause we are heading to the Mile High City to drink, fight and play the bagpipes! That's right CP/SC is talking about Dark Ages Ska-Punksters, The Potato Pirates! Rob and Engineer Joey kick off the episode with a rare sports talk and the hockey atmosphere of Edmonton. Then, they dig in on the Potato Pirates' ska discography from their bagpipe heavy early days to their punk-and-...

It's the third part of a three part series detailing Checkered Past's trip to SPI Fest 2024! On the third episode, it's a return of the fan favorite back alley interviews from SPI Fest 2023. This year the featured interviews include The Marijuana Brass, Bad Mary, The Ska Mailman, PWRUP and The Best of the Worst plus some very special drop in guests. PLUS, Rob is solo in studio to do bumpers and is...