Checkered Past: The Ska'd Cast

It's the second part of a three part series detailing Checkered Past's trip to SPI Fest 2024! On the second episode we play our Day 2 Live performance featuring The Ska Mailman and Mega Infinity along with a Getting Witchy with Michi, games and some audience questions! Then we move to the studio where  Rob and Engineer Joey discuss the second day of the fest, the epic afterparty and the sight...

It's the first part of a three part series detailing Checkered Past's trip to SPI Fest 2024! On the first episode we play our Day 1 Live performance featuring The Skabadook and Common Sense Kid along with banter, games and some audience questions! Then we move to the studio where  Rob and Engineer Joey discuss the lead up to the festival, the trip from Canada to the US and everything that wen...

Things are about to get irie as CP/SC tackles the low energy vibes of Reggae Rock! Rob and Joey do a quick pick it up on bicycles before going through the mainstream rock meets reggae scene from its creation in the early 80s to the wide spanning influence of Sublime to its surprisingly vast fanbase in the modern era. All the way they play a game to guess how many streams the songs have on Spotify....

It's the leather year of Checkered Past: The Ska'd Cast! For this very special episode, Celine, Rob and Joey welcomes long time guest Kayleigh of KMoy and first timer Javi of The Marijuana Brass for a long form interview. They cover a range of topics such as the state of New Tone, their individual journeys in a DIY scene and the culmination of hard work that led to SPI Fest 2024. It's a very diffe...

Things are about to get hyper as CP/SC tackles the high energy mania of Japanese Ska Punk! Rob and Engineer Joey do a pick it up about pinball before diving into the world of J-Ska from the mid-90's to the modern day. They go through its Third Wave influenced beginnings to its proliferation on MySpace to its penetration into the Japanese mainstream all while carving out its own unique sound and ni...

CP/SC concludes its thrilling Ska-ified Dungeons and Dragons real play with this the final episode! Large-oh Hotstepper, Xena Stefani and Whydthey Clocksard face their final challenges to save their idol from the clutches of a devious fiend. A Battle of the Bands! A Final Boss! Bathrooms! It's truly a finale to remember! Go back and listen to episode 0 and 1 to get all the background you need! CP/...

Do the Pod Kung Fu Checkerheads! Checkered Past is diving into dark ages Canadian Ska darlings, The Salads! Rob and Engineer Joey kick off with a quick talk on video games and U-hauls before digging deep on this fascinating success story of a musical group from their funk-metal-ska beginnings to their crunchy party records to their final, laid-back era. Put this pod in your ears if you're feeling...

The Ska'd-venture begins on another CPSC Dungeons and Dragons Realplay! Rob, Celine and Joey take their erstwhile band and characters to see their favourite musician perform when something unexpected thrusts them into adventure. There's flying imps, devils and maybe even a bong. How will Whydthey, Large-oh and Xena ever survive? Go back and listen to episode 0 to get all the background you need! C...

Anata mo watashi mo POCKY! Checkered Past is digging in on the international Dark Ages Ska hit, OreSkaBand! To help, they welcome their Skassociate Producer and label magnate, Chris Reeves of Ska Punk International! Chris talks a bit about sports before going through whats new with the label and what people can expect from SPI Fest 2. Then, Rob, Celine, Joey and Chris dig in on OreSkaBand from the...

CP/SC is selling out! Rob, Celine and Joey do a Dungeons and Dragons real play with friend and theme song creator, Keelan as Dungeon Master. In this, the session 0, the CP/SC crew craft their characters, delve into the world and do a first draft encounter in preparation for their first full adventure! It's  DnD with a Ska twist! Tune in April 30 and May 7 to hear Parts 1 and 2! CP/SC will be...

Hope you didn't skip leg day cause its about to get heavy! CP/SC heads to the clam pizza capital of the world to dig in on cult darlings, The Flaming Tsunamis. To help discuss, they welcome back third timer Chris Ruckus and to talk about his new anime/ska/metal group Mutiny. First they catch up with a discussion on The Jinx, the Station Fire and what Chris has been doing since his last appearance....

Gay Rude Boys Unite as CP/SC digs in on the impassioned micro-genre of Crack Rock Steady. Rob, Engineer Joey and Editor Arianne open up the episode with a quick check in before diving in to the scene thats all about ACAB, recreational drug use, mental health and communal living. They go through the genres history from its origins with Choking Victim/Leftover Crack to the various side projects born...

The Two Tone-ament concludes with the semi-finals and finals! The greatest Two Tone records single is crowned with Rob, Engineer Joey and first time guest Eevie Echoes! First, Eevie recounts her Checkered Past, the impetus of her new band The Locations and her history with Two Tone Ska. Then, the trio eliminate songs until they crown the ultimate victor! BONUS: The Checkered Rob Invitational plus...

The Two Tone-ament nears its inevitable conclusion with the penultimate episode! This week we invite Andy B of Andy B and the World (plus so many other UK Ska-Punk projects). Andy talks about his Checkered Past, skate punk and morning routines before digging into the next 4 matchups. The CP/SC crew advances the quarterfinals before capping off with a game of Skarmen Skandiego based on the book The...

The Two Tone-ament continues as the CPSC progresses the second round of the bracket to determine the greatest 2 Tone Single of all time! To help, they bring along fan favourite guest Esteban Flores of Matamoska, Catbite and Out of Control Army! Esteban catches the crew up on what he's been working on, new fatherhood and upcoming festivals before diving into the next 8 matchups, eliminating half th...

The Two Tone-ament continues with the second half of Part 1! In this episode the CP/SC crew eliminate another 8 songs from the bracket in an effort to crown the greatest Two Tone Single of all time! First they do more BookTalk before delving into the match-ups all while discussing whether or not the winning song need to be Ska at all! Tune in on all March long to see the tournament continue! Hosts...

Madness March is BACK and this time CP/SC is going to determine the greatest Two Tone Records single of all time! In Round 1 Part 1, Robby Radiation, Celynval Golding and Joey Dammers pit the first 16 singles in head to head battle to lead into Round 2. They also ask the immortal question... does it have to be Ska to win? Tune in all March long to see how the tournament progresses! The bracket is...

Why DON'T you play some Ska? Checkered Past presents their third ska primer, this time heading across the pond to explore Ska in the UK from 1998 to 2020. Rob and Engineer Joey chat a bit about movies and AI before delving into the UK's storied history with Ska after Two Tone from the street level Ska Punk of Citizen Fish and Capdown to the dub/reggae /hip hop vibes of King Prawn to the cheeky lad...

Melodica Gang rise up! Checkered Past's favorite guest, Common Sense Kid is back and this time he isn't on a bracket! So in order to celebrate this momentous occasion he sets his sights on one of the most influential Ska Punk bands of the UK, Capdown! There is lots of talk about beans, CSK's performance on the 2023 Best Ofs, and where he's at in his music journey. Then, the foursome dig in on the...

It's that time of year again... Madness March! Every year Checkered Past runs a bracket of 32 songs eliminating each until a winner is crowned. The pre-show is all about the side projects, solo projects and other hustles associated with the subject of the bracket. What is the theme for 2024? You will have to listen to this episode to find out! Hosts: Celine, Rob and Joey Engineer: Joey Editor: Joe...

It's the debut of a new Checkered Past spinoff podcast, PowerPod! Rob of the CP/SC crew welcomes Edmonton musician and singer-songwriter, Maz as his co-host to begin a multi-part history of an infamous musical genre: Power Metal! In the first episode, they go through the history of hard rock and heavy metal and how it eventually shaped into what we now know as Power Metal by the end of the 80s. Ke...

Don't worry about that metalhead in the parking lot, Checkered Past is talking about the legendary Chicago Ska Punk band Slapstick! But rather than just talk about the band themselves, Rob and Joey go through the infamous Slapstick Family Tree and discuss the many offshoots, derived bands and side projects that all splintered off. It's a fascinating slice of Chicago punk history! Hosts: Rob and Jo...

Remember as a child when certain TV shows would come on and you'd hear some upbeats and it wasn't until you were an adult that you realized that it was Ska? Checkered Past Remembers! Rob and Engineer Joey play a series of television clips in which Ska was mentioned, played or dunked on as a joke... mostly the latter! It's a discussion on Ska's place on popular culture as well as the moments when t...

It's that time of year again! Rob, Celine and Engineer Joey countdown the best episodes of 2023 as voted by the listeners! In the second installment they go through episodes 5 through 1 all while playing clips, reminiscing of the past year and giving the listeners a peak behind the curtain on how the podcast comes together.  Hosts: Celine, Rob and Joey Engineer: Joey Editor: Rob Skassoicate P...

It's that time of year again! Rob, Celine and Engineer Joey countdown the best episodes of 2023 as voted by the listeners! In the first installment they go through episodes 10 through 6 all while playing clips, reminiscing of the past year and giving the listeners a peak behind the curtain on how the podcast comes together. Tune in next week for episodes 5 through 1! Hosts: Celine, Rob and Joey En...