In Defense of Ska

No question about it,  The Beatles  forever changed the face of music -- but that's a discussion for another day. This week on the  In Defense of Ska , the crew instead wants to look at the iconic band's relationship with ska and Jamaican music. Listen to the hosts chat with Jorge Pezzimenti (of The Loving Paupers and formerly of The Pietasters) and Jay Nugent (of The Slackers) about The B...

Welcome to Season 5 of  In Defense of Ska ! After a quick break for the holidays, hosts Aaron Carnes and Adam Davis are back for even more ska-tastic interviews, conversations, and analysis. To kick off the new season, the crew invites music critic Rob Harvilla (of the  60 Songs That Explain the ’90s  podcast) to chat about '90s music, ska erasure, and the songs that defined the 2000s. Listen...

In Defense of Ska is taking a few weeks off for the holidays. But don’t worry, we're re-running our favorite episodes from Season 1 to hold everyone over. This week, we’re revisiting an early episode that many of our listeners missed with Alex Begay about the Tuba City venue The Crack Shack.  Back in the early 2000s, the Crack Shack was one of the wildest, coolest DIY venues. It was located in...

In Defense of Ska  is still on break for the holidays, but don’t worry, there will still be an episode every Wednesday! We’re re-running our favorite episodes from Season 1, and this week we’re revisiting our all-time favorite episode: Tim Cappello. "Who is Tim Cappello?," some of you may be asking. If you grew up in the ’80s, you probably saw him in the horror film The Lost Boys . He had...

2024 is just about finished, so In Defense of Ska hopped on the mic and looked back at a year's worth episodes. This year, we talked to two members of 311, 1 member of Operation Ivy, did a full breakdown of Skachella, and a whole lot more.  In order to properly discuss this year’s episodes of In Defense of Ska, we brought on THEE Mike Park and our editor, Chris Reeves. Mike is very opinionated...

As you know, In Defense of Ska  is taking a few weeks off for the holidays, but don’t worry, there will still be an episode every Wednesday! We’re re-running our favorite episodes from Season 1. This week, we’re re-running our first interview with Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump.  We first chatted with Stump back in 2021 and learned that he is a huge ska fan (and very knowledgeable about the g...

In Defense of Ska is taking a few weeks off for the holidays, but don’t worry, there still will be an episode every Wednesday! We’re re-running our favorite episodes from Season 1, and to start things off, we’re re-running our interview with Hepcat.  Hepcat was one of the first US ska bands to take heavy influence from ’60s trad-ska. For this episode, which dropped back in 2021, we brought on drum...

Power-pop/new wave group BLAMMOS may not seem like a band that would be associated with ska on the surface, but the members actually site the genre as an important aspect of their identity. This week on  In Defense of Ska ,  the podcast welcomes BLAMMOS' Arthur Leon Adams III and Jimmy Boom to talk about the band's newest album,  Sometimes I Wish You Were Dead , their history with ska musi...

Hey Ya'll, Aaron is midway through his book tour for the expanded 2nd edition of In Defense of Ska. As he prepares for the next leg, he wanted to share a recording of his recent Portland event, which was at Rose City Book Pub, hosted by the one and only Jeff Burk. If you’d like to listen to the entire episode, sign up to the IDOS Patreon .  If you want to catch Aaron on one of his upcoming dat...

The Slits ’ 1979 debut album  Cut  is considered to be one of the most important post-punk albums of all time thanks to its novel combination of reggae and punk. This week on  In Defense of Ska , the podcast welcomes  Siouxsie and the Banshees  drummer Budgie, who also worked on  Cut  with The Slits, to talk about revolutionary record and more. Budgie discusses the recording of  Cut , detailing th...

Since the dawn of time, many have pondered an important question: What is the most ska film? There are many contenders, but one that is certainly in contention is  Bandslam , a 2009 cult-comedy about a group of high school students who compete in a battle of the bands competition. This week on  In Defense of Ska ,   Bandslam  director Todd Graff and Charlie Saxton, who played Bug, talk about the m...

By the mid-2000s, the ska scene was unfortunately slowing down, making it a difficult time to start a new ska band. And yet, that certainly didn't stop Stuck Lucky from trying -- and succeeding! This week on  In Defense of Ska , the podcast welcomes Stuck Lucky members Will Carter, Lee Doss, and Jonzee to talk about the mid-2000s ska scene, their new album  Counting Curses , and more. They als...

Sure, the musicians themselves are important to a band, but when it comes to ska, a good hype man can make or break you. This week on  In Defense of Ska , the podcast welcomes Kill Lincoln's hype man Drew Skibitsky to talk about what it takes to excel in such a role, his work with his other band Urban Crater, and more. Listen now. Skibistky shares his thoughts on what it means to be a hype man...

While Dance Hall Crashers' founding members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman (both of Operation Ivy and Rancid) quickly left after the band's formation, the California ska act was still able to make a strong name for themselves thanks to their ear-grabbing debut album and their devoted cult following. This week on  In Defense of Ska , the podcast welcomes Dance Hall Crashers' co-lead voc...

This week on  In Defense of Ska , the podcast gives the floor to host Aaron Carnes to chat about the newly released second edition of his book,  In Defense of Ska: Ska Now More Than Ever Edition .  Alongside co-host Adam Davis (Omnigone) and special guest host Tara Hahn of Half Past Two, Carnes dives into his history of the genre and more. Listen now. IDOS  the book began in 2013, and Carnes goes...

Supernova was a lot of fun this year. It included a “Ska-ducation” author tent where many talented ska authors got to host interesting discussions at the festival. For mine, I brought on members of Five Iron Frenzy (Reese Roper, Andrew Verdecchio) and Catbite (Tim Hildebrand, Ben Parry). We talked about all-things ska. I read a snippet from my book, we discussed Five Iron Frenzy’s rocky relationsh...

Most fans might not consider  Fall Out Boy  particularly ska-ish, but there's actually a strong connection between the band and the genre. This week on  In Defense of Ska , the podcast welcomes back a fan-favorite guest, Fall Out Boy lead singer  Patrick Stump , to chat more about his appreciation for ska, his favorite bands in the scene, and more. Listen now. The FOB frontman also goes into d...

While the late 2000s wasn't exactly a booming time for the genre of ska, the 2009 ska-injected song "The Gigantic Robot Kills" was able to leave its mark. This week on  In Defense of Ska , the podcast welcomes nerdcore rapper  MC Lars  to talk about the story behind the song, his history with the genre, and more. "The Gigantic Robot Kills" was the product of numerous musical co...

Earlier this year, while FIDLAR were on stage opening for Oliver Tree in Philadelphia, lead singer/guitarist Zac Carper told the crowd, “I think we are becoming a Ska band.” It’s an ongoing joke, but one rooted in a dash of truth. This week, we bring Zac on the show to understand just how much ska shaped his musicality.  Zac comes from Hawaii, a state that loves ska and reggae. Zac tells us what i...

With their debut album having just dropped on September 20th, The Calamatix are hoping to make a name for themselves in the contemporary ska scene. This week on  In Defense of Ska , the podcast welcomes The Calamatix's lead singer, Raylin Joy, to talk about the band's new self-titled album, her many songwriting sessions with Tim Armstrong, and more. Listen now. Joy talks about her music hi...

In the current era of ska music, Kill Lincoln have established themselves as one of the leading figures. This week on  In Defense of Ska , the podcast welcomes Kill Linoln's trombonist Ume to talk about joining the group, the band's upcoming album  No Normal , and more. Listen now. Ume tells the story about how he discovered ska when he was in Japan and how he has felt connected to this ge...

Thanks in part to hit songs like "Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu" and "My Girl Lollipop," Bad Manners were one of the most notable groups to come from the '80s ska revival in Britain. This week on  In Defense of Ska , the podcast welcomes Bad Manners founding member and trumpet player Paul Hyman to talk about the history of the group, British ska music, and more. Listen now. An orig...

On this special bonus episode of In Defense of Ska, hosts Adam Davis and Aaron Carnes run a panel about the new documentary film This Is New Tone . Davis had hosted a showing of the movie, which chronicles the 2023 Catbite / We Are the Union / Kill Lincoln tour, and the convention that followed saw contributions from Eichlers (Hyperska superstar) and Jorge Lucero (All-star Bad Time Records record...

This week on  In Defense of Ska , Dunia Best returns alongside her brother Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks in the  Star Wars  prequel films (!!). Listen to their conversation and learn about the Ska Wars. Dunia had previously joined the podcast in 2022 to chat about her '90s ska band Agent 99, her time in The Slackers, and her current projects like Rude Girl Revue and Aram. This time, she...

One of the first ska bands to really pop off on the radio in the '90s was a humble little act called  Goldfinger . Bolstered by hits like "Here in Your Bedroom" and "Superman," the band became one of the best-known projects in the scene. This week on  In Defense of Ska , Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann joins the podcast to chat about the band's history, legacy, and more....