In Defense of Ska

In the ’90s, ska began to break into the mainstream. And yet, even during the great ska boom, only a handful of bands had an actual radio hit. One of the few acts to accomplish such a feat was  Save Ferris , scoring big with their cover of Dexys Midnight Runner's 1982 song “Come on Eileen." This week on  In Defense of Ska , Save Ferris vocalist Monique Powell discusses the group, the Orang...

One of the best ska bands of the past decade is The Steady 45's, a trad ska group based out of Los Angeles. They are one of the few bands that have been able to call both LA’s lively trad ska and vibrant Latino ska scenes home. So we brought on four members and friend of the band Jackie Mendez to talk about the band’s history and how they’re helping to break down barriers in the ska scene.  We...

One thing we love doing on this podcast is talking to former members of Asian Man Records and getting all the dirt on Mike Park . This is our third episode in the series. We’ve already spoken to Skylar Suorez and Lazlo Happenstance . Now we talk to Bob Vielma.  You probably know Bob from his fire rap verse on “SkrAm” from Jeff Rosenstock ’s Ska Dream. His rap alter ego is Boboso, and he’s got a fe...

Half Past Two have been around for almost two decades, and yet they still feel like a breath of fresh air in the ska scene. On this episode of  In Defense of Ska ,  lead vocalist Tara Hahn and guitarist Max Beckman discuss the band's history and their brand new album,  Talk iI Killing Me  (out April 19th). Listen now. Formed in August 2006, Half Past Two effectively came up during the "dar...

After forming in 1995, The Adjusters quickly made a name for themselves in the bustling Chicago scene for their blend of ska and soul, as well as their intensely political edge. Over time, the group has only gotten more and more active. Lead vocalist Daraka Larimore-Hall joins  In Defense of Ska  this week to dive into the band's history, their overtly socialist politics, and the direction ska...

On this week's episode of  In Defense of Ska , members of ska supergroup Mutiny -- Efrem Schulz, Chris Ruckus, and Mike Cambra -- discuss the project and its connection to their other bands. Listen  wherever you get your podcasts . Let's get one thing straight -- ska needs more supergroups. Aside from Rude Girl Revue and Kilograms, they're surprisingly hard to come by. Luckily, Mutiny...

It's no secret that ska music is alive and well, and not just in the United States. On this episode of in defense of ska, English ska-punks Call Me Malcolm join to chat about the current scene, the band's history, and their new album  Echoes and Ghosts . Listen above or  wherever you get your podcasts . Starting from the beginning, guitarist/vocalist Lucias Malcolm and saxophonist/vocalist...

On this week's episode of  In Defense of Ska ,  Illuminati Hotties  creative force Sarah Tudzin discusses how her ska roots continue to inform her current artistic output. Listen above or  wherever you get your podcasts . The artist grew up going to punk and ska shows in Southern California, and the influence of such experiences continues to have a major influence on her work. Look no further...

Michelle Ska has been to a lot of ska shows. Like A LOT! So many that she's kind of famous in ska circles for being a hardcore, supportive fan. She also went through one of the most harrowing natural disasters of recent time: The 2023 Lahaina Wildfire.  We brought her on to talk about ska and give us the full story of what it was like to survive the Lahaina Wildfire.  Please consider purchasin...

This week,  In Defense of Ska   heads outside of the United States to dive into the massive ska scene in Mexico. Joined by Jose “Deals” Olan, an experienced musician and promoter in Mexico, the crew explores the fans of the region, the massive festivals, and more. Listen above or  wherever you get your podcasts . Olan first cut his teeth by playing saxophone in several bands, and now fronts his ow...

This week on  In Defense of Ska ,  Jawbreaker  drummer Adam Pfahler discuss his long-time love of ska, the band existing as a touchstone for future emo bands, and battling notions of selling out when touring with Nirvana. Listen above or  wherever you get your podcasts . As far as bands go, Jawbreaker have quite the story. They've influenced a multiple generations of emo musicians, were called...

This week on  In Defense of Ska , author Daniel Rachel discuss his book,  Too Much Too Young -- The 2 Tone Records Story: Rude Boys, Racism and the Soundtrack of a Generation . Listen above or  wherever you get your podcasts . Rachel tells the story of how 2 tone spread all over the world. While many of the scene's bands were largely cult artists outside of England, they planted seeds for new,...

Few American bands have had such an influence on ska music like  Fishbone . This week,  In Defense of Ska   does their second episode on the group, this time featuring bassist Norwood Fisher. Listen to Fisher and the hosts talk about their upcoming tour with GZA, the band's career, and more in the episode below. You can also  follow the series wherever you get your podcast . Don't forget t...

On this special teaser of In Defense of Ska , season 1 guest Nick Lavallee returns to tell the story of getting Manchester — his hometown — recognized as the Chicken Tender Capital of the World. Listen to the teaser, and don't forget to like, review, and subscribe to In Defense of Ska wherever you get your podcasts. Learn about who invented the chicken tenders, how different they are from the...

Musician and composer Jeff Rosentsock and show-creator Ben Levin join In Defense of Ska to chat about the music behind Craig of the Creek. Both products of ska-punk love, the series' music skanks pretty hard, and that's no accident. The two also get into it about Rancid, ska-tastic collaborations, and dealing with stress. Listen to Ben Levin and Jeff Rosenstock chat about ska,  Craig of th...

This is the first episode of our 4th season, and it’s our first as part of the Consequence Podcast Network. So that means, we had to go big this week. We brought the one and only P-Nut on the show. That’s right, the bass player for 311. Today we talk about how 311’s journey overlapped with the rise of ska in the 90s, and how the group existed in a space adjacent to the music.  But it makes sense....

If you thought 2023 was an awesome year, get ready for 2024! In Defense of Ska is excited to announce that we have joined the Consequence Podcast Network . "Inspired by Carnes best-selling , soon-to-be-expanded book of the same name, In Defense of Ska joins the CPN in time for its fourth season. With new episodes arriving every Wednesday, the show delivers insightful conversations with ska leg...

Nathan Gray has played music with their band Boysetsfire for decades. But only once during the band’s run did they dabble in ska (“Deja Coup”). But that has completely changed now with Nathan’s new group, The Iron Roses, a joyful punk band with heavy doses of ska and reggae. The joy in the band is purposeful, a middle finger aimed at the rise in racism, homophobia, transphobia and fascism, making...

Does being a ska fan inherently make someone an antifascist? While this topic gets frequently debated among ska fans, it’s important to remember that antiracism and antifascism have long been an important part of the ska scene. The 2 Tone ska bands were explicit in their stance. They came up at a time when fascism was on the rise in England, and they dealt with nazi skinheads at their shows. And t...

Patreon Exclusive Bonus Episode! And it’s the episode of episodes. You won’t want to miss it!  2023 has been an awesome year. We've had Stewart Copeland , Fred Armisen , Bill Stevenson , Rhoda Dakar , Vic Ruggiero and a bunch of other amazing people. So, to talk about our year, we brought on the great Mike Park . Additionally, we asked our editor Chris Reeves to join the conversation as well....

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs is one of the biggest ska bands in the world. They formed in Argentina in 1985 and continue to be a major global force in ska and in pop music in general. But Los Fabulosos didn’t evolve out of thin air. This week, we get a crash course on ska’s history in Argentina. To walk us through this fascinating history, we chat with musician and ska historian Daniel Flores. He plays...

Comedian Anna Valenzuela has gone to Fest for the past 3 years. She feels right at home there because she grew up going to punk and ska shows, and when she started comedy in 2014, she often performed on the same bills as punk bands. She got involved in LA’s roast battle scene in 2015 and even participated in the Comedy Central show Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle the following year. This week, we...

People are still fascinated by the idea of Satanic ska. So much that metal magazine Loudwire wrote an article in 2021 called “Satanic Ska is a Real Thing that Actually Exists.” The article was about Mephiskapheles, a New York ska band that formed in 1990. For their debut album, God Bless Satan , they created a unique sound that blended traditional ska rhythms with jazzy and experimental songwritin...

Nerdcore hip-hop entered mainstream consciousness in 2016 when a contestant on Jeopardy mentioned being a fan of the genre. Then, host Alex Trebek made a joke about fans of the genre being losers. Mega Ran, one of the main figures nerdcore (Hip-hop that focuses on video games, comic books, anime and other “nerd” topics) posted a diss back at Trebek. It quickly turned into a full on diss track with...

Doughboys is an extremely popular podcast. On it, hosts Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell discuss chain restaurants, while also chopping it up with different weekly guests, many of who are comedians. Doughboys is kind of a food podcast and kind of a comedy podcast. And it’s a lot of fun to listen to. It’s perfect because who doesn’t have strong opinions about chain restaurants like Taco Bell, Cheesecak...