The Black Heart Procession were one of the coolest indie rock bands in the 2000s. Creative songwriting, downer vibes and a general steering away from pop sensibilities while still maintaining catchy melodies. But before the band started to blow up in the indie scene, their singer Pall Jenkins fronted the band Three Mile Pilot, a struggling San Diego indie band that released Another Desert, Another Sea (1997), one of the greatest albums of all time (in the opinion of Aaron and Adam). Though not ska, Pall agreed to join us on this ska podcast to discuss the album. In our conversation, we also found several connections to ska and reggae. Pall is a huge fan of dub and old Jamaican music and says that the swinging groove has always been an influence on his music. We even gives us a tour of his vinyl ska/reggae/rocksteady collection, which includes records by Prince Buster, Roots Radics, The Upsetters, Horace Andy, Tapper Zukie, Augustus Pablo and many others. We talk about San Diego skinheads, Pall's interest in punk rock and skateboarding in the 80s, San Diego ska bands (Donkey Show, Gangbusters, Buck O' Nine, Unsteady) and we talk extensively about knives. We also talk about the origin of Three Mile Pilot (They were almost called Taco Pilot). How they got signed to Geffen Records, and how frustrating the process of working with Geffen on Another Desert, Another Sea ended up being. (Geffen ended up giving the album back to the band, who released it on Cargo Records)We talk about their cover of Brian Eno's "By This River," what it was like for Pall to meet Lee "Scratch" Perry, and we dissect several songs off of Another Desert, Another Sea. Speaking of, be sure to pick up the 25th anniversary double vinyl re-issue of Another Desert, Another Sea, which was released earlier this year!Plus we talk about Pall singing on the reggae song "Reboot The Simulation" by Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra. 

Hans Gruber and the Die Hards came out of the pandemic swinging and ready to take over the ska scene. The band formed in 2014 in Austin, Texas, went through some lineup changes (A big lineup change a few years ago!) and then released their excellent record, With A Vengence, in May 2022 on SPI Records. They want to get the word out and have been touring as much as possible. The group mixes ska with furious hardcore, cumbia, silly singalongs, and whatever else they feel like throwing in the mix. And they bring a stage show filled to the brim with bizarre antics that involve sock puppets, conga lines, copious guest horns and exercise classes. Today we speak with three members of the group: Chris Thompson, Rosey Armstrong and Kurt Armstrong. We talk about Die Hard lore, and whether the film is in fact a remake of A Christmas Carol. We talk about their long tours and the methods they employ to save money (Forage for nuts in the forest, get free cheese from members of The Best of the Worst). We also talk about Kurt's blackeye and why the band members are the undisputed Gods of Dairy. We also talk about the squirrels in Adam's backyard and Christian rock groups like Lust Control, DC Talk, One Bad Pig and Rich Mullins. We talk about Hans' experience being on the Ska Parade tour a few years back. And they talk about The Slackers, Slackfest and missing veggie trays. Plus we talk about a very controversial topic: Kurt's underwear

Jon Wurster played drums in Superchunk from the early 90s, but left the band earlier this year. He currently plays drums in The Mountain Goats and with Bob Mould. He also famously played the character Ronald Thomas Clontle on The Best Show with Tom Scharpling and declared that Madness invented ska! And Jon certainly jokes around about ska a lot, but when he was a teenager, he really loved the 2 Tone ska bands like The Specials and English Beat. He was also a big fan of The Hooters during their early 80s ska phase. And more recently, Jon skanked and played tambourine on stage during the infamous Ska No Children incident. (Sad Snack opened for The Mountain Goats in San Francisco and played their ska cover of "No Children.") We bring Jon on today to talk about ska. He tells us that he used to practice drums to the Dance Craze soundtrack. We talk about his connection to the band Dead Milkmen. (Amongst other things, he booked their first show!) We discuss his nickname Johnny Earthshoe and we talk about two key shows he attended with The Police. (The Specials and Rhoda Dakar were at one of them) He also tells us about missing his high school prom for The Meatmen, Ska band The Pressure Boys' connection to Superchunk, and we try to figure out the name of the ska artist that was featured on a DVD he owns (It turns out it was King Django) 

IDOS PATREON EXCLUSIVE EPISODESupernova 2023 was an incredible experience! Amazing bands and just a lot of great people hanging out at the festival. It was the first time that we (both Aaron and Adam) got to experience this awesome festival. But also, we were heavily involved with the festival.

For September's bonus episode, we discuss our Supernova experience with an after-the-fact conversation and a few field recordings from Supernova.Sign up to the In Defense of Ska Patreon to listen to this EXCLUSIVE episode! 

In 2011, long time Southern California ska trumpet player Eitan Avineri had an idea. He wanted to blend traditional Jamaican ska with big band jazz. He assembled a crew of all the best players in LA's traditional ska scene, as well as some of his jazz friends, and re-arranged his favorite Skatalites tunes in a big band style. He called the project Western Standard Time Orchestra. And their first album was called Big Band Tribute To The Skatalites (Vol 1)

Though Eitan would later discover that he wasn't the first person to form a ska orchestra, Western Standard Time Orchestra would be a particularly vibrant band, steeped in ska and jazz in equal measures. Now over a decade into the band's existence, they have a brand new Christmas record that releases on November 3rd. To talk about it, we bring on Eitan and Aggrolites' vocalist Jesse Wagner, who sings lead vocals on the record. We discuss, at length, LA's trad ska scene and its various players that helped give birth to this cool project. And we talk about how WST tour, record and function as a massive 15-30 piece band. We also talk about the various LA trad ska bands that built the foundation the group grew from: Jump With Joey, Mobtown, Yeska, Hepcat, The Allentons, Kingston 10, See Spot, Ocean 11, Rhythm Function and others. We also talk about the role of Steady Beat Records and Chris Murray's Bluebeat Lounge. Also, skinhead fights, Christmas music, how Jesse can croon so well without making it sound cheesy, and we learn that Gogol Bordello has been using LA trad ska drummers in the group for the past decade! Plus we discover that Jesse Wagner used to be a child/teenage actor! 

Bill Stevenson is a punk rock legend. He's the drummer/only consistent member of The Descendants. He played in Black Flag, All and he owns/operates punk-friendly recording studio The Blasting Room. And while most bands that roll through The Blasting Room are punk, Bill has worked with several ska bands, including Mustard Plug, Kemuri, Suicide Machines, Less Than Jake and Big D and the Kids Table. Today we dig into Bill's connection to ska! But we talk about so much more, including recording techniques, pre-show stretching techniques, nightmare tour stories, major label stories, Conan O'Brien stories, Joey Ramone stories, and he tells us about his special drink. Also, I mention an obscure Fort Collins group called The Bob Hollister Band to see if Bill has ever heard of them. Plus he gives us an update on how Milo's been doing since the heart attack. And he answers drum question by Omnigone drummer Justin Amans. 

The Loving Paupers have a brand new album out. Ladders! Who are the Loving Paupers you ask, they are an amazing band that plays "Melancholy Roller Skating Rink Reggae," according to Jump Up Records's Chuck Wren. And you know what, he's exactly right. So today, we have on their guitarist/songwriter Jorge Pezzimenti. But we have so much more to talk about than just Loving Paupers' new Victor Rice produced album. We dive deep into Jorge's ska past with 90s ska-punk band The Decepticonz (as previously discussed on the Patrick Stump and Jamie Woolford episodes), as well as his time in DC's one and only Pietasters. We even touch on his 80s cover band The Legwarmers and some of his side projects, like the infamous Jorge and the Landladies record Monobound. We also talk about the influential role that MU330 had on The Decepticonz, Too Hep Records (This Aren't Two Tone, Metalliska), and we learn which song The Legwarmers were playing when the police shut down their show at the Kansas House in 2001 (Hint: it was "Eye of the Tiger") We also talk about the time Jorge was arrested just before a Pietasters gig, how the Pietasters once backed soul icon James Brown, and he tells us some important Jamaican records like Desmond Dekker's Music Like Dirt and The Heptones Night Food. Catbite gives The Loving Paupers a shoutout in Bearded Gentlemen, we learn how Tango music informed Jorge's song "Let's Not Rewind These," and find out whether the Decepticonz had an oboe player in the band. Plus we devote a little time to 2000s-era hipster bands with weird stylized names. All caps, no caps, weird letter in the center capped for unknown reasons. It's all there! 

This week, we connect GWAR to ska. And this is a fun connection because GWAR's founding guitarist Steve Douglas is the current guitarist for the Australian ska band The Resignators. Yes, that's right. Steve is a ska musician with a GWAR past. Steve gives us many hilarious and jaw-dropping GWAR stories, including the early days in Death Piggy (the band that preceded GWAR), incidents with cat shit-filled pinatas, real cow's blood on stage, and how local Richmond, Virginia artist Hunter Jackson and his film Scumdogs of the Universe helped to shape the band's aesthetic. He also talks about playing with the Butthole Surfers, Scream (Dave Grohl's old band), and Operation Ivy. But we also talk about ska. Steve not only talks about his band The Resignators, but some of the other important Australian ska bands of the past two decades, like Melbourne Ska Orchestra, The Bennies and The Porkers. As well as the annual festival Ska Nation. Plus we of course discuss former IDOS guest and Australian comedian Aaron Gocs, who hung out with Catbite on their recent trip to Australia. Steve also tells us about the punk and ska scene in Richmond, Virginia back in the 80s and 90s, including bands like Burma Jam, The Good Guys, Avail and Lamb of God. We also talk about The Caribs and the theory that they--an Australian ska band--helped create the ska groove back in the day.Plus we discuss Mustard Plug (who barely left Australia before Covid) and UK ska band Death of Guitar Pop who The Resignators recently toured with over in Australia. And we talk about Supernova International Ska festival...a lot! 

Does rapper/podcaster Open Mike Eagle like ska? Well, when I brought up Fishbone, he immediately said that he loved the song "Unyielding Conditioning." Great! Now that that's out of the way, this week, we talk about a whole lot of other topics with the great OME including AJJ, They Might Be Giants, MF Doom, Adventure Time, and he has a fantastic Angelo Moore story!  With AJJ specifically, we discuss what it's like to tour with the group, how he exercises on the road, and Adam even forces him to choose between Sean and Ben! We also go deep into OME's all-time favorite band They Might Be Giants, and discuss every moment he's referenced their music in his own songs. And he tells us about what it was like to be a judge on the "I Left My Body" video contest. Plus, we determine whether "Boss Of Me" is a ska song or NOT! We cover a range of other topics, including his long friendship with Hannibal Buress (And how Hannibal once beat him at a rap battle contest), The Pixies, famous people he's mentioned in his songs (Peter Dinklage, Marc Maron, Joe Rogan, Jon Lovitz) and whether they're aware that they were mentioned. And Tim Robinson's show I Think You Should Leave gets brought up--of course. Adam even makes OME choose a favorite sketch!Plus we finally decide once and for all if punching nazis is a good or bad thing (hint: It's good) 

We continue on with our new PATREON-EXCLUSIVE series: I Worked At Asian Man Records. Another brave soul, Lazlo Happenstance, confesses to us Behind The Curtain what it was like to work for the one and only Mike Park. And this episode gets JUICY! Make sure you're properly hydrated before you click play on THIS episode!Go to www.Patreon.com/indefenseofska to listen to the entire episode NOW!