In Defense of Ska

On this episode of In Defense of Ska, Ceci Bastida chats about Tijuana No, the world of international ska in the '90s, and her new solo record Everything Taken Away.

Bastida takes listeners through the history of Tijuana No, one of the most important bands to come out of the Mexican ska movement. The vocalist and keyboardist runs through the act's early days, their attempts to break into the American market, and how one of h...

Here's a question for all the rude boys out there: What's a non-ska band that had an incredible influence over an entire generation of ska artists? The answer is simple -- Mr. Bungle. On this episode of In Defense of Ska, the hosts chat with Mr. Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn about the band's origins, their relation to ska music, and more. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Dunn dives into the intersection between Mr. Bu...

One of our favorite guests, Victor Rice, is back! He listened to our discussion with Daraka Larimore-Hall about whether third-wave ska deserves the backlash it got, and it got Victor thinking. He wanted to share his thoughts with us. So we went behind the curtain, so he could get comfortable and speak his mind. 

Is Ska a four-letter word? 

This is the conversation you've waited for. Sign up to the In Defense of Ska Patreon to lis...

In 1976, a couple friends got together and started a band. They called themselves the North London Invaders, but after quickly rethinking the branding, changed their name to Madness, a reference to a Prince Buster song. Sixteen top-ten hits later, and the band is one of the most successful acts to come out of the two-tone era. This week on In Defense of Ska, Madness' Suggs explores the band's journey, revisits stories from ...

This year’s Coachella belongs to ska. Or at least it’s the ska performances that are making all the headlines. And it makes sense. Sublime is back together. Jakob Nowell is fronting the band in place of his dad, Bradley Nowell. No Doubt played their first show in 9 years—and it leaned heavily into ska. Aquabats played a nearly 70% ska set. Even Vampire Weekend’s drummer was spotted sporting a Skankin’ Pickle shirt. Plus they played...

What drives a musician to play music overtly rooted in traditional ska and rocksteady? And how do they honor the roots while simultaneously giving it a contemporary flavor? This is the subject this week for our conversation with Jeremy Peña of the band The Bandulus. Their new record Tell It Like It Is dropped on March 8, 2024. It is both lush and raw; rickety and tight. Jeremy walks us through the recording of the album, the though...

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 Orange County scene, having a popular video ...

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 talk about the members’ history in ...

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 ...

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 "dark ages" of ska. And yet, they per...

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 took in the '90s. Listen whereve...

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 is here to remidy that! The group featur...

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 Mark Farthing chat about the origins of...

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 than her recent collaboration with JER, as...

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 purchasing the Black Sand Relief album to supp...

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 own group, Out of Control Army. Right aroun...

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 sellouts for signing to a major label, an...

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, important ska scenes around the world. In...

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 to check out all the Consequence Podcast Ne...