I worked at a club in college in the mid90s where Skankin Pickle came to play an amazing show. While helping set up, I told Mike Park how much I loved his band and ska-punk in general, so he gave me a cassette tape demo of a band he was getting ready to release on his Dill Records label (pre-AsianMan Records) called Less Than Jake. I was blown away, and LTJ has been one of my favorites for nearly 30 years! It was so cool to bring my teenage girls to see Less Than Jake just a few weeks ago, and they were still great.
I loved Skankin Pickle sooooo much as a kid. I finally got to see them on my 18th birthday in 1996 at a legendary venue in Vancouver called “The Town Pump” that’s (unfortunately) long gone. We got backstage and Lynette (RIP) smoked a joint with me and my friends in the Pickle Van. We were so stoked we thought they were better than the Beatles. The whole band was soooo nice to us and I’ll never ever ever forget that night. I still play Mike Park and SP to this very day.
Fishbone deserves all the praise you gave them, I was so late on them and feel ashamed to admit it! Five Iron Frenzy is my all-time favorite, so glad they are still making music! One last shout out, I think MU330 is super underrated! I know you can't mention everyone, but Crab Rangoon might be the most slept on ska/punk album ever. Great video!!!!
I saw No Doubt open for Sublime at the Huntridge Theatre in Las Vegas on May 7th, 1995. I have the ticket stub framed in my front room. After the show, I drove 120 miles north back to St. George, Utah, and went to school in my new Sublime t-shirt the next morning, haha. Growing up near Vegas was incredible. So much of the Southern California scene bubbled up through the Mojave to us.
I feel like Authority Zero's A Passage, was right on the ragged edge of breaking out. This vidja brought back so many great memories, so many great bands.
My ska band in high school had the chance to play with Link 80 when they were on one of their early tours before Nick died (RIP). It was at the Living Room in Goleta, CA, and I also saw tons of other bands mentioned in this video there. It was run by teens with adult supervision, and shows were usually $5 or less. It was such a special place for teens and kids in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. I was a little young for peak Nardcore, but there was still a bit of bleeding between the scenes in that area in the mid-90s.
There's a couple of LA Skacore bands not mentioned aside from 8K & La Recistencia that are really good like La Pobreska, Chencha Berrinches, South Central Skankers + many more!
I can't let it go, The Impression I Get was released in 1997 ;-) I love you mentioned King Prawn. Great band, always amazing live and the guys were always awesome to everyone they met.
Hey dude! Absolutely love to see you do a ska video, thanks!!! I know I may be in the minority here but I'd love to see a video about Bomb the Music Industry :)
Man.. i've been binging your videos, they're fantastic! I'm so thankful I found your channel! The Rx Bandits might be one of the most influential bands on me as a musician, along with strung out... while a lot of ska musicians were incredible musicians, something about rx's sound stood out to me over anyone else. Their album progress was one of the most important albums to me as a song writer. The influence from the police is very much on their sleeve.. but they really made a shift in their sound away from a 3rd wave sound to something completely they're own. Id love to hear your take on bad religion's prog rock album into the unknown.. kind of a weird step from such an influential band that you don't ever really hear about and can't find much information on. PHENOMENAL channel brotha, i'm loving everything i've watched and can't WAIT to watch more when i've got the time.
Good watch dude! You gained a like and a sub! I was one of those kids who got into Ska during it's heyday and never really left it behind. And as a fellow LTJ enthusiast I would love too see your breakdown on the band.
The timing is perfect, i just strained my foot Saturday evening during a Skapunk concert (on a anual nearly 50 years old free festival), saw a band called Ratanplan, after around 10 years of avoiding that subgenre unintentionally, what a fun gig. That festival wasn´t easy on my body, 3 brutal shows back to back, A Metalpunk/Hardcore band, the skapunk Band, and a more traditional (Deutsch-)punkband. For a Festival (Festivalkult) that is so diverse (from HipHop/Rap, all and i mean all Rockgenres, folk, and a Goatrancefloor) that was a pretty punk heavy lineup.
Congratulations for the video! the way you pronunciation the names in Spanish is good, I liked that you mentioned bands outside Anglo speakers countries. I love your channel!
Actually the Clash we’re doing the reggae thing long before London Calling. Check out White Man in Hammersmith Palais and the cover of Junior Murvin’s Police and Thieves two of the best songs on The Clash’s debut album. Also the Ruts were around at the same time and were friends of the reggae band Misty in Roots. Some great reggae like songs from them -Jah War, Love in vain and West One. The Ruts were loved by those from the DC scene like Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins and the Bad Brains. D.O.A. (Vancouver) and The Offs (San Francisco) were also messing around with it.
In the UK white man isn't on the 1st album. As I recall the US edition has some diff track ordering & added tracks off singles. As for The Ruts .....LOVE THEM!! only wish I was old enuff to have seen them with Malcolm. Saw their 1st RUTS DC reunion show after 20odd years & ppl were actually crying & physically shaking with adrenalin as they were so good!!
@@alkirton4832 That’s true and I do have both US and UK versions of that Lp. Off my head I was trying to remember whether or not White Man was on the UK so I kind of glossed through that. Here in the US most that have it of course have the US version.
There was a surprisingly strong and varied array of Christian Ska-Punk bands in the mid 90's to early 2000's that didn't get any mentions here- OC Supertones, Five Iron Frenzy, The Insyderz, etc. They received recognition outside of their target Christian audience and were pretty popular in the scene as a whole (though they could certainly be deemed "cheesy" when compared to their non-religious peers).
I think those bands especially Five Iron and The Insyderz are pretty respected still. I still listen to all three to this day. I'm glad Five Iron is still making music!
While not totally a ska band, NY hardcore outfit MURPHY'S LAW had their hand in quite a bit of that delicious ska sound. Fantastic band to those who never heard them. I've often felt Murphy's Law never got the full credit and love they most whole heartily deserved. They were also phenomenal live.
As a young man growing up in the ninties, and actually living through the rise and fall of 3rd Wave Ska, I really enjoyed the video. My first exposure to Ska was my friends older brothers' Toasters CDs. Even though I liked it, I was still into the more MTV style music at the time, circa 1994. It wasn't until one night I was watching Headbanger's Ball on MTV, that my Ska journey started. I saw a video for Saba, or Bumblebee Tuna by Methaskapheles (I dont' recall which one). After that I really fell in love with Ska for the next few years till around 1998 or so. Around this time I started to notice that a lot of the Ska music coming out sounded the samey, so I started drifting towards more punk and hardcore, eventually settling on metal at the turn of the century. While I listen to less ska, I agree that Less than Jake is one of best bands to come out of that scene, their lyrics really have spoken to me over the years. All that being said, you called out a few of the bands, but didn't even mention Moon Ska Records. That seems like a huge omission, especially coming from the East Coast. While Asian Man records was also huge, I think they had more of a West Coast feel.
My older brother took me along to my first gig which was Reel Big Fish in Sheffield when i was a kid. It was amazing. Support bands were immense, Lightyear, Shootin' Goon, and Lubby Nugget all incredible UK ska bands. Subtle Crucial by Lubby Nugget is quality
amazing video!! skacore is totally my scene, and was completely dumbfounded on all the latinx bands i've never heard of!! honorable mention - ska-emo band "the impossibles"
LA’s ska core scene is so awesome. They’re really accepting about playing with other non ska core bands. UNITY 🏁 Check out La Pobreska, Matamoska, Major League Skankers and The Scuba Kids!
an amazing skacore band that got missed was a chicago 10 piece called Hot Stove Jimmy ('94-2000)... their first album , salute , was straight forward 3rd wave ska, but their second album Theme for a major hit is so dense and action packed with amazing breakbeat and harmonies you can only liken it to mr bungle having an illigitimate love child with citizen fish.. the steve albini produced album is a sleeper like no other i've found in the genre.. They later on made the band Cougars. Also an Australian Aquabat style meets but harder band called the Porkers... Hot Dog Daiquiri is a hidden gem
One band I like that came out less than 10 years ago... And now just release some new material. It would be Night Gaunts. It's a little bit of like cabaret mixed with two tone mixed with ska and punk. But one of the songs I love is tripping in the basement or $8.. the whole album Conversations With Creation is a great upbeat album to put you in a good mood
this is one of the very rare areas of music where French bands were ahead of the curve. The "rock alternatif" explosion of the 80's around Paris had plenty bands mixing ska and punk. If you're curious, check out La Mano Negra, Nuclear Device, Ludwig von 88, Dirty District, La Souris déglinguée etc etc....
@@thepunkhistorian6397 I suggest starting with La Mano Negra: they were the first to get big and sign with a major label, then get a big international following (mostly in latin countries), and finally Manu Chao the lead singer got super famous with his solo career....plus well, they rocked!
I think my favorite Ska band would definitely be Panteón Rococó, that mixture of punk, ska and Latin rhythms simply gives it an unique flavor. In addition, in recent years, Hey-Smith has easily become my favorite Japanese band in general. From Mexican ska I also recommend Inspector, although is more oriented to British 2-tone than 3rd wave. And Genitallica, which mixes elements of hard/funk rock and metal
thanks dude! also there is a band named codeame colin and a band from my city named antiestatika, yeah! less than jake, reel bg fish, mu330, the hippos, spring heeled jack are my fave!!!
A couple honorable mentions for non english bands, spanish : nana pancha ; japanese : u cant say no! (also just to throw in here, check out Autonomads!!!!!!!)
Love the Noogy shirt! They're from my area and I know a few current and former members. Dallas Punx! Also, a badass Latin ska band from Texas worth checking out is Los Skarnales. They've got quite a few videos on TH-cam.
Great video. I was in high school in the mid 90’s and a lot of these 3rd wave and ska punk bands were my introduction to the entire punk scene. It was also a great way to introduce people who may never have gone to a punk show to a scene that was fun and not into gatekeeping.
LTJ and the Bosstones are two of my all time favorites and would love a video on either of them. Around the time The Impression I get came out a good friend of mine was a pop radio station DJ and that was the only song he could sneak into regular rotation for me so I really have a soft spot for that song as well as the band in general. Great over all history of the ska punk scene.
@@thepunkhistorian6397 It's not really considered a slur, it's just not something most of us use to refer to ourselves (more of an American thing). It's harmless though, don't worry about it.
Legit question, what type of Saxophones, Trumpets and/or Trombones do these Ska Punk band uses? As I see that there are different type such as Alto, Tenor and Soprano
A pair of the, more recent, bands which I think show a lot of merit: Public Serpents (Don't let the severed connection to Stza scare you off. These guys have a lot of talent.) and The Skints. Give 'em both a quick listen to... if you haven't yet. ♪
Agreed that Public Serpents are one of the best “newer”ska core bands…period. Saw them with Days n Daze in Stroudsburg, PA right before COVID. Such a charismatic n talented group! Then again in 2021 in Easton, PA…so worth it! Please revisit them!
Smashmouth's first album is pure gold! I remember when they released their followup album (All-star?) and thought 'wtf!'. It still makes me so sad to this day they didn't continue that sound! Oh and The Aquabats, their first two lps are ska gold, again I thought 'wtf' for their following releases. As for other top bands check out Five Iron Frenzy. You mentioned Light Year, incredible fast ska punk from Derby, my wee band supported them in a tiny pub in Scotland and we were blown away by their energy.
@@thepunkhistorian6397 that would be awesome! They're my favorite band and the projects as BOTAR and TOH KAY give completely different vibes to the same songs. Love your stuff man
Great video. Ska punk is one my favorite sub genres. I would add a couple of things. Taang started in Boston in 83and moved to San Diego in 95 No Doubt’s second record is ska punk masterpiece.
For someone that is more knowledgeable about Punk than Ska, your research is quite good overall. A couple things I would modify are that ska, rocksteady and early (skinhead) reggae all predated reggae. All of these genres were very popular in England in the late 60s- early 70s which influenced 2nd wave ska bands. The 2nd wave bands had some punk interwoven in their sound, so you could say this was the seed of ska-punk. The Clash would have been aware of the Pre-reggae genres as well as 2nd wave ska (they famously toured with The Specials). Thus, I'd say the Clash was influenced by these genres in terms of bringing reggae into their sound more so than the Clash influencing 3rd wave Ska. Anyways, great job overall.
To be fair mate. In the early days of Punk. At the early UK shows there wasn't really Punk vinyl for the DJ's to play so between Punk bands you'd have a manic DJ mix of 1st wave Ska, Reggae and Jamaican Dancehall. That's what was so amazing. It would bring in the Punks, The Rudeboys, The SHARP skins and so many other youth cultures and created a glorious movement in mid-late 70's UK music.
@@nothingmuch8865 The DJ's made Punk as they exposed the kids to things like that and also experimental Electro like The Normal who were great for "coming down" off Amphetamines and Beer. :)
Owww, so cute! As I expected, not a single mention of the first ska punk band ever, Kortatu from Basque Country, major influence on spanish and latin ska punk bands in the video, probably too obscure for "punk historian" from the States. And just for the record, Taang was still in Auburndale, Massachusetts when they released "Devil's Night Out", they moved to California in 1992 or smth.
I loved this video! Thanks for not being a close minded edgy fuck boy. I was a hype guy in a ska band in the early 00's and it sucked at times. I'd love to see a video on ska core and one on Bad Time Records. They're the new Asian Man as far as ska is concerned
always enjoy the history of different punk genres! ALSO, i saw this sick band during the bridge city fest, and i swear the lead singer was you. fucking loved their set. so much! is that you? lol
@@thepunkhistorian6397 yea dood! zest! i was like, "this dudes sounds like the punk historian". lol that's rad that it's you. sick band, and you can fucking shred on that guitar!
Also gotta bring up and give props to The Impossibles. They had a unique sound and great melodic sensibilities and stretched between ska, pop punk, hardcore, and emo. Their farewell concert (Never) Say Goodbye is up on youtube and is a pretty good selection of songs from their short existence.
That was who I couldn't remember! But yes! I loved these kinds of bands.... The Hippos, last few Mu330 albums. And the pinnacle of EMOSKA! The Telegraph orignally known as the Scholors. I dug that powerpop band The Stereo that came out of The Impossibles and Animal Chin.
Something I feel gets left out of these conversations is the importance of the alternative Christian punk sense. Especially at the time ska was bowing up. I understand why because I lost my faith when I was 18 (I'm 36 now) and haven't found a reason to go back sense. Plus, most of that music sucks in retrospect. But if it wasn't for a handful of bands in that scene, I never would have fallen in love with punk, hard-core, or ska the way that I did. On the Ska side, I still keep up with Five Iron Frenzy, and I personally would put their albums, "Our Newest Album Ever" and "Quantity Is Job One" against anything else from that time. I'm sure I'm not the only person who came to punk and/or Ska this way.
Is it though? I feel like Christian alternative music is more a byproduct of an alt genre getting more attention than a core attribute to its foundation. In the 90s & early 00s it was Christian pop punk and ska then in the 2010s it was Christian metalcore, but most of these bands (especially the more religious ones) ended up virtually disappearing as the Christian music scene moved onto the next trend in secular music. The Christian alt acts that have stuck around however seem to do so because they were really solid bands in general that caught on in the secular music, and more often then not you’ll see them walk away from religion as they get older too. I understand that Christian Alt music has historically brought kids in religious households into the scene, and the thing is it will always exist in some form or another. Just as a Christian alternative the “alt music of choice” that is the most popular in a certain generation or decade
@thepunkhistorian6397 Agreed, it's more of a response to a trend in music than a trend setter itself. I guess there's still some nosalgia attached to some bands. Love what you do. Thanks for responding to my comment.
@@lazerpunch8448 that’s actually a great example of a band that didn’t have particularly religious lyrics and stayed somewhat relevant in the secular music world. MxPx, Underoath, and Slick Shoes also fit this descriptor too. But like I said, when those bands last the test of time they stop being seen as “Christian” after a while and just fall in line with the rest of their genre, and their audience becomes drastically more secular. Slick shoes actually happens to be a favorite band of mine, but I’ve never seen them as a “Christian” band because when I was growing up the Christian alternative scene had moved onto metalcore and post hardcore. At the same time though, if I were around 10-15 years older I probably wouldn’t have given them a chance as they would still be considered a “Christian band” and wouldn’t have been indoctrinated into punk yet despite being an above average band.
@thepunkhistorian6397 Slick Shose is a great band! I grew up in Alabama, and for a while, we didn't have much of a scene that I can remember. I remember seeing bands like P.O.D. and Blindside at places like The Mash where you could bring can food as admission to the show because they were also a charity. Things didn't really kick off in my mind until Slackers 66, an old skate shop in Homewood, started putting on shows. Bands like Blaster The Rocket Boy/Man and The Smiley Kids. There Alot of good shows and memories from that time.
Great summary. A band like "Jaya the Cat" would have blend well in. Sadly it didn't. Also a band like "The Cat Empire" would fit in nicely, although not really being a ska-band.
2 Tone Ska was wayyyyy more influenced by Ska bands off the Trojan Records label ie Desmond Dekker, Ken Boothe, Toots and the Maytals, Bob and Marcia etc than it ever was by roots reggae/rocksteady. Rudies and skinheads gave birth to Ska as we know it
I worked at a club in college in the mid90s where Skankin Pickle came to play an amazing show. While helping set up, I told Mike Park how much I loved his band and ska-punk in general, so he gave me a cassette tape demo of a band he was getting ready to release on his Dill Records label (pre-AsianMan Records) called Less Than Jake. I was blown away, and LTJ has been one of my favorites for nearly 30 years! It was so cool to bring my teenage girls to see Less Than Jake just a few weeks ago, and they were still great.
I loved Skankin Pickle sooooo much as a kid. I finally got to see them on my 18th birthday in 1996 at a legendary venue in Vancouver called “The Town Pump” that’s (unfortunately) long gone. We got backstage and Lynette (RIP) smoked a joint with me and my friends in the Pickle Van. We were so stoked we thought they were better than the Beatles.
The whole band was soooo nice to us and I’ll never ever ever forget that night. I still play Mike Park and SP to this very day.
Do you still have the tape? That's a rad piece of memorabilia!
Skankin' fuckin' Pickle.... holy shit. I haven't heard that name in years. '' I missed the bus. I missed the bus again''... 😂
Ever hear of Thumper?
You're starting to have a ''BBC documentery'' type of delivery when narrating. It's definetly cool
Without the Tory propoganda I agree.
Dude you killed it! I grew up in the third wave early 90s on and you hit it perfectly!
Did he say bosstones? When they were good.
bro you are absolutely killing it, I'm SO glad you did a ska video. Your videos are great, your stuff is like Cocaine and Rhinestones for punk music.
Fishbone deserves all the praise you gave them, I was so late on them and feel ashamed to admit it! Five Iron Frenzy is my all-time favorite, so glad they are still making music! One last shout out, I think MU330 is super underrated! I know you can't mention everyone, but Crab Rangoon might be the most slept on ska/punk album ever. Great video!!!!
I saw No Doubt open for Sublime at the Huntridge Theatre in Las Vegas on May 7th, 1995. I have the ticket stub framed in my front room.
After the show, I drove 120 miles north back to St. George, Utah, and went to school in my new Sublime t-shirt the next morning, haha. Growing up near Vegas was incredible. So much of the Southern California scene bubbled up through the Mojave to us.
I feel like Authority Zero's A Passage, was right on the ragged edge of breaking out. This vidja brought back so many great memories, so many great bands.
I might of missed it but Slackers and Hepcat we're pretty big and their albums really stood the test of time.
Solid research, informative video and a playlist - Oi!
Dude someone finally gave Matt Freeman his props!! Thanks
Also thanks for mentioning DRI
My ska band in high school had the chance to play with Link 80 when they were on one of their early tours before Nick died (RIP). It was at the Living Room in Goleta, CA, and I also saw tons of other bands mentioned in this video there. It was run by teens with adult supervision, and shows were usually $5 or less. It was such a special place for teens and kids in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. I was a little young for peak Nardcore, but there was still a bit of bleeding between the scenes in that area in the mid-90s.
There's a couple of LA Skacore bands not mentioned aside from 8K & La Recistencia that are really good like La Pobreska, Chencha Berrinches, South Central Skankers + many more!
Yeah, Rascahuele
And Matamoska
One of my favourite ska-core bands has to be Adequate Seven. They were absolutely class. Blew my mind when I saw them in my mid-teens.
I can't let it go, The Impression I Get was released in 1997 ;-) I love you mentioned King Prawn. Great band, always amazing live and the guys were always awesome to everyone they met.
Great video! Less Than Jake is definitely one of my favorite bands as well, and I would love to see you make a video on them at some point. :D
Hey dude! Absolutely love to see you do a ska video, thanks!!! I know I may be in the minority here but I'd love to see a video about Bomb the Music Industry :)
I "accidentally" saw the blue meanies with one of my buddies at the somber reptile, totally blew out minds.
Man.. i've been binging your videos, they're fantastic! I'm so thankful I found your channel!
The Rx Bandits might be one of the most influential bands on me as a musician, along with strung out... while a lot of ska musicians were incredible musicians, something about rx's sound stood out to me over anyone else. Their album progress was one of the most important albums to me as a song writer. The influence from the police is very much on their sleeve.. but they really made a shift in their sound away from a 3rd wave sound to something completely they're own.
Id love to hear your take on bad religion's prog rock album into the unknown.. kind of a weird step from such an influential band that you don't ever really hear about and can't find much information on.
PHENOMENAL channel brotha, i'm loving everything i've watched and can't WAIT to watch more when i've got the time.
Good watch dude! You gained a like and a sub! I was one of those kids who got into Ska during it's heyday and never really left it behind. And as a fellow LTJ enthusiast I would love too see your breakdown on the band.
The timing is perfect, i just strained my foot Saturday evening during a Skapunk concert (on a anual nearly 50 years old free festival), saw a band called Ratanplan, after around 10 years of avoiding that subgenre unintentionally, what a fun gig. That festival wasn´t easy on my body, 3 brutal shows back to back, A Metalpunk/Hardcore band, the skapunk Band, and a more traditional (Deutsch-)punkband. For a Festival (Festivalkult) that is so diverse (from HipHop/Rap, all and i mean all Rockgenres, folk, and a Goatrancefloor) that was a pretty punk heavy lineup.
A Less than Jake video would be awesome dude - your recent vid on Rancid was 10/10
I’d love one in AFI too!
Congratulations for the video! the way you pronunciation the names in Spanish is good, I liked that you mentioned bands outside Anglo speakers countries.
I love your channel!
This was super good. Really informative and entertaining at the same time. I like the longer format
Actually the Clash we’re doing the reggae thing long before London Calling. Check out White Man in Hammersmith Palais and the cover of Junior Murvin’s Police and Thieves two of the best songs on The Clash’s debut album. Also the Ruts were around at the same time and were friends of the reggae band Misty in Roots. Some great reggae like songs from them -Jah War, Love in vain and West One. The Ruts were loved by those from the DC scene like Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins and the Bad Brains. D.O.A. (Vancouver) and The Offs (San Francisco) were also messing around with it.
In the UK white man isn't on the 1st album. As I recall the US edition has some diff track ordering & added tracks off singles. As for The Ruts .....LOVE THEM!! only wish I was old enuff to have seen them with Malcolm. Saw their 1st RUTS DC reunion show after 20odd years & ppl were actually crying & physically shaking with adrenalin as they were so good!!
@@alkirton4832 That’s true and I do have both US and UK versions of that Lp. Off my head I was trying to remember whether or not White Man was on the UK so I kind of glossed through that. Here in the US most that have it of course have the US version.
I'm sure Henry Rollins also sung as the lead singer on the ruts .
@@craigfoulkes only for a benefit gig to help Paul Fox. One nite in London. But he is a HUGE fan!!
@@alkirton4832 yes I remember watching a great video of the gig on TH-cam.
There was a surprisingly strong and varied array of Christian Ska-Punk bands in the mid 90's to early 2000's that didn't get any mentions here- OC Supertones, Five Iron Frenzy, The Insyderz, etc. They received recognition outside of their target Christian audience and were pretty popular in the scene as a whole (though they could certainly be deemed "cheesy" when compared to their non-religious peers).
I think those bands especially Five Iron and The Insyderz are pretty respected still. I still listen to all three to this day. I'm glad Five Iron is still making music!
While not totally a ska band, NY hardcore outfit MURPHY'S LAW had their hand in quite a bit of that delicious ska sound. Fantastic band to those who never heard them. I've often felt Murphy's Law never got the full credit and love they most whole heartily deserved. They were also phenomenal live.
LOVE Murphys Law
Thank you for introducing me to Potshot. I'm already a fan!
As a young man growing up in the ninties, and actually living through the rise and fall of 3rd Wave Ska, I really enjoyed the video. My first exposure to Ska was my friends older brothers' Toasters CDs. Even though I liked it, I was still into the more MTV style music at the time, circa 1994. It wasn't until one night I was watching Headbanger's Ball on MTV, that my Ska journey started. I saw a video for Saba, or Bumblebee Tuna by Methaskapheles (I dont' recall which one). After that I really fell in love with Ska for the next few years till around 1998 or so. Around this time I started to
notice that a lot of the Ska music coming out sounded the samey, so I started drifting towards more punk and hardcore, eventually settling on metal at the turn of the century.
While I listen to less ska, I agree that Less than Jake is one of best bands to come out of that scene, their lyrics really have spoken to me over the years.
All that being said, you called out a few of the bands, but didn't even mention Moon Ska Records. That seems like a huge omission, especially coming from the East Coast. While Asian Man records was also huge, I think they had more of a West Coast feel.
Agreed, omitting Moon Ska NYC was a HUGE oversight.
Putting “Superman” as the opening track of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater certainly helped
Great history! So much killer footage. Shame you don’t put the audio with it.
Greensboro, NC’s Otis Reem! Their singer ended up playing for Prong and Three Inches of Blood many years later
My older brother took me along to my first gig which was Reel Big Fish in Sheffield when i was a kid. It was amazing. Support bands were immense, Lightyear, Shootin' Goon, and Lubby Nugget all incredible UK ska bands.
Subtle Crucial by Lubby Nugget is quality
I normally listen to black metal and crust punk but I still love operation ivy
Would you be able to make a video on Less Than Jake? Thanks for making this awesome video on ska! :)
amazing video!! skacore is totally my scene, and was completely dumbfounded on all the latinx bands i've never heard of!!
honorable mention - ska-emo band "the impossibles"
This was a good video thanks.
Mike Park + Catbite combo album coming out in a few weeks.
LA’s ska core scene is so awesome. They’re really accepting about playing with other non ska core bands. UNITY 🏁
Check out La Pobreska, Matamoska, Major League Skankers and The Scuba Kids!
I’ve heard LA still has a killer ska/skacore scene. I’ve been wanting to dive into it a little more. Cheers for the recs
My fav band you left out all together. The Rudements. I initially found them on a tape with the suicide machines and they instantly became my fav band
I really hate that I can’t find any of their music anywhere
an amazing skacore band that got missed was a chicago 10 piece called Hot Stove Jimmy ('94-2000)... their first album , salute , was straight forward 3rd wave ska, but their second album Theme for a major hit is so dense and action packed with amazing breakbeat and harmonies you can only liken it to mr bungle having an illigitimate love child with citizen fish.. the steve albini produced album is a sleeper like no other i've found in the genre.. They later on made the band Cougars.
Also an Australian Aquabat style meets but harder band called the Porkers... Hot Dog Daiquiri is a hidden gem
One band I like that came out less than 10 years ago... And now just release some new material. It would be Night Gaunts. It's a little bit of like cabaret mixed with two tone mixed with ska and punk. But one of the songs I love is tripping in the basement or $8.. the whole album Conversations With Creation is a great upbeat album to put you in a good mood
this is one of the very rare areas of music where French bands were ahead of the curve. The "rock alternatif" explosion of the 80's around Paris had plenty bands mixing ska and punk. If you're curious, check out La Mano Negra, Nuclear Device, Ludwig von 88, Dirty District, La Souris déglinguée etc etc....
I’ll have to look into that
@@thepunkhistorian6397 I suggest starting with La Mano Negra: they were the first to get big and sign with a major label, then get a big international following (mostly in latin countries), and finally Manu Chao the lead singer got super famous with his solo career....plus well, they rocked!
I think my favorite Ska band would definitely be Panteón Rococó, that mixture of punk, ska and Latin rhythms simply gives it an unique flavor.
In addition, in recent years, Hey-Smith has easily become my favorite Japanese band in general.
From Mexican ska I also recommend Inspector, although is more oriented to British 2-tone than 3rd wave. And Genitallica, which mixes elements of hard/funk rock and metal
King Chango is also so good but they dabbled in so much
Less Than Jake is my favorite band of all-time. I would love an individual video for them.
I'm a Hardcore/punk guy but Mustard Plug - Evildoers Beware! Is awesome.
Hugely underrated Australian 90's Skacore band Gilgamesh were amazing
thanks dude! also there is a band named codeame colin and a band from my city named antiestatika, yeah! less than jake, reel bg fish, mu330, the hippos, spring heeled jack are my fave!!!
ayooo, sick noogy shirt!
The homies! We played with them in PDX. They fucking rip!!
@@thepunkhistorian6397 Thats fucking amazing!
Awesome
A couple honorable mentions for non english bands, spanish : nana pancha ; japanese : u cant say no! (also just to throw in here, check out Autonomads!!!!!!!)
Love the Noogy shirt! They're from my area and I know a few current and former members. Dallas Punx!
Also, a badass Latin ska band from Texas worth checking out is Los Skarnales. They've got quite a few videos on TH-cam.
Hell yeah! Noogy’s the best! We opened for them in Portland
I hope you are big into other genres of music cause I like your commentary. Seeing you branch out into other types of genres would be cool
Well if you like the sound, I suggest you give a try to dang near all the bands he named. He just didn't miss ANY of the important players.
Sweet Noogy shirt!
Great video. I was in high school in the mid 90’s and a lot of these 3rd wave and ska punk bands were my introduction to the entire punk scene. It was also a great way to introduce people who may never have gone to a punk show to a scene that was fun and not into gatekeeping.
LTJ and the Bosstones are two of my all time favorites and would love a video on either of them. Around the time The Impression I get came out a good friend of mine was a pop radio station DJ and that was the only song he could sneak into regular rotation for me so I really have a soft spot for that song as well as the band in general.
Great over all history of the ska punk scene.
i would love to see a crass course on christian punk 🙏🔥
We have some ska punk in Australia too with bands like The Porkers and Nancy Vandal
Great video! Just an FYI: “Latinx” is considered a slur by most Latin Americans.
Shit I did not know that. Let me see if there’s a way I can add a lil blurb in that section that says what u said.
@@thepunkhistorian6397 It's not really considered a slur, it's just not something most of us use to refer to ourselves (more of an American thing). It's harmless though, don't worry about it.
Ska & punk: Murphy’s Law
Keep up the good work
Legit question, what type of Saxophones, Trumpets and/or Trombones do these Ska Punk band uses?
As I see that there are different type such as Alto, Tenor and Soprano
A pair of the, more recent, bands which I think show a lot of merit: Public Serpents (Don't let the severed connection to Stza scare you off. These guys have a lot of talent.) and The Skints. Give 'em both a quick listen to... if you haven't yet. ♪
I remember Public Serpents being pretty good. I haven’t listened to them in a fat minute tho
Agreed that Public Serpents are one of the best “newer”ska core bands…period. Saw them with Days n Daze in Stroudsburg, PA right before COVID. Such a charismatic n talented group! Then again in 2021 in Easton, PA…so worth it! Please revisit them!
Who tf would let a connection to Stza scare them off?
Love the content but wish you put a few samples of the bands your talking about.
23:20 I'd watch a video on Less Than Jake, that band rules. Saw them back in July and they were pretty great.
So whats the 4th wave going to be? I'm thinking electronic music with ska.
Something aggro like dutch hardcore and jumpstep but... ya know. Ska
New Sub here. I missed Ska-P in the video. At least here in europe they are pretty big and importent for Ska-Punk. Awsome vid anyway.
Check out thumper, from Boston.... they get slept on a lot but were an early northeast skacore band
honestly i would love to see a streetlight centric video
Smashmouth's first album is pure gold! I remember when they released their followup album (All-star?) and thought 'wtf!'. It still makes me so sad to this day they didn't continue that sound! Oh and The Aquabats, their first two lps are ska gold, again I thought 'wtf' for their following releases. As for other top bands check out Five Iron Frenzy. You mentioned Light Year, incredible fast ska punk from Derby, my wee band supported them in a tiny pub in Scotland and we were blown away by their energy.
13:15 kitty :D
Streetlight Manifesto video please!!!
That’s actually something I really wanna do
@@thepunkhistorian6397 that would be awesome! They're my favorite band and the projects as BOTAR and TOH KAY give completely different vibes to the same songs. Love your stuff man
Great video. Ska punk is one my favorite sub genres.
I would add a couple of things.
Taang started in Boston in 83and moved to San Diego in 95
No Doubt’s second record is ska punk masterpiece.
For someone that is more knowledgeable about Punk than Ska, your research is quite good overall. A couple things I would modify are that ska, rocksteady and early (skinhead) reggae all predated reggae. All of these genres were very popular in England in the late 60s- early 70s which influenced 2nd wave ska bands. The 2nd wave bands had some punk interwoven in their sound, so you could say this was the seed of ska-punk. The Clash would have been aware of the Pre-reggae genres as well as 2nd wave ska (they famously toured with The Specials). Thus, I'd say the Clash was influenced by these genres in terms of bringing reggae into their sound more so than the Clash influencing 3rd wave Ska. Anyways, great job overall.
Love your vidz! Would you consider doing a piece on the Profane Existence Era?
Ditto that!
What’s that?
@@toddpacker4683 The American A/E magazine +Distro / co-op from the 90's ..I grew up in that era.. and would love to see this channel's take on it!
@@toddpacker4683 It made punk a threat again.
To be fair mate. In the early days of Punk. At the early UK shows there wasn't really Punk vinyl for the DJ's to play so between Punk bands you'd have a manic DJ mix of 1st wave Ska, Reggae and Jamaican Dancehall. That's what was so amazing. It would bring in the Punks, The Rudeboys, The SHARP skins and so many other youth cultures and created a glorious movement in mid-late 70's UK music.
Don Letts did a lot for punk
@@nothingmuch8865 Exactly
@@nothingmuch8865 The DJ's made Punk as they exposed the kids to things like that and also experimental Electro like The Normal who were great for "coming down" off Amphetamines and Beer. :)
Would love to see a Less Than Jake history video.
Green Day had a few Ska songs as well.
🤘Love the longer format video!🤘
Wow. No Aquabats. I'm surprised.
Check out The Resignators from Australia!
No mention of nofx 🤔
Owww, so cute! As I expected, not a single mention of the first ska punk band ever, Kortatu from Basque Country, major influence on spanish and latin ska punk bands in the video, probably too obscure for "punk historian" from the States. And just for the record, Taang was still in Auburndale, Massachusetts when they released "Devil's Night Out", they moved to California in 1992 or smth.
Weird how ppl hate this style, which I love the whole thing about punk was to be your self and do your own thing
I loved this video! Thanks for not being a close minded edgy fuck boy. I was a hype guy in a ska band in the early 00's and it sucked at times. I'd love to see a video on ska core and one on Bad Time Records. They're the new Asian Man as far as ska is concerned
always enjoy the history of different punk genres! ALSO, i saw this sick band during the bridge city fest, and i swear the lead singer was you. fucking loved their set. so much! is that you? lol
Haha was it Zest? That’s me !
@@thepunkhistorian6397 yea dood! zest! i was like, "this dudes sounds like the punk historian". lol that's rad that it's you. sick band, and you can fucking shred on that guitar!
@@earl_raymond thanks soooo much dude!!!!
@@thepunkhistorian6397 yea dood. your band is sick! been listening to them and finding other songs. killer stuff!
@@earl_raymond we’re aiming to have our first EP out by September
Hey a few that would be cool is Dr.Know ,Aggression Necros,Jerry’s kids Gangreen , Rudimentary Peni ,Dead Kennedys ,Reagan Youth
daycare swindlers and World/Inferno friendship society
Can you do a video on Latin ska?
I wanna do a video on Latin punk in the future, I will definitely talk about ska punk in it
@@thepunkhistorian6397 nice, lookin forward to it 🙌🏽
Awesome going global on the video!!
My favorites ska bands are Flipsyde, 8th Wave, reel big fish from the past, and Indy ska from the 90s
It bothers me a little bit that you mention Asian Man records but not Link 80?
I mentioned link 80 before I even talked about asian man records?
@@thepunkhistorian6397 ah shit man sorry I missed that part I guess. Great video!
Thank you jack 🤘🏻 I shared it on the Mr. Scientist page
The Impression That I Get came out in 97, not 95.
1. How could you not mention the Aquabats?
2. Check out YUM!YUM!ORANGE and Monkeyboots
Historical correction my friend. Ska predated reggae in Jamaica.
Hell yeah ya def need to do a less than jake vid. Wanna my fav bands ever so I would def enjoy it
Also gotta bring up and give props to The Impossibles. They had a unique sound and great melodic sensibilities and stretched between ska, pop punk, hardcore, and emo. Their farewell concert (Never) Say Goodbye is up on youtube and is a pretty good selection of songs from their short existence.
That was who I couldn't remember! But yes! I loved these kinds of bands.... The Hippos, last few Mu330 albums. And the pinnacle of EMOSKA! The Telegraph orignally known as the Scholors.
I dug that powerpop band The Stereo that came out of The Impossibles and Animal Chin.
Something I feel gets left out of these conversations is the importance of the alternative Christian punk sense. Especially at the time ska was bowing up. I understand why because I lost my faith when I was 18 (I'm 36 now) and haven't found a reason to go back sense. Plus, most of that music sucks in retrospect. But if it wasn't for a handful of bands in that scene, I never would have fallen in love with punk, hard-core, or ska the way that I did. On the Ska side, I still keep up with Five Iron Frenzy, and I personally would put their albums, "Our Newest Album Ever" and "Quantity Is Job One" against anything else from that time. I'm sure I'm not the only person who came to punk and/or Ska this way.
Is it though? I feel like Christian alternative music is more a byproduct of an alt genre getting more attention than a core attribute to its foundation.
In the 90s & early 00s it was Christian pop punk and ska then in the 2010s it was Christian metalcore, but most of these bands (especially the more religious ones) ended up virtually disappearing as the Christian music scene moved onto the next trend in secular music.
The Christian alt acts that have stuck around however seem to do so because they were really solid bands in general that caught on in the secular music, and more often then not you’ll see them walk away from religion as they get older too.
I understand that Christian Alt music has historically brought kids in religious households into the scene, and the thing is it will always exist in some form or another. Just as a Christian alternative the “alt music of choice” that is the most popular in a certain generation or decade
@thepunkhistorian6397 Agreed, it's more of a response to a trend in music than a trend setter itself. I guess there's still some nosalgia attached to some bands. Love what you do. Thanks for responding to my comment.
I still hold to what I said about FIF. Those albums are great regardless of what you believe.
@@lazerpunch8448 that’s actually a great example of a band that didn’t have particularly religious lyrics and stayed somewhat relevant in the secular music world. MxPx, Underoath, and Slick Shoes also fit this descriptor too.
But like I said, when those bands last the test of time they stop being seen as “Christian” after a while and just fall in line with the rest of their genre, and their audience becomes drastically more secular.
Slick shoes actually happens to be a favorite band of mine, but I’ve never seen them as a “Christian” band because when I was growing up the Christian alternative scene had moved onto metalcore and post hardcore.
At the same time though, if I were around 10-15 years older I probably wouldn’t have given them a chance as they would still be considered a “Christian band” and wouldn’t have been indoctrinated into punk yet despite being an above average band.
@thepunkhistorian6397 Slick Shose is a great band! I grew up in Alabama, and for a while, we didn't have much of a scene that I can remember. I remember seeing bands like P.O.D. and Blindside at places like The Mash where you could bring can food as admission to the show because they were also a charity. Things didn't really kick off in my mind until Slackers 66, an old skate shop in Homewood, started putting on shows. Bands like Blaster The Rocket Boy/Man and The Smiley Kids. There Alot of good shows and memories from that time.
Check out Hub City Stompers for good ska
Great summary. A band like "Jaya the Cat" would have blend well in. Sadly it didn't. Also a band like "The Cat Empire" would fit in nicely, although not really being a ska-band.
Saw mad caddies the other day and it was chuck with all new members. They rocked but i heard chuck went crazy amd fired the band
2 Tone Ska was wayyyyy more influenced by Ska bands off the Trojan Records label ie
Desmond Dekker, Ken Boothe, Toots and the Maytals, Bob and Marcia etc than it ever was by roots reggae/rocksteady. Rudies and skinheads gave birth to Ska as we know it