SkaSource.com

Craig Yarnold and Jeff Hawthorne of Buck-O-Nine have recorded a Christmas song entitled “Christmas (Where Are You This Year)” and released for free download via MySpace. The song was written and performed by Craig, with additional backing vocals by Jeff and Craig’s wife Cinthia. The two arranged, recorded and mixed the song in Jeff’s home studio during several evening sessions.

Craig says the song has been a long time in the making. “I started working on it around Thanksgiving of last year. A few years ago I had some chords and really sappy lyrics for a song I was working on, but couldn’t come up with a chorus. Then, I re-visited the music and found chorus, and scrapped the lyrics in favor of the new Christmas song. I realized that it would be too late to record it and release it in time for Christmas 2007, so I shelved it until this past October.”

About the recording process, Craig tells us, “Jeff has a small PC-based home studio and has been working on movie scores and other song ideas for quite some time now. Back in the days when we [Buck-O-Nine] were a full-time band, we would often get together and work on song ideas, then record them using an 8-track tape machine, so it was obvious that collaborating with Jeff would be a great way to complete the song’s arrangement and instrumentation. We work really well together, and it’s a totally different dynamic working with just one other person, versus the band environment where we have seven people contributing ideas.”

Regarding the idea behind the song, Craig continues, “The song is generally inspired by the alternative/new wave Christmas songs I’ve grown up listening to - classics such as Christmas Wrapping, Fariytale of New York, Father Christmas, So This is Christmas, etc. For several years now, I’ve wanted to put together a ‘new’ Christmas song - something that isn’t holly-jolly, but is more introspective and envokes thoughts about what Christmas and the holiday season mean to people. Given the uncertain times we live in today, it seemed an appropriate theme, although I didn’t want it to be pinned to specific current events.”

The mp3 of the song can be downloaded free from MySpace, and also listened to on YouTube, with an accompanying photo slideshow:

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Whoever knew that Donny Osmond (or at least his evil twin) was a pioneer of the Christian ska movement!

Via YouTube:

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If you’re in the Los Angeles area this Wednesday, August 6th, be sure to head over to The Knitting Factory for the latest Bluebeat Lounge presents…

“…a great bill of California roots ska, rock steady and reggae. No big surprise - Chris Murray Combo will be headlining. We’ll come up with a nice surprise for the set though!!
http://www.myspace.com/chrismurray

In the middle slot is Boss 501, featuring Esco Chris, long time friend of Bluebeat Lounge. Boss 501 hails from Chico and Esco has been working hard to raise awareness of the music we all love in his new hometown by promoting and hosting monthly live shows. The band will be doing some recording on their way down south with Brian Wallace in Atascadero. expect some new material in the set, and a band that is pumped from having just been in the studio.
http://www.myspace.com/boss501

Opening the night are The Sidecars Plus! led by Abram, who many will know from his long running website Rude Roots. Abram is totally a roots purist, like many of us. Expect a great set of tasty vintage vibes.
http://www.myspace.com/thesidecarsplus

This is going to be a very sweet show. Come early to be sure you get in and catch every minute.
Peace,
Chris”

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Coming out this summer, “The Upbeat” is a documentary chronicling the Utah ska scene, and features interviews with Toots Hibbert, Robert “Bucket” Hingley, Buster Bloodvessel, and well-known Utah ska bands like Stretch Armstrong and Model Citizen.

According to producer/director/editor Brandon Smith, the film’s genesis was initiated by “…an interview from Buster Bloodvessel, after an AMAZING Bad Manners show,” which led him to interview many other artists and bands. Besides perhaps becoming the next Ken Burns, Brandon also plays tenor sax in Salt Lake City’s The Upstarts, and tells us, “At the same time I was taking the camera with me to band practice…” as the band was recording its debut album. He continues, “[we] were concerned with the current state of the ska scene in Utah.” With the release of The Upbeat, Brandon helps preserve the legacy of ska music in Utah, which had a very strong scene in the 1990’s. Brandon says his approach to making the films was to “…dive into the history of ska in Utah, and [I] got an enormous amount of help from those who experienced the phenomenon firsthand.”

Judging by the trailer, this looks like a well-produced and well-thought out film that touches on many aspects of the Utah ska scene, including its influence in the Mormon community.

The Upbeat Official website: http://www.theupbeatmovie.com/

The Upbeat on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/theupbeatmovie

The Upstarts on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/upstartska

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I’m starting to sense a buzz about this band, and there is a good reason for it. GRR is producing some of the best soul-inspired reggae and ska in the US right now, and they’re about to embark on a west coast tour that will sees the band dip into Texas and then attack California in August.

The music has a strikingly fresh sound to it, especially considering the band’s revivalist sound. The soulful vocals backed by the solid vibe of the band combine to create mix of reggae and ska that should appeal to a wide variety of listeners - anyone who likes good quality ska, reggae or soul will find something they like here.

Check out the Green Room Rockers MySpace page  for music, tour dates, and general band info. Be sure to pick up a copy of their debut album, “Hoosier Homegrown“,  and while you’re at it, grab  a limited edition t-shirt. And definitely try to catch them live in support of their upcoming tour. Remember, bands make their living by playing live, so getting the people out to the clubs is a must!

Official website: http://www.greenroomrockers.com

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In anticipation of The Specials upcoming reunion, you may find yourself wanting to get up-to-speed on the band’s music, videos and even do some light reading. Check out the following sources and you’ll be able to impress friends at cocktail parties in the months leading up to this highly anticipated and long-rumored event.

In case your old vinyl records, cassettes or CD’s got tossed out along with your creepers and pork-pie hat, you’ll want to pick up The Best of The Specials. This two-disc set features 36 of the best tracks from the bands’ first two albums, as well as the haunting single “Ghost Town” and some lesser-known but worthwhile tracks from the Special AKA “In The Studio” album. In addition, there is a DVD containing video and live footage of the band during their hey-day.

Speaking of video, YouTube has an official Specials page containing 15 videos - a couple of which are live - including “Ghost Town”, “Gangsters” and the classic “A Message To You Rudy.”

Now, if music and video is not enough, you can pick up a copy of bass player Horace Panter’s book Ska’d for Life: A Personal Journey with The Specials. The book is somewhat of a diary of Panter’s time with the band, and should prove interesting for fans both old and new.

No word yet on what the reunion will consist of, although anything more than tour dates (another studio album perhaps?) is probably wishful thinking. Let’s hope they will make their way back to the U.S. Having seen the two re-incarnations of The Specials back in the 1990’s, I can say that they put on a great show, even without two key members in Terry Hall and Jerry Dammers. Since most of the members seem to have kept their chops up by consistently performing in various solo efforts and spin-off bands for the last couple of decades, I would expect nothing less than an incredible live show with an energy that should be explosive. Given the troubled world we all live in, it seems like a good time for a band with the biting social commentary of The Specials to return to the stage.

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From the band…

Catch-it Kebabs from Yorkshire in England are one of the hardest working bands on the UK scene, notching up over 100 gigs a year . This year sees the 18-legged ska-beast turn 7 years old, and to celebrate this they are giving away their *NEW SINGLE* for *FREE* for 1 month prior to the release. To get this *FREE* goodies all you have to do is register before the 27th June!

You can register by visiting: www.catchitkebabs.co.uk and filling the form in (Takes 30 secs max.), and you will receive the track on the 28th/29th June just before it’s official release.

We are also building up a database of peoples age, music pref etc. so we can build up an idea of the current scene. So please reply to your email and help create the ska census 2008.
Thanks guys.
Jamie
Feet First Records
info@feetfirstrecords.com

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Ska music is starting to gain more of a modern web presence with the launch of sites such as SkaPedia.com and SkaToob.com. As you can probably guess, these websites seek to emulate the success and popularity of behemoths WikiPedia and YouTube, albeit with a focus on ska bands and music.

SkaPedia.com is a standard wiki site, and it looks like (based on some band searches) much of the content comes directly from WikiPedia - not an uncommon practice in the wiki world. Still, there does appear to be original content, and SkaPedia does not have some of the silly restrictions regarding what content can be included in a wiki page. Hopefully the wiki-nazis won’t take over like they have at WikiPedia.

SkaToob.com appears to have quite a bit of content, and its focus on ska music means that people looking for ska videos don’t have to filter through the immense collection at YouTube just to find footage of their favorite underground ska bands. I think this is a great idea for a website - someone looking for ska videos is presented with focused content, and will be more likely to find what they are looking for, and possibly get turned onto something new. Sure, SkaToob will not boast the viewership numbers that YouTube has, but then again, ska is a fairly niche market. Just because you’re on YouTube, doesn’t guarantee that millions are going to see your video.

Both sites are part of the SkaSpot network.

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  European-based ska label Megalith Records has announced a US distribution deal with MVD (Music Video Distribution). According to the Megalith website, this means that the Megalith catalog will be available for US record stores to order from.

The deal comes on the heals of a new Toasters Live CBGB recording that is also released by MVD. Hopefully this means that US ska fans will be able to purchase more European ska at local record stores. Of course, Megalith does not only put out releases by European bands. One of their latest releases is from southern California’s RiceRokit , and band that plays a SoCal flavor of reggae, with ska influences.

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San Diego ska band Buck-O-Nine has posted on their MySpace page that they will be supporting punk rock band Rancid on the first two shows of Rancid’s North American Tour 2008. Buck-O-Nine will make the trek from southern California to Tucson, AZ and El Paso, TX for the shows on June 10 and 11. Tour information posted on the Rancid website shows east coast counterparts Big D and the Kids Table playing the support role on some east coast dates, as well as some east coast hardcore legends such as Murphy’s Law (anyone remember “The Murphy’s Law Ska Song”?), Sick of it All, and H20. Asian Man Records labelmates Bomb the Music Industry will also play support at one of the NYC shows, during a streak that sees Rancid playing five nights in a row at the NY Fillmore.

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