Spy Kids - 1990’s San Diego Ska
Probably no one outside of San Diego ever heard of this band, but Spy Kids was a 2-Tone ska band that played shows around southern California for a year or so during the very early 1990’s. They mostly played parties and small clubs in San Diego, as well as a few shows up in Orange County and the Inland Empire.
The band opened up for some notable regional acts such as The Specs, Gangbusters and The Imperials (who all appear on the California Ska Quake Vol. I compilation). In addition, Spy Kids opened up for Hepcat and The Selecter.
Spy Kids released a 4-song demo tape and sold it at their shows. Now one of the former band members has digitized the demo tape and posted all four songs on a MySpace page. An interesting footnote is the song “Cheeto,” which was written by former members of Gangbusters and another San Diego ska band called Multiple Choice. Two Spy Kids members had previously been in a band called Double Barrel with the song’s composers, and when that band split up, Spy Kids incorporated it into their set. The songs can be freely downloaded from the MySpace page.
After the band parted ways with the lead singer, they gradually disintegrated, as most of the remaining members moved on to other musical projects such as Unwritten Law, Buck-O-Nine, Pivit and Flogging Molly.
If you’re looking for a sampling of what the southern California underground ska scene was like before the third-wave exploded, click here to check out Spy Kids.