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Spy Kids – 1990’s San Diego Ska

admin — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:02:09 +0000

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.

Evolution Revolution – Ska’s Roots

admin — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:59:44 +0000

I was browsing the web in search of some good information regarding ska music’s formation in the early days, and stumbled across a great, if brief, article on the National Geographic website. What I like about the article is that it paints a great picture of how ska most likely mutated out of Jamaican interpretations of American R&B and boogie.

Most people know that there are many people who claim to have invented ska – what this article puts forth is that the actual creation of the ska sound, with its accent on the second and fourth beats, may have been an accident. Click here for the article.

In addition, National Geographic has an informative write-up of guitarist Ernest Ranglin that documents his influence on Jamaican music – from early ska, to rocksteady and onto reggae. Read about this musical godfather here.

Articles such as these bring up what I think is an important point – that ska music was created by artists of great talent and impressive musical pedigree. When reading about ska’s origins, it is easy to dismiss it as simply Jamaican youth trying to emulate what they heard on American and Cuban radio. Although this is certainly part of the story, there is much more to learn and explore regarding the contributions of some serious musicians to what has become a musical style that has gained worldwide popularity.

Learn About the History of Ska Music

admin — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 01:32:30 +0000

If you are curious about the history of ska music, which dates back to the 1950’s, here are a couple of websites worth checking out. Backy Skank has a nice article called “Ska for the Unitiated” that traces the history of ska music back to its pre-ska roots, with information about how Jamaican culture, as well as jazz, mento and the Jamaican music industry influenced the birth of ska. The article even includes a ska bibliography for those interested in further reading.

The BBC’s website has a brief yet interesting history of the 2-Tone movement’s beginnings in Coventry, England.

For something a bit more multimedia, check out this YouTube video which is a powerpoint-style clip accompanied by some classic ska sounds.

Now that you have boned up on your knowledge of ska music, head on over to the Wikipedia ska entry and help beef up the page by adding to it. Just make sure to include citations along with your facts.