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Showing posts from July, 2012

SKALAPALOOZA PREVIEW: An interview with Coolie Ranx

I still remember trying to learn the words to Dub 56 by the Toasters  in my younger days. The chat version where Coolie Ranx is fast talking his way through the horns and steady drums and bass line. Aside from the fact that I loved the song and all my ridiculous dancing that went with it, it fascinated me that someone could sing that fast. A budding vocalist myself, I would use it as a tool to try and improve my diction and vocal versatility. Trying to mimic what he did. The whole time, I had absolutely no idea what in the hell he was saying... But I loved it. It moved me. It was the song that helped to light that fire that would be my love of ska. Fast forward a decade or so to my much more evolved love of ska music and a broader understanding for exactly how much of a talent Mr. Ranx is. His work with the Toasters kick-started him into the New York City ska scene that holds him high as a pioneer among fans like myself. After the Toasters, he went on to co-start the Pilfers. A

Skankin' in the Tri-State Part 6 - David Hillyard from The Slackers

I think I have gone into quite a bit of detail over the course of this series about how much of a Slackers fan I am. They are my happy music, my sad music, my dance music. I can sing you Redlight, The Question, and Self Medication from beginning to end without stopping. My seven year old son is a Slackers fan thanks to my constant soundtrack of their music in my home, and has demanded that as soon as they do any kind of all ages show, that he be in the audience. When I began writing this series a couple months ago, they were a target for me to get an interview from. Seeing as they are one of the most hardworking bands in this scene I sought to dig into, this proved a little more difficult than I had thought. I was able to chat briefly with a few of the guys on the booze cruise a few weeks back (I wrote about it  here ) but boats and booze and music with one of my favorite bands don't make me the most charismatic music journalist. They make me a dancing giddy girl. Last Sunda