Syracuse Ska Forum

Let's get everyone to start by introducing yourself.

1) Your name, where you live, some general stuff like that.
2) How did you get into ska?
3) What are some of your favorite ska bands?
4) What do you like about the ska scene?
5) What are some of your favorite moments from shows?

So, to begin:

1) SkaDanny in Syracuse NY. Been running the SyracuseSka website and mailing list forever and doing local ska shows almost as long.
2) A friend in Too Hectic ("Rufus The Insanitone") got me to see his band open for The Toasters at Styleen's. I was immediately hooked. : )
3) The Slackers, The Hotknives, The Specials, The Toasters, The Aggrolites, Planet Smashers, etc., etc.
4) You meet some of the coolest, nicest, open-minded people.
5) RazSum Unplugged at Coffee Pavilion; The Ron Jeremy Horn Stars

Okay, now for everyone else ...

1) Ben, I go to/live in Cortland 16, blah blah blah
2) My friend Ronnie last year tied me down and forced me to listen to Reel Big Fish
3) Arrogant Sons of Bitches, Planet Smashers, Big D and the Kids Table, The Toasters, The Specials, Reel Big Fish, Mustard Plug, The Slackers, ect. ect.
4) I like all the dancing with a minimal amount of people trying to ruin the fun with moshing and whatnot. The people are cool as well.
5) When I was dancing on stage at Ska is Dead 1, and fell down, that was heeeelarious

1) I'm Dan, I live in Dewitt, and I'm 15 years old.
2) I saw Magic Goat play at the JCC a awhile ago and then went to see them, The Verbs, and Public Access at the Wescott a few weeks ago and loved it.
3) I've only seen a few ska bands but my favorite was definately Public Access, they sounded the heaviest of all the bands that played that night, and I'm also really into metal, so they appealled to me most. Plus, they played Immigrant Song. I mean, c'mon. They played Immigrant Song.
4) I do not know much about it, I'm pretty new to all of this. I first heard about the Ska Is Dead Tour last night at the Wescott where I saw Magic Goat, The Verbs, Westbound Train, and Hobo Slobo And The Strong Armed Jugnuts (my new favorite local band).
5) Headbangin to Public Access's version of Immigrant Song.

1) Justine (AKA Aiyana Catori) I'm 16, a senior next year at ES-M High School

2) I've known Rory and Derek and Vinnie of RazSum for years now, and Rory invited me to come out to a show a few years back at Wa-Noa. I didn't really start getting into it until I saw The Toasters and Two-and-a-Half White Guys last year at Salt City though..

3) RazSum, The Toasters, Westbound Train, Planet Smashers, Reel Big Fish, The Verbs, yadda di yadda da

4) I love how enthusiasic and just so passionate that everyone is about it. I love how everyone just gets into, that everyones really open-minded, there's no judgment. It's just great.

5) -Getting my cousin Ky (BIG hardcore fan) to skank at The Toasters/WBT gig in Ithaca a while back after having dragged her to 3 or 4 shows then having our car breakdown and being stuck in Ithaca for the night.
-Playing my first show last week with Johnny Hero and RazSum Unplugged.
-"Where's Johnny Hero? WHERE'S JOHNNY HERO!?!?!?!?! Where'd he go? Oh! There he is!!" -Rory

1) Karen, I'm 20, I live in Cortland, but go to school in Rochester (RIT)
2) When I was in 8th grade, I typed 'Everything Sucks' into Napster trying to get the Descendents album and I got the RBF song.
3) The Aggrolites, Arrogant Sons of Bitches, Big D & The Kids Table, The Forces of Evil, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Pietasters, The Planet Smashers, Reel Big Fish, Rx Bandits, The Slackers, The Specials, Streetlight Manifesto, Sublime, The Toasters, Tri-State Conspiracy, Westbound Train
4) I like how 99% of the time, it's just a bunch of kids who want to get together and have a good time. There isn't a lot of drama, like there is in other scenes.
5) Way too many to list, although carrying on an argument that started before the show with John from RBF while he was on stage at a show was pretty memorable.

1) Your name, where you live, some general stuff like that.
Johanna, DeWitt, I'm a senior at JDHS and I'm going to Buffalo State in the fall.
2) How did you get into ska?
I started going to shows freshman year of high school and I guess people just talked about ska shows so I started going to those too.
3) What are some of your favorite ska bands?
Hed 1st, Skarmy of Darkness, The Slackers, Westbound Train.
4) What do you like about the ska scene?
I like that there are local bands again who are taking the time to organize shows, arn't afraid to ask for help and are generally good people. I also like being door mistress.
5) What are some of your favorite moments from shows?
The guy proposing was pretty neat. Any Skarmy show, Leftover Crack, shows with trad bands and lots of people dancing. When there are no damned islands in the middle of a circle skank.

1) Brandon Blincoe - Kirkville, NY
2) My sister burned me a cd which happened to have Catch 22 - Keasby Nights on it. (When GTA3 first came out; I would sit and listen to that song and play. )
3) Too many to list, but i'm more into Catch 22, Big D, Mustard Plug, Save Ferris, RBF, Suicide Machines, The Benefits, etc.
4) The people
5) I have none.

1) Steven Parker
2) Scott got me into his band No Commercial Value, which became Choking Victim.
3) The Slackers, Assorted Jelly Beans, Chinkees, The Gadjits.
4) The pretty colors.
5) I liked when the trumpet player from Cappuchino Jellybeans would crawl around while playing. I loved playing the ska shows at the 505 and just sitting in the back room with all the bands. So much hilarity.

SOOOOO many memories that I still burst out laughing thinking about. Most of them stemming from spending too much time with the Skarmy of Darkness dudes.

4) What do you like about the ska scene?
5) What are some of your favorite moments from shows?

1) Rosie, I live in Minoa, I'm 16, yadada, yadada
2) I started really getting into ska last year when Justine and I caught 2 1/2 White Guys and the Toasters at Salt City
3) Reel Big Fish, Razbari Sumthing, The Toasters, The Planet Smashers, etc.
4) I like that there's a huge, amazing group of people who are drawn together because of their love of good music.
5) Running around the Minoa field days is pretty up there, as is skanking around the huge island-thinger at Wa-Noa

1) My name is Sean. I live in T to the Ully...(Tully)
2) I don't really know. Most likely I was just looking for new bands to listen to and came across some ska band and liked it. You know...
3) Streetlight, The Pietasters, The Planet Smashers, MU330, all ska is cool. I'll take anything.
4) The people are nice.
5) Ska is Dead...great stuff.

1) Your name, where you live, some general stuff like that.
Brendan from just ootside of Marcellus
2) How did you get into ska?
started listening to catch 22, bosstones, reel big fish etc freshman year in high school, went from there
3) What are some of your favorite ska bands?
big d and the kids table, planet smashers, streetlight manifesto, MU330, specials, many many many more
4) What do you like about the ska scene?
i like that people actually show up to shows now:D
5) What are some of your favorite moments from shows?
ummmmmm prolly the planet smashers show most recently, INSANE

1) My name is Dan Burns and I am a senior at Fayetteville-Manlius High School. I live in Manlius and next year I'll be at SUNY Oneonta for 'Music Industry'. I also play guitar in Magic Goat.

2) I got into ska when I went to my first ska (last year's Skalloween w/The Pietasters). Me and Alex K and Chris of Magic Goat went for no real reason and after seeing SKATOS play we decided we needed to turn our three piece band into a ska band.

3) Planet Smashers, Straighter Than Pete, Skarmy of Darkness, Big D and the Kid's Table, The Know How, The Aquabats, Skatos

4) I like that there are so many new ska bands and I've heard about 3 or 4 other bands that are trying to get together.

5) Fav. Show Moments:
Skanking around the Island at Wa Noa at the Planet Smashers show.
Proposal during Ska is Dead I.
Skanking on stage at Ska is Dead I.

1) I'm Matt Filion, I'm 16, will be a junior at Fairport High School next year, and I play bass for the LeVar BurTones.

2) My first ska show was The Blackouts, The Goonies, and the Lightbulbs at Milestones 3 or 4 years ago when I was in middle school. My friend had a brother who was into ska so we decided to go and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

3) The Toasters, The Voodoo Glow Skulls, Madness, The Slackers, Mephiskapheles, The Specials, The Pietasters, Mu330.

4) I guess I would have to say meeting really friendly people and skanking with people you don't know.

5) Chillin' with Gerry Lundquist and the Casillas brothers after Ska is Dead II...

1. The name is nick, age 23, rockin out in syracuse workin on a masters degree at esf (now i feel like an old man)
2. black coat, black shoes, black hat, cadillac, yeah the boys of time bomb.
3. I'm more into reggae than ska, but i prefer older trad ska, early jamaican ska like desmond dekker, skatalites, alton ellis, marcia griffiths. slackers are on top of my fav list, as well as go jimmy go, the debonaires, hepcat. etc etc. can talk for freakin hours about reggae music and all things comin outta jamaica. (i also listen to a lotta shitty punk rock and too much devo)
4. the fact that there is a ska scene here in syracuse and a decient following- i lived in vermont the past 4 years and there was no ska, but tons of reggae, kinda disapointed in the lack of reggae in upstate ny ands would like to try help get it bigger round these parts
5. seeing ernest ranglin and monty alexander play together in a little club in auckland, new zealand. seeing the skatalites play in a random wharehouse show in montreal, seein the slackers in montreal and the drummer not selling me any merch cause i only had american money.

1) Mike, age 17, Rochester, NY, student at Gates-Chili High School.

2) Back in 6th grade ska was some what cool. My brother accidentally downloaded some Less Than Jake when he was looking for some other rap band.

3) The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, Bomb The Music Industry!, Less Than jake. Leftover Crack, Five Iron Frenzy, The W's, Hepcat, The Slackers, ninepoundnote, Ye Wiles and pretty much any solid third wave band, I don't like much Two-Tone at all and I can listen to Trad stuff, but not all the time.

4) There are a lot of things I hate about the ska scene, including the dumb, misinformed people it brings in, but at the same time I like a lot of the intelligent people I met and continue to talk to.

5) Probably when I saw The Glow, Raz Sum, 2zoo(or whatever they call themselves today), when The Glow closed with a cover by Beer and the everyone was singing along ahving a great time. In general I just like going to shows and dancing with friends.