Syracuse Ska Forum

Why doesn't ska get more respect?

I say it has less to do with a lack of socially-conscious bands and more to do with depth of craftsmanship, and breadth of inspiration.

Technique

Justin from Mrs. Skannotto told me about going back to his classical training to stay grounded, because he would pick up bad habits working with amplification, and that started the gears turning.

To a classical or jazz player, ska probably sounds rough, shallow and immature.

Punk rebelled against technically sound but overly sanitized music. We now see the opposite problem, going from over-cerebral, antiseptic performances to a consistently raw, unrefined sound with the barest grasp of technique. The immediate results may be pleasing, but the musician's development is stunted, restricted to a shallow pool of options.

Influence

Inbreeding is everywhere. Emo might have some redeeming qualities, but I find the "emo vocal style" too off-putting to contemplate it. One, the sound is annoying. Two, why the hell do so many of them sound alike?

Play Devil's Advocate and look at ska. People complain that all ska bands sound alike, and there is a certain grain of truth to this. I struggle to differentiate even quality bands. Too many musicians grew up listening to a narrow range of genres and dreamed of being the next Reel Big Fish (grew up on nu-metal and dreamed of being the next Slipknot or whatever. I'm picking on genres, not specific bands.)

Musicians, a challenge: you want respect?

Practice more, take lessons, listen to genres outside your comfort zone.

That's all.

I have to assume this was triggered by our convo last night. But even given that, I'm unsure exactly what you mean by this broad assertion -- respect by WHOM exactly?


I hope no one thinks I've been saying that socially conscious bands in and of themselves lead to more "respect". There's a factor there, undoubtedly, but again, depending on WHO you're trying to get that respect from it makes quite a difference what other factors are involved.

I'm not going to argue that technique and influence aren't significant factors too, but they aren't necessarily the main ones -- again, depending on who you're trying to impress.

But I'm glad Twitch is raising these issues ...

You wanted a bulleted list or would a rant be okay?

Hahaha. I really like this Mike guy.

Bulleted. Just the facts, ma'am.

-Sgt. Twitch Friday

Move forward, but honor your roots

I lean towards the Slackers' philosophy, that it's a bad deal to neglect your existing fanbase to chase after people that might not "get it" anyways. How much of an impact do you think "Don't Let The Bastards Grind You Down" on MTV had? Defining your core audience too narrowly can be a trap, but so can setting your sights too broadly. Try to convert the whole world, and it's likely you will convert no one.

Revolutions are built one person at a time.

TRY HARDER

There are principles to what is "good" and what is "bad" that function independently from the whims of fashion. Playing in tune. A solid rhythm section. Smooth tempo transitions. Songs with a clear beginning, middle and end. That's just the beginning of what I call "craftsmanship".

I've seen the medium of comic books sink into a similar ghetto - within their own community, there are a handful of quality works, but they largely fail to attain higher standards of storytelling and artistic development seen in other fields.

It's the problem Chris Murray ran into when he started his solo experiments. His work was good ska, but he couldn't hold a candle to a solid acoustic artist, and he stayed in the ska ghetto.

So, instead of searching for that magic gimmick ticket into the mainstream or pining for another wave of fashion to lift the genre, I say rehearse more and write better material.

"Good enough" is not good enough. Raise the bar.

Go have manbabies with him.

At least he's pretending to contribute to the discussion

With all due respect, Steve, I think you're way out of line here. The point of being in a band is to have fun. Unless you're seriously misguided, you don't join a band to make money. Some guys think they'll get chicks, but that's pretty much bunk. I know I sure as hell don't give a shit if anyone respects us or not. If people have fun watching you, that's great, but to have fun yourself is the most important thing. If people want to take lessons and write more lyrically and musically thought-provoking songs, that's fine. But if they don't, and they can be reasonably cohesive, then why sink more money into it? I've probably sunk several thousands of dollars into The Emersons in the past few years (not including my personal equipment). I know I'm never getting it back. So if I'm not having shitloads of fun doing it, why would I? Having a deeper message is fantastic, but it's not for everyone, and I think that the people who want to do it really don't need you to push them that direction.


And dude. Have you ever priced lessons? They're f*ck expensive.

The Two-Tone Army does not draft people. It is strictly volunteer.

To take things to a higher level, one must be unreasonably passionate and stubborn. Such zeal is rare, and anyone who does not answer the call-to-arms with apathy or cynicism will be called friend.

This is my manifesto.

I hope like-minded people will stand up and join the struggle.

I don't think the ska bands themselves are the reason for a lack of respect. It's the fact that no one listens to this kind of music. Plus, if the band has horns, people are just going to equate you with a bunch of marching band geeks. That stigma alone is enough to scare the vast majority of people away from the genre.

I think most people that have negative opinions of ska see it as a silly substance-less genre of music. Ranked right up there with the bubble gum crap such as Brittney Spears or White Snake.

And in a certain respect... they're right.



But on the flip side...

My very first ska show was a bunch of bands that I also have never heard of. I knew of ska from that horrible period of time when it was EVERYWHERE, but I had never gone to a show. So a friend dragged me out, and the first few bands were awful. Very uncreative songs about a monkey, pop tarts, balloons, and various moments where they found defication absolutely hilarious.

I wasn't impressed, I was just bored out of my mind.

Then after the last opener had played, my friend told me that the next band is the reason that she dragged me out here. This band of comparatively older dudes walk up onto the stage very calm, very cool.

And when they began, they played such a dark, somber rythmn. The lead singer sang like had felt a lifetime of heartache and pain. He spoke like a smooth street hustler, and I imagined him waking up every morning being already dressed to impress.

They played for about an hour, and after they were done everyone was sweaty and exhausted. I was floored by these guys. I really felt like they were up there and gave a little piece of themselves to the crowd that night.

I asked her what that band was called again.

She said... "The Slackers"

Steve Parker you nailed it square on the head.

Yeah, me too.
In fact, I adore him.

HEY NOW.
Marching band effing rocks dude.
Us band kids are freakin' sweet.

Granted, we can be a bit strange at times, and it might scare the passerby, I find it all quite amusing.

Man, I love marching band.
Maybe I am a geek..

Having the drive to go from good to great is not bundled with knowing how to get there. So I talk about it, in hopes that it will inspire someone to take those first shaky steps and dream bigger.

And you bring up an excellent point. If a band doesn't enjoy playing music for its own sake, there will be problems down the road.

The roar of the crowd fades. Where are those fans when it's time to rehearse or write new material?