Review of Japa Rico - Rico Rodriguez Meets Japan

So I got this album the yesterday from YesAsia...how appropriate that it arrives the day after I saw Rico himself perform live at the Glasshouse. So here's my track by track review:

Man from Wareika - Japa-Rico Super Session. Lots and LOTS of horns...it's like a super group featuring memebrs of Miceteeth, TSPO, etc., with Rico at the helm of course. Good song.

L-O-V-E - Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. Probably my FAVORITE track of the album...Rico is providing the vocals (as well as playing the instrument he's most known for), and TSPO just makes such a great backing band. Great cover of a Nat King Cole song.

Monkey Man - ??????? (I think the English equivalent of this katakana is Oreska Band or something of that nature). Might be the second worst song on the album...it's a poppy third wave ska rendition of the Maytals classic..the singer from the band is the one singing, not Rico, so its an Engrish version of the song...they remind me a lot of Yum!Yum! Orange, though I'd have to say slightly better, since RICO is playing with them, and they're covering a song I know.

Cleopatra - The Zoot 16. I don't know how I feel about this cover of the Don Drummond song...it's really weird...seems like it'd fit in a dance club...very drums and bass-ish

More - Kodama And The Dub Station Band. Rootsy reggae track. I like it, but I can't listen to it too much...though I think it's the song where Rico does the most solos.

Quando Quando - The Miceteeth. Great song, and without Miceteeth's nasal voice to lessen my enjoyment, it's up there as one of my favorite tracks off this album. This is actually a contender as far as tracks with the most Rico solos go.

Ghost Town - Tucker + Afra & Incredible Beatbox Band. This is surprise n0 1 from the album. It's like Rahzel beatboxing to the Specials' Ghost Town. I like it, it's like a hip-hop version of the song....really sick...

Rico's Mood - Tsuyoshi Kawakami & His Moodmakers. My second favorite track! It's a great song...why is it called Rico's Mood instead of Soul of Africa? I don't know, but I do know this track is a winner.

Far East - Skaymate's. My second surprise...of this album. Song was written by Rico, with lyrics written by the band, so it's basically an original...I really like it...I guess it's because the singer's voice really goes well with the song...it's a really upbeat song, I'm going to look more into this band.

First Convention - Cool Wise Men. I expected more from this group...it's not bad, it just doesn't impress me much. It's also an original, written by Cool Wise Men themselves.

Enjoy Yourself - Scoobie Do. Without a doubt, the worst track on this album...it's like a bad funk version of the song sang in crappy Engrish...I really hate this song.

Moonlight Serenade - DUBSENSEMANIA. The most boring song on this album? Yeah, probably...i guess some would like it...not me, too slow, too boring, too...I don't know, I'd say Dub, but it doesn't have the usual echos and strong focus on drums and bass, but the BORINGNESS of dub has definately carried over into this song.

Danny Boy - Jungle Roots Band. You know, this song is slow, but for some reason, it doesn't bore me like the last song. Acoustic song, with Rico singing more than playing the trombone...it's a great song, actually, kinda relaxes you.

Update on life...

he weather has been kinda weird...really hot, but not sunny....pretty humid too.

It's actually amazing how well I'm doing with summer school...I just got a 90 on my business calc test today, and I was pretty surprised about that...I have an accounting test tomorrw, so I don't know what I'm going to do about that...otherwise, I was going to go see the Aggrolites tonite @ Blue Beat lounge, but since my Accounting prof moved the test from today, of which I am equally grateful, and ungrateful for, no go !

I kinda miss home....dicking around with the homies...there's talks about a camping trip, so I might head up for that (or if it's the case of beach camping, I guess I'll meat them half way).

Haha, I'm going to see Bubba's band for the first time this Sunday...he says that their last practice was really good, but I shall be the judge of that! I'm also excited to see Rico again....The Skeletones, I'll be mildly interested in...the Untouchables, I heard that only one original member is left, and that they kinda suck now, so.......

And apparently, the Pedal Tones are playing again on the 19th...at the Chain Reaction, so that'll be interesting. Supposedly, a "super rad" special guest will be playing at that show also.

I think after I'm done with Summer School (which is only a little more than a week from today), I'm going to take music lessons...probably guitar...I'll have just have to figure a way to steal my sister's guitar down here...or I might buy one...though guitars are really expensive, I was reading up on a Rouge acoustic, that's less than 100, and is apparently, the best gutiar for beginners. It would be great to take up trumpet again, but with mr. dickwad living above me, I don't imagine I could practice trumpet so easily.

I also want to save up for a proper turntable...I want one that won't look like a freaking, "MY FIRST RECORD PLAYER" or something like that...but jeez, they're kinda pricey.

Also, after summer school has ended, I'll have to start working out...I know I've said this a million times, but fuck it, I'm keeping my word. I'm not the usual guy to worry about my weight or being fat much, but there comes a point, when enough is enough! I'll have to check out my school to see if the pool will be open for lap swimming, not just open for the public, and I wonder if the rest of the facilities operate normally...other wise, I guess I'll be looking into YMCA of 24 Hour Fitness.

My mom is coming down on Thursday, and my Uncle (from Texas) is coming on Friday...I was going to meet up with this guy (2Tone Ted) who would hook me up with this video of TSPO playing at a concert with Ska Flames, Prince Buster, and the Selecter and all that shit...and he has a lot of rare ska and reggae shit too, that I would love to check out/burn/steal. But it doesn't look like it'll be this Friday.

Oh yeah, I'm meeting up with a Study Abroad counselor for advising this Thursday also. Once I replace the big fat D- that I had in my Geology class (hopefully with a B or higher), my GPA should shoot up from a 2.9 to anywhere between 3.0 and 3.4, and that means I'll be eligble for the CSU study abroad program. I really hope I can go study in Japan, at least for one semester, perferable a whole academic year. The university that does the program with the CSU schools in general is a place called Waseda University, apparently a good school, from what I've heard. I might be able to get a double benefit going my 4th year (looks like I won't be graduating in 4 years...4.5 or 5 years is the soonest)...I might be able to find an internship in Japan, and that would help knock out the internship requierments for my International Business major.

World Cup Soccer.

goddamn, that game was close. I think the U.S. held off pretty well, considering they were reduced to 9 men...

thank you Ghana!

That was me at the Hollywood Ska and Reggae Festival last Sunday...as I said in my last post, I can die happily now...it was an amazing show!

The line up was as follows, from first to last:
- The Kingston Ska Collective (GREAT Skatalites cover band...Korey Horn, former drummer of the Aggrolites was drumming for them!)

- Owen Gray (backed by Kingston Ska Collective)...he sounded as great as ever, and he looked really healthy! It was a shame his set was so short...

- Dennis Alcapone (backed by the L.A. Allstar Revue). He was the most classy dressed person that night, and he was damn amazing as well! My first time seeing an artist like him (a toaster), and the fact that the L.A. Allstar Revue were so damn good certainly helped...at the end of his set, he had the band play Guns of Navarone

- Derrick Morgan (backed by L.A. Allstar Revue)...out of all the artists that night, he was the most frail...he was also blind...but HOT DAMN HE WAS AWESOME. He was excited when he heard the size of the crowd...he played all the classics....Blazing Fire, Tougher than Tough, Housewives' Choice (Persephone of Ocean 11 is such an awesome singer), and at the end of his set...he did a boogie woogie version of Fat Man! That was awesome. He came out for an encore and did...the song all the skinheads were waiting for...the MOON HOP!

- Pat Kelly (backed by the Expanders)...oh man, I'm not too familiar with all his stuff, but hot damn, he was awesome, such a great voice...at the end of his set, Owen Gray and Dennis Alcapone came out and they all did a song together.

- Alton Ellis (backed by the Expanders)...DUDE!! He was AWESOME, he sounded just like he does in 1968, and he was so awesome...the band did a medley of his songs first, and he started singing Willow Tree from the backstage...the crowd went nuts! He even brought his son, Chris Ellis, out, and they sang some songs together. The only sucky part of his set was when he started talking about peace and how we needed to love each other...some skinheads suddenly got into a fight...that was kinda lame! But anyways, definately the HIGHLIGHT of my night was when Owen Gray and Dennis Alcapone came out (Derrick Morgan was too frail to come out, otherwise, I bet he would have came out too), and sang SHANTYTOWN/007!!!!!! Oh man.....

Next up, the Man from Wareika...

What a FUNKY version of Guns of Navarone....I like it!

The show on Sunday was amazing...I can die happily now...

I was going to make a more "complete" entry, but suddenly didn't feel like it.

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra - Wild Peace

So I received my copy of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra's album. Their 12th, to be exact. Twelve albums is a lot of albums. Many, many, many bands don't even release 4 albums, much less, 12, so that's a major feat. I can't even think of ska band that's released nearly as many albums...

Anyway, on to the review of the album. It's a great album...not a super spectacular album, but it is definately a strong album. This time around, there seems to be less, "rocking" songs, and more songs of a tradtional flavor...

Was this meant to be a "sequel" album to "Stompin' on DOWN BEAT ALLEY" ? That album was released during the 2002 S. Korea/Japan World Cup...it had 3 vocal songs, featuring 3 popular (I guess?) vocalist, and "Down Beat Stomp" was considered to be the unofficial song of that year's World Cup. Come 2006, we have Wild Peace...which also features 3 vocal songs featuring 3 popular vocalists...the first track, "Come On!" is essentially a song cheering on the Japanese soccer game, and the last track, "Better Days Are Gonna Come" remind me of Stompin on Down Beat Alley stuff.

Anyways, from bouncy opening track, "Come On!" to the super energetic, "Wish Upon the Sun," to the authentic sounds with "The Pretender," Wild Peace is definately a solid album. Not their strongest album, I think, but definately not their weakest either. If I were to score this between 1 and 5, with 1 being the lowest, and 5 being the highest, this would probably get a 3.5.

Summertime has come and gone...

And for me...Summer time is OVER! :( :( :( Summer school will be the death of me, though thank GOD, thank GOD that I got a 3.0 average this semester. I thought I was going to go much lower, especially in regards to my ISDS class. Let's hope I survive the summer session.

Rest in Peace, Desmond

Desmond Dekker - the man who rose to fame on Jamaica's airwaves with popular songs such as "The Israelites", "Intensified" and 007 - is dead.
The man who was christened Desmond Adolphus Dacres was born in July 16, 1941 died Thursday morning.

With his backing group, The Aces, Desmond Decker had the first international hit with The Israelites".

There are very few artistes left today who truly represented the best moments of the first decade of popular Jamaican music.

As a young man Desmond worked in a Jamaican welding shop. And his singing while working there served notice that he had quite a voice.

He had one thing in common with other Jamaican artistes such as Jimmy Cliff and Derrick Morgan, Desmond Dekker was produced by Leslie Kong of Beverly records.

He formed his group the Aces, which at times included Wilson James and various siblings from the Howard family, including Barry, Carl, Clive, and Patrick.

After changing his professional name to Dekker, in 1967 he and the group recorded 007 (Shanty Town), which made it to ..14 on the UK chart.

In 1963 his first break came with the single "Honour your father.

In 1968 the group won the festival song competition with the single - Intensified. His second album was also titled Intensified.

Another hit followed with the Israelites, this reached number one on the English pop charts in 1969.

The death of his guide and mentor Leslie Kong in 1971 was a tragic blow.

Desmond eventually migrated to England where he later modified his music for the English market.

His many hits and concerts made him a star among the English youths, who were then discovering the rhythmic patterns of reggae and who would ultimately imitate his Jamaican "rude boy" style.

Desmond became one of the leading lights of the music scene in Jamaica until the end of the 1960s and was particularly inspired and productive between 1966 and 1970.

He continued to perform and record into the 90's. With his death - he has gone down in history as one of those who paved the way around the world with the infectious beat - serving notice that reggae music had arrived.

Truly, the world has lost a legend today.


This is a pretty depressing thing to come home to...I remember last year, coming home from my European trip, and I found out that Laurel Aitken died :(

So I started reading this manga, Violinist of Hamelin. Basically, it's a story that takes place in a fantasy world, not too different from mideval Europe. The human world is at war with monsters, and the monsters are trying to revive their great king, Kestra.

Our main hero, Hamelin, is a half human, half monster travelling to the North to destroy the Monster army, and stop the rebirth of the Monster King. He wields a giant Violin, and by playing certain tunes, he can influence the people around him (and this is how he fights). Of course, in typical adventure story fashion, he encounters various allies and enemies along the way.

The story could be serious, but actually, it's more funny than serious, with jokes, usually potty humour jokes, dominating. Even at "serious" parts where a city is under attack, the characters still find the time to make fun of how a character looks.

Well, I really didn't mean to really write a review for this series, what I wanted to say was that I've been looking for a series like this for awhile. It reminds me a LOT of my favorite anime series, Slayers, both in its characters and the humour, and the whole fantasy adventure feeling.

This series actually has an anime version out too, but supposedly, it's massively different from it's manga counterpart. Whereas the manga is all about humour (but don't get me wrong, there are some dramatic and serious parts in the manga), the anime is all about the drama, and is suppose to be one of the sadder series. I think I'll stay away from the anime.

Dance, Cleopatra, DANCE!

Rock a Shacka Vol 5 - Dance Cleopatra is a compilation of Prince Buster tunes. Rock a Shocka vol 2 was a Prince Buster compilation, but it had stuff that he produced only, not sing in or something like that. Actually, this Rock a Shacka is pretty good. I usually don't really enjoy Prince Buster's off key singing, but this is a great compilation.

My favorite on this CD is still the instrumentals, but his vocals aren't bad. I particular enjoy the song, "Prophet" he did with Slim Smith. It's a shame the song is less than 2 minutes long, since it's such a nice tune. Islam is also another song that I really like. Some band should totally cover it.

Come on!

According to www.tokyoska.net, TokyoFM was going to be playing a new TSPO song today. Well, today, being 7:00 PM PST, which would be noon time in Japan the next day. Kin-ichi Motegi, current drummer for Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, hosts a show called, Justa Radio, and was going to play a new song today, called "Come On!" According to Babelfish, it was going to be a song to cheer the Japanese soccer team in the World Cup, so the song might be something like, "Downbeat Stomp"?

I thought I had found an internet stream when my friend showed me this link, but it turned out to be a dud.

Well, that kinda sucks!

Summertime...

Done with my classes today, summer time is almost upon me, I can almost TASTE IT.

TASTE THE VICTORY!

Just A Little Bit of Your Soul...

So a couple of posts ago, I did this whole entry about how TSPO has all these references to old ska bands and/or songs. Here's another one I found out recently...

On the song Bongo Tango (which is a cover of a Skatalites song anyways), when the trombonist does his solo, he does it to the tune of RINGO, another Skatalites song. They play Bongo Tango a lot, but the only time it's really been recorded on a CD is their, "LIVE" album which was released in 91, I think. TSPO fact of the day.

Now, here are the play lists for the last 2 podcast episodes i've posted. I should have Episode 4 up soon. It's a West Coast + Mexico episode, and I had one hell of a hard time thinking of the playlist. First of all, I couldn't think of much Mexican ska bands, since I don't know of many, and the few that I do know, have shitty production values. Second of all, I was focusing wayyy too much on California bands, and if you'd like to drill down even more, wayyy too much Southern California bands. As a result, I'm not entirely happy with the playlist I made for Episode 4....I'm missing some IMPORTANT bands like The Skeletones, The Uptones, and Untouchables, bands that have been around since the 80s, I'm also missing some semi-big names, like Debonaires, See Spot, Allentons. But it's not a bad playlist, but it's just so hard, especially for an hour show.


Episode 3:

Polysics - Buggie Technica (New Recording)
The Operators *780* - Indecision
The After Hours - Tropical Bliss
The Ethiopians - The World Goes Ska
Determinations - Easy Problem
Little Tempo - Dragon Twist
Anouman - Exactly Like You
Alton Ellis - Girl I've Gote a Date
The Gadjits - Sh'Bop
Tsuyoshi Kawakami & His Moodmakers - Summer Samba
Moon Monkeys - Journey to the Moon
Don Drummond & The Skatalites - Garden of Love
The Wild Bunch - The Wild Bunch Meets Wong Fei Hung
Phenomenauts - Mission
Dave & Ansel Collins - Monkey Spanner
Toots & the Maytals - Never You Change
The Zodiacs - Renegade
Derrick Morgan - Gimme Back
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra - Let's Go Out
The Aquabats - The Wild Sea


Episode 2:

Chuck Berry - Back in the U.S.A.
Slackers - Mommy
The Skatalites - From Russia, with Love
The Hippy Boys - Dreams to Remember
The Nuckle Brothers - Hot Rod
The Aggrolites - The Stampede
GG All Stars - Champion
Orange Street - Oh Please! -LIVE-
The Surf Coasters - SURFING AND SPYING
Don Drummond - Sudden Attack
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra - Zero Fighter
Prince Buster - Freezing Up Orange Street
The Pilfers - Hypnotized
Desmond Dekker & The Cherry Pies - King of Ska
Determinations - O Wave
Sound Dimension - Funky Joe
Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría - Suavito
Ska Cubano - Loca Rumba
The Upsetters - Man from MI5
The Skoidats - Last Night

Finals...

These upcoming two weeks will be really tough, since finals are coming up.

Part 1 of a 2 part final begins this Wednsday for my ISDS class, then it continues on Monday (along with another Final). Summer is so close, I can almost taste it, but I need to survive this first.

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra's, "Hoshi Furu Yoru Ni" (roughly translated, "On the Night of Falling Stars" is their last single before their 12th album, Wild Peace. It was released on May 10th (a day after The Aggrolites released their new album). Personally, I think it's the best of the three singles they've released so far. The main song, "Hoshi Furu Yoru Ni" is a catchy, bouncy ska song. The guest vocals (who apparently belonged to the High Lows, a Japanese punk band) really fit the song well. Personally, I like his voice more than the mellow-ness of the first vocal single, or the more baby, Jpop ness of the second single.

The other songs included in the single aren't bad either. "My Baby Rooster" is a funky ska tune with Gamo toasting about...a baby rooster?? I dunno, is their like a second meaning behind that? The third song, "Michi" is a fairly standard traditional ska song. The 4th song, is the instrumental version of the first song, though I don't think it's as good without vocals, but it's still catchy.

In less than a month, TSPO will be releasing their newest album, "Wild Peace" in Japan. Let's hope it's as strong as their last album, Answer!

http://www.tokyoska.net



The Aggrolites have just released their Hellcat debut album (which also happens to be their second album) which is self titled. It's fucking 19 tracks of scorching reggae, and it's over an hour long (which is great for those who thought Dirty Reggae was too short). If you're going into this album expecting "Dirty Reggae 2," then don't, because The Aggrolites take their sound to a whole new level with this album.

I can't really explain it, I guess the easiest way for me to say it is that this album is a lot less "dirty," and a lot more "traditional." A lot of the songs sound like they were recorded and produced right in Kingston, Jamaica, or the UK, during the years between 1969-1971. It's the authentic early reggae sound. Some of the songs sound like they're unreleased Crystalites or unreleased early Upsetters tunes. Some songs really also remind me of the Rhythm Doctors (that's a good thing), another early reggae band that consisted of members of the Aggrolites. There are a lot more vocal songs this time around, and for the most part, they're also a lot more socially concious lyrics. Jesse's voice is just very funky and soulful and just accompanies the music really well. NO "Fakin Jamaican" here.

But it's not like they threw away the dirty, or the funk. The first tune on the album, titled, "Funky Fire" is a funky reggae tune that would make fans of funk and soul like James Brown or the Meters happy, and tunes like "Mr. Misery" and "A.G.G.R.O." still have that "dirty" feeling to them.

This was just an amazing album. They could have sat around and played all these songs that sounded like Dirty Reggae, and I still would have eaten it up, but no, they took their song writing to a whole new level with this one. I hope these guys stay around for a LOONG time, since I can't wait to hear what they come up with in the future.

http://www.myspace.com/theaggrolites
http://hell-cat.com/artists/album/478/
http://www.aggroreggae.com

A little advertisement...

That's TSPO's new music video for their new single, which will be released next week actually...a day after the Aggrolites release their new album.

Anyways, if you're bored, check out my podcast...I play a lot of ska and the like, but I do play other music (well, I will, since I've only uploaded one episode, and I've recently finished doing episode 2.

Here's the playlist to my first show:
Giuliano Palma & His Bluebeaters - Skaravan [live] (ITALY)
Gerhana Ska Cinta - Legendary Sir "Clement" Coxone Dodd (MALAYSIA)
Put3ska - My Boy Lollipop (PHILIPPINES)
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra - Shot in the Dark [live] (JAPAN)
Desorden Público - Tokyo Loco (VENEZUELA)
Firebug - Gimmie Your Love (BRAZIL)
Polemic - Yes You're Right [feat. Dr. Ring Ding] (SLOVAKIA)
Lord Tanamo w/ Dr. Ring Ding & The Senior Allstars - Iron Bar (GERMANY)
Laurel Aitken w/ Court Jester's Crew - Dance Wid' Me, Baby (GERMANY)
Los Granadians - Reggae Clam Clam (SPAIN)
Oi-SKALL Mates - Let's Bald Head (JAPAN)
Tsuyoshi Kawakami & His Moodmakers - Ice Ball (JAPAN)
Kingston Rudieska - Shooting Star (KOREA)
St. Petersburg Ska-Jazz Review - Too Good To Be True (RUSSIA)
Moon Invaders - Old Friend (BELGIUM)
Viking's Remedy - Step on My Dreams (FRANCE)
The Ratazanas - King Kong (PORTUGAL)
Ska Flames - Mighty Three (JAPAN)

Rock a SHACKA

Dude....!!! So i just ripped listened to CD that I forgot I had...it's Rock a Shacka Vol 2. IT's a bunch of Prince Buster tracks, or Buster produced tracks, previously unreleased, and it was chosen by somebody from the now defunct Japanese ska band, Determinations...(BTW Vol 1 was a live album of them backing up Prince Buster himself).

D00DE!!! this CD is fucking kick ass, especially the instrumental tunes. They're all played by a group called, Buster's All Stars, but we all know it's really the Skatalites under a different name. Some of the instrumentals on here are fucking tiight, and I love the drumming. I'm not even knowledgable enough in the music to even tell you who's drumming...but it certainly doesn't sound like Knibbs in most other Skatalites songs (except NON-STOP, the drumming sounds similar to THAT!!!). On the other hand, I don't even know how to tell Drumbago's drumming apart from Knibbs so...

But whatever, they're fucking SICK SONGS!! Like Seven Duppy, with a sick ass trombone solo!!

Not all the Rock a Shacka's are Jamaican music however...Rock a Shacka vol 3 is a lot of tight old school rock and roll (still in transition from rnB) as well as this smoking Latin track...sang in Spanish...by a Japanese band. And it has a Ventures cover of Duke Ellington's Caravan!! Some sick shit.

Yeah, I don't know why I used so many CAPITAL letters and !!!! today, but seriously, this CD kicks ass.

Isn't this just the coolest ad ever? I wish I had a Lambretta..or Vespa. Scooting around town would be mighty fun.

Review of the Ska Flames album

This is my review for Ska Flames newest album, "REALSTEP" on CDjapan.co.jp.

"The Ska Flames is Japan's oldest ska band, and my second favorite Japanese band, behind Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. While TSPO likes to infuse many styles into their music, Ska Flames is content with playing the music closer to their Jamaican musical forefathers, the Skatalites. Perhaps that's why the Ska Flames hasn't gotten as much attention abroad as Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, which is a big shame.

The release of REALSTEP marks their 20th year of playing and recording, and is their best album yet. The moment you put that CD into your CD Player and the 1st track, "Good Morning" comes on, you know you've got a winner on your hands.

With good production values, tight horns, and a solid rhthym section, REALSTEP is a must have for Ska Flames fans and fans of early Jamaican music alike. "

In other news, I have gotten my grubby little hands on an advanced copy of the Aggrolites upcoming self titled album. It's fucking great! Buy the real copy when it comes out on May 28th, you won't regret it! It's a lot more traditional than Dirty Reggae, but that doesn't make it any less awesome. I'll write a real review for it later.

I know I said I'd do a real post about something relevant, but I don't really feel like it right now, so sorry :)

I say HEYYYYY

Yo, long time no update!

So a few weeks ago, my roommate and I catched a free Aggrolites show for some St. Patricks day celebration at Cal State Long Beach. The retarded thing was that the first band opened up very late, so the Aggrolites could only play fucking 5 songs...2 old songs, 2 new songs, 1 cover. Still, I heard one new song of their upcoming album, so I was happy. The "headlining" band so to speak, was some lame Smiths cover band, so me and my roommate left early.


Earlier this week, I finally received my Ska Flames album. It's their latest album, called "Realstep" and is probably up there with "Damn Good" as my favorite Ska Flames album. I really love Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, but Ska Flames is a very close second. While Skapara likes to mix things up, Ska Flames is pretty dedicated to playing ska like their Jamaican predecessor, and they're arguably one of the best bands in the world that has done so. My favorite songs might just be their first track, "Good Morning" and the song, "Stolen Beat"


Speaking of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, they're releasing a new single next month. I'll be looking forward to that. It's suppose to feature the vocals of a guy from an old Japanese punk band called, The Blue Hearts. I don't really know that band, but I have heard their song, "Linda Linda," since the Slackers covered part of it in their live album, "Slack in Japan."



Since next month is May, it also brings it back to the band I was talking about first. The Aggrolites are finally releasing their second album, after a long anticipation by yours truly. It's suppose to be 19 tracks of dirty reggae goodness, so look out for it. For the full track listing, check out the Epitaph webpage here.

WEll, that's all for now, next time, maybe I'll post something substantial, other than music.