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(soothing synth music)
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Downloaded from
MY-SUBS.MX
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Official MY-SUBS movies site:
MY-SUBS.MX
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- [Narrator] There was a time in the 1990s
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00:00:21,399 --> 00:00:25,769
when it seemed like ska
music was everywhere.
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On the radio, in movies, on TV,
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even on top of the Billboard chart.
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- Exciting.
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These are the stories you dream about.
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- Like that time it felt this was right.
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It felt like if I could define a music
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for the mid-'90s, it was ska punk.
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- This is so different and so weird
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and my parents are gonna hate it.
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I love it.
16
00:00:50,655 --> 00:00:51,871
No one's gonna get it.
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00:00:51,871 --> 00:00:52,946
I get to go back to high school
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and the preppy girls are gonna be like,
19
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where'd you go this weekend?
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I'd be like pfft, you're not
even gonna understand ska.
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Ska is ours.
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It's for the weird kids. (chuckles)
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- Before that it was two-toned,
24
00:01:04,675 --> 00:01:06,048
very black and white specials.
25
00:01:06,048 --> 00:01:07,578
Everything was just (vocalizes).
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00:01:07,578 --> 00:01:09,921
Somehow the color exploded
from the No Doubt,
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00:01:09,921 --> 00:01:12,493
Reel Big Fish, Less Than
Jake and Goldfinger.
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That was that positive, here we go.
29
00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:18,487
- Now you're startin'
to see a national level,
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00:01:18,487 --> 00:01:20,857
a band like the Bosstones come in.
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This is bigger than our little thing.
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This is somethin' next level.
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- Back then, it was like the people
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that liked the music loved the music.
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- I just tell people, it's
the perfect dance music.
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00:01:31,936 --> 00:01:33,951
In their mind, they're probably thinkin'
37
00:01:33,951 --> 00:01:36,075
maybe hip-hop or something.
38
00:01:36,075 --> 00:01:38,063
- I think a lotta people just looked at,
39
00:01:38,063 --> 00:01:42,153
especially the ska music of the late '90s,
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00:01:42,153 --> 00:01:43,531
as this kinda wacky, silly thing.
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00:01:43,531 --> 00:01:45,291
Don't take it seriously, it's just a joke.
42
00:01:45,291 --> 00:01:47,642
But it means a lot to us.
43
00:01:47,642 --> 00:01:50,899
- As a teenager, it was just like wow,
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there's a music out there
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00:01:52,108 --> 00:01:56,673
where it just makes me feel
positive and makes me feel good.
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When the right band does it, you feel it.
47
00:02:00,388 --> 00:02:03,311
- If literally somebody walkin'
down the street that's like
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00:02:03,311 --> 00:02:05,109
why do I wanna come see your show?
49
00:02:05,109 --> 00:02:07,352
I'm like you'll like it, I guarantee.
50
00:02:07,352 --> 00:02:11,618
Come in, like '90% chance you'll like it.
51
00:02:11,618 --> 00:02:12,891
- It made me really happy.
52
00:02:12,891 --> 00:02:16,757
To watch the way a bunch of
young musicians in America
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00:02:16,757 --> 00:02:21,463
decided they would love and
use this really powerful
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dance music with an incredible
groove that they had.
55
00:02:24,905 --> 00:02:25,738
It was amazing for me.
56
00:02:25,738 --> 00:02:29,411
- It's kinda hard to
deny ska in a lotta ways.
57
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There's an infectiousness to it
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where if you're not open to it,
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00:02:33,836 --> 00:02:35,561
maybe you're not gonna get there.
60
00:02:35,561 --> 00:02:38,968
But if you're at all
susceptible, it's gonna get you.
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00:02:38,968 --> 00:02:40,919
- It's just fun music, man.
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It's like you can dance to it.
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00:02:42,974 --> 00:02:44,743
You feel like you can
let go of all the shit
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00:02:44,743 --> 00:02:46,327
that happens in your life.
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- It's a very infectious sound
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00:02:48,293 --> 00:02:51,550
and a very fun, positive music
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that is lovable.
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- I think every generation has
their we were hippies, man.
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00:02:57,713 --> 00:03:00,423
We were at Woodstock, that
was the greatest time.
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I'm sure it was awesome,
but I was lucky enough
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00:03:02,648 --> 00:03:05,231
to be in a dumb, dopey ska band
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playing with some amazing other bands.
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Get to see the world,
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00:03:10,834 --> 00:03:13,016
get to make friends all over the place.
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00:03:13,016 --> 00:03:15,953
- I think just right
place, right time a lot too
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00:03:15,953 --> 00:03:19,305
where the world was ready for fun music.
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00:03:19,305 --> 00:03:22,160
I think ska especially in Orange County,
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Southern California and the United States,
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00:03:24,439 --> 00:03:25,841
it blew up at that time.
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00:03:25,841 --> 00:03:30,703
- The idea of us being a ska
band was kind of ridiculous.
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00:03:30,703 --> 00:03:31,745
Let's just call it like it is,
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we're just a bunch of dumb white guys
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00:03:33,229 --> 00:03:35,639
from Southern California.
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We probably have no business playing ska.
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00:03:38,570 --> 00:03:40,503
- Yeah, the way SoCal blended all the punk
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00:03:40,503 --> 00:03:44,074
that was already SoCal
punk with the modern ska
87
00:03:44,074 --> 00:03:48,114
was really unique and powerful
at the time, honestly.
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Even if got laughed at afterwards.
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- Ska defines who I am as a person
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00:03:52,705 --> 00:03:57,100
and I will never turn my
back on ska. (vocalizes)
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Looking back, I have no regrets.
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00:03:59,034 --> 00:04:00,829
- You should.
- Yup.
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00:04:00,829 --> 00:04:03,325
- It was a very short
window of passing time.
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00:04:03,325 --> 00:04:06,154
Then by late '99, 2000, it was over.
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00:04:06,154 --> 00:04:07,578
Bands were gettin' dropped.
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00:04:07,578 --> 00:04:10,195
- A lotta people thought maybe
we were a joke or something
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00:04:10,195 --> 00:04:13,362
because we were a third wave ska band.
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00:04:14,307 --> 00:04:15,514
- Blame us, why don't you?
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Just come out and say it,
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00:04:16,596 --> 00:04:20,403
it's Orange County's
fault that ska crashed.
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00:04:20,403 --> 00:04:21,255
Yes.
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00:04:21,255 --> 00:04:22,618
Yes, we overdid it.
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00:04:22,618 --> 00:04:23,590
Are you happy now?
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00:04:23,590 --> 00:04:26,423
(jazzy ska music)
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00:04:33,971 --> 00:04:36,388
♪ Pick it up ♪
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00:04:44,341 --> 00:04:46,758
♪ Pick it up ♪
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00:04:55,019 --> 00:04:59,019
♪ Go team go ♪
108
00:05:05,190 --> 00:05:07,607
♪ Pick it up ♪
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00:05:20,892 --> 00:05:24,115
- It became different because in '87,
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00:05:24,115 --> 00:05:25,429
you'd be hard-pressed to find people
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00:05:25,429 --> 00:05:27,760
who knew what ska music was.
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00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:29,824
But seven, eight years later,
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00:05:29,824 --> 00:05:31,607
you'd be hard-pressed
to find a young person
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00:05:31,607 --> 00:05:32,870
who'd never heard of it.
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00:05:32,870 --> 00:05:35,787
(lively ska music)
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00:05:39,479 --> 00:05:41,729
♪ Aww yeah ♪
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- Hi, I'm Scott.
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00:05:45,864 --> 00:05:48,022
We're here in Time Square in New York City
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and we're gonna talk to
people about ska music.
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See how that goes.
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00:05:54,555 --> 00:05:56,138
Ska.
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00:05:56,138 --> 00:05:57,805
Ska music, familiar?
123
00:06:01,135 --> 00:06:03,102
Ska music, you know about ska music?
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00:06:03,102 --> 00:06:03,935
Sir, ska music?
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00:06:03,935 --> 00:06:04,768
Ma'am, no?
126
00:06:04,768 --> 00:06:06,399
We're asking people on
the street in New York
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00:06:06,399 --> 00:06:08,585
if they know anything about ska music.
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00:06:08,585 --> 00:06:09,608
- Not at all.
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00:06:09,608 --> 00:06:11,698
- Are you familiar with ska music?
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00:06:11,698 --> 00:06:12,531
- What kinda music?
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00:06:12,531 --> 00:06:14,028
- Ska music.
- No.
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00:06:14,028 --> 00:06:17,066
- Ska music, do you know
anything about ska music?
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00:06:17,066 --> 00:06:19,175
- Ska music, never heard of it.
134
00:06:19,175 --> 00:06:21,223
- Are you familiar with ska music?
135
00:06:21,223 --> 00:06:22,081
- No.
136
00:06:22,081 --> 00:06:22,914
- There's no pressure.
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00:06:22,914 --> 00:06:24,313
This is not a test.
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00:06:24,313 --> 00:06:26,194
There's no money involved.
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00:06:26,194 --> 00:06:27,361
Would you know
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00:06:28,661 --> 00:06:29,744
like Sublime?
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00:06:30,791 --> 00:06:32,648
- No, I'm too young for that.
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00:06:32,648 --> 00:06:37,648
- (chuckles) No no no, that's like '90s.
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00:06:37,756 --> 00:06:39,494
(Scott chuckling)
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00:06:39,494 --> 00:06:41,599
- Unfamiliar territory.
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00:06:41,599 --> 00:06:42,870
Completely.
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00:06:42,870 --> 00:06:45,124
- No, what is ska music?
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00:06:45,124 --> 00:06:47,171
- Have you ever heard of The Specials?
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00:06:47,171 --> 00:06:49,271
- No, what are The Specials?
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00:06:49,271 --> 00:06:51,118
- They're a band.
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00:06:51,118 --> 00:06:52,798
- The Specials?
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00:06:52,798 --> 00:06:53,631
- I've heard of them.
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00:06:53,631 --> 00:06:54,889
They're an old English band, aren't they?
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00:06:54,889 --> 00:06:55,722
- Yup.
- Yeah.
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00:06:55,722 --> 00:06:57,362
- What do you know about ska music?
155
00:06:57,362 --> 00:06:58,853
Do you know about ska music?
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00:06:58,853 --> 00:07:01,019
Come here, talk to me for goodness sakes.
157
00:07:01,019 --> 00:07:04,226
- I hate saying No Doubt
'cause they're not really ska,
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but they have the elements.
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00:07:06,517 --> 00:07:08,133
- How about No Doubt?
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00:07:08,133 --> 00:07:10,289
- I have heard of No Doubt.
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00:07:10,289 --> 00:07:12,667
Gwen Stefani, right? (laughs)
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00:07:12,667 --> 00:07:13,688
- Okay, great.
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00:07:13,688 --> 00:07:16,030
How familiar are you with ska music?
164
00:07:16,030 --> 00:07:16,863
- Ska?
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00:07:16,863 --> 00:07:18,231
Not at all.
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00:07:18,231 --> 00:07:20,070
- How familiar are you with ska music?
167
00:07:20,070 --> 00:07:21,401
- Very familiar with the ska music.
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00:07:21,401 --> 00:07:23,967
It was the precursor to the reggae music,
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the British beating
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and all those great bands that came out.
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00:07:27,187 --> 00:07:30,199
The Skatalites made you move.
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Even if you didn't wanna
move, it made you move.
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- This is so great.
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I just learned somethin' today.
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You learn somethin' new every day, hey.
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00:07:40,755 --> 00:07:43,504
- [Narrator] Where did
ska music come from?
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00:07:43,504 --> 00:07:47,347
Ska begins in Kingston, Jamaica
at the end of the 1950s.
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00:07:47,347 --> 00:07:50,375
The homegrown music of the island, mento,
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blended with the jazz music
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00:07:51,907 --> 00:07:53,941
performed for tours and nightclubs
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00:07:53,941 --> 00:07:56,419
and the rhythm and blues
picked up on transistors
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00:07:56,419 --> 00:07:58,707
from American radio stations.
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00:07:58,707 --> 00:08:02,144
It was a strange recipe
of lively horns and drums,
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00:08:02,144 --> 00:08:05,779
sometimes a piano and
maybe even some vocals.
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00:08:05,779 --> 00:08:08,460
But it was that distinctive,
syncopated rhythm
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00:08:08,460 --> 00:08:11,823
that really made ska its own creation.
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00:08:11,823 --> 00:08:13,845
It was different, it was fun.
188
00:08:13,845 --> 00:08:16,206
It was a source of upbeat, uptempo joy
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no matter what the political,
social or economic situation
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of those who wore their
best shoes and danced.
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00:08:23,932 --> 00:08:27,761
Danced to it they did in
places like Forrester's Hall,
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00:08:27,761 --> 00:08:31,121
Chocomo Lawn and Tile Jubilee Gardens.
193
00:08:31,121 --> 00:08:33,792
These were the original dance halls.
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00:08:33,792 --> 00:08:36,907
Some had walls, some
were outdoors in yards
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00:08:36,907 --> 00:08:40,343
with nothin' but a zinc fence
surroundin' the space inside
196
00:08:40,343 --> 00:08:43,780
where Kingston DJs, called
sound system operators,
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00:08:43,780 --> 00:08:46,202
held dances every night of the week.
198
00:08:46,202 --> 00:08:49,066
Imagine payin' a few bucks or shillin's
199
00:08:49,066 --> 00:08:51,969
since Jamaica was still a
colony of Britain back then.
200
00:08:51,969 --> 00:08:54,964
Walkin' inside a sound system
dance on a Saturday night.
201
00:08:54,964 --> 00:08:58,068
Bass pumpin', horns blarin'
from massive handmade
202
00:08:58,068 --> 00:09:01,703
speaker boxes stacked
high in the hot night sky.
203
00:09:01,703 --> 00:09:03,545
Speakers strapped to tree branches
204
00:09:03,545 --> 00:09:06,186
so every man, woman and
child from miles around
205
00:09:06,186 --> 00:09:08,711
could hear their records
on the turntables.
206
00:09:08,711 --> 00:09:12,377
The sound waftin' mixin'
with the smoke of curry goat
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00:09:12,377 --> 00:09:14,279
and fried red snapper.
208
00:09:14,279 --> 00:09:16,612
Ska was more than music.
209
00:09:16,612 --> 00:09:18,382
Ska was an experience.
210
00:09:18,382 --> 00:09:21,140
Dances attracted hundreds
of people who dressed sharp
211
00:09:21,140 --> 00:09:23,309
to move to the music of local artists,
212
00:09:23,309 --> 00:09:26,700
like Laurel Aitken, Derrick
Morgan, Prince Buster,
213
00:09:26,700 --> 00:09:30,797
Desmond Dekker and even young
Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley.
214
00:09:30,797 --> 00:09:33,723
To supply the music,
sound system operators
215
00:09:33,723 --> 00:09:36,785
also recorded these new Jamaican artists.
216
00:09:36,785 --> 00:09:39,021
Auditioning vocalists in their studios
217
00:09:39,021 --> 00:09:40,858
every day of the week.
218
00:09:40,858 --> 00:09:43,338
Behind the singers were the house bands,
219
00:09:43,338 --> 00:09:45,067
hornsmen as they were called.
220
00:09:45,067 --> 00:09:47,105
They were highly-skilled musicians,
221
00:09:47,105 --> 00:09:49,589
trained in jazz and classical music.
222
00:09:49,589 --> 00:09:52,602
They came to the recording
studios to try to earn a livin'.
223
00:09:52,602 --> 00:09:55,534
A few coins for a recording
that the sound system operators
224
00:09:55,534 --> 00:09:57,413
then used to play that night.
225
00:09:57,413 --> 00:10:00,691
Sometimes they'd battle one
another for the biggest crowd
226
00:10:00,691 --> 00:10:02,989
in what was known as a clash.
227
00:10:02,989 --> 00:10:04,457
Competition was tough.
228
00:10:04,457 --> 00:10:06,019
It was a big business.
229
00:10:06,019 --> 00:10:07,305
There were fights between groups
230
00:10:07,305 --> 00:10:09,841
that aligned themselves
with the sound systems.
231
00:10:09,841 --> 00:10:11,457
These were The Rude Boys.
232
00:10:11,457 --> 00:10:14,318
They dressed to the nines,
wore sunglasses at night
233
00:10:14,318 --> 00:10:16,756
and exhibited their
power by breakin' needles
234
00:10:16,756 --> 00:10:20,368
from the rival turntable and
pushin' around the audience
235
00:10:20,368 --> 00:10:22,291
to break up the party.
236
00:10:22,291 --> 00:10:23,952
How did this music, dance and culture
237
00:10:23,952 --> 00:10:26,128
even make its way to America?
238
00:10:26,128 --> 00:10:27,541
It wasn't a direct route.
239
00:10:27,541 --> 00:10:29,644
It was through the
migration of Jamaican people
240
00:10:29,644 --> 00:10:32,129
to England that ska travels,
241
00:10:32,129 --> 00:10:35,159
like a bird with a seed
where it's planted in places
242
00:10:35,159 --> 00:10:38,442
like Brixton, Nottinghill, Coventry.
243
00:10:38,442 --> 00:10:41,073
They came in search of work
and brought their records
244
00:10:41,073 --> 00:10:42,971
and musical taste with them.
245
00:10:42,971 --> 00:10:45,018
Show at house parties and dance clubs,
246
00:10:45,018 --> 00:10:47,651
Jamaican immigrants felt
like they were home.
247
00:10:47,651 --> 00:10:49,158
The white working class youth
248
00:10:49,158 --> 00:10:51,915
who lived and worked
alongside the Jamaicans
249
00:10:51,915 --> 00:10:53,408
loved what they heard.
250
00:10:53,408 --> 00:10:56,678
They loved My Boy
Lollipop by Millie Small.
251
00:10:56,678 --> 00:11:00,188
They loved Desmond
Dekker's 007 Shanty Town
252
00:11:00,188 --> 00:11:02,655
and Prince Buster's One Step Beyond.
253
00:11:02,655 --> 00:11:05,488
They also loved their style
of dress and attitude,
254
00:11:05,488 --> 00:11:07,778
sharp and cool like The Rude Boys.
255
00:11:07,778 --> 00:11:10,017
When the white youth brought
their own musical backgrounds
256
00:11:10,017 --> 00:11:13,307
and taste into the mix, punk and soul,
257
00:11:13,307 --> 00:11:16,701
another recipe for ska was born: two-tone.
258
00:11:16,701 --> 00:11:19,170
Two-tone became wildly popular in England
259
00:11:19,170 --> 00:11:23,064
as early as 1979 and lasted until 1984.
260
00:11:23,064 --> 00:11:24,738
Named after the record label founded by
261
00:11:24,738 --> 00:11:27,842
Jerry Dammers of The
Specials, this ska movement
262
00:11:27,842 --> 00:11:30,391
sounded very different
from its Jamaican parents.
263
00:11:30,391 --> 00:11:32,464
It wasn't just fast, it was phonetic.
264
00:11:32,464 --> 00:11:35,616
Bands like The Specials,
The Selecter, The Beat,
265
00:11:35,616 --> 00:11:38,407
Madness and Bad Manners
topped the charts with songs
266
00:11:38,407 --> 00:11:41,231
that spoke of politics and racial unity.
267
00:11:41,231 --> 00:11:43,826
Members of these groups
were both black and white.
268
00:11:43,826 --> 00:11:46,271
Their songs were either
brand new creations
269
00:11:46,271 --> 00:11:48,921
or covers of their
original Jamaican songs.
270
00:11:48,921 --> 00:11:52,935
But the sound always featured
that distinctive ska rhythm.
271
00:11:52,935 --> 00:11:54,935
It was through this British version
272
00:11:54,935 --> 00:11:57,532
that ska began to take
foothold in America.
273
00:11:57,532 --> 00:11:59,610
(crowd cheering)
274
00:11:59,610 --> 00:12:00,443
- I'm just thinkin' 'bout how
275
00:12:00,443 --> 00:12:05,024
before you'd have to explain
to somebody what ska was.
276
00:12:05,024 --> 00:12:05,998
- What is ska?
277
00:12:05,998 --> 00:12:08,163
What is ska, Sascha?
278
00:12:08,163 --> 00:12:09,313
- (mumbles) rock band and you don't know
279
00:12:09,313 --> 00:12:10,146
what ska music is?
280
00:12:10,146 --> 00:12:10,979
Geez.
281
00:12:12,072 --> 00:12:14,057
- I don't know what ska music is.
282
00:12:14,057 --> 00:12:15,602
- People say, "What is ska?
283
00:12:15,602 --> 00:12:16,445
"What do you play?"
284
00:12:16,445 --> 00:12:19,257
- I guess if my mom asked
me what ska music is,
285
00:12:19,257 --> 00:12:21,659
I would say it's a danceable, upbeat,
286
00:12:21,659 --> 00:12:23,909
major key, fun party music.
287
00:12:24,921 --> 00:12:26,770
- I say it's fun.
288
00:12:26,770 --> 00:12:27,939
It's got horns in it.
289
00:12:27,939 --> 00:12:29,093
You can dance to it.
290
00:12:29,093 --> 00:12:32,335
What I wanna tell 'em is about the tribe
291
00:12:32,335 --> 00:12:34,840
and how important it's been in my life.
292
00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,822
If I have longer, I'll explain.
293
00:12:37,822 --> 00:12:40,747
Oh no, I found people with
this common music interest
294
00:12:40,747 --> 00:12:45,537
all over the world, but the
short answer is fast reggae.
295
00:12:45,537 --> 00:12:47,233
- Ska, the way I explain it
296
00:12:47,233 --> 00:12:49,307
is ska's a upbeat version of reggae.
297
00:12:49,307 --> 00:12:51,647
- It's basically just fast reggae.
298
00:12:51,647 --> 00:12:53,485
- I usually just say it's fast reggae.
299
00:12:53,485 --> 00:12:55,770
- I was gonna say it's fast reggae.
300
00:12:55,770 --> 00:12:57,773
But if you didn't know what reggae is,
301
00:12:57,773 --> 00:12:59,185
then that wouldn't work.
302
00:12:59,185 --> 00:13:03,518
- The description was it's
faster reggae with horns,
303
00:13:04,908 --> 00:13:06,206
which is terrible.
304
00:13:06,206 --> 00:13:10,623
- In reality, ska is the
grandfather to reggae music.
305
00:13:11,596 --> 00:13:13,446
- Before reggae, there was ska.
306
00:13:13,446 --> 00:13:16,994
- It would slow down into rock
steady couple years later,
307
00:13:16,994 --> 00:13:21,994
which turned into reggae
which has spawned the world.
308
00:13:21,999 --> 00:13:25,332
- Without ska, there would be no reggae.
309
00:13:26,243 --> 00:13:27,875
- Everybody's heard ska before,
310
00:13:27,875 --> 00:13:29,591
but you don't know how
to put it into words
311
00:13:29,591 --> 00:13:33,211
or you try and describe bands
that play ska or played ska.
312
00:13:33,211 --> 00:13:35,753
People will say, "I never heard
of 'em, never heard of 'em."
313
00:13:35,753 --> 00:13:37,388
Even when you go all the
way to the top echelon
314
00:13:37,388 --> 00:13:39,341
which is No Doubt you say, No Doubt?
315
00:13:39,341 --> 00:13:41,381
They go like oh yeah,
I've heard of No Doubt.
316
00:13:41,381 --> 00:13:43,963
You go, haven't you heard any
of their really early stuff?
317
00:13:43,963 --> 00:13:45,392
They're like no, not really.
318
00:13:45,392 --> 00:13:46,225
- Not like if any of them had (mumbles),
319
00:13:46,225 --> 00:13:47,058
but picture that with horns.
320
00:13:49,212 --> 00:13:50,889
If that doesn't resonate you just go,
321
00:13:50,889 --> 00:13:53,472
picture happy music with horns.
322
00:13:54,478 --> 00:13:56,186
They go, like Chicago?
323
00:13:56,186 --> 00:13:58,361
If you're tryin' to get outta
the conversation you go,
324
00:13:58,361 --> 00:14:00,085
yeah just like Chicago.
325
00:14:00,085 --> 00:14:02,335
We're exactly like Chicago.
326
00:14:03,429 --> 00:14:05,789
- To me, ska music is
such a beautiful thing
327
00:14:05,789 --> 00:14:07,054
because of where it came from.
328
00:14:07,054 --> 00:14:10,894
It's the ultimate story
of underdogs prevailing
329
00:14:10,894 --> 00:14:13,811
and creating beauty out of nothing.
330
00:14:14,879 --> 00:14:18,758
- It's Jamaican people taking
American big band rock 'n roll
331
00:14:18,758 --> 00:14:21,006
and making their own version of it.
332
00:14:21,006 --> 00:14:24,020
I'm sure without a few
joints and some rum,
333
00:14:24,020 --> 00:14:26,724
I made this thing that they called Skarum
334
00:14:26,724 --> 00:14:28,754
because they had to
come up with somethin'.
335
00:14:28,754 --> 00:14:30,732
'Cause it wasn't jazz, it wasn't big band.
336
00:14:30,732 --> 00:14:33,032
It wasn't rock 'n roll;
it was their thing,
337
00:14:33,032 --> 00:14:34,204
so they called it Skarum.
338
00:14:34,204 --> 00:14:37,465
- Then you get the
musicality of it as well.
339
00:14:37,465 --> 00:14:42,033
The guys in The Skatilites were
all jazz guys to begin with.
340
00:14:42,033 --> 00:14:44,269
Their heroes were people
like Lester Young,
341
00:14:44,269 --> 00:14:46,665
John Coltrane and Charlie Parker.
342
00:14:46,665 --> 00:14:48,998
People like this, they
idolized these guys.
343
00:14:48,998 --> 00:14:51,534
- As soon as you hear that opening
344
00:14:51,534 --> 00:14:54,243
timbales or that opening snare run,
345
00:14:54,243 --> 00:14:58,258
all of a sudden the bass starts rollin'.
346
00:14:58,258 --> 00:14:59,949
The keys start bubblin'.
347
00:14:59,949 --> 00:15:01,578
- Everything is on the second beat
348
00:15:01,578 --> 00:15:04,075
and the fourth beat as an upbeat,
349
00:15:04,075 --> 00:15:07,746
which has this very fun,
danceable energy to it
350
00:15:07,746 --> 00:15:09,831
that's pretty infectious.
351
00:15:09,831 --> 00:15:11,921
- We all had these little worlds of music
352
00:15:11,921 --> 00:15:14,028
that we were exploring.
353
00:15:14,028 --> 00:15:17,389
When we'd get in the van
together or rehearse,
354
00:15:17,389 --> 00:15:18,803
these would all clash.
355
00:15:18,803 --> 00:15:21,672
- You have this circle
which represents reggae.
356
00:15:21,672 --> 00:15:24,015
You have this circle that represents punk.
357
00:15:24,015 --> 00:15:26,215
This circle that represents rock 'n roll
358
00:15:26,215 --> 00:15:28,470
and this circle that represents jazz.
359
00:15:28,470 --> 00:15:31,395
When you push 'em together at
their points of intersection,
360
00:15:31,395 --> 00:15:33,844
the nexus of intersection
of all those styles
361
00:15:33,844 --> 00:15:35,824
is where ska music sits.
362
00:15:35,824 --> 00:15:39,753
Because ska music is not only
drawn from these sources,
363
00:15:39,753 --> 00:15:41,282
it's givin' back to it.
364
00:15:41,282 --> 00:15:43,525
It's a mixture of all those things.
365
00:15:43,525 --> 00:15:46,403
- I remember hearin'
the first English beat
366
00:15:46,403 --> 00:15:48,195
for The Specials back around when I was 16
367
00:15:48,195 --> 00:15:49,762
and just goin', what the fuck?
368
00:15:49,762 --> 00:15:50,595
What is this?
369
00:15:50,595 --> 00:15:51,506
I love this shit.
370
00:15:51,506 --> 00:15:53,160
It's fucking great.
371
00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,766
- Listening to Madness,
The Specials and Selecter
372
00:15:56,766 --> 00:15:59,383
and hearing bands like that as a kid,
373
00:15:59,383 --> 00:16:01,691
not really knowing that was ska.
374
00:16:01,691 --> 00:16:02,772
- The Specials in hindsight
375
00:16:02,772 --> 00:16:04,783
are the greatest ska band of all time.
376
00:16:04,783 --> 00:16:06,720
- That record if you don't like it,
377
00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:08,570
then there's something wrong with you.
378
00:16:08,570 --> 00:16:10,419
♪ Stop your messin' around ♪
379
00:16:10,419 --> 00:16:12,931
(singers vocalizing)
380
00:16:12,931 --> 00:16:15,533
♪ Better think of your future ♪
381
00:16:15,533 --> 00:16:18,866
- We saw these wonderful
ideas about changin' the world
382
00:16:19,813 --> 00:16:21,896
like most generations do.
383
00:16:22,803 --> 00:16:27,803
We just ended up getting
fucked up. (laughs)
384
00:16:30,509 --> 00:16:35,013
But we've made a lotta people
happy while we're doin' it.
385
00:16:35,013 --> 00:16:36,846
- Check, check, check.
386
00:16:38,063 --> 00:16:41,480
- This is Tuesday the 8th of March, 1988.
387
00:16:45,635 --> 00:16:48,187
("Sound System" by Operation Ivy)
388
00:16:48,187 --> 00:16:49,998
♪ Sound system gonna bring me back up ♪
389
00:16:49,998 --> 00:16:53,291
♪ Yeah one thing that I can depend on ♪
390
00:16:53,291 --> 00:16:55,294
- Operation Ivy only put out one album.
391
00:16:55,294 --> 00:16:56,127
One album.
392
00:16:57,691 --> 00:16:59,784
They're more popular now than they were
393
00:16:59,784 --> 00:17:00,944
when they were a band.
394
00:17:00,944 --> 00:17:04,027
That album, Energy, that's a classic.
395
00:17:05,658 --> 00:17:08,476
- It's one of those things
like you don't know Op Ivy,
396
00:17:08,476 --> 00:17:12,718
get on that if you're
gonna be into ska music.
397
00:17:12,718 --> 00:17:14,789
Then you can pretend
like you've always known.
398
00:17:14,789 --> 00:17:17,531
- I was just like what
in the fuck is this?
399
00:17:17,531 --> 00:17:20,257
I don't even understand how
they're even playing this stuff,
400
00:17:20,257 --> 00:17:22,407
but I'm gonna figure it out.
401
00:17:22,407 --> 00:17:24,908
- I would get into my car for high school.
402
00:17:24,908 --> 00:17:26,924
It be early in the
morning and really cold.
403
00:17:26,924 --> 00:17:29,424
I dubbed the LP to a cassette.
404
00:17:30,377 --> 00:17:32,407
I would have a lotta moaning in my head.
405
00:17:32,407 --> 00:17:33,583
Life's hard.
406
00:17:33,583 --> 00:17:35,304
Why do I have to go to school?
407
00:17:35,304 --> 00:17:36,958
Then I put up the Operation Ivy record
408
00:17:36,958 --> 00:17:39,322
and immediately I'd be in a good mood.
409
00:17:39,322 --> 00:17:43,775
It would just fill me up
with energy, if you will.
410
00:17:43,775 --> 00:17:48,255
I'd be ready and my thoughts
would be more positive.
411
00:17:48,255 --> 00:17:50,488
I remember thinking that
was such a great gift
412
00:17:50,488 --> 00:17:52,210
that this band had done for me.
413
00:17:52,210 --> 00:17:54,243
I appreciated it so much.
414
00:17:54,243 --> 00:17:56,709
I was in my car and I remember saying,
415
00:17:56,709 --> 00:17:59,567
"I'm gonna do this for other people."
416
00:17:59,567 --> 00:18:03,650
- Ska punk, it didn't
exist before Operation Ivy.
417
00:18:04,597 --> 00:18:08,182
Then Operation Ivy kinda
pushed into the early '90s
418
00:18:08,182 --> 00:18:11,298
and became what we're talking about now.
419
00:18:11,298 --> 00:18:13,236
- From there, that was the gateway.
420
00:18:13,236 --> 00:18:15,872
It was Bosstones' Fishbone.
421
00:18:15,872 --> 00:18:17,222
- Without Fishbone, I wouldn't be doin'
422
00:18:17,222 --> 00:18:18,274
what I'm doin' right now.
423
00:18:18,274 --> 00:18:22,877
I'd go to Fishbone, it'd
be on a school night.
424
00:18:22,877 --> 00:18:24,328
I wouldn't be able to sleep after the show
425
00:18:24,328 --> 00:18:27,578
because I'd be so wired, a natural high
426
00:18:28,736 --> 00:18:32,320
of just wow, what I just saw was amazing.
427
00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:33,619
♪ All day long ♪
428
00:18:33,619 --> 00:18:36,369
(muffled lyrics)
429
00:18:41,731 --> 00:18:43,529
- They were so influential.
430
00:18:43,529 --> 00:18:47,265
Not only musically,
but just as minorities.
431
00:18:47,265 --> 00:18:49,661
Just seeing people of color playing
432
00:18:49,661 --> 00:18:52,250
rock 'n roll beats music and singing.
433
00:18:52,250 --> 00:18:54,015
- We were super into Fishbone.
434
00:18:54,015 --> 00:18:57,090
We tried to play funk and it was bad.
435
00:18:57,090 --> 00:18:59,148
Our bass player couldn't
do the thumb thing.
436
00:18:59,148 --> 00:19:01,789
He could play arpeggios really fast.
437
00:19:01,789 --> 00:19:04,949
I'm like we sound cool
playin' ska, let's do that.
438
00:19:04,949 --> 00:19:06,763
- That's how new music happens.
439
00:19:06,763 --> 00:19:10,564
You tryin' to emulate your heroes a bit,
440
00:19:10,564 --> 00:19:15,213
but you're probably not that
good at music at the time.
441
00:19:15,213 --> 00:19:17,566
It comes out something
completely different
442
00:19:17,566 --> 00:19:19,316
and that's new music.
443
00:19:20,949 --> 00:19:24,353
(lively ska music)
444
00:19:24,353 --> 00:19:28,270
- What is skanking? (chuckles)
445
00:19:31,517 --> 00:19:33,532
- Skanking is so mechanically easy
446
00:19:33,532 --> 00:19:36,957
that it gave every awkward
kid the opportunity to dance.
447
00:19:36,957 --> 00:19:38,290
- Skankin', man.
448
00:19:39,351 --> 00:19:41,000
You're doin' that.
449
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,426
A lotta jumpin' goin' on.
450
00:19:43,426 --> 00:19:47,759
I think the challenge I always
had with the word skanking
451
00:19:47,759 --> 00:19:50,019
is it's got skank in it.
452
00:19:50,019 --> 00:19:52,837
- The skank is a primal move.
453
00:19:52,837 --> 00:19:54,329
It really is.
454
00:19:54,329 --> 00:19:56,854
It's just a way of being, a way of moving.
455
00:19:56,854 --> 00:19:58,173
It's just raw.
456
00:19:58,173 --> 00:20:02,480
It's hard not to move when
you hear a good ska song.
457
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,871
It's hard not to bounce
your head or tap your foot
458
00:20:05,871 --> 00:20:07,899
or just get into it a little bit.
459
00:20:07,899 --> 00:20:11,573
There's always one guy that is
like this during a ska song.
460
00:20:11,573 --> 00:20:13,255
He'll roll his eyes.
461
00:20:13,255 --> 00:20:16,694
But then after he does
the song, he's like.
462
00:20:16,694 --> 00:20:20,904
Then towards the end
of the song, he's like.
463
00:20:20,904 --> 00:20:24,197
Then he'll look around
like did anybody see me?
464
00:20:24,197 --> 00:20:27,254
- St. Louis, we were on tour
with the Dance Hall Crashers
465
00:20:27,254 --> 00:20:29,664
and we played this show.
466
00:20:29,664 --> 00:20:31,199
Again nobody moved.
467
00:20:31,199 --> 00:20:34,502
They're like boo, where's
Dance Hall Crashers?
468
00:20:34,502 --> 00:20:36,633
The next day, we had an interview.
469
00:20:36,633 --> 00:20:39,099
The guy said, "Tell me,
how do you feel about
470
00:20:39,099 --> 00:20:41,946
"the Midwest in general?"
471
00:20:41,946 --> 00:20:44,223
I said, "Man, F the Midwest.
472
00:20:44,223 --> 00:20:45,441
(Alex laughing)
473
00:20:45,441 --> 00:20:46,556
"We come all the way out here
474
00:20:46,556 --> 00:20:49,327
"to play music and nobody dances.
475
00:20:49,327 --> 00:20:52,327
"Everybody was just standin'
around lookin' at us."
476
00:20:52,327 --> 00:20:57,327
The guy's like, "Whoa whoa whoa,
cut the tape, roll it back.
477
00:20:58,607 --> 00:21:02,129
"Listen, the reason nobody
dances to your music
478
00:21:02,129 --> 00:21:04,794
"is because they don't know how to."
479
00:21:04,794 --> 00:21:08,044
For me, it was like a I'm sorry moment.
480
00:21:09,045 --> 00:21:11,888
It was from that point that Alex and I
481
00:21:11,888 --> 00:21:15,964
began doing kind of synchronized dances
482
00:21:15,964 --> 00:21:19,136
to give the crowd an idea
that you could do this,
483
00:21:19,136 --> 00:21:23,386
you could do this, you
could do this and it worked.
484
00:21:24,271 --> 00:21:27,888
- Before you come in
and everyone would dance
485
00:21:27,888 --> 00:21:31,971
in a line together and
that's it in the audience.
486
00:21:33,254 --> 00:21:37,476
Everyone is lined up
and there's no marchin'.
487
00:21:37,476 --> 00:21:40,899
Then it was marchin',
boom, boom, boom, boom.
488
00:21:40,899 --> 00:21:44,649
It was just chaos and
the ska got faster too.
489
00:21:46,824 --> 00:21:50,241
You had more like The Specials-type vibes
490
00:21:51,193 --> 00:21:53,530
and then it just went into
more like the Bosstones.
491
00:21:53,530 --> 00:21:55,636
Everything was the Bosstones.
492
00:21:55,636 --> 00:21:56,469
Everything.
493
00:21:56,469 --> 00:22:01,386
♪ I guess I really don't
know how to party ♪
494
00:22:03,866 --> 00:22:07,023
- If you wanna talk about third
wave ska, that's the band.
495
00:22:07,023 --> 00:22:08,259
- They were the ones who really said
496
00:22:08,259 --> 00:22:11,955
this is what it means to
be a ska band in this era.
497
00:22:11,955 --> 00:22:14,379
- Think of The Mighty Mighty
Bosstones, how many members?
498
00:22:14,379 --> 00:22:19,379
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight members.
499
00:22:19,481 --> 00:22:22,216
Like Ben Carr, bless him.
500
00:22:22,216 --> 00:22:23,492
But what did Ben Carr do?
501
00:22:23,492 --> 00:22:25,549
All he did was dance
and it's the same dance
502
00:22:25,549 --> 00:22:27,938
for the entire show.
503
00:22:27,938 --> 00:22:30,502
- He's the best at what he does.
504
00:22:30,502 --> 00:22:32,755
Nobody does it better than that.
505
00:22:32,755 --> 00:22:34,505
We were a young band.
506
00:22:35,450 --> 00:22:38,489
We couldn't get into the club
unless you were in the band
507
00:22:38,489 --> 00:22:41,784
'cause most of us were
under the drinking age.
508
00:22:41,784 --> 00:22:44,247
Ben was just like a guy that
was hangin' around with us
509
00:22:44,247 --> 00:22:46,232
when we walked in the back of the Rat,
510
00:22:46,232 --> 00:22:49,895
we just basically said,
"Yeah, he's in the band."
511
00:22:49,895 --> 00:22:52,381
He got up on stage and was in the band.
512
00:22:52,381 --> 00:22:55,669
He really ran with it, so to speak.
513
00:22:55,669 --> 00:22:57,614
- Picture some big music business guy
514
00:22:57,614 --> 00:23:01,705
with a cigar being like we don't need him.
515
00:23:01,705 --> 00:23:04,515
Stories like that where
a band is still brothers,
516
00:23:04,515 --> 00:23:06,603
they still take care of
each other and they get it.
517
00:23:06,603 --> 00:23:09,066
They're not looking to the
horizon for something else.
518
00:23:09,066 --> 00:23:10,299
They realize what's in front of 'em.
519
00:23:10,299 --> 00:23:12,418
What's working and what's good.
520
00:23:12,418 --> 00:23:15,372
The fact that I heard
that he's an equal member,
521
00:23:15,372 --> 00:23:17,430
it's what it's made of.
522
00:23:17,430 --> 00:23:18,750
- [Narrator] Goin' to ska shows
523
00:23:18,750 --> 00:23:23,273
was a unique experience and
audiences just like in the UK
524
00:23:23,273 --> 00:23:26,988
just like in Jamaica, often
dressed up for the shows.
525
00:23:26,988 --> 00:23:29,946
It was all about dancing,
supportin' the bands
526
00:23:29,946 --> 00:23:33,279
and havin' one big party at ground zero.
527
00:23:34,470 --> 00:23:37,660
- We would go to shows and
go what's everybody wearin'?
528
00:23:37,660 --> 00:23:40,296
- As you can see, (chuckles)
529
00:23:40,296 --> 00:23:42,590
I like dressin' up, man.
530
00:23:42,590 --> 00:23:46,592
- I love my pork pie
hats and my Doc Martins.
531
00:23:46,592 --> 00:23:50,387
- Suit and tie, polo shirts
with the little collars.
532
00:23:50,387 --> 00:23:54,110
- The skinny tie with the
little punk rock button.
533
00:23:54,110 --> 00:23:56,695
- You have the variations
of were you a Rude Boy
534
00:23:56,695 --> 00:23:57,954
or were you a mob?
535
00:23:57,954 --> 00:24:00,160
- The mob movement with
the Vespas, the Lambrettas,
536
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,204
the Ben Sherman and the Fred Perry.
537
00:24:02,204 --> 00:24:03,037
All of it.
538
00:24:04,245 --> 00:24:06,843
That image will always be in my brain
539
00:24:06,843 --> 00:24:09,451
as that's what cool people look like.
540
00:24:09,451 --> 00:24:11,008
- When you went to see a ska band,
541
00:24:11,008 --> 00:24:13,047
they cared that they were playing a show.
542
00:24:13,047 --> 00:24:14,323
They dressed up for it.
543
00:24:14,323 --> 00:24:16,118
- Fashion in The Bosstones?
544
00:24:16,118 --> 00:24:19,021
Don't get me started. (chuckles)
545
00:24:19,021 --> 00:24:20,950
The whole plaid thing and all that,
546
00:24:20,950 --> 00:24:24,718
that just kinda grew out
of us tryin' to have fun
547
00:24:24,718 --> 00:24:25,776
and be entertaining.
548
00:24:25,776 --> 00:24:27,330
- Back then it was like
we're playing clubs
549
00:24:27,330 --> 00:24:29,128
where literally 110 degrees in the club
550
00:24:29,128 --> 00:24:31,537
and I got a full three-piece suit,
551
00:24:31,537 --> 00:24:33,130
all buttoned up, the whole show.
552
00:24:33,130 --> 00:24:35,798
Even to this day, my
wife will be like "Dude,
553
00:24:35,798 --> 00:24:37,700
"take off your fuckin' tie,"
halfway through the set
554
00:24:37,700 --> 00:24:40,952
'cause I'm drenched 'cause of sweat.
555
00:24:40,952 --> 00:24:42,208
That's the other dilemma.
556
00:24:42,208 --> 00:24:45,255
I would sweat so much in
these suits that they'd shrink
557
00:24:45,255 --> 00:24:47,470
because they're not supposed to be washed.
558
00:24:47,470 --> 00:24:51,402
The next show, they'd be like
up to here and I'd be like.
559
00:24:51,402 --> 00:24:52,818
- We're the kinda dudes that
560
00:24:52,818 --> 00:24:55,974
whatever we were wearin' that day on tour.
561
00:24:55,974 --> 00:24:57,834
We'd get outta the van and
that's what we were wearin'
562
00:24:57,834 --> 00:24:59,980
on the stage probably that night.
563
00:24:59,980 --> 00:25:01,604
- The older crowd that
came up in the '80s.
564
00:25:01,604 --> 00:25:04,077
We kinda looked at these kids goin',
565
00:25:04,077 --> 00:25:06,134
"You need to tuck your shirt in."
566
00:25:06,134 --> 00:25:07,715
- There were these unwritten rules
567
00:25:07,715 --> 00:25:09,169
where you had to look a certain way.
568
00:25:09,169 --> 00:25:12,243
You had to wear your hair a certain way.
569
00:25:12,243 --> 00:25:15,158
- We would go thrift shopping
and look for vintage suits.
570
00:25:15,158 --> 00:25:18,290
It wasn't like let's wear a
random suit and a skinny tie.
571
00:25:18,290 --> 00:25:19,682
We had to have everything perfect.
572
00:25:19,682 --> 00:25:22,308
- Instead of skinny ties,
we started wearin' fat ties
573
00:25:22,308 --> 00:25:25,934
and buying cheap polyester
suits at thrift stores
574
00:25:25,934 --> 00:25:27,860
'cause that's what was available.
575
00:25:27,860 --> 00:25:29,399
- You'd have these kids at ska shows
576
00:25:29,399 --> 00:25:30,915
who were raiding their father's closets,
577
00:25:30,915 --> 00:25:34,646
basically putting on their
dad's ties and their dad's suits
578
00:25:34,646 --> 00:25:35,886
and some hat that they would find
579
00:25:35,886 --> 00:25:37,800
in the garage or something.
580
00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:41,273
- There's always gonna be the
guy in the Hawaiian shirt.
581
00:25:41,273 --> 00:25:43,356
- I had a little bit to
do with the Hawaiian shirt
582
00:25:43,356 --> 00:25:45,403
being associated with ska.
583
00:25:45,403 --> 00:25:47,736
I'm sorry or you're welcome.
584
00:25:49,944 --> 00:25:52,755
- You can go to a ska show
dressed however you want
585
00:25:52,755 --> 00:25:54,220
and you're accepted.
586
00:25:54,220 --> 00:25:56,453
That kinda became the whole
wacky thing about ska.
587
00:25:56,453 --> 00:25:58,163
You wear the checkers.
588
00:25:58,163 --> 00:26:01,107
You wear the crazy colors
and the outfits and stuff.
589
00:26:01,107 --> 00:26:02,024
It all fit.
590
00:26:02,991 --> 00:26:04,285
It didn't match and it fit.
591
00:26:04,285 --> 00:26:07,646
(lively ska music)
592
00:26:07,646 --> 00:26:09,439
(playful ska music)
593
00:26:09,439 --> 00:26:10,772
- We're rollin'.
594
00:26:13,074 --> 00:26:15,128
- We're still goin'? (claps)
595
00:26:15,128 --> 00:26:16,246
Go!
596
00:26:16,246 --> 00:26:17,079
We just said, "Hey,
597
00:26:17,079 --> 00:26:18,319
"let's get a bunch of our friends together
598
00:26:18,319 --> 00:26:20,701
"and start a ska band," kind of as a joke.
599
00:26:20,701 --> 00:26:23,540
Our friend Boyd who worked
at a wetsuit company,
600
00:26:23,540 --> 00:26:25,403
he's like, "I got an idea.
601
00:26:25,403 --> 00:26:27,558
"Let's be like Devo, we'll
all wear the same thing
602
00:26:27,558 --> 00:26:30,141
"and just be a silly ska band."
603
00:26:31,413 --> 00:26:33,428
That's the beginning of The Aquabats.
604
00:26:33,428 --> 00:26:34,482
- It was a trip.
605
00:26:34,482 --> 00:26:36,993
In The Aquabats, it was
such a different style.
606
00:26:36,993 --> 00:26:39,297
It was more new-wave and experimental,
607
00:26:39,297 --> 00:26:40,473
so many different styles.
608
00:26:40,473 --> 00:26:42,201
We would play a punk rock song.
609
00:26:42,201 --> 00:26:44,287
We would write a Latin song.
610
00:26:44,287 --> 00:26:46,218
We would write a super new wave song.
611
00:26:46,218 --> 00:26:48,805
We would write a surf song.
612
00:26:48,805 --> 00:26:49,972
Anything goes.
613
00:26:51,132 --> 00:26:52,410
- Travis, he shows up.
614
00:26:52,410 --> 00:26:54,494
He comes backstage and
I give him his costume.
615
00:26:54,494 --> 00:26:55,727
He's like, "What's this?"
616
00:26:55,727 --> 00:26:56,930
I'm like, "That's your costume.
617
00:26:56,930 --> 00:26:58,496
"You wear a costume.
618
00:26:58,496 --> 00:27:00,882
"On the record, we're wearing costumes."
619
00:27:00,882 --> 00:27:03,062
He was like, "Really?
620
00:27:03,062 --> 00:27:04,365
"I didn't know that."
621
00:27:04,365 --> 00:27:08,150
(chuckles) He was like super disappointed.
622
00:27:08,150 --> 00:27:10,850
I'm like, "Yeah bro,
that's on the record."
623
00:27:10,850 --> 00:27:12,543
He was like, "I thought
that was just a joke
624
00:27:12,543 --> 00:27:14,256
"for the record cover."
625
00:27:14,256 --> 00:27:16,766
I'm like, "No, that's how we play."
626
00:27:16,766 --> 00:27:18,676
He was like, "(sighs) Alright."
627
00:27:18,676 --> 00:27:20,884
(muffled lyrics)
628
00:27:20,884 --> 00:27:23,277
- Personally I think after grunge,
629
00:27:23,277 --> 00:27:27,395
we needed something to
make us feel better.
630
00:27:27,395 --> 00:27:30,350
- Kurt Cobain was the lead
singer of the group Nirvana.
631
00:27:30,350 --> 00:27:31,964
Their albums were bestsellers;
632
00:27:31,964 --> 00:27:35,601
their songs filled with images
of despair and violence.
633
00:27:35,601 --> 00:27:38,502
- When Kurt Cobain killed himself,
634
00:27:38,502 --> 00:27:42,938
No Doubt was like (vocalizes)
right around the same time.
635
00:27:42,938 --> 00:27:47,071
I think that was more
of a cultural reaction
636
00:27:47,071 --> 00:27:49,102
to a pendulum swing.
637
00:27:49,102 --> 00:27:50,579
It's like heavy?
638
00:27:50,579 --> 00:27:52,576
Let's lighten it up a little bit.
639
00:27:52,576 --> 00:27:56,376
- It seemed like ska
scene had that same angst
640
00:27:56,376 --> 00:27:58,878
but with a certain amount
of tongue and cheek,
641
00:27:58,878 --> 00:28:00,795
sarcasm, irony and fun.
642
00:28:04,028 --> 00:28:08,829
Nobody ever said you could
be angry and have fun.
643
00:28:08,829 --> 00:28:09,773
- [Narrator] Many people were tired
644
00:28:09,773 --> 00:28:11,671
of the heavy drone of grunge
645
00:28:11,671 --> 00:28:14,627
or the hairspray and
testosterone of arena rock
646
00:28:14,627 --> 00:28:16,211
or maybe people just finally caught on
647
00:28:16,211 --> 00:28:20,354
to what had been happenin'
underground for a decade.
648
00:28:20,354 --> 00:28:23,157
- You hear on KROQ, you'd
start hearing Sublime.
649
00:28:23,157 --> 00:28:26,990
You'd start hearing No
Doubt and you'd just go
650
00:28:28,167 --> 00:28:29,000
how?
651
00:28:30,584 --> 00:28:31,716
What is happening?
652
00:28:31,716 --> 00:28:33,442
This is confusing.
653
00:28:33,442 --> 00:28:36,763
("Date Rape" by Sublime)
654
00:28:36,763 --> 00:28:39,790
- The way it got on the
radio was grassroots
655
00:28:39,790 --> 00:28:41,369
with the help of Tazy Phyllipz
656
00:28:41,369 --> 00:28:43,602
and Jed the Fish in KROQ.
657
00:28:43,602 --> 00:28:47,880
- Once you put those songs on
the airwaves, it was magic.
658
00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:50,228
- It just did what these songs rarely do,
659
00:28:50,228 --> 00:28:53,679
which is light up the switchboard.
660
00:28:53,679 --> 00:28:55,238
Back then, that meant a lot.
661
00:28:55,238 --> 00:28:58,540
- I think it's like the
third most requested song
662
00:28:58,540 --> 00:29:00,949
in the history of KROQ.
663
00:29:00,949 --> 00:29:02,951
- Date Rape was not really
Brad's favorite song
664
00:29:02,951 --> 00:29:07,765
or the band's favorite
song, so it was bittersweet.
665
00:29:07,765 --> 00:29:09,413
They were stoked to hear
themselves on the radio.
666
00:29:09,413 --> 00:29:12,375
But then after that, it
was played so heavily
667
00:29:12,375 --> 00:29:13,999
and brought recognition to 'em
668
00:29:13,999 --> 00:29:17,098
at these small venues they
would attack all the time now.
669
00:29:17,098 --> 00:29:19,058
New fans were there and
they were shouting out,
670
00:29:19,058 --> 00:29:20,667
"Play Date Rape, play Date Rape."
671
00:29:20,667 --> 00:29:24,782
After a while, it wasn't
their favorite song to play.
672
00:29:24,782 --> 00:29:27,841
- That's what you get right there, ska.
673
00:29:27,841 --> 00:29:31,149
The power of ska in the
'90s because the single
674
00:29:31,149 --> 00:29:35,863
for this golden cassette
release was Date Rape.
675
00:29:35,863 --> 00:29:37,528
- That was like wow, there's a song
676
00:29:37,528 --> 00:29:40,512
with horn and skanking guitar.
677
00:29:40,512 --> 00:29:41,488
That's crazy.
678
00:29:41,488 --> 00:29:45,215
Whoa, something like our
scene is on the radio.
679
00:29:45,215 --> 00:29:47,752
As one band started
kinda getting exposure,
680
00:29:47,752 --> 00:29:50,059
it brought more outside exposure in.
681
00:29:50,059 --> 00:29:54,809
- Then Sublime was not the
easiest of bands to work with.
682
00:29:55,728 --> 00:29:59,019
At what point do they
go is there another band
683
00:29:59,019 --> 00:30:00,852
that we can deal with?
684
00:30:01,687 --> 00:30:03,137
- Oh Gwendoline.
685
00:30:03,137 --> 00:30:05,368
(electric guitar strumming)
686
00:30:05,368 --> 00:30:06,618
Where's she at?
687
00:30:09,587 --> 00:30:11,326
Gwen Stefani from No Doubt.
688
00:30:11,326 --> 00:30:12,661
Say what's up, alright?
689
00:30:12,661 --> 00:30:13,494
- Hi.
690
00:30:15,094 --> 00:30:18,428
- We were this local band who
had had this great super fun
691
00:30:18,428 --> 00:30:23,428
eight or nine year long run
just having so many great shows.
692
00:30:23,522 --> 00:30:26,439
(lively ska music)
693
00:30:30,580 --> 00:30:32,539
- They were like the big local band
694
00:30:32,539 --> 00:30:36,773
for a really really really long
time before they ever broke.
695
00:30:36,773 --> 00:30:38,136
- Then suddenly at a rehearsal,
696
00:30:38,136 --> 00:30:40,184
somebody runs in and
goes, "Did you guys see?
697
00:30:40,184 --> 00:30:44,286
"No Doubt from the cover of Bam Magazine."
698
00:30:44,286 --> 00:30:48,056
Suddenly the thought and the reality
699
00:30:48,056 --> 00:30:51,507
that's known now, that was
like the first day of it.
700
00:30:51,507 --> 00:30:54,941
- We didn't think that
anybody was gonna get huge.
701
00:30:54,941 --> 00:30:58,176
When No Doubt got big, we were like wow.
702
00:30:58,176 --> 00:30:59,510
Oh man, this is huge.
703
00:30:59,510 --> 00:31:01,409
This is huge for them to get big.
704
00:31:01,409 --> 00:31:04,787
All of us thought probably
just this one record
705
00:31:04,787 --> 00:31:06,787
or just this one single.
706
00:31:07,776 --> 00:31:09,508
We didn't expect anything like that.
707
00:31:09,508 --> 00:31:11,612
- No Doubt became huge.
708
00:31:11,612 --> 00:31:14,907
Even though they weren't really
playing ska music as much,
709
00:31:14,907 --> 00:31:16,125
you would see they have a video
710
00:31:16,125 --> 00:31:18,182
and the guy's wearing a Madness shirt.
711
00:31:18,182 --> 00:31:20,409
They're still showing their roots.
712
00:31:20,409 --> 00:31:22,642
- They were speaking to me in code.
713
00:31:22,642 --> 00:31:26,478
I heard the ska in
there on Tragic Kingdom.
714
00:31:26,478 --> 00:31:29,868
I'm like okay, you may
not be saying out loud,
715
00:31:29,868 --> 00:31:32,086
but you're winking at all of us ska fans.
716
00:31:32,086 --> 00:31:33,988
We know; we get it.
717
00:31:33,988 --> 00:31:36,022
- Could we talk about ska for a second?
718
00:31:36,022 --> 00:31:39,328
Is there a revival happening
or is it just a coincidence?
719
00:31:39,328 --> 00:31:40,608
- I think it's a coincidence.
720
00:31:40,608 --> 00:31:42,087
What do you guys think?
721
00:31:42,087 --> 00:31:44,483
- I think that ska will
remain underground.
722
00:31:44,483 --> 00:31:46,729
(Gwen chuckling)
723
00:31:46,729 --> 00:31:47,715
I don't know why.
724
00:31:47,715 --> 00:31:50,323
But people who are into
the traditional ska,
725
00:31:50,323 --> 00:31:52,571
don't really like the commercial aspect,
726
00:31:52,571 --> 00:31:54,848
the commercial success
of it for some reason.
727
00:31:54,848 --> 00:31:57,184
They wanna hold it back.
728
00:31:57,184 --> 00:31:59,141
We just play whatever
music we feel like it.
729
00:31:59,141 --> 00:32:00,707
If we throw in a ska song here and there,
730
00:32:00,707 --> 00:32:02,545
it's all the same to us.
731
00:32:02,545 --> 00:32:03,894
- Right.
732
00:32:03,894 --> 00:32:05,819
No limits here.
733
00:32:05,819 --> 00:32:08,139
- As we were having Don't Speak
734
00:32:08,139 --> 00:32:12,257
came out as a huge pop hit
on all the pop stations,
735
00:32:12,257 --> 00:32:14,997
they would always say ska band.
736
00:32:14,997 --> 00:32:18,435
I always felt like in our
past we had been a ska band,
737
00:32:18,435 --> 00:32:21,261
but I don't think Tragic
Kingdom was a ska album.
738
00:32:21,261 --> 00:32:23,482
But still that tag got attached to us.
739
00:32:23,482 --> 00:32:28,482
I imagine there may have been
a feeling amongst legitimate
740
00:32:28,745 --> 00:32:32,488
ska bands in the scene we came out of.
741
00:32:32,488 --> 00:32:34,344
This is exciting, but No Doubt's
742
00:32:34,344 --> 00:32:37,081
not really a ska band anymore.
743
00:32:37,081 --> 00:32:40,287
- Suddenly all these elements
start coming together
744
00:32:40,287 --> 00:32:42,370
with what's gonna happen.
745
00:32:43,334 --> 00:32:48,306
I honestly to this day believe
they put the fear of success
746
00:32:48,306 --> 00:32:50,473
in a lotta people's heads.
747
00:32:52,366 --> 00:32:55,168
- Ska has always been a
thing that was evolving.
748
00:32:55,168 --> 00:32:56,780
I can't think of any other genre
749
00:32:56,780 --> 00:32:59,332
that's been described in waves.
750
00:32:59,332 --> 00:33:00,505
You know what I mean?
751
00:33:00,505 --> 00:33:01,524
- They call from third wave.
752
00:33:01,524 --> 00:33:04,135
Obviously we're talkin' about
traditional ska from the '60s.
753
00:33:04,135 --> 00:33:06,620
Desmond Dekker, Toots, and those guys.
754
00:33:06,620 --> 00:33:09,911
The two-tone bands took
what the traditional bands
755
00:33:09,911 --> 00:33:12,955
were doing, then added a
little punk rock at the time
756
00:33:12,955 --> 00:33:14,419
like Ramones-esque.
757
00:33:14,419 --> 00:33:17,741
Same thing, we're doin'
the two-tone kinda music
758
00:33:17,741 --> 00:33:21,701
and mixin' it with a little
NOFX and Descendants in there.
759
00:33:21,701 --> 00:33:22,992
That's what third wave is.
760
00:33:22,992 --> 00:33:26,730
But it's just an evolution
out of this Jamaican music.
761
00:33:26,730 --> 00:33:28,429
It feels kinda isolatish,
762
00:33:28,429 --> 00:33:31,255
like you're isolating people
into different groups.
763
00:33:31,255 --> 00:33:32,763
It's music, man.
764
00:33:32,763 --> 00:33:34,930
This isn't fuckin' sports.
765
00:33:35,806 --> 00:33:37,751
- I think ska bands are
always holding their horns
766
00:33:37,751 --> 00:33:39,595
in their promotional photos
767
00:33:39,595 --> 00:33:42,340
because there's so many
dudes in the photo,
768
00:33:42,340 --> 00:33:45,281
you wanna explain why that's happening.
769
00:33:45,281 --> 00:33:48,416
People see three guys,
they're like a band.
770
00:33:48,416 --> 00:33:49,471
Cool.
771
00:33:49,471 --> 00:33:52,430
But if they see like 18 guys like,
772
00:33:52,430 --> 00:33:54,508
they're gonna be confused.
773
00:33:54,508 --> 00:33:57,117
Why is this photo in this
magazine of all these dudes?
774
00:33:57,117 --> 00:34:01,200
If they're holding horns,
then they're ska bands.
775
00:34:02,454 --> 00:34:05,180
(lively ska music)
776
00:34:05,180 --> 00:34:06,962
- I started in elementary school.
777
00:34:06,962 --> 00:34:08,222
- Same.
- Same.
778
00:34:08,222 --> 00:34:09,507
Elementary school band program,
779
00:34:09,507 --> 00:34:10,797
fourth grade.
- School bands.
780
00:34:10,797 --> 00:34:11,630
- Fourth grade.
781
00:34:11,630 --> 00:34:13,829
Pick an instrument, fourth grade.
782
00:34:13,829 --> 00:34:15,642
Saxophone looked cool.
783
00:34:15,642 --> 00:34:17,788
- Trombone looked cooler.
784
00:34:17,788 --> 00:34:20,016
- The trumpet has a smaller case.
785
00:34:20,016 --> 00:34:22,614
You could actually carry it.
786
00:34:22,614 --> 00:34:26,197
- When you're in school
band, that's geeky.
787
00:34:27,358 --> 00:34:30,966
- When does it actually become cool?
788
00:34:30,966 --> 00:34:31,799
Never.
789
00:34:31,799 --> 00:34:33,754
You're playing jazz.
790
00:34:33,754 --> 00:34:36,654
You're goin' like cool, I'm finally cool.
791
00:34:36,654 --> 00:34:38,278
I'm in the seventh grade jazz band.
792
00:34:38,278 --> 00:34:40,132
No, you're not cool.
793
00:34:40,132 --> 00:34:42,554
- All of a sudden the
band geeks had a place
794
00:34:42,554 --> 00:34:47,554
to be in what was a really
vibrant, great indie music scene.
795
00:34:47,670 --> 00:34:49,973
- Seein' horn sections on MTV on videos
796
00:34:49,973 --> 00:34:53,640
was a big deal for me
and other kids my age.
797
00:34:54,620 --> 00:34:57,108
All of a sudden it was okay in my town
798
00:34:57,108 --> 00:34:59,600
to have horns in your band.
799
00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:00,591
It was actually cool.
800
00:35:00,591 --> 00:35:02,560
- Horn players becoming
cool because of ska
801
00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:05,477
is kinda the only dark side to ska.
802
00:35:06,374 --> 00:35:07,261
(Sascha chuckling)
803
00:35:07,261 --> 00:35:09,957
'Cause horn players are not cool.
804
00:35:09,957 --> 00:35:14,610
- Yeah man, all of the horn
players are nerds. (laughs)
805
00:35:14,610 --> 00:35:16,888
- They were the odd people
out that never were into punk,
806
00:35:16,888 --> 00:35:19,407
scene or into ska punk.
807
00:35:19,407 --> 00:35:22,333
They were just like I'm
gonna play in a band.
808
00:35:22,333 --> 00:35:23,654
I literally only played alto sax
809
00:35:23,654 --> 00:35:26,298
in my concert band and jazz band for this.
810
00:35:26,298 --> 00:35:27,462
That kinda stuff.
811
00:35:27,462 --> 00:35:29,322
- Just hate for horn players.
812
00:35:29,322 --> 00:35:30,155
- No.
813
00:35:30,155 --> 00:35:31,298
(Matt chuckling)
814
00:35:31,298 --> 00:35:32,131
I got love.
815
00:35:32,131 --> 00:35:33,602
I got love for horn players.
- You're a horn player?
816
00:35:33,602 --> 00:35:35,414
- But you know what I'm talking about.
817
00:35:35,414 --> 00:35:36,646
- I hate trumpet.
818
00:35:36,646 --> 00:35:37,606
- When you're in high school,
819
00:35:37,606 --> 00:35:39,047
what other musician friends do you know?
820
00:35:39,047 --> 00:35:41,501
All the guys in marching band.
821
00:35:41,501 --> 00:35:43,845
Your natural progression is
we're gonna be a ska band.
822
00:35:43,845 --> 00:35:44,839
- Literally was like oh, what do you play?
823
00:35:44,839 --> 00:35:45,672
A flute?
824
00:35:45,672 --> 00:35:46,876
Fuck, you could be in my ska band.
825
00:35:46,876 --> 00:35:47,709
Who gives a shit?
826
00:35:47,709 --> 00:35:48,542
Let's go.
827
00:35:51,211 --> 00:35:53,637
- Indie ska became the
more horns, the better.
828
00:35:53,637 --> 00:35:57,502
(all vocalizing instruments)
829
00:35:57,502 --> 00:35:59,835
- So much horns, just chill.
830
00:36:01,693 --> 00:36:03,836
(grunts) Drivin' me nuts.
831
00:36:03,836 --> 00:36:04,929
You know what I mean?
832
00:36:04,929 --> 00:36:06,565
There's other times where it's like man,
833
00:36:06,565 --> 00:36:09,786
we need some horns or somethin'
and this song's boring.
834
00:36:09,786 --> 00:36:12,896
- We're playing a part
that's just as important
835
00:36:12,896 --> 00:36:16,578
as a guitar part or a
local lead or whatever.
836
00:36:16,578 --> 00:36:18,724
It's all part of it.
837
00:36:18,724 --> 00:36:19,786
- It turned out great.
838
00:36:19,786 --> 00:36:22,438
Seriously, the music
just spoke for itself.
839
00:36:22,438 --> 00:36:26,033
I think a lotta people
really got a lot out of it.
840
00:36:26,033 --> 00:36:28,200
It was like they mattered.
841
00:36:31,273 --> 00:36:33,856
I mattered; it was kinda crazy.
842
00:36:36,737 --> 00:36:37,904
- [Narrator] Many of the ska bands
843
00:36:37,904 --> 00:36:40,746
in the '80s and '90s had a DIY ethic,
844
00:36:40,746 --> 00:36:43,545
partly because ska and
punk were so intertwined
845
00:36:43,545 --> 00:36:46,994
and punk was built on the
principle of doin' it yourself.
846
00:36:46,994 --> 00:36:48,982
In the early 1990s, there was no internet
847
00:36:48,982 --> 00:36:51,574
or at least not as we know it today,
848
00:36:51,574 --> 00:36:54,898
so hearin' about new music
or learnin' about a new band
849
00:36:54,898 --> 00:36:57,779
was largely word of
mouth or catchin' a band
850
00:36:57,779 --> 00:37:00,566
at a ska show or readin' a zine.
851
00:37:00,566 --> 00:37:02,569
Zines were frequently made by hand,
852
00:37:02,569 --> 00:37:04,452
xeroxed, folded in half, stapled
853
00:37:04,452 --> 00:37:06,653
and mailed to lists acquired at shows.
854
00:37:06,653 --> 00:37:10,658
Some like Moon Records were
also catalogs of ska inventory.
855
00:37:10,658 --> 00:37:12,673
Posters and flyers to advertise the shows
856
00:37:12,673 --> 00:37:14,965
were also made by hand.
857
00:37:14,965 --> 00:37:17,500
- We'd go to the Kinko's Print Place
858
00:37:17,500 --> 00:37:20,505
in the middle of the night,
cut and paste a flyer together
859
00:37:20,505 --> 00:37:22,155
or draw somethin' and
make a bunch of copies,
860
00:37:22,155 --> 00:37:25,215
then drive 'em to all the record stores.
861
00:37:25,215 --> 00:37:27,550
- Makin' your own flyers at Kinko's.
862
00:37:27,550 --> 00:37:30,873
You drop the blue little cartridge.
863
00:37:30,873 --> 00:37:33,223
You drop it on the floor and reset it,
864
00:37:33,223 --> 00:37:34,569
so you could do it for free.
865
00:37:34,569 --> 00:37:37,486
(lively ska music)
866
00:37:38,962 --> 00:37:43,087
- They're just like the original drawings.
867
00:37:43,087 --> 00:37:46,185
When we were makin' our first shirt,
868
00:37:46,185 --> 00:37:49,768
this is the front pocket
logo and the back.
869
00:37:51,664 --> 00:37:54,653
- We just did it ourselves.
870
00:37:54,653 --> 00:37:57,486
Totally we were a really DIY band.
871
00:37:59,693 --> 00:38:01,308
How do you get on a record label?
872
00:38:01,308 --> 00:38:05,088
Call this record label. (chuckles)
873
00:38:05,088 --> 00:38:07,668
- It wasn't like we're
DIY, we're super cool
874
00:38:07,668 --> 00:38:08,584
or anything like that.
875
00:38:08,584 --> 00:38:13,324
It was just literally no one
else is gonna do this for us
876
00:38:13,324 --> 00:38:14,845
and we wanna do this.
877
00:38:14,845 --> 00:38:18,474
Let's call up every bar on the east coast
878
00:38:18,474 --> 00:38:20,864
and see if any of them will
let us play a show that night,
879
00:38:20,864 --> 00:38:22,697
like that kinda thing.
880
00:38:27,398 --> 00:38:30,134
- The ska scene was kinda
different for everybody.
881
00:38:30,134 --> 00:38:33,460
- East coast ska and west coast ska
882
00:38:33,460 --> 00:38:35,779
is totally different.
883
00:38:35,779 --> 00:38:39,104
- We tried our best to
instill an East Coast
884
00:38:39,104 --> 00:38:41,502
versus West Coast kinda thing.
885
00:38:41,502 --> 00:38:43,135
We wanted to start a rap battle,
886
00:38:43,135 --> 00:38:47,124
have drive-bys and stuff
like that but it never took.
887
00:38:47,124 --> 00:38:48,172
- Can you imagine?
888
00:38:48,172 --> 00:38:50,260
It would just be like
trombones beating each other,
889
00:38:50,260 --> 00:38:53,664
like drive-by piccolos
or whatever. (chuckles)
890
00:38:53,664 --> 00:38:55,638
Really wouldn't work the same way.
891
00:38:55,638 --> 00:38:58,296
- The New York scene, it was poppin'.
892
00:38:58,296 --> 00:38:59,788
There was tons of energy,
people were excited.
893
00:38:59,788 --> 00:39:01,153
The kids were excited.
894
00:39:01,153 --> 00:39:02,893
The bands were helping each other.
895
00:39:02,893 --> 00:39:03,726
We were playing.
896
00:39:03,726 --> 00:39:05,283
There was a lot of back and forth
897
00:39:05,283 --> 00:39:07,987
with bands from Washington, from Boston.
898
00:39:07,987 --> 00:39:10,971
- Grand Rapids didn't really
have a ska scene at all.
899
00:39:10,971 --> 00:39:12,099
No one knew.
900
00:39:12,099 --> 00:39:13,913
The only people in Grand
Rapids that knew about ska
901
00:39:13,913 --> 00:39:15,975
were the ones in our band.
902
00:39:15,975 --> 00:39:19,669
If you were a ska fan,
you were in Mustard Plug.
903
00:39:19,669 --> 00:39:20,502
If you didn't know how
to play an instrument,
904
00:39:20,502 --> 00:39:21,335
it didn't matter.
905
00:39:21,335 --> 00:39:22,421
You were in Mustard Plug.
906
00:39:22,421 --> 00:39:24,018
- We definitely stuck
out like a sore thumb.
907
00:39:24,018 --> 00:39:25,714
Since the early '90s,
everybody was tryin' to sound
908
00:39:25,714 --> 00:39:28,931
like Pearl Jam or
Soundgarden or somethin'.
909
00:39:28,931 --> 00:39:31,031
Here we'd be sandwiched
between these bands.
910
00:39:31,031 --> 00:39:33,948
(lively ska music)
911
00:39:39,093 --> 00:39:42,140
(muffled lyrics)
912
00:39:42,140 --> 00:39:43,071
Not without tooting our horn,
913
00:39:43,071 --> 00:39:45,944
I think we helped create
a scene in Florida.
914
00:39:45,944 --> 00:39:48,530
- A local scene starts with a local band.
915
00:39:48,530 --> 00:39:51,546
- They were like, "Hey,
we're starting a ska band
916
00:39:51,546 --> 00:39:53,097
"and we're gonna play shows."
917
00:39:53,097 --> 00:39:56,296
I was like, "I didn't know you
could start your own band."
918
00:39:56,296 --> 00:39:57,996
- You don't just have to listen to music
919
00:39:57,996 --> 00:40:00,068
in your headphones or in your car.
920
00:40:00,068 --> 00:40:02,087
You could actually be
in a room full of people
921
00:40:02,087 --> 00:40:03,984
all enjoying the same music.
922
00:40:03,984 --> 00:40:04,851
- I wasn't cool.
923
00:40:04,851 --> 00:40:06,069
I didn't know there was music scenes.
924
00:40:06,069 --> 00:40:08,841
I thought we'd be playin' in the garage,
925
00:40:08,841 --> 00:40:10,898
then some guy in a suit would
come in with a briefcase
926
00:40:10,898 --> 00:40:13,160
and be like hey, you
guys want a record deal?
927
00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:15,727
(clicks) Show me all his money.
928
00:40:15,727 --> 00:40:16,628
I didn't know how it worked.
929
00:40:16,628 --> 00:40:17,828
- The scene was a big part of it for me
930
00:40:17,828 --> 00:40:19,061
in Southern California.
931
00:40:19,061 --> 00:40:22,935
It was during the mid-'90s,
it was so underground.
932
00:40:22,935 --> 00:40:25,356
Most of the shows got shut down.
933
00:40:25,356 --> 00:40:26,662
So many venues got closed.
934
00:40:26,662 --> 00:40:27,691
They weren't even venues.
935
00:40:27,691 --> 00:40:29,562
They were just places
you could have shows.
936
00:40:29,562 --> 00:40:32,621
Someone would rent out a spot
and put up a PA or whatever.
937
00:40:32,621 --> 00:40:34,276
- Thinkin' about goin'
to a show by myself now,
938
00:40:34,276 --> 00:40:37,075
I'd be like oh my god, scary.
939
00:40:37,075 --> 00:40:39,523
Back then, I would just get
in my car and drive to a show.
940
00:40:39,523 --> 00:40:42,745
Know that everybody I
knew was gonna be there.
941
00:40:42,745 --> 00:40:47,609
It's a big deal for me
'cause I'm really awkward.
942
00:40:47,609 --> 00:40:49,890
- We'd play every show
no matter who it was
943
00:40:49,890 --> 00:40:51,661
came to Detroit to play with them.
944
00:40:51,661 --> 00:40:55,110
Some of those friendships
have lasted 'til now.
945
00:40:55,110 --> 00:40:58,188
Less Than Jake, Skankin'
Pickle, all those guys.
946
00:40:58,188 --> 00:40:59,754
- We would start out in St. Louis.
947
00:40:59,754 --> 00:41:01,652
We were right in the
center of the country.
948
00:41:01,652 --> 00:41:05,001
Lots of touring bands would come through
949
00:41:05,001 --> 00:41:08,380
and we got to be the biggest ska band
950
00:41:08,380 --> 00:41:11,047
in our little area of St. Louis.
951
00:41:12,363 --> 00:41:14,973
- The Midwest was still about bein' wacky
952
00:41:14,973 --> 00:41:16,496
and havin' fun a lot.
953
00:41:16,496 --> 00:41:17,351
When you get to the east coast,
954
00:41:17,351 --> 00:41:22,351
there's a lotta like awesome
musicians and more musicianship
955
00:41:22,557 --> 00:41:24,067
with the bands and horns and everything.
956
00:41:24,067 --> 00:41:26,049
They took it all a little more seriously.
957
00:41:26,049 --> 00:41:28,980
I think bands on the east
coast were a little wary
958
00:41:28,980 --> 00:41:31,397
of us silly West Coast bands.
959
00:41:32,476 --> 00:41:33,809
- The promoters,
960
00:41:35,717 --> 00:41:38,019
there was a big jam band scene
961
00:41:38,019 --> 00:41:40,386
and we started pushin'
the ska music on them.
962
00:41:40,386 --> 00:41:43,228
It literally was always some younger guy
963
00:41:43,228 --> 00:41:45,870
in the promoter office that was pushin'
964
00:41:45,870 --> 00:41:48,638
the old school bigger promoters.
965
00:41:48,638 --> 00:41:50,520
C'mon, we gotta try this music.
966
00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:51,438
Ska's happenin'.
967
00:41:51,438 --> 00:41:53,392
The other thing that was challenging
968
00:41:53,392 --> 00:41:55,958
with booking these bands.
969
00:41:55,958 --> 00:41:58,102
All of the other jam
bands and stuff like that,
970
00:41:58,102 --> 00:42:01,250
they didn't care about an all-age crowd.
971
00:42:01,250 --> 00:42:03,425
The promoters, that's
how they make their money
972
00:42:03,425 --> 00:42:04,787
is by sellin' beer.
973
00:42:04,787 --> 00:42:07,212
Skankin' Pickle and some of
these other bands came along
974
00:42:07,212 --> 00:42:09,718
and they were just like,
no it's gotta be all-age.
975
00:42:09,718 --> 00:42:14,184
We book a tour and '90% of
it would be all-age shows.
976
00:42:14,184 --> 00:42:16,593
I'd bring 'em some club
show that was 21 and over.
977
00:42:16,593 --> 00:42:19,112
They were just like nope, not doin' it.
978
00:42:19,112 --> 00:42:20,332
Find somethin' else, I don't care.
979
00:42:20,332 --> 00:42:22,000
We'll play in somebody's
garage if we have to.
980
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:23,089
It's gotta be all ages.
981
00:42:23,089 --> 00:42:25,177
They pushed it and
pushed it and pushed it.
982
00:42:25,177 --> 00:42:30,177
I think during that time, we
really changed the landscape
983
00:42:30,207 --> 00:42:34,540
of the concert world in
pushing those all-age shows.
984
00:42:35,454 --> 00:42:36,626
- It was young people that really wanted
985
00:42:36,626 --> 00:42:39,043
to make fun, danceable music.
986
00:42:40,571 --> 00:42:42,601
- You could feel that somethin'
special was happening.
987
00:42:42,601 --> 00:42:46,313
- There was an energy in
those shows that was palpable.
988
00:42:46,313 --> 00:42:48,564
People were going crazy.
989
00:42:48,564 --> 00:42:50,981
It was really fun, good time.
990
00:42:53,668 --> 00:42:54,781
That was the goal.
991
00:42:54,781 --> 00:42:56,756
How much fun can we have?
992
00:42:56,756 --> 00:43:00,560
(crowd muffled shouting)
993
00:43:00,560 --> 00:43:01,715
(lively ska music)
(muffled lyrics)
994
00:43:01,715 --> 00:43:02,548
- Now you're on both sides.
995
00:43:02,548 --> 00:43:04,713
You have the band and you
have the record label.
996
00:43:04,713 --> 00:43:06,603
Does that create a conflict for you?
997
00:43:06,603 --> 00:43:09,171
- I think the best way
to win a game of tennis
998
00:43:09,171 --> 00:43:10,911
is to play both sides of the net.
999
00:43:10,911 --> 00:43:15,176
- Then records were sold,
over 1/2 million records.
1000
00:43:15,176 --> 00:43:18,774
Mostly outta my basement
before we had a storefront
1001
00:43:18,774 --> 00:43:21,299
in New York in the late '90s.
1002
00:43:21,299 --> 00:43:23,647
- Moon Records was putting
out a lot of records,
1003
00:43:23,647 --> 00:43:26,923
so we gave a lot of bands
a chance to be heard.
1004
00:43:26,923 --> 00:43:29,144
- I always called Moon the
Little Engine that Could
1005
00:43:29,144 --> 00:43:31,464
because we did a lot with nothing.
1006
00:43:31,464 --> 00:43:34,202
I think a lotta people
had an inflated sense
1007
00:43:34,202 --> 00:43:36,162
of what we were and what we're doing.
1008
00:43:36,162 --> 00:43:39,194
But for most of the Moon Records' career,
1009
00:43:39,194 --> 00:43:42,582
it was just me workin' outta my basement.
1010
00:43:42,582 --> 00:43:44,744
- I was obsessed with mail order as a kid.
1011
00:43:44,744 --> 00:43:47,239
I used to put cash in an envelope,
1012
00:43:47,239 --> 00:43:49,630
which is exactly what my
parents told me not to do.
1013
00:43:49,630 --> 00:43:53,213
Then these record companies
would send me albums.
1014
00:43:53,213 --> 00:43:55,227
If they threw in an extra sticker,
1015
00:43:55,227 --> 00:43:57,362
it was the highlight of my life.
1016
00:43:57,362 --> 00:43:59,206
- [Narrator] It was too risky
to bank on an unknown band
1017
00:43:59,206 --> 00:44:00,623
if you were a small label.
1018
00:44:00,623 --> 00:44:02,598
But puttin' out a
compilation with 12 bands
1019
00:44:02,598 --> 00:44:06,035
each supplyin' their best song
for the exposure of a label,
1020
00:44:06,035 --> 00:44:07,802
it just made sense.
1021
00:44:07,802 --> 00:44:11,514
Moon Ska, Jump Up, Asian Man,
Stubborn Records, Hellcat
1022
00:44:11,514 --> 00:44:14,907
all released compilations
of bands they represented.
1023
00:44:14,907 --> 00:44:19,228
- Ska compilation CDs were
huge to the ska community.
1024
00:44:19,228 --> 00:44:22,650
- CDs, it's a piece of plastic
that you put into this thing
1025
00:44:22,650 --> 00:44:25,086
and it spins really fast.
1026
00:44:25,086 --> 00:44:29,042
- Compilation was such a way
to get a whole bunch of music
1027
00:44:29,042 --> 00:44:30,886
out to a bunch of different people.
1028
00:44:30,886 --> 00:44:32,742
To get all these different voices heard.
1029
00:44:32,742 --> 00:44:36,728
- As a band, it was a
fantastic way to get exposure.
1030
00:44:36,728 --> 00:44:39,237
You would go to a town and
they would come just to hear
1031
00:44:39,237 --> 00:44:41,752
the one song that they'd
heard on a compilation.
1032
00:44:41,752 --> 00:44:43,562
- In these comps where you call us up,
1033
00:44:43,562 --> 00:44:45,171
we just said yes to everything.
1034
00:44:45,171 --> 00:44:46,214
We didn't have any new songs.
1035
00:44:46,214 --> 00:44:48,800
Here, take the crappy version
of this off our demo tape.
1036
00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:49,975
Just take it.
1037
00:44:49,975 --> 00:44:53,498
But the thing was, it really
showed you there was way more
1038
00:44:53,498 --> 00:44:55,468
of this going on than you knew.
1039
00:44:55,468 --> 00:44:59,301
- You didn't have a
podcast or a radio station
1040
00:45:00,300 --> 00:45:02,012
that was gonna expose
you to the new stuff,
1041
00:45:02,012 --> 00:45:04,968
but you might have a compilation CD
1042
00:45:04,968 --> 00:45:09,885
where 28 out of 36 tracks felt
like they changed your life.
1043
00:45:12,120 --> 00:45:14,363
("Time Bomb" by Rancid)
1044
00:45:14,363 --> 00:45:15,743
- When I remember it really startin'
1045
00:45:15,743 --> 00:45:19,301
to cross over commercially,
I think it was like '95.
1046
00:45:19,301 --> 00:45:21,814
That was Rancid's song, Time Bomb.
1047
00:45:21,814 --> 00:45:23,856
- It's on, it's happenin'.
1048
00:45:23,856 --> 00:45:26,058
This is a mainstream radio station
1049
00:45:26,058 --> 00:45:29,681
and they're playing a
straight-up ska song.
1050
00:45:29,681 --> 00:45:30,966
Celebrating.
1051
00:45:30,966 --> 00:45:32,868
- The label's an independent label.
1052
00:45:32,868 --> 00:45:35,084
Somehow they crossed over
into commercial radio
1053
00:45:35,084 --> 00:45:37,523
when that was getting
really difficult to do.
1054
00:45:37,523 --> 00:45:39,310
- They're a punk rock band that plays ska,
1055
00:45:39,310 --> 00:45:42,379
but they played some of the best ska.
1056
00:45:42,379 --> 00:45:43,411
- I remember just being stoked
1057
00:45:43,411 --> 00:45:48,183
going holy crap, Rancid
is on the fuckin' radio.
1058
00:45:48,183 --> 00:45:49,374
That's nuts!
1059
00:45:49,374 --> 00:45:52,405
I guarantee you, even those
dudes probably were never like
1060
00:45:52,405 --> 00:45:54,347
we were gonna be on the
radio, you know what I mean?
1061
00:45:54,347 --> 00:45:56,481
Or we're gonna be the
clash of our generation.
1062
00:45:56,481 --> 00:46:00,898
I guarantee you they didn't
think that, but they are.
1063
00:46:02,295 --> 00:46:04,611
(energetic ska music)
1064
00:46:04,611 --> 00:46:06,833
- [Narrator] Ska bands, unless
you signed to a big contract
1065
00:46:06,833 --> 00:46:10,689
just could not sustain
themselves financially.
1066
00:46:10,689 --> 00:46:14,100
Think about it: if venue booked
four or five bands a night,
1067
00:46:14,100 --> 00:46:16,953
but each of those bands had
to split the take of the door
1068
00:46:16,953 --> 00:46:19,039
five ways then divide up the cash
1069
00:46:19,039 --> 00:46:20,913
between seven or eight members each;
1070
00:46:20,913 --> 00:46:22,637
then the trombone player would be lucky
1071
00:46:22,637 --> 00:46:24,814
to cover his own drinks.
1072
00:46:24,814 --> 00:46:26,887
- You have be able to take
care of 'em 'cause money talks.
1073
00:46:26,887 --> 00:46:30,239
People will lie about
that or skip around that.
1074
00:46:30,239 --> 00:46:31,363
A lot of it's money, man.
1075
00:46:31,363 --> 00:46:34,231
You have to keep a band fed on the road.
1076
00:46:34,231 --> 00:46:38,986
When you're underground at all
with no radio play, no label,
1077
00:46:38,986 --> 00:46:42,692
it takes a special kinda person,
a special breed of person;
1078
00:46:42,692 --> 00:46:44,545
a special breed of wife or girlfriend
1079
00:46:44,545 --> 00:46:46,625
or whatever you got at home.
1080
00:46:46,625 --> 00:46:47,708
- If you had a seven-piece band,
1081
00:46:47,708 --> 00:46:50,291
then this was your sole income.
1082
00:46:51,827 --> 00:46:54,542
It's too hard compared to being
1083
00:46:54,542 --> 00:46:56,407
in a three or four-piece band.
1084
00:46:56,407 --> 00:46:59,546
- How is anyone gonna make money that way?
1085
00:46:59,546 --> 00:47:00,594
- DJs are stoked.
1086
00:47:00,594 --> 00:47:03,326
- (chuckles) Yeah, they are.
1087
00:47:03,326 --> 00:47:06,091
- A ska band is the worst business model.
1088
00:47:06,091 --> 00:47:08,952
Anything divided by 10 is zero.
1089
00:47:08,952 --> 00:47:11,142
- When you're young, you
never really think money.
1090
00:47:11,142 --> 00:47:12,531
It's like whatever what we make tonight.
1091
00:47:12,531 --> 00:47:13,416
You didn't care.
1092
00:47:13,416 --> 00:47:14,522
- I remember always thinking like
1093
00:47:14,522 --> 00:47:16,404
if there were only four
of us in this band,
1094
00:47:16,404 --> 00:47:18,112
I'd be really doin' well.
1095
00:47:18,112 --> 00:47:20,053
I would probably be
the first one to go too
1096
00:47:20,053 --> 00:47:23,115
'cause I'm a horn player,
so I'm pretty thankful.
1097
00:47:23,115 --> 00:47:28,115
- There has to be some kinda
passion beyond just the money.
1098
00:47:28,362 --> 00:47:30,041
For us, it's always been the fun.
1099
00:47:30,041 --> 00:47:31,916
It's been the fun.
1100
00:47:31,916 --> 00:47:34,104
Now that we've been a band for 20 years,
1101
00:47:34,104 --> 00:47:38,412
we're making more money than
we've ever made as a band.
1102
00:47:38,412 --> 00:47:42,212
But we're spending way more money on fun.
1103
00:47:42,212 --> 00:47:44,618
We spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars
1104
00:47:44,618 --> 00:47:49,200
on inflatable beach balls
and stupid stuff every show.
1105
00:47:49,200 --> 00:47:50,033
How can we have more fun?
1106
00:47:50,033 --> 00:47:53,331
How can we make it more fun for our fans?
1107
00:47:53,331 --> 00:47:56,695
For us, that's what it
keeps the Aquabats going.
1108
00:47:56,695 --> 00:47:59,160
I'm sure that's not the
answer that maybe our families
1109
00:47:59,160 --> 00:48:01,543
or our wives wanna hear.
1110
00:48:01,543 --> 00:48:02,398
Wait, you're how much?
1111
00:48:02,398 --> 00:48:03,973
What?
1112
00:48:03,973 --> 00:48:05,056
Cut that out.
1113
00:48:06,982 --> 00:48:09,289
- I worked with really good bands.
1114
00:48:09,289 --> 00:48:12,258
I could call a promoter and say look,
1115
00:48:12,258 --> 00:48:14,968
you may not make a lotta
money on this show.
1116
00:48:14,968 --> 00:48:16,535
You might even lose a few bucks,
1117
00:48:16,535 --> 00:48:18,913
but it's gonna be a
really really good band.
1118
00:48:18,913 --> 00:48:20,080
I promise you.
1119
00:48:21,875 --> 00:48:24,584
I'm gonna keep them comin'
through your market.
1120
00:48:24,584 --> 00:48:25,543
We'll build the crowd.
1121
00:48:25,543 --> 00:48:27,921
If we can build that together,
1122
00:48:27,921 --> 00:48:30,199
then that's how this
whole scene is gonna grow.
1123
00:48:30,199 --> 00:48:32,128
- I'd done enough time in retail
1124
00:48:32,128 --> 00:48:35,332
to know I never ever
wanna go back to that.
1125
00:48:35,332 --> 00:48:38,148
When they kept asking for us
to play shows, I'm like yes.
1126
00:48:38,148 --> 00:48:41,860
I just said yes to
everything and I still do.
1127
00:48:41,860 --> 00:48:43,875
We have that world's record.
1128
00:48:43,875 --> 00:48:46,526
We played 385 shows in 1996,
1129
00:48:46,526 --> 00:48:50,978
which was the most shows ever
played by a touring band.
1130
00:48:50,978 --> 00:48:52,819
- Our first tour, we'd literally get
1131
00:48:52,819 --> 00:48:54,983
one hotel room for eight of us.
1132
00:48:54,983 --> 00:48:55,879
One hotel room.
1133
00:48:55,879 --> 00:48:58,595
Eight adult men in hotel room.
1134
00:48:58,595 --> 00:49:00,173
I would be like, "Guys,
1135
00:49:00,173 --> 00:49:02,597
"could we please get
two hotel rooms tonight?
1136
00:49:02,597 --> 00:49:03,568
"Please."
1137
00:49:03,568 --> 00:49:04,960
- We ate peanut butter and jelly.
1138
00:49:04,960 --> 00:49:07,002
We lived on $5.00 a day.
1139
00:49:07,002 --> 00:49:08,610
That's why I ate all those McDonald's.
1140
00:49:08,610 --> 00:49:09,480
- That's when I learned that
1141
00:49:09,480 --> 00:49:12,785
when you have remanence of
seven people's Taco Bell.
1142
00:49:12,785 --> 00:49:14,368
People would go to throw
out their Taco Bell,
1143
00:49:14,368 --> 00:49:15,261
I'm like, "What are you doing?"
1144
00:49:15,261 --> 00:49:17,147
There's all those scraps right there
1145
00:49:17,147 --> 00:49:18,794
and I would take the scraps.
- Oh man, I forgot that.
1146
00:49:18,794 --> 00:49:20,780
- Of seven people's Taco Bell.
- That's kinda disgusting.
1147
00:49:20,780 --> 00:49:21,927
I'd forgotten.
- That's what I ate.
1148
00:49:21,927 --> 00:49:23,423
That's what all there was to eat.
1149
00:49:23,423 --> 00:49:25,640
- I forgot that you did that.
- I lived well on that.
1150
00:49:25,640 --> 00:49:27,333
- But it was tough, man.
1151
00:49:27,333 --> 00:49:28,521
A lotta people in our band sucks.
1152
00:49:28,521 --> 00:49:32,480
You'd see a band like MxPx on
the Warped Tour in their van
1153
00:49:32,480 --> 00:49:33,803
and there's just three of 'em.
1154
00:49:33,803 --> 00:49:35,382
They're like--
- Your own bench?
1155
00:49:35,382 --> 00:49:36,904
- "Dude, they have their own benches.
1156
00:49:36,904 --> 00:49:40,125
"I have to sit next to this
guy for eight hours a day
1157
00:49:40,125 --> 00:49:41,662
"all fuckin' summer long."
1158
00:49:41,662 --> 00:49:42,812
Fuck.
1159
00:49:42,812 --> 00:49:44,726
- You're just like wow, this is great.
1160
00:49:44,726 --> 00:49:46,161
I can actually stretch my legs,
1161
00:49:46,161 --> 00:49:49,204
just 'cause we don't
have a trombone player.
1162
00:49:49,204 --> 00:49:51,132
- It's interesting being the only female
1163
00:49:51,132 --> 00:49:53,728
in a band of eight guys because every guy
1164
00:49:53,728 --> 00:49:55,247
is gonna treat you different.
1165
00:49:55,247 --> 00:49:57,275
There's definitely the older brother guy
1166
00:49:57,275 --> 00:49:59,682
that is almost waiting for
someone to talk to you mean
1167
00:49:59,682 --> 00:50:01,074
so he can get in a fight for you.
1168
00:50:01,074 --> 00:50:02,424
There's the chivalrous ones
1169
00:50:02,424 --> 00:50:05,382
that when there is a couch,
they will give it to you.
1170
00:50:05,382 --> 00:50:07,385
Then there's the ones that are
gonna push you outta the way
1171
00:50:07,385 --> 00:50:09,763
and make sure they're just fair.
1172
00:50:09,763 --> 00:50:11,646
You have to almost work twice as hard
1173
00:50:11,646 --> 00:50:14,851
to prove that you're worthy of your space.
1174
00:50:14,851 --> 00:50:16,750
Reese, our lead singer, Reese Roper.
1175
00:50:16,750 --> 00:50:18,869
He's the only one that
always tells me I look pretty
1176
00:50:18,869 --> 00:50:20,084
and he still does it.
1177
00:50:20,084 --> 00:50:22,824
I think that comes from having a sister.
1178
00:50:22,824 --> 00:50:24,421
Then there's guys that don't wanna know
1179
00:50:24,421 --> 00:50:25,945
if it's that time of the month.
1180
00:50:25,945 --> 00:50:28,365
They're just avoiding me like the plague.
1181
00:50:28,365 --> 00:50:31,308
- The more people you have,
the more chances of somebody
1182
00:50:31,308 --> 00:50:33,193
bein' like I think that's a stupid idea.
1183
00:50:33,193 --> 00:50:34,903
We should do this.
1184
00:50:34,903 --> 00:50:36,412
No.
1185
00:50:36,412 --> 00:50:38,600
- On the road, you tend to
break down into factions.
1186
00:50:38,600 --> 00:50:41,083
The little groups of
people stick together.
1187
00:50:41,083 --> 00:50:43,863
- Our horn players
would kinda be over here
1188
00:50:43,863 --> 00:50:44,965
if there was a fight goin' on.
1189
00:50:44,965 --> 00:50:46,833
These guys would be over here.
1190
00:50:46,833 --> 00:50:49,755
I could kinda join whichever
team I wanted to be on.
1191
00:50:49,755 --> 00:50:51,159
- That's one of the nice
things about being in a band
1192
00:50:51,159 --> 00:50:52,659
that's got so many people.
1193
00:50:52,659 --> 00:50:55,622
We're like a bigger rat pack.
1194
00:50:55,622 --> 00:50:57,143
Who wants to go to a bookstore?
1195
00:50:57,143 --> 00:50:57,976
I do.
1196
00:50:57,976 --> 00:50:59,679
Who wants to go to the amusement park?
1197
00:50:59,679 --> 00:51:00,769
Hey, I'll go.
1198
00:51:00,769 --> 00:51:01,880
- You don't get to just bro out
1199
00:51:01,880 --> 00:51:03,798
with four other guys from this band.
1200
00:51:03,798 --> 00:51:05,841
You get to bro out with 12 of them.
1201
00:51:05,841 --> 00:51:06,674
- Yeah.
1202
00:51:06,674 --> 00:51:09,250
- Then there's three ska
bands, so there's 35 of you.
1203
00:51:09,250 --> 00:51:11,241
You know what I mean?
1204
00:51:11,241 --> 00:51:12,686
- It's definitely an instant party.
1205
00:51:12,686 --> 00:51:15,022
- You're on the road with two ska bands.
1206
00:51:15,022 --> 00:51:18,969
If you go anywhere, you
pretty much own the place.
1207
00:51:18,969 --> 00:51:21,768
Everyone walks in and everyone
in the restaurant's like
1208
00:51:21,768 --> 00:51:23,446
what the fuck is goin' on?
1209
00:51:23,446 --> 00:51:24,401
What is all this?
1210
00:51:24,401 --> 00:51:25,909
Who are all these people?
1211
00:51:25,909 --> 00:51:28,740
- We were on a tour with
Long Beach Dub All Stars
1212
00:51:28,740 --> 00:51:30,230
and Blink was also on that tour.
1213
00:51:30,230 --> 00:51:32,087
They had some issues with their drummer
1214
00:51:32,087 --> 00:51:35,290
and he had to go home
for some family thing.
1215
00:51:35,290 --> 00:51:36,755
- Mark and Tom came to me and said,
1216
00:51:36,755 --> 00:51:38,874
"Dude before you play your
set with the Aquabats,
1217
00:51:38,874 --> 00:51:42,047
"can you come learn our set
or the show's not gonna go on.
1218
00:51:42,047 --> 00:51:43,499
"We're not gonna have a drummer."
1219
00:51:43,499 --> 00:51:44,922
- He played our set.
1220
00:51:44,922 --> 00:51:48,178
Then he took off his costume
and he was like (vocalizes).
1221
00:51:48,178 --> 00:51:49,266
He killed it.
1222
00:51:49,266 --> 00:51:51,121
The other guys in our band were like,
1223
00:51:51,121 --> 00:51:53,038
"Ooh it's over," 'cause they could tell.
1224
00:51:53,038 --> 00:51:56,085
- When I got the offer to play
with Blink, I told Christian.
1225
00:51:56,085 --> 00:51:59,522
That was honestly the hardest
thing was leaving them.
1226
00:51:59,522 --> 00:52:01,127
If I could've played in both bands
1227
00:52:01,127 --> 00:52:03,145
and stayed in both bands, I would have.
1228
00:52:03,145 --> 00:52:05,551
- I was like, "There's no way, Travis.
1229
00:52:05,551 --> 00:52:06,753
"You won't join their band.
1230
00:52:06,753 --> 00:52:07,739
"There's no way.
1231
00:52:07,739 --> 00:52:09,013
"They have nothing in common."
1232
00:52:09,013 --> 00:52:11,308
(chuckles) I was wrong.
1233
00:52:11,308 --> 00:52:15,641
- It emotional because they
really were my brothers.
1234
00:52:17,123 --> 00:52:18,689
- If you start off something as a joke,
1235
00:52:18,689 --> 00:52:23,106
then pieces of your joke
become worldwide sensations.
1236
00:52:23,965 --> 00:52:25,715
It's a bit of a trip.
1237
00:52:27,823 --> 00:52:30,172
- To keep up ska band's needs
1238
00:52:30,172 --> 00:52:32,589
requires a lot of love, yeah.
1239
00:52:34,324 --> 00:52:36,006
Love towards ska music.
1240
00:52:36,006 --> 00:52:37,455
Love towards each other.
1241
00:52:37,455 --> 00:52:38,955
Love towards band.
1242
00:52:41,669 --> 00:52:42,752
We need love.
1243
00:52:45,122 --> 00:52:48,745
- I automatically assumed that
we didn't have a lot of love
1244
00:52:48,745 --> 00:52:50,328
from the punk scene
1245
00:52:52,142 --> 00:52:54,725
because we were just too happy.
1246
00:52:55,707 --> 00:52:57,315
- It was oil and water.
1247
00:52:57,315 --> 00:53:01,493
You couldn't blend these
two to save your life,
1248
00:53:01,493 --> 00:53:04,029
let alone the people in the crowd.
1249
00:53:04,029 --> 00:53:09,029
But after all these people
started seeing the bigger picture
1250
00:53:09,118 --> 00:53:12,959
and started finding ways to
connect the two, they now do.
1251
00:53:12,959 --> 00:53:15,007
- Most people when they
first heard the music,
1252
00:53:15,007 --> 00:53:17,806
I heard it out loud, "That's not ska!
1253
00:53:17,806 --> 00:53:19,223
"That's not ska!"
1254
00:53:20,108 --> 00:53:20,965
Okay.
1255
00:53:20,965 --> 00:53:22,879
- The purists, the
traditionalists that were like
1256
00:53:22,879 --> 00:53:24,503
if it doesn't sound like two-tone
1257
00:53:24,503 --> 00:53:26,112
or if it doesn't sound
like The Skatalites,
1258
00:53:26,112 --> 00:53:28,258
we don't want anything to do with it.
1259
00:53:28,258 --> 00:53:29,913
- Yeah, they weren't as into
1260
00:53:29,913 --> 00:53:34,913
some of the pseudo-punky ska
combo, which is what we were.
1261
00:53:35,069 --> 00:53:36,503
- When you're a kid, you're not gonna wait
1262
00:53:36,503 --> 00:53:39,422
until you know every single
thing about this genre of music.
1263
00:53:39,422 --> 00:53:40,481
Let's just do it, woo!
1264
00:53:40,481 --> 00:53:42,395
Are there horns?
1265
00:53:42,395 --> 00:53:43,812
You just do, woo!
1266
00:53:44,845 --> 00:53:47,494
We're makin' ska music.
1267
00:53:47,494 --> 00:53:49,814
That's not ska music.
1268
00:53:49,814 --> 00:53:51,052
Yeah, it is.
1269
00:53:51,052 --> 00:53:51,885
No.
1270
00:53:52,819 --> 00:53:53,994
No?
1271
00:53:53,994 --> 00:53:55,328
No.
1272
00:53:55,328 --> 00:53:57,053
- We didn't really notice it
until we started heading out
1273
00:53:57,053 --> 00:53:59,895
on the road and doing little jaunts.
1274
00:53:59,895 --> 00:54:03,462
Get to San Francisco
where you've got some real
1275
00:54:03,462 --> 00:54:08,349
two-tone kids who were like,
"The fuck are you doin'?
1276
00:54:08,349 --> 00:54:10,002
"What is this fuckin' shit?"
1277
00:54:10,002 --> 00:54:12,215
There's a glam rock element
in Reel Big Fish too
1278
00:54:12,215 --> 00:54:17,215
that people were not necessarily
on board with right away.
1279
00:54:17,740 --> 00:54:20,454
- Yeah, there was definitely
some elitist stuff goin' on.
1280
00:54:20,454 --> 00:54:22,267
People that only wanted
to listen to two-tone
1281
00:54:22,267 --> 00:54:25,531
and no heavy guitars, just upstroke stuff.
1282
00:54:25,531 --> 00:54:27,735
You had the ska punk purist.
1283
00:54:27,735 --> 00:54:29,886
Is this band ska punk
or is this band punk?
1284
00:54:29,886 --> 00:54:31,995
That stuff was goin' on.
1285
00:54:31,995 --> 00:54:35,475
I tried to do this to a lot of it
1286
00:54:35,475 --> 00:54:39,159
because I didn't feel by
playin' with any band,
1287
00:54:39,159 --> 00:54:40,985
we were hurting anybody or anything.
1288
00:54:40,985 --> 00:54:43,508
If you didn't like it, you didn't like it.
1289
00:54:43,508 --> 00:54:46,827
- [Narrator] But sometimes
a crowd could turn.
1290
00:54:46,827 --> 00:54:49,321
One minute, everyone would
be singin' along in unity
1291
00:54:49,321 --> 00:54:50,976
while skankin' to the horns.
1292
00:54:50,976 --> 00:54:53,977
The next minute, there'd
be a fight breakin' out.
1293
00:54:53,977 --> 00:54:55,817
It was usually someone
who had too much to drink
1294
00:54:55,817 --> 00:55:00,604
or worse, a racist who somehow
found a way into a ska show.
1295
00:55:00,604 --> 00:55:02,255
Ska stood for racial unity.
1296
00:55:02,255 --> 00:55:05,168
Black and white together side-by-side.
1297
00:55:05,168 --> 00:55:07,243
Bands did not stand for it.
1298
00:55:07,243 --> 00:55:09,577
Nazi skins had no place in ska.
1299
00:55:09,577 --> 00:55:12,422
- There was this time where all these guys
1300
00:55:12,422 --> 00:55:14,422
would come to the show with shaved heads.
1301
00:55:14,422 --> 00:55:16,599
They'd just run in circles
and punch everybody.
1302
00:55:16,599 --> 00:55:17,774
I don't know what that was about.
1303
00:55:17,774 --> 00:55:19,092
That was a bummer.
1304
00:55:19,092 --> 00:55:21,196
- We played some dangerous
shows in the '90s
1305
00:55:21,196 --> 00:55:23,412
where skinheads would show up
1306
00:55:23,412 --> 00:55:25,241
and police in riot gear would come.
1307
00:55:25,241 --> 00:55:28,040
- We used to stop mid-song
when there was a fight
1308
00:55:28,040 --> 00:55:31,184
and say, "We're not gonna play anymore
1309
00:55:31,184 --> 00:55:34,767
"until you guys stop
it or take it outside."
1310
00:55:34,767 --> 00:55:36,029
- I don't know why that's a thing
1311
00:55:36,029 --> 00:55:39,010
goin' to ska shows and fighting.
1312
00:55:39,010 --> 00:55:40,974
But I've seen more fights at Hepcat shows
1313
00:55:40,974 --> 00:55:43,163
than I've seen at any death metal show
1314
00:55:43,163 --> 00:55:46,134
or whatever weird show I've been to.
1315
00:55:46,134 --> 00:55:49,210
- [Narrator] In 1995, The
Mighty Mighty Bosstones
1316
00:55:49,210 --> 00:55:53,212
played during a club scene in
the blockbuster hit Clueless.
1317
00:55:53,212 --> 00:55:56,311
Dicky Barrett's snarl, Ben Carr's skank,
1318
00:55:56,311 --> 00:55:58,688
and the world was introduced
to this brand of ska.
1319
00:55:58,688 --> 00:56:02,412
Boston's ska-core, the next
big thing was finally here
1320
00:56:02,412 --> 00:56:04,491
and audiences like what they heard:
1321
00:56:04,491 --> 00:56:06,262
the corky, fun, fast music
1322
00:56:06,262 --> 00:56:09,525
that was described as punk with horns.
1323
00:56:09,525 --> 00:56:11,280
The impact of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones'
1324
00:56:11,280 --> 00:56:13,755
appearance on Clueless
helped to bring attention
1325
00:56:13,755 --> 00:56:14,940
to all ska bands.
1326
00:56:14,940 --> 00:56:18,593
Like they say, "A risin'
tide lifts all boats."
1327
00:56:18,593 --> 00:56:22,291
- We didn't wanna be portrayed
as a fad or something.
1328
00:56:22,291 --> 00:56:23,960
Back to the Beach had just come out.
1329
00:56:23,960 --> 00:56:26,471
Fishbone was one of our favorite bands.
1330
00:56:26,471 --> 00:56:29,112
Looking back on it now, it was kinda cool.
1331
00:56:29,112 --> 00:56:31,938
But at the time, it was kind of a drag
1332
00:56:31,938 --> 00:56:34,939
seein' them dancin' around
with Annette Funicello.
1333
00:56:34,939 --> 00:56:38,217
- Do you girls know how to Jamaica ska?
1334
00:56:38,217 --> 00:56:39,297
- Jamaica what?
1335
00:56:39,297 --> 00:56:41,055
- But I think to the young Bosstones,
1336
00:56:41,055 --> 00:56:42,768
we thought it was pretty lame.
1337
00:56:42,768 --> 00:56:45,042
But the fact that Amy
Heckerling was making it,
1338
00:56:45,042 --> 00:56:47,029
who had done Fast Times of Ridgemont High,
1339
00:56:47,029 --> 00:56:50,042
made us feel a lot more comfortable.
1340
00:56:50,042 --> 00:56:54,179
Also we had gotten into some tax trouble.
1341
00:56:54,179 --> 00:56:56,673
We were like, "Yeah, we can do this movie.
1342
00:56:56,673 --> 00:56:58,065
"We can pay off our taxes."
1343
00:56:58,065 --> 00:57:00,237
For us, it was a lotta money.
1344
00:57:00,237 --> 00:57:04,982
It ended up being pretty
awesome, cool and fun.
1345
00:57:04,982 --> 00:57:06,182
Some of the guys in the band still get
1346
00:57:06,182 --> 00:57:10,231
royalties from that movie. (chuckles)
1347
00:57:10,231 --> 00:57:14,958
- When you say ska, people
say one of three things.
1348
00:57:14,958 --> 00:57:17,570
They'll say, "Ska, what's that?
1349
00:57:17,570 --> 00:57:18,804
"What did you say?"
1350
00:57:18,804 --> 00:57:20,599
Ask you to repeat it.
1351
00:57:20,599 --> 00:57:23,866
They'll say, "Ska," and they'll laugh
1352
00:57:23,866 --> 00:57:26,054
because they think it's this novelty
1353
00:57:26,054 --> 00:57:29,128
that fizzled out in the '90s
1354
00:57:29,128 --> 00:57:31,321
or they'll say ska and they'll get it.
1355
00:57:31,321 --> 00:57:33,741
They'll know it and they'll
love it just like you do,
1356
00:57:33,741 --> 00:57:35,991
then those are your people.
1357
00:57:37,148 --> 00:57:40,065
(lively ska music)
1358
00:57:42,879 --> 00:57:44,732
- Anybody know anything about ska music?
1359
00:57:44,732 --> 00:57:47,315
Anybody know how to pick it up?
1360
00:57:50,362 --> 00:57:53,794
- Yeah, kind of from my growing up.
1361
00:57:53,794 --> 00:57:56,794
- Okay, what ska bands come to mind?
1362
00:57:58,175 --> 00:58:01,017
- They sing this famous
song, impression that I get.
1363
00:58:01,017 --> 00:58:02,857
- What bands come to mind
when you think ska music?
1364
00:58:02,857 --> 00:58:05,003
- The Mighty Mighty
Bosstones, Reel Big Fish.
1365
00:58:05,003 --> 00:58:05,931
- Reel Big Fish.
1366
00:58:05,931 --> 00:58:07,463
Everyone knows Reel Big Fish.
1367
00:58:07,463 --> 00:58:08,556
We can go for that.
1368
00:58:08,556 --> 00:58:10,919
- Do you know any Reel Big Fish songs?
1369
00:58:10,919 --> 00:58:12,153
- Yeah.
1370
00:58:12,153 --> 00:58:12,986
- Could you sing one for us?
1371
00:58:12,986 --> 00:58:14,034
- Will you sing one with me?
1372
00:58:14,034 --> 00:58:14,867
- Sure.
1373
00:58:14,867 --> 00:58:15,865
♪ Called me late last night ♪
1374
00:58:15,865 --> 00:58:16,909
♪ To say she loved me so ♪
1375
00:58:16,909 --> 00:58:19,662
♪ Didn't matter anymore ♪
1376
00:58:19,662 --> 00:58:24,012
♪ Said she never cared
that she never will ♪
1377
00:58:24,012 --> 00:58:25,678
♪ Do it all again ♪
1378
00:58:25,678 --> 00:58:26,738
That's the second verse.
1379
00:58:26,738 --> 00:58:28,841
Do you have a familiarity with ska music?
1380
00:58:28,841 --> 00:58:29,796
- Yes, I do.
1381
00:58:29,796 --> 00:58:33,054
Back in the '90s, I came
down to a number of ska shows
1382
00:58:33,054 --> 00:58:36,463
from all over the village,
like The Skatalites.
1383
00:58:36,463 --> 00:58:38,416
I met the Ska Police.
1384
00:58:38,416 --> 00:58:40,403
Oh man, The Slackers.
1385
00:58:40,403 --> 00:58:41,605
How 'bout you guys?
1386
00:58:41,605 --> 00:58:43,517
- Oh yeah, I was in a
band called Reel Big Fish.
1387
00:58:43,517 --> 00:58:46,145
I was in the band for 17 years
and don't remember the words.
1388
00:58:46,145 --> 00:58:47,728
- Hello, what's up?
1389
00:58:48,740 --> 00:58:52,530
- 'Cause there was a big
resurgence of ska in the '90s.
1390
00:58:52,530 --> 00:58:55,970
- I did a lotta drugs, so I
don't remember a lot of that.
1391
00:58:55,970 --> 00:58:57,157
- Thank you so much.
1392
00:58:57,157 --> 00:58:59,102
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you as well.
1393
00:58:59,102 --> 00:59:00,332
- I already forgotten your name.
1394
00:59:00,332 --> 00:59:01,956
- Scott and Makayla, yes?
1395
00:59:01,956 --> 00:59:03,208
- Scott, Makayla.
1396
00:59:03,208 --> 00:59:05,958
Reel Big Fish, not Reel Big Fish.
1397
00:59:06,902 --> 00:59:08,449
(muffled crosstalk)
1398
00:59:08,449 --> 00:59:09,652
- [Aaron] You're crazy.
1399
00:59:09,652 --> 00:59:10,882
I wouldn't drive that.
1400
00:59:10,882 --> 00:59:13,580
- (mumbles) play. (claps and laughs)
1401
00:59:13,580 --> 00:59:15,978
- Oh boy.
- Are you sorry?
1402
00:59:15,978 --> 00:59:18,546
- (mumbles) course.
1403
00:59:18,546 --> 00:59:19,501
We got lucky.
1404
00:59:19,501 --> 00:59:22,312
We were in the right
place at the right time.
1405
00:59:22,312 --> 00:59:25,548
Holy shit. (chuckles)
1406
00:59:25,548 --> 00:59:27,911
- That was the first
band ever that I insisted
1407
00:59:27,911 --> 00:59:31,431
I needed to help try and get them signed.
1408
00:59:31,431 --> 00:59:33,331
I brought them to Mojo Records.
1409
00:59:33,331 --> 00:59:37,713
- I used to work at
Subway, sandwich place.
1410
00:59:37,713 --> 00:59:38,546
Then one of those nights,
1411
00:59:38,546 --> 00:59:42,686
we played one of those really big shows.
1412
00:59:42,686 --> 00:59:45,934
This huge crowd was
singin' along to my songs.
1413
00:59:45,934 --> 00:59:47,094
I had to work at Subway.
1414
00:59:47,094 --> 00:59:49,920
I had to be there at like
8:00 the next morning.
1415
00:59:49,920 --> 00:59:52,082
I got up, no way.
1416
00:59:52,082 --> 00:59:53,665
I'm a rockstar now.
1417
00:59:54,664 --> 00:59:56,831
I quit Subway the next day
1418
00:59:58,651 --> 01:00:02,536
and I was really broke for like a year,
1419
01:00:02,536 --> 01:00:07,077
(chuckles) but it worked out.
1420
01:00:07,077 --> 01:00:08,480
Yay.
1421
01:00:08,480 --> 01:00:09,725
- Let's Go Bowling,
Reel Big Fish, Daddies,
1422
01:00:09,725 --> 01:00:11,727
we all crammed into a hotel room
1423
01:00:11,727 --> 01:00:16,166
waiting for Reel Big
Fish's video to come on.
1424
01:00:16,166 --> 01:00:17,370
They played, we yell yeah!
1425
01:00:17,370 --> 01:00:19,342
We got drunk and the whole thing.
1426
01:00:19,342 --> 01:00:20,175
- That was exciting.
1427
01:00:20,175 --> 01:00:21,601
That was like in the movies
1428
01:00:21,601 --> 01:00:24,067
where everybody's like yeah, you're on TV.
1429
01:00:24,067 --> 01:00:25,517
We're all dancin' around.
1430
01:00:25,517 --> 01:00:30,075
- Then almost immediately,
it was just (vocalizes).
1431
01:00:30,075 --> 01:00:31,931
They're just huge.
1432
01:00:31,931 --> 01:00:35,264
- They just had this funness about them.
1433
01:00:36,946 --> 01:00:38,584
It was infectious.
1434
01:00:38,584 --> 01:00:40,570
- And roll camera.
- We're good to go.
1435
01:00:40,570 --> 01:00:42,127
- Three and action.
1436
01:00:42,127 --> 01:00:44,877
(crowd cheering)
1437
01:00:46,058 --> 01:00:48,975
(balloons popping)
1438
01:00:53,037 --> 01:00:54,439
- Oh hi.
- Start over.
1439
01:00:54,439 --> 01:00:56,094
- My name's Monique.
1440
01:00:56,094 --> 01:00:57,775
I'm in a band called Save Ferris.
1441
01:00:57,775 --> 01:00:59,705
♪ Yeah ♪
1442
01:00:59,705 --> 01:01:01,647
♪ Hey hey hey hey ♪
1443
01:01:01,647 --> 01:01:04,214
♪ Hey hey hey hey ♪
1444
01:01:04,214 --> 01:01:07,297
(Monique vocalizing)
1445
01:01:08,506 --> 01:01:09,635
♪ I was sittin' and waitin' ♪
1446
01:01:09,635 --> 01:01:10,884
♪ Just thinkin', contemplatin' my life ♪
1447
01:01:10,884 --> 01:01:13,085
♪ When I heard the phone ♪
1448
01:01:13,085 --> 01:01:15,871
I came into the ska world mostly because
1449
01:01:15,871 --> 01:01:17,871
I grew up in the center.
1450
01:01:19,291 --> 01:01:22,685
We kinda call it ground zero
for the third wave of ska,
1451
01:01:22,685 --> 01:01:25,899
which was in Orange County
in Southern California.
1452
01:01:25,899 --> 01:01:26,788
(cat meowing)
1453
01:01:26,788 --> 01:01:28,563
Is this distracting?
1454
01:01:28,563 --> 01:01:30,230
I wasn't a scene kid
1455
01:01:31,990 --> 01:01:35,490
until probably my freshman year of college
1456
01:01:36,357 --> 01:01:38,774
because I was studying opera.
1457
01:01:40,666 --> 01:01:43,499
I knew this is where I need to be.
1458
01:01:44,533 --> 01:01:46,945
I'm in the right place at the right time
1459
01:01:46,945 --> 01:01:49,161
and I better take advantage of this.
1460
01:01:49,161 --> 01:01:51,249
- Back then there was no
internet or cellphones
1461
01:01:51,249 --> 01:01:53,786
like it is now, so you
kinda once in a while
1462
01:01:53,786 --> 01:01:55,978
you'd talk to somebody at
home and they would say,
1463
01:01:55,978 --> 01:01:58,951
"You guys are getting played
on the radio every 20 minutes."
1464
01:01:58,951 --> 01:02:00,892
We would just be like, "Cool."
1465
01:02:00,892 --> 01:02:03,725
I'm in Oklahoma at a burger joint.
1466
01:02:05,169 --> 01:02:10,099
We were disconnected from what
was really happening at home.
1467
01:02:10,099 --> 01:02:13,726
- For me as a woman, seeing
No Doubt and Save Ferris.
1468
01:02:13,726 --> 01:02:15,231
That was really cool.
1469
01:02:15,231 --> 01:02:17,813
It felt like women were
invited to the party.
1470
01:02:17,813 --> 01:02:20,730
- Your audience was 50% girls,
1471
01:02:23,421 --> 01:02:24,647
so it didn't ever feel like
1472
01:02:24,647 --> 01:02:27,752
you were the lone girl in the room.
1473
01:02:27,752 --> 01:02:31,976
Me and Elyse, we have our
whole act together on stage.
1474
01:02:31,976 --> 01:02:36,976
The whole band sorta comes
alive when they're on stage.
1475
01:02:37,108 --> 01:02:38,442
♪ I don't wanna go ♪
1476
01:02:38,442 --> 01:02:40,198
- I loved Dance Hall Crashers.
1477
01:02:40,198 --> 01:02:43,691
Oh my god, they were like everything.
1478
01:02:43,691 --> 01:02:45,675
♪ Began with a mistake ♪
1479
01:02:45,675 --> 01:02:48,192
♪ I didn't know what was at stake ♪
1480
01:02:48,192 --> 01:02:50,547
- Being a woman in the scene you get.
1481
01:02:50,547 --> 01:02:52,024
It's the door people and the sound guys
1482
01:02:52,024 --> 01:02:56,691
that think you're like the
backup dancer or the groupie.
1483
01:02:58,233 --> 01:03:00,484
There's been times I haven't
been able to get into a club
1484
01:03:00,484 --> 01:03:05,457
I'm headlining at because
they just don't believe me.
1485
01:03:05,457 --> 01:03:07,920
Especially if I'm dressed
up ready to go on stage
1486
01:03:07,920 --> 01:03:10,746
and I'm coming from outside,
they just don't believe you.
1487
01:03:10,746 --> 01:03:12,511
They just think you're a groupie.
1488
01:03:12,511 --> 01:03:14,761
"No, I actually gotta be
on stage in five minutes.
1489
01:03:14,761 --> 01:03:17,664
"If you don't let me in,
the show's not gonna go on
1490
01:03:17,664 --> 01:03:19,172
"and you're gonna be fucked."
1491
01:03:19,172 --> 01:03:22,460
- There weren't a lot of
women in bands at that time
1492
01:03:22,460 --> 01:03:24,877
in ska bands or in the scene.
1493
01:03:27,228 --> 01:03:30,033
I looked different from everybody else.
1494
01:03:30,033 --> 01:03:32,950
I'm a size 12, I wear sexy dresses.
1495
01:03:35,094 --> 01:03:39,518
I've told an entire audience
of men to fuck off. (chuckles)
1496
01:03:39,518 --> 01:03:43,357
You're just gonna have to fall
in love with me, I'm sorry.
1497
01:03:43,357 --> 01:03:46,404
I know I'm different, but here I am.
1498
01:03:46,404 --> 01:03:49,494
I had a little bit more meat on my bones
1499
01:03:49,494 --> 01:03:51,056
and I had to sell it.
1500
01:03:51,056 --> 01:03:52,811
All I wanted to do was sing.
1501
01:03:52,811 --> 01:03:55,894
Selling myself was a means to be able
1502
01:03:56,941 --> 01:03:58,723
to get on stage and sing.
1503
01:03:58,723 --> 01:04:01,739
I also felt the responsibility
to the girls in the audience
1504
01:04:01,739 --> 01:04:06,572
who felt different like me,
but inside I was so sensitive.
1505
01:04:08,395 --> 01:04:09,817
I look back on those videos.
1506
01:04:09,817 --> 01:04:13,848
I'm like you look good,
little Mo. (chuckles)
1507
01:04:13,848 --> 01:04:15,431
You look so pretty.
1508
01:04:16,502 --> 01:04:19,460
- Now the curtain has gone up
on another unique attraction,
1509
01:04:19,460 --> 01:04:20,504
ska music.
1510
01:04:20,504 --> 01:04:23,404
- The scene was taking off so rapidly.
1511
01:04:23,404 --> 01:04:25,837
- Then ska exploded.
1512
01:04:25,837 --> 01:04:27,337
We all got famous.
1513
01:04:29,628 --> 01:04:31,211
- Then people started getting signed.
1514
01:04:31,211 --> 01:04:35,375
Reel Big Fish got signed to
a big label, Save Ferris did.
1515
01:04:35,375 --> 01:04:38,626
- When labels go after a certain sound,
1516
01:04:38,626 --> 01:04:39,886
it's really happening.
1517
01:04:39,886 --> 01:04:43,683
A lotta major labels signed
ska bands at the time.
1518
01:04:43,683 --> 01:04:44,516
- Couldn't believe it.
1519
01:04:44,516 --> 01:04:45,903
It was on a answerin' machine.
1520
01:04:45,903 --> 01:04:47,875
I remember comin' home, I was
deliverin' pizzas at the time.
1521
01:04:47,875 --> 01:04:48,972
"Yeah, (mumbles) from Capitol."
1522
01:04:48,972 --> 01:04:51,219
I'm like who's pullin' our leg here?
1523
01:04:51,219 --> 01:04:52,552
This isn't real.
1524
01:04:53,832 --> 01:04:55,434
That guy followed us
around for eight months
1525
01:04:55,434 --> 01:04:57,872
tryin' to sign the band.
1526
01:04:57,872 --> 01:05:00,014
Around this time, Suicide
Machines got signed.
1527
01:05:00,014 --> 01:05:01,369
Goldfinger got signed.
1528
01:05:01,369 --> 01:05:04,519
To us, there was such a stigma in the '90s
1529
01:05:04,519 --> 01:05:05,735
about you can't be on this label.
1530
01:05:05,735 --> 01:05:06,618
You can't sell out.
1531
01:05:06,618 --> 01:05:09,750
To us, we had to be on
Fat Records or Epitaph.
1532
01:05:09,750 --> 01:05:12,361
We had rejection letters
from both of those labels.
1533
01:05:12,361 --> 01:05:15,056
We were like they don't want
us, but this label does?
1534
01:05:15,056 --> 01:05:17,844
What's this guy hearin'
that they don't hear?
1535
01:05:17,844 --> 01:05:21,393
- We started playing to a larger audience
1536
01:05:21,393 --> 01:05:24,350
and there was less
skanking in the audience,
1537
01:05:24,350 --> 01:05:26,767
but the love was still there.
1538
01:05:27,862 --> 01:05:32,362
It was nice because we were
able to spread the love to
1539
01:05:34,938 --> 01:05:38,159
other people that weren't into ska.
1540
01:05:38,159 --> 01:05:41,659
We introduced them maybe to something new.
1541
01:05:42,494 --> 01:05:43,944
- Clever and energetic.
1542
01:05:43,944 --> 01:05:45,946
I don't think I can keep up with them.
1543
01:05:45,946 --> 01:05:47,829
- That's good music though.
- Toe tap.
1544
01:05:47,829 --> 01:05:50,263
- [Narrator] Ska was startin'
to get radio airplay.
1545
01:05:50,263 --> 01:05:53,049
Radio executives called
it fresh and different.
1546
01:05:53,049 --> 01:05:55,081
Ska was now heard in Akron, Ohio.
1547
01:05:55,081 --> 01:05:58,831
Jackson, Wyoming and
Wheeling, West Virginia.
1548
01:06:00,151 --> 01:06:00,984
- How you doin'?
1549
01:06:00,984 --> 01:06:02,375
Carson Daly, MTV Skaturday.
1550
01:06:02,375 --> 01:06:05,491
I'm your tour guide to
the music known as ska.
1551
01:06:05,491 --> 01:06:09,290
- Ska is a type of music that
has its origins in Jamaica.
1552
01:06:09,290 --> 01:06:11,331
The music enjoyed its biggest
popularity in the '80s
1553
01:06:11,331 --> 01:06:14,439
with bands like The Specials,
The English Beat and Madness.
1554
01:06:14,439 --> 01:06:16,817
Yet a handful of ska-influenced bands
1555
01:06:16,817 --> 01:06:19,648
are flourishing on today's pop charts.
1556
01:06:19,648 --> 01:06:21,430
- [Narrator] The song
Sell Out by Reel Big Fish
1557
01:06:21,430 --> 01:06:24,114
was all over the radio
pokin' fun of themselves
1558
01:06:24,114 --> 01:06:27,215
for makin' money off the
once underground DIY,
1559
01:06:27,215 --> 01:06:29,129
distribute-from-your-basement genre.
1560
01:06:29,129 --> 01:06:30,088
♪ Sell out ♪
1561
01:06:30,088 --> 01:06:31,638
♪ With me, oh yeah ♪
1562
01:06:31,638 --> 01:06:32,664
♪ Sell out ♪
1563
01:06:32,664 --> 01:06:34,059
♪ With me tonight ♪
1564
01:06:34,059 --> 01:06:36,205
♪ The record companies only
give me lots of money ♪
1565
01:06:36,205 --> 01:06:41,205
♪ And everything's gonna be alright ♪
1566
01:06:41,247 --> 01:06:43,380
- What's funny about
a song called Sell Out
1567
01:06:43,380 --> 01:06:46,463
being a big hit on the radio and MTV?
1568
01:06:48,288 --> 01:06:50,204
The record label had
a good sense of humor.
1569
01:06:50,204 --> 01:06:52,161
Then it just became weird 'cause
I'd be drivin' in the car,
1570
01:06:52,161 --> 01:06:56,482
listenin' to the radio,
Sell Out would come on.
1571
01:06:56,482 --> 01:06:58,661
Be flippin' through TV channels.
1572
01:06:58,661 --> 01:07:01,284
Sell Out would be on MTV.
1573
01:07:01,284 --> 01:07:04,044
If you think I'm awkward
now, imagine seein' that.
1574
01:07:04,044 --> 01:07:04,877
Weird.
1575
01:07:06,712 --> 01:07:07,753
But yeah, that was crazy.
1576
01:07:07,753 --> 01:07:09,944
That was like in movies
where there's the montage
1577
01:07:09,944 --> 01:07:11,202
of they're playin' a small show,
1578
01:07:11,202 --> 01:07:12,753
then they get bigger and bigger.
1579
01:07:12,753 --> 01:07:16,420
They pan up the charts,
goin' to number one.
1580
01:07:17,325 --> 01:07:18,158
Ticket sales.
1581
01:07:18,158 --> 01:07:22,411
There was like money in
the background falling.
1582
01:07:22,411 --> 01:07:24,782
In the movies, it was like that.
1583
01:07:24,782 --> 01:07:26,940
- Who are you here to see?
- Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
1584
01:07:26,940 --> 01:07:28,169
- Bosstones, baby!
1585
01:07:28,169 --> 01:07:29,002
Woo!
1586
01:07:30,242 --> 01:07:33,996
- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
finally had a gigantic hit.
1587
01:07:33,996 --> 01:07:35,959
- (mumbles) back.
1588
01:07:35,959 --> 01:07:37,784
Ladies and gentlemen, Let's Face It
1589
01:07:37,784 --> 01:07:38,960
is the new album from my next guest.
1590
01:07:38,960 --> 01:07:41,930
Please give a nice welcome to
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
1591
01:07:41,930 --> 01:07:44,930
(audience cheering)
1592
01:07:47,516 --> 01:07:51,070
- Like whoa, the Bosstones on the radio?
1593
01:07:51,070 --> 01:07:52,197
This is awesome.
1594
01:07:52,197 --> 01:07:54,260
Is the radio starting to become awesome
1595
01:07:54,260 --> 01:07:56,705
or is it just the Bosstones are so awesome
1596
01:07:56,705 --> 01:07:59,538
that they couldn't say no anymore?
1597
01:08:00,882 --> 01:08:02,421
I think it might've been
a little bit of both.
1598
01:08:02,421 --> 01:08:03,840
I don't know. (chuckles)
1599
01:08:03,840 --> 01:08:06,887
- They had been an underground success
1600
01:08:06,887 --> 01:08:10,077
for a long period of time and
had put out lots of records
1601
01:08:10,077 --> 01:08:12,308
that a lotta the people I knew liked.
1602
01:08:12,308 --> 01:08:16,787
But then they really broke
wide and had the MTV airplay.
1603
01:08:16,787 --> 01:08:20,301
It's just a whole different level.
1604
01:08:20,301 --> 01:08:22,099
- Every time a person
that I get would come on,
1605
01:08:22,099 --> 01:08:24,445
I'd be like, "That's a good song.
1606
01:08:24,445 --> 01:08:26,314
"They deserve this."
1607
01:08:26,314 --> 01:08:29,898
Then Sell Out would come on, oh my god!
1608
01:08:29,898 --> 01:08:30,880
My band sucks.
1609
01:08:30,880 --> 01:08:34,402
- For us, it was just such a steady climb.
1610
01:08:34,402 --> 01:08:37,569
Even when we had the hit on the radio,
1611
01:08:38,581 --> 01:08:41,042
we felt like what took so long?
1612
01:08:41,042 --> 01:08:42,163
There was never really a moment
1613
01:08:42,163 --> 01:08:43,872
where we were like an overnight success.
1614
01:08:43,872 --> 01:08:45,238
Maybe to a lotta people we were
1615
01:08:45,238 --> 01:08:47,238
because of the hit song,
1616
01:08:48,986 --> 01:08:52,962
radio and being number one
on MTV for a whole summer.
1617
01:08:52,962 --> 01:08:55,464
- Durin' that time when it
was just startin' to hit,
1618
01:08:55,464 --> 01:08:57,061
that's when you really started realizing.
1619
01:08:57,061 --> 01:08:58,205
It was like whoa, shit.
1620
01:08:58,205 --> 01:09:01,435
- So much excitement, so
many people come to shows
1621
01:09:01,435 --> 01:09:04,933
who never heard of this
type of music before.
1622
01:09:04,933 --> 01:09:08,618
- Shows went from 100
people to all of a sudden
1623
01:09:08,618 --> 01:09:10,793
it was like 400 people.
1624
01:09:10,793 --> 01:09:14,765
It wasn't like the weird people
who like music in school.
1625
01:09:14,765 --> 01:09:16,494
It was like everybody at school.
1626
01:09:16,494 --> 01:09:18,696
The cheerleaders, the jocks.
1627
01:09:18,696 --> 01:09:20,147
Everybody's comin' to these shows.
1628
01:09:20,147 --> 01:09:21,783
- It was crazy.
1629
01:09:21,783 --> 01:09:25,478
You'd arrive at the shows
and people are there.
1630
01:09:25,478 --> 01:09:26,727
They're really happy to see you.
1631
01:09:26,727 --> 01:09:28,724
We were sellin' 100 CDs a night.
1632
01:09:28,724 --> 01:09:29,801
It was crazy.
1633
01:09:29,801 --> 01:09:31,556
It was mayhem.
1634
01:09:31,556 --> 01:09:34,515
Everything ska was movin' off the shelf.
1635
01:09:34,515 --> 01:09:35,845
- I don't know how many records they sold.
1636
01:09:35,845 --> 01:09:37,747
I don't care, don't know.
1637
01:09:37,747 --> 01:09:39,487
I'm sure I should have a gold record
1638
01:09:39,487 --> 01:09:42,904
I should be doing cocaine in my bathroom.
1639
01:09:44,722 --> 01:09:49,722
Who knows how many records
they've sold, I don't know.
1640
01:09:49,769 --> 01:09:52,186
- Yeah, we got really famous.
1641
01:09:54,181 --> 01:09:57,371
You've heard of this Reel Big Fish.
1642
01:09:57,371 --> 01:09:59,791
This is what is called the gold record.
1643
01:09:59,791 --> 01:10:04,791
In the old days, people
used to pay money for music.
1644
01:10:04,795 --> 01:10:07,026
If enough people paid
money for your music,
1645
01:10:07,026 --> 01:10:08,859
you'd get one of these
1646
01:10:10,288 --> 01:10:15,288
to commemorate 1/2 million,
a million, 10 million.
1647
01:10:16,419 --> 01:10:20,919
This is the lowest amount
you can sell to get a thing.
1648
01:10:22,643 --> 01:10:24,035
- You had got exposed to a lotta people
1649
01:10:24,035 --> 01:10:26,081
that didn't hear your
music on this TV show
1650
01:10:26,081 --> 01:10:28,414
or that movie or this video game.
1651
01:10:28,414 --> 01:10:31,765
- You had kids getting introduced to ska
1652
01:10:31,765 --> 01:10:34,515
by playing Tony Hawk video games.
1653
01:10:35,955 --> 01:10:38,411
- The video game came
out, they gave us a copy.
1654
01:10:38,411 --> 01:10:39,784
I played it in the back of the bus
1655
01:10:39,784 --> 01:10:42,454
on tour every day, all day.
1656
01:10:42,454 --> 01:10:44,412
There was literally times where
our tour manager had to say,
1657
01:10:44,412 --> 01:10:46,237
"Darrin, you're on stage in half an hour."
1658
01:10:46,237 --> 01:10:47,412
I'm like, "Yeah, cool."
1659
01:10:47,412 --> 01:10:48,960
"Darrin, you're on stage in 15 minutes."
1660
01:10:48,960 --> 01:10:49,890
"Yeah yeah yeah, cool."
1661
01:10:49,890 --> 01:10:51,604
"Darrin, you're on stage right now."
1662
01:10:51,604 --> 01:10:53,328
I'm like, "Fuck."
1663
01:10:53,328 --> 01:10:54,835
I paused the game, put it down.
1664
01:10:54,835 --> 01:10:56,109
The whole time I'm playin',
1665
01:10:56,109 --> 01:10:57,562
I'm thinkin' I gotta
get back to that game.
1666
01:10:57,562 --> 01:11:00,435
Still to this day, I get people
comin' up to me and saying,
1667
01:11:00,435 --> 01:11:01,723
"Because of that video game,
1668
01:11:01,723 --> 01:11:05,307
"Goldfinger and Superman
introduced me to ska.
1669
01:11:05,307 --> 01:11:06,140
"Thank you.
1670
01:11:06,140 --> 01:11:08,076
"I didn't know these bands existed."
1671
01:11:08,076 --> 01:11:10,554
- No one at the time would
really think a video game
1672
01:11:10,554 --> 01:11:13,396
would be that big of a
marketing tool for a band.
1673
01:11:13,396 --> 01:11:16,615
Tony Hawk picks the song,
decided to put it in there
1674
01:11:16,615 --> 01:11:18,995
and it changed the whole
trajectory for our band.
1675
01:11:18,995 --> 01:11:21,067
Thank you, Tony Hawk.
1676
01:11:21,067 --> 01:11:22,484
- You're welcome.
1677
01:11:26,245 --> 01:11:28,913
- You get mileage out of the
weirdest things that you did.
1678
01:11:28,913 --> 01:11:32,746
There's people now that
have come to the shows
1679
01:11:34,187 --> 01:11:37,866
because they realized that the band
1680
01:11:37,866 --> 01:11:39,864
in the Good Burger movie is us.
1681
01:11:39,864 --> 01:11:40,788
♪ I'm a dude ♪
1682
01:11:40,788 --> 01:11:41,621
♪ He's a dude ♪
1683
01:11:41,621 --> 01:11:42,473
♪ She's a dude ♪
1684
01:11:42,473 --> 01:11:43,306
♪ We're all dudes, hey ♪
1685
01:11:43,306 --> 01:11:44,312
♪ I'm a dude ♪
1686
01:11:44,312 --> 01:11:46,823
- Welcome to Good Burger,
home of the Good Burger.
1687
01:11:46,823 --> 01:11:49,085
Can I take your order?
1688
01:11:49,085 --> 01:11:52,461
♪ Less Than Jake ♪
1689
01:11:52,461 --> 01:11:55,486
- Why is their band blowing up and not us?
1690
01:11:55,486 --> 01:11:56,979
Must be something the label is doing.
1691
01:11:56,979 --> 01:11:59,475
No, you don't understand the dynamic.
1692
01:11:59,475 --> 01:12:01,115
They're in the right
place at the right time.
1693
01:12:01,115 --> 01:12:06,115
Some bands got lucky and zoomed
up to the next stratosphere
1694
01:12:06,192 --> 01:12:07,843
through whatever combination of events.
1695
01:12:07,843 --> 01:12:10,004
Some bands, they should've done different.
1696
01:12:10,004 --> 01:12:11,977
But that's just the nature of the beast.
1697
01:12:11,977 --> 01:12:13,136
- There were a lotta bands on the radio
1698
01:12:13,136 --> 01:12:14,992
that were ska, but not that many.
1699
01:12:14,992 --> 01:12:17,007
The ones that didn't make it,
1700
01:12:17,007 --> 01:12:20,840
there's a lot of sour
grapes and bad jealousy.
1701
01:12:23,804 --> 01:12:27,845
Screw them, they're sellouts. (gags)
1702
01:12:27,845 --> 01:12:31,426
I think what the fans do,
you have your precious scene
1703
01:12:31,426 --> 01:12:33,370
of your friends that you
go to all these shows
1704
01:12:33,370 --> 01:12:34,979
and they're your bands.
1705
01:12:34,979 --> 01:12:36,976
Then suddenly every asshole at school
1706
01:12:36,976 --> 01:12:39,401
that you hate is listening to 'em too.
1707
01:12:39,401 --> 01:12:40,234
I get it.
1708
01:12:41,210 --> 01:12:44,543
I know how it feels to be on both sides.
1709
01:12:45,615 --> 01:12:48,898
- Everybody suddenly had
these splitting ideas.
1710
01:12:48,898 --> 01:12:52,132
Some thought No Doubt
did it, we should get it.
1711
01:12:52,132 --> 01:12:55,366
Other wanted to kinda back
away from the spotlight.
1712
01:12:55,366 --> 01:12:58,034
- Listening to No Doubt or the Bosstones,
1713
01:12:58,034 --> 01:13:00,117
it's like radio pop rock.
1714
01:13:03,551 --> 01:13:05,667
Yes they fall under the umbrella of ska,
1715
01:13:05,667 --> 01:13:07,475
but they're just two different things.
1716
01:13:07,475 --> 01:13:09,493
If anything, I thought
what's good for the goose
1717
01:13:09,493 --> 01:13:10,423
is good for the gander.
1718
01:13:10,423 --> 01:13:13,450
People will hear the word ska,
they'll be more open to it.
1719
01:13:13,450 --> 01:13:15,670
I thought it was good over all,
1720
01:13:15,670 --> 01:13:17,599
but it was also like
1721
01:13:17,599 --> 01:13:19,440
you're doin' something
completely different.
1722
01:13:19,440 --> 01:13:23,690
We're riding a Moped and
you're drivin' a Cadillac.
1723
01:13:26,056 --> 01:13:27,889
- Checkers equals ska.
1724
01:13:30,096 --> 01:13:31,720
Race cars too?
1725
01:13:31,720 --> 01:13:36,712
It was like unity and races
adding black and white together.
1726
01:13:36,712 --> 01:13:38,668
That's why the black and white checkers
1727
01:13:38,668 --> 01:13:41,193
kinda became a thing of ska.
1728
01:13:41,193 --> 01:13:42,702
A symbol.
1729
01:13:42,702 --> 01:13:46,031
- Actually, that wasn't so overt as to say
1730
01:13:46,031 --> 01:13:47,732
here's a symbol of racial unity.
1731
01:13:47,732 --> 01:13:52,156
It was some tape that Jerry
Dammers had on his scooter,
1732
01:13:52,156 --> 01:13:56,169
but still today we can
embrace the symbolism.
1733
01:13:56,169 --> 01:13:58,215
- Ska for me has always been a thing
1734
01:13:58,215 --> 01:14:02,132
that no matter what the
subject matter in the song is,
1735
01:14:02,132 --> 01:14:05,612
it's a very uplifting experience.
1736
01:14:05,612 --> 01:14:07,992
- You can sit there and
say it's happy, fun music.
1737
01:14:07,992 --> 01:14:08,825
But to be honest with you,
1738
01:14:08,825 --> 01:14:12,825
it was really important
socially how it started.
1739
01:14:14,891 --> 01:14:17,254
Then we fucked it up here in America.
1740
01:14:17,254 --> 01:14:19,298
- There is a philosophy
that comes with ska.
1741
01:14:19,298 --> 01:14:20,994
Well it's for two-tone
1742
01:14:20,994 --> 01:14:23,287
and that was the unification of mankind.
1743
01:14:23,287 --> 01:14:26,954
Black folks, white folks
and hues in between
1744
01:14:27,990 --> 01:14:30,800
came together around an idea,
1745
01:14:30,800 --> 01:14:34,383
an idea that had a
definite political root.
1746
01:14:35,612 --> 01:14:38,387
- Political overtones of
ska were lost in the '90s.
1747
01:14:38,387 --> 01:14:41,310
- Especially the ska we're talking about,
1748
01:14:41,310 --> 01:14:43,678
that we morphed it into.
1749
01:14:43,678 --> 01:14:45,838
You're talkin' about
suburban kids being goofy,
1750
01:14:45,838 --> 01:14:48,566
having a release; completely different.
1751
01:14:48,566 --> 01:14:50,580
- They made it this silly party music.
1752
01:14:50,580 --> 01:14:53,913
But historically, ska was very cortical.
1753
01:14:55,599 --> 01:14:59,766
- It's the most important
part to me of the music.
1754
01:15:01,094 --> 01:15:03,383
I think in the '90s it
wasn't as clear of a message
1755
01:15:03,383 --> 01:15:04,935
as I would like it to have been,
1756
01:15:04,935 --> 01:15:09,935
but Mike Park was doing it very
well and The Bosstones were.
1757
01:15:10,183 --> 01:15:12,908
There definitely people
that were promoting that
1758
01:15:12,908 --> 01:15:15,609
as a big part of their message.
1759
01:15:15,609 --> 01:15:17,813
- Unity, togetherness,
getting each other's back.
1760
01:15:17,813 --> 01:15:21,044
Inclusiveness, racial harmony.
1761
01:15:21,044 --> 01:15:22,627
These were big things.
1762
01:15:22,627 --> 01:15:25,875
- 1998, I put together the
Ska Against Racism tour.
1763
01:15:25,875 --> 01:15:28,860
That was in direct response to my feeling
1764
01:15:28,860 --> 01:15:32,846
that ska was being looked
at as this corny sound
1765
01:15:32,846 --> 01:15:34,923
or music or movement.
1766
01:15:34,923 --> 01:15:37,866
It was like let's put some
politics back into ska.
1767
01:15:37,866 --> 01:15:40,895
More than anything, we just
wanted the word against racism
1768
01:15:40,895 --> 01:15:44,288
on a marquee and people talkin' about it.
1769
01:15:44,288 --> 01:15:46,317
- A very famous singer one time said,
1770
01:15:46,317 --> 01:15:48,376
"I can't change the world,
1771
01:15:48,376 --> 01:15:50,568
"but I can change the world around me."
1772
01:15:50,568 --> 01:15:52,888
What that means is each
one of you guys up front,
1773
01:15:52,888 --> 01:15:55,421
all the way in the back
and everyone over here,
1774
01:15:55,421 --> 01:15:59,974
we gotta start being non-hatred
against other peoples.
1775
01:15:59,974 --> 01:16:03,140
- Ska equates to unity to me.
1776
01:16:03,140 --> 01:16:04,449
That's what I loved about it
1777
01:16:04,449 --> 01:16:08,433
'cause you had black,
white, Mexican, Asian.
1778
01:16:08,433 --> 01:16:10,484
We were all in one room.
1779
01:16:10,484 --> 01:16:13,444
We were all there for one
reason and that was to skank.
1780
01:16:13,444 --> 01:16:17,399
Nobody was against anyone
for that moment in time.
1781
01:16:17,399 --> 01:16:20,114
Even to this day, you
see that in the scene
1782
01:16:20,114 --> 01:16:22,649
where everyone's comin' together
1783
01:16:22,649 --> 01:16:25,649
no matter what race, color or creed.
1784
01:16:26,845 --> 01:16:29,900
I'll tell you, music needs more of that.
1785
01:16:29,900 --> 01:16:31,900
Music needs more of that.
1786
01:16:31,900 --> 01:16:34,467
This world needs more of that.
1787
01:16:34,467 --> 01:16:37,263
- [Narrator] Many ska bands
never signed big contracts.
1788
01:16:37,263 --> 01:16:39,656
They did however enjoy
some pretty decent rotation
1789
01:16:39,656 --> 01:16:42,123
from college radio or
independent stations.
1790
01:16:42,123 --> 01:16:45,108
Shows, those were always
a sellout in a good way.
1791
01:16:45,108 --> 01:16:49,721
Hepcat, Buck-O-Nine, The
Pietasters, The Suicide Machines,
1792
01:16:49,721 --> 01:16:52,417
The Toasters, The Slackers, (mumbles)
1793
01:16:52,417 --> 01:16:54,187
all headlined cross-country shows
1794
01:16:54,187 --> 01:16:55,818
that were filled to capacity.
1795
01:16:55,818 --> 01:16:58,455
American ska in the
1990s was a million miles
1796
01:16:58,455 --> 01:17:01,713
from its Jamaican roots,
but it still sounded good.
1797
01:17:01,713 --> 01:17:04,661
It still brought many fans
to explore the origins.
1798
01:17:04,661 --> 01:17:07,733
Ska in all forms experienced popularity.
1799
01:17:07,733 --> 01:17:08,566
Some for the first time.
1800
01:17:08,566 --> 01:17:11,737
Some for the first time in 40 years.
1801
01:17:11,737 --> 01:17:13,662
Ska made itself a trend.
1802
01:17:13,662 --> 01:17:16,593
While some people had long
hope for that one ska song
1803
01:17:16,593 --> 01:17:18,995
to break and pave the way for others,
1804
01:17:18,995 --> 01:17:21,263
some said it would be the nail in a coffin
1805
01:17:21,263 --> 01:17:23,513
or better yet, a time bomb.
1806
01:17:24,435 --> 01:17:27,018
- The over-saturation
of ska punk happened.
1807
01:17:27,018 --> 01:17:28,120
We watched it happen.
1808
01:17:28,120 --> 01:17:30,458
We watched it just go (vocalizes).
1809
01:17:30,458 --> 01:17:34,145
- Then everybody with a
horn decides to form a band.
1810
01:17:34,145 --> 01:17:35,395
People are like
1811
01:17:37,325 --> 01:17:38,396
what is this?
1812
01:17:38,396 --> 01:17:41,255
We went from havin' 20
bands to havin' 1,000 bands.
1813
01:17:41,255 --> 01:17:42,953
That's the way I saw it happen.
1814
01:17:42,953 --> 01:17:47,748
- We played with bands that
popped up like a week ago.
1815
01:17:47,748 --> 01:17:51,116
- Almost too many shows or too many bands.
1816
01:17:51,116 --> 01:17:53,609
I do think some of that started happening.
1817
01:17:53,609 --> 01:17:56,507
- We play these small towns,
especially in the Midwest.
1818
01:17:56,507 --> 01:18:01,340
There would be every night on
tour was like a ska festival
1819
01:18:02,715 --> 01:18:06,534
where there'd be six or seven
local ska bands opening up.
1820
01:18:06,534 --> 01:18:07,648
- You just suffer through it.
1821
01:18:07,648 --> 01:18:10,350
- Everyone's playing
so fast and high energy
1822
01:18:10,350 --> 01:18:11,870
that you kinda wear out the audience
1823
01:18:11,870 --> 01:18:13,200
before the headliner even comes on.
1824
01:18:13,200 --> 01:18:16,531
- Some bands are bloody awful. (laughs)
1825
01:18:16,531 --> 01:18:20,673
Marching bands like brass
players couldn't play so well.
1826
01:18:20,673 --> 01:18:23,923
They put like six ska bands on a night.
1827
01:18:28,078 --> 01:18:30,054
I'd get ska'd out.
1828
01:18:30,054 --> 01:18:32,038
I went back to my hotel room
1829
01:18:32,038 --> 01:18:37,038
and listened to some Johnny Cash. (laughs)
1830
01:18:37,664 --> 01:18:40,061
- That's fine 'cause there's a lotta
1831
01:18:40,061 --> 01:18:42,045
bad music in every genre.
1832
01:18:42,045 --> 01:18:44,528
But for some reason,
people really zeroed in
1833
01:18:44,528 --> 01:18:47,280
on the bad ska music
when it was happening.
1834
01:18:47,280 --> 01:18:49,136
- Major labels were in some ways
1835
01:18:49,136 --> 01:18:52,219
making ska almost a parody of itself.
1836
01:18:53,502 --> 01:18:55,964
- Anytime you do that, it just destroys it
1837
01:18:55,964 --> 01:18:57,867
so that underground base is gone.
1838
01:18:57,867 --> 01:19:00,777
People are like I don't wanna
be part of this anymore.
1839
01:19:00,777 --> 01:19:02,940
- [Narrator] By the time the
new millennium approached,
1840
01:19:02,940 --> 01:19:04,911
ska was already on its way out.
1841
01:19:04,911 --> 01:19:06,661
Ska bubble had burst.
1842
01:19:07,985 --> 01:19:09,985
- Oh boy, what happened?
1843
01:19:11,787 --> 01:19:13,191
If we only knew,
1844
01:19:13,191 --> 01:19:16,977
we could make a documentary
about it. (chuckles)
1845
01:19:16,977 --> 01:19:18,267
- I don't know.
1846
01:19:18,267 --> 01:19:19,350
I don't know.
1847
01:19:22,279 --> 01:19:24,572
It really got dorky.
1848
01:19:24,572 --> 01:19:25,893
- They made it look like a flash in a pan.
1849
01:19:25,893 --> 01:19:28,715
Ska band, we're wacky and then done.
1850
01:19:28,715 --> 01:19:30,964
- The way it exploded is the way it died.
1851
01:19:30,964 --> 01:19:33,310
It was like one day it was
all there, then it was gone.
1852
01:19:33,310 --> 01:19:37,894
- Shows went from being
thousands back to being hundreds.
1853
01:19:37,894 --> 01:19:39,851
- All of a sudden nu metal was cool.
1854
01:19:39,851 --> 01:19:42,534
It was like Deftones, Limp Bizkit.
1855
01:19:42,534 --> 01:19:44,273
Ska is not cool.
1856
01:19:44,273 --> 01:19:46,127
Like '99 was like (vocalizes),
1857
01:19:46,127 --> 01:19:47,599
nobody went to ska shows.
1858
01:19:47,599 --> 01:19:50,959
- This is terrible 'cause
here's the pendulum swing.
1859
01:19:50,959 --> 01:19:53,510
It's like aah, then wee.
1860
01:19:53,510 --> 01:19:56,339
Now it's back to (vocalizes)
in a different way.
1861
01:19:56,339 --> 01:19:58,602
- What typically happens when
something gets really popular
1862
01:19:58,602 --> 01:20:00,095
is the record companies come in,
1863
01:20:00,095 --> 01:20:01,997
they pick a couple of the bands
1864
01:20:01,997 --> 01:20:04,623
and those are the bands
that get all the glory.
1865
01:20:04,623 --> 01:20:07,790
- They were sellin' the humor, the fun
1866
01:20:08,783 --> 01:20:10,586
to party, to have a good time.
1867
01:20:10,586 --> 01:20:11,419
That's how they sold ska.
1868
01:20:11,419 --> 01:20:15,765
They didn't show it as they
would've put a rock band.
1869
01:20:15,765 --> 01:20:18,665
C'mon when they market
a rock band like U2,
1870
01:20:18,665 --> 01:20:22,332
these dudes have great
lyrics, great sounds.
1871
01:20:24,855 --> 01:20:26,785
Then you'll have someone
else that could be funny.
1872
01:20:26,785 --> 01:20:27,697
You could have that.
1873
01:20:27,697 --> 01:20:29,073
You could have everything,
1874
01:20:29,073 --> 01:20:32,697
but they only showed one side
of ska which was letdown.
1875
01:20:32,697 --> 01:20:35,055
- Some of that stuff was a
little disappointing to me
1876
01:20:35,055 --> 01:20:38,840
'cause it was like this is
like a frat party gone wild
1877
01:20:38,840 --> 01:20:41,083
or whatever and it's like no it's not.
1878
01:20:41,083 --> 01:20:42,750
It's not frat party.
1879
01:20:43,666 --> 01:20:46,074
This is fuckin' ska show.
1880
01:20:46,074 --> 01:20:47,045
This ain't none of that.
1881
01:20:47,045 --> 01:20:48,567
- The approach to ska music in the '90s
1882
01:20:48,567 --> 01:20:51,318
was like that game you play at parties
1883
01:20:51,318 --> 01:20:53,635
where you tie a blindfold on somebody.
1884
01:20:53,635 --> 01:20:56,940
You give 'em a pin, they gotta
pin the tail on the donkey.
1885
01:20:56,940 --> 01:20:59,260
Where d'you think ska
music is on the donkey?
1886
01:20:59,260 --> 01:21:00,563
Where are these record execs
1887
01:21:00,563 --> 01:21:02,856
with pinning the ska tail?
1888
01:21:02,856 --> 01:21:05,013
It was nowhere in the correct place,
1889
01:21:05,013 --> 01:21:07,117
so we had all these pretty lame pop bands
1890
01:21:07,117 --> 01:21:10,957
being labeled established and
they really weren't at all.
1891
01:21:10,957 --> 01:21:15,252
♪ All around the world
statues crumbled for me ♪
1892
01:21:15,252 --> 01:21:17,522
- Then it sort of got blurry.
1893
01:21:17,522 --> 01:21:19,571
There were bands that
you didn't really know
1894
01:21:19,571 --> 01:21:22,352
if they were ska or what they were.
1895
01:21:22,352 --> 01:21:23,580
They were just a big band with horns.
1896
01:21:23,580 --> 01:21:27,655
- Then there was a brief
10 seconds of swing.
1897
01:21:27,655 --> 01:21:28,990
♪ Zoot Suit Riot ♪
1898
01:21:28,990 --> 01:21:30,704
♪ Riot ♪
1899
01:21:30,704 --> 01:21:32,621
- Then they became emo.
1900
01:21:33,741 --> 01:21:37,877
The music industry was
geared towards churring up
1901
01:21:37,877 --> 01:21:40,204
these new trends every few years.
1902
01:21:40,204 --> 01:21:43,050
- Few years later, people aren't
buying ska music like that.
1903
01:21:43,050 --> 01:21:45,910
Not only that, people aren't buying music.
1904
01:21:45,910 --> 01:21:48,855
Oh Napster, people are stealing music.
1905
01:21:48,855 --> 01:21:50,107
No one's gonna buy your records anymore.
1906
01:21:50,107 --> 01:21:52,226
You're gonna have to tour a lot
1907
01:21:52,226 --> 01:21:53,545
if you wanna keep doing this.
1908
01:21:53,545 --> 01:21:54,937
It was a bittersweet moment.
1909
01:21:54,937 --> 01:21:59,882
But I think realistically,
the concept was adapt or die.
1910
01:21:59,882 --> 01:22:01,215
- Hello, friends!
1911
01:22:01,215 --> 01:22:03,548
- It's silly and sexy sells,
1912
01:22:05,730 --> 01:22:08,930
but silly can also sell
if you package it right.
1913
01:22:08,930 --> 01:22:11,149
My thought was if we could get a TV show
1914
01:22:11,149 --> 01:22:13,948
and do a kid's show, we
could still play music.
1915
01:22:13,948 --> 01:22:15,342
We can still tour.
1916
01:22:15,342 --> 01:22:18,285
We can still do basically
essentially what we're doing,
1917
01:22:18,285 --> 01:22:20,880
but we just have to make
a TV show during the day.
1918
01:22:20,880 --> 01:22:22,566
- I was watching TV with my daughter
1919
01:22:22,566 --> 01:22:25,142
and still thinking about the Aquabat Show.
1920
01:22:25,142 --> 01:22:28,091
What if we just did
something a little younger?
1921
01:22:28,091 --> 01:22:32,415
Something for my family
like packaging cool music,
1922
01:22:32,415 --> 01:22:35,452
good art, visuals and stuff we like
1923
01:22:35,452 --> 01:22:37,424
into something for younger kids.
1924
01:22:37,424 --> 01:22:40,287
That's where Yo Gabba Gabba! came out of.
1925
01:22:40,287 --> 01:22:43,056
- After it peaked and it went back down,
1926
01:22:43,056 --> 01:22:47,556
once again we're like we're
the weirdos that play ska.
1927
01:22:48,584 --> 01:22:51,029
It felt like puttin'
on comfy pair of shoes
1928
01:22:51,029 --> 01:22:54,185
when it got not popular again for us.
1929
01:22:54,185 --> 01:22:55,794
- I think at one point, there's definitely
1930
01:22:55,794 --> 01:22:58,685
a backlash against the movement.
1931
01:22:58,685 --> 01:23:02,263
- If you were in a ska band,
you had to be a little tough
1932
01:23:02,263 --> 01:23:06,848
because everyone thought you
were the weak kid on the block.
1933
01:23:06,848 --> 01:23:10,557
We would go to these
places where hardcore bands
1934
01:23:10,557 --> 01:23:12,108
are playing or screamo or emo,
1935
01:23:12,108 --> 01:23:14,272
whatever genre's flowin' through.
1936
01:23:14,272 --> 01:23:15,938
You have to stand up there
1937
01:23:15,938 --> 01:23:18,274
and be like I'm in a ska
band and I'm gonna play.
1938
01:23:18,274 --> 01:23:21,388
- The great thing about
ska is with punk rock
1939
01:23:21,388 --> 01:23:25,033
there's always gonna be a subculture
1940
01:23:25,033 --> 01:23:27,030
in a scene for what we do.
1941
01:23:27,030 --> 01:23:29,064
- But a lotta bands at the time
1942
01:23:29,064 --> 01:23:31,167
were puttin' out their
second record or whatever
1943
01:23:31,167 --> 01:23:34,084
and kinda brushin' the horns aside,
1944
01:23:35,022 --> 01:23:39,635
droppin' 'em altogether saying
no, we're rock with horns
1945
01:23:39,635 --> 01:23:41,718
or no, we're a rock band.
1946
01:23:43,414 --> 01:23:44,482
Whatever.
1947
01:23:44,482 --> 01:23:45,645
- There were a lotta ska bands
1948
01:23:45,645 --> 01:23:48,703
that would kinda reconfigure things
1949
01:23:48,703 --> 01:23:50,733
to become an emo band or whatever.
1950
01:23:50,733 --> 01:23:53,212
It was a really strange time.
1951
01:23:53,212 --> 01:23:55,590
- I don't know that I can
fault somebody for that
1952
01:23:55,590 --> 01:23:58,316
if they played in a band
called Skankilicious
1953
01:23:58,316 --> 01:24:00,926
'til you dropped, then the next year
1954
01:24:00,926 --> 01:24:02,954
decided they weren't into that anymore.
1955
01:24:02,954 --> 01:24:05,028
There was a time where
there was no choice.
1956
01:24:05,028 --> 01:24:07,406
You had to turn your back on ska
1957
01:24:07,406 --> 01:24:10,739
because the superficial construct of ska
1958
01:24:11,812 --> 01:24:14,571
was so commercialized and overblown.
1959
01:24:14,571 --> 01:24:18,283
Every Food Network song was
a ska, Reel Big Fish copy.
1960
01:24:18,283 --> 01:24:21,366
Every Target commercial was a bouncy,
1961
01:24:22,892 --> 01:24:25,164
another Reel Big Fish copy.
1962
01:24:25,164 --> 01:24:28,831
When it becomes the
mainstream sell bullshit
1963
01:24:30,783 --> 01:24:33,700
with no consciousness of a subgenre
1964
01:24:34,843 --> 01:24:37,063
that people felt real ownership of,
1965
01:24:37,063 --> 01:24:38,701
I don't blame anybody at that time
1966
01:24:38,701 --> 01:24:39,834
for turning their back to it.
1967
01:24:39,834 --> 01:24:41,037
Because you weren't playing ska anymore,
1968
01:24:41,037 --> 01:24:44,037
you were playing Food Network music.
1969
01:24:44,951 --> 01:24:47,838
- I'ma tell you what's crazy, dude.
1970
01:24:47,838 --> 01:24:50,838
America creates all this good music,
1971
01:24:53,610 --> 01:24:55,774
then they forget about it.
1972
01:24:55,774 --> 01:24:58,284
Then the surrounding countries pick it up
1973
01:24:58,284 --> 01:25:02,034
in its rawest, most
richest form and keep it.
1974
01:25:03,039 --> 01:25:07,122
(Jose speaking foreign language)
1975
01:25:13,147 --> 01:25:17,564
(Tsuyoshi speaking foreign language)
1976
01:25:28,254 --> 01:25:29,546
- I never would've thought my music,
1977
01:25:29,546 --> 01:25:33,751
they'd listen to it in
Venezuela or they listen to it.
1978
01:25:33,751 --> 01:25:35,363
How did they get it?
1979
01:25:35,363 --> 01:25:37,888
That I would say is a
benefit of the technology
1980
01:25:37,888 --> 01:25:41,206
and the internationality of the music.
1981
01:25:41,206 --> 01:25:42,796
- Other countries I felt a lotta times
1982
01:25:42,796 --> 01:25:45,395
kind of appreciated the
music a little bit more.
1983
01:25:45,395 --> 01:25:48,409
I think they appreciated
like horns being in music.
1984
01:25:48,409 --> 01:25:52,742
(Enrique speaking foreign language)
1985
01:26:06,966 --> 01:26:11,383
(Tsuyoshi speaking foreign language)
1986
01:26:27,501 --> 01:26:31,668
(Jesus speaking foreign language)
1987
01:26:38,882 --> 01:26:42,087
- I never dreamt we would
go any further than getting
1988
01:26:42,087 --> 01:26:45,811
onto some decent opening
slots in Orange County,
1989
01:26:45,811 --> 01:26:48,070
much less getting to go.
1990
01:26:48,070 --> 01:26:49,679
We went to Tasmania.
1991
01:26:49,679 --> 01:26:51,767
You ever heard of someone
who went to Tasmania?
1992
01:26:51,767 --> 01:26:52,972
I went to Tasmania.
1993
01:26:52,972 --> 01:26:54,432
- Our first time in Japan,
1994
01:26:54,432 --> 01:26:57,550
this crowd is sitting on the floor.
1995
01:26:57,550 --> 01:27:01,006
All just sittin' on the floor
Indian style before the show.
1996
01:27:01,006 --> 01:27:05,008
I was thinkin' to myself,
this is gonna fuckin' suck.
1997
01:27:05,008 --> 01:27:07,341
They sit down at shows here.
1998
01:27:08,832 --> 01:27:11,534
Showtime comes and we walk up on stage.
1999
01:27:11,534 --> 01:27:12,868
The whole thing, boom.
2000
01:27:12,868 --> 01:27:14,548
Everybody jumps to their feet,
2001
01:27:14,548 --> 01:27:17,898
just (vocalizes) right up to
the barricade of the stage
2002
01:27:17,898 --> 01:27:21,925
and are just into it
fuckin' from the beginning.
2003
01:27:21,925 --> 01:27:25,321
Then I go to start to sing the first line
2004
01:27:25,321 --> 01:27:29,773
and they all know the
words, like every word.
2005
01:27:29,773 --> 01:27:32,483
I was so floored that
luckily they were singing
2006
01:27:32,483 --> 01:27:34,138
'cause I got fuckin' choked up.
2007
01:27:34,138 --> 01:27:35,515
I was like (inhales).
2008
01:27:35,515 --> 01:27:37,545
It was the most amazing
feeling I've ever had
2009
01:27:37,545 --> 01:27:39,111
'cause you're halfway around the world.
2010
01:27:39,111 --> 01:27:41,531
People are just fuckin'
losin' their minds.
2011
01:27:41,531 --> 01:27:43,070
From that point, it was just like
2012
01:27:43,070 --> 01:27:45,417
we're never gonna stop doing this.
2013
01:27:45,417 --> 01:27:48,417
This is so awesome that that was it.
2014
01:27:50,420 --> 01:27:53,350
- It was the sound that was so big,
2015
01:27:53,350 --> 01:27:55,970
that of course it was the
sound that was out of fashion
2016
01:27:55,970 --> 01:27:57,718
as soon as it crashed.
2017
01:27:57,718 --> 01:28:01,937
It's kind of the sound that
needed to vanish for a while
2018
01:28:01,937 --> 01:28:04,821
for people to appreciate
that it's been gone.
2019
01:28:04,821 --> 01:28:08,870
It's funny that in the time
period that it kinda vanished.
2020
01:28:08,870 --> 01:28:11,464
In many ways Anglo-American scene,
2021
01:28:11,464 --> 01:28:14,291
you saw the Latin
American scene run with it
2022
01:28:14,291 --> 01:28:18,076
in a way that I could've never imagined.
2023
01:28:18,076 --> 01:28:21,657
- In 2007 was when we had
our first festival in LA.
2024
01:28:21,657 --> 01:28:23,950
We had close to 3,000 kids.
2025
01:28:23,950 --> 01:28:28,950
- It's this whole generation
that grew up loving ska music
2026
01:28:29,078 --> 01:28:32,905
and especially bands
like Voodoo Glow Skulls.
2027
01:28:32,905 --> 01:28:33,738
- It's so big sometimes,
2028
01:28:33,738 --> 01:28:35,049
a lotta the kids are even too young.
2029
01:28:35,049 --> 01:28:37,123
They're like who are these old dudes?
2030
01:28:37,123 --> 01:28:40,134
People that are 16 years
old that might not know,
2031
01:28:40,134 --> 01:28:43,656
it's like why are my dads up on stage?
2032
01:28:43,656 --> 01:28:45,393
- Some of these bands only sing in English
2033
01:28:45,393 --> 01:28:49,034
and they hardly know English,
but they're singing in English
2034
01:28:49,034 --> 01:28:51,370
because the ska punk in the States
2035
01:28:51,370 --> 01:28:54,850
has influenced them in that way.
2036
01:28:54,850 --> 01:28:59,183
(Horacio speaking foreign language)
2037
01:29:09,418 --> 01:29:12,972
- This underground ska scene
in the Latino community
2038
01:29:12,972 --> 01:29:14,305
is just amazing.
2039
01:29:15,673 --> 01:29:17,294
You see the mosh pits out there.
2040
01:29:17,294 --> 01:29:19,663
It's a lotta kids and they're dressed up.
2041
01:29:19,663 --> 01:29:21,867
It makes me feel like
this music has not died.
2042
01:29:21,867 --> 01:29:23,867
It's not goin' anywhere.
2043
01:29:25,053 --> 01:29:27,679
- Let's go interview some of
the kids, the youth of today.
2044
01:29:27,679 --> 01:29:29,302
- When you're young and you start a band,
2045
01:29:29,302 --> 01:29:32,707
you don't really think
where's this road taking me?
2046
01:29:32,707 --> 01:29:35,025
How long am I gonna be in this band?
2047
01:29:35,025 --> 01:29:36,069
Then 20 years later you think,
2048
01:29:36,069 --> 01:29:38,015
wow this has affected my whole life.
2049
01:29:38,015 --> 01:29:41,391
I pretty much painted
myself into a corner.
2050
01:29:41,391 --> 01:29:42,511
What am I doing?
2051
01:29:42,511 --> 01:29:45,875
You keep playing in the band
because that's all you have
2052
01:29:45,875 --> 01:29:50,531
or you get a job workin' at
the taco shop, who knows?
2053
01:29:50,531 --> 01:29:51,501
But when you start a band,
2054
01:29:51,501 --> 01:29:53,504
you don't think about those things.
2055
01:29:53,504 --> 01:29:56,361
You're just doing it for some reason.
2056
01:29:56,361 --> 01:29:59,998
If it's for the money
or it's to meet chicks
2057
01:29:59,998 --> 01:30:04,081
or for the fame, that
stuff it's always fleeting.
2058
01:30:05,698 --> 01:30:06,916
But if it's for something deeper
2059
01:30:06,916 --> 01:30:11,416
like you really love having
fun or making people happy
2060
01:30:13,485 --> 01:30:16,037
or you really love the music,
2061
01:30:16,037 --> 01:30:18,397
I think that's what keeps people
doing things that they do.
2062
01:30:18,397 --> 01:30:19,992
That's why we keep doin' the Aquabats.
2063
01:30:19,992 --> 01:30:20,825
We love it.
2064
01:30:20,825 --> 01:30:21,658
We love playing music.
2065
01:30:21,658 --> 01:30:24,213
We love making people
happy, making kids dance
2066
01:30:24,213 --> 01:30:28,186
and knowing that we're spoiling
it for all the other bands.
2067
01:30:28,186 --> 01:30:30,216
Kids are comin' to see us play.
2068
01:30:30,216 --> 01:30:32,665
My first band was Aquabats
and they did this.
2069
01:30:32,665 --> 01:30:36,449
Then this monster came
out, these balloons.
2070
01:30:36,449 --> 01:30:38,335
Then I went and saw that other band
2071
01:30:38,335 --> 01:30:41,061
and they played their songs.
2072
01:30:41,061 --> 01:30:43,061
- When they dropped off,
2073
01:30:43,958 --> 01:30:46,007
everybody said this is the end.
2074
01:30:46,007 --> 01:30:48,775
But The Slackers kept playing,
Pietasters kept playing
2075
01:30:48,775 --> 01:30:50,686
and the Toasters kept playing.
2076
01:30:50,686 --> 01:30:51,836
Fishbone kept playing.
2077
01:30:51,836 --> 01:30:54,664
There were younger bands
who were coming up,
2078
01:30:54,664 --> 01:30:57,247
playing and carrying the torch.
2079
01:30:58,086 --> 01:30:59,900
There's some of the best ska bands
2080
01:30:59,900 --> 01:31:02,858
I've ever heard that
are playing right now.
2081
01:31:02,858 --> 01:31:05,539
- It's always gonna be
the craze or no craze,
2082
01:31:05,539 --> 01:31:07,873
but the craze was good. (chuckles)
2083
01:31:07,873 --> 01:31:09,191
It was a good time.
2084
01:31:09,191 --> 01:31:10,597
- When you go to a ska show you're like,
2085
01:31:10,597 --> 01:31:14,270
wow I want all of this; this is amazing.
2086
01:31:14,270 --> 01:31:15,852
When you're a kid who
doesn't know anything
2087
01:31:15,852 --> 01:31:18,710
and you don't have any judgements,
2088
01:31:18,710 --> 01:31:20,782
I get misty-eyed thinkin' about it
2089
01:31:20,782 --> 01:31:22,287
because you're 14, 15 years old
2090
01:31:22,287 --> 01:31:25,514
and it's a place of acceptance.
2091
01:31:25,514 --> 01:31:27,788
I guarantee you there's kids
that go to ska shows today
2092
01:31:27,788 --> 01:31:31,371
are like I want all of
this just like I do.
2093
01:31:32,424 --> 01:31:34,256
- We could do an interview and
one of the standard questions
2094
01:31:34,256 --> 01:31:36,085
is what's your secret?
2095
01:31:36,085 --> 01:31:36,918
How do you do it?
2096
01:31:36,918 --> 01:31:38,973
How are you still doin' so well?
2097
01:31:38,973 --> 01:31:42,351
How do you keep those
crowds comin' to the shows?
2098
01:31:42,351 --> 01:31:45,682
Well try to play the songs they like.
2099
01:31:45,682 --> 01:31:47,382
What's wrong with that?
2100
01:31:47,382 --> 01:31:49,546
- We wanna be an active band
and continue making songs.
2101
01:31:49,546 --> 01:31:54,171
It's fun, but we also know we
have this catalog behind us
2102
01:31:54,171 --> 01:31:57,233
that we wouldn't have to
record another song ever.
2103
01:31:57,233 --> 01:31:59,160
We have enough songs that
people have memories attached to
2104
01:31:59,160 --> 01:32:03,423
that we could go play, so
it's a good position to be in.
2105
01:32:03,423 --> 01:32:05,163
They say nostalgia referrin'
to myself all the time
2106
01:32:05,163 --> 01:32:06,352
'cause bring it on.
2107
01:32:06,352 --> 01:32:09,475
To me it's an awesome word,
but some people will be like,
2108
01:32:09,475 --> 01:32:11,473
I wanna be the current band.
2109
01:32:11,473 --> 01:32:12,824
Well, good luck.
2110
01:32:12,824 --> 01:32:16,218
- Being Reel Big Fish,
there's the ska thing
2111
01:32:16,218 --> 01:32:18,205
that happened in the
'90s, but there's also
2112
01:32:18,205 --> 01:32:20,989
now it's a nostalgia for '90s music.
2113
01:32:20,989 --> 01:32:23,309
Since we were on the radio
and stuff in the '90s,
2114
01:32:23,309 --> 01:32:26,294
there's people that
like I love '90s music.
2115
01:32:26,294 --> 01:32:28,730
I love Britney Spears, Limp Bizkit,
2116
01:32:28,730 --> 01:32:33,543
Sugar Ray, Reel Big Fish,
Nirvana and Right Said Fred.
2117
01:32:33,543 --> 01:32:37,662
Backstreet Boys, Hanson
and Marilyn Manson.
2118
01:32:37,662 --> 01:32:39,412
'90s music, you know?
2119
01:32:40,458 --> 01:32:45,458
- I think right now because
the pull of the '90s explosion,
2120
01:32:45,739 --> 01:32:47,636
that tide is pulled back so far
2121
01:32:47,636 --> 01:32:50,146
that young listeners 16 and 17
2122
01:32:50,146 --> 01:32:52,337
don't really even know what it was.
2123
01:32:52,337 --> 01:32:55,256
It's in the history books.
2124
01:32:55,256 --> 01:32:58,357
When ska hits again this next time,
2125
01:32:58,357 --> 01:33:00,472
for them it's gonna be the first time.
2126
01:33:00,472 --> 01:33:01,641
- A new band could come out right now
2127
01:33:01,641 --> 01:33:04,540
and they wouldn't like
eww you're a ska band.
2128
01:33:04,540 --> 01:33:07,738
It's like oh cool, what
kinda music is this?
2129
01:33:07,738 --> 01:33:08,761
Can you tell me about it?
2130
01:33:08,761 --> 01:33:11,007
You guys are awesome.
2131
01:33:11,007 --> 01:33:12,384
- [Narrator] Ska's more popular than ever
2132
01:33:12,384 --> 01:33:16,069
in countries like Mexico,
Japan and all over Europe.
2133
01:33:16,069 --> 01:33:20,319
In America, ska still has
fiercely loyal following.
2134
01:33:21,389 --> 01:33:24,965
Now more than ever, the
world'll be a better place
2135
01:33:24,965 --> 01:33:27,054
with just a little more ska.
2136
01:33:27,054 --> 01:33:29,971
(lively ska music)
2137
01:33:52,207 --> 01:33:54,250
- If you would've asked
me about three years ago
2138
01:33:54,250 --> 01:33:56,063
what the future of ska was, I would say
2139
01:33:56,063 --> 01:33:59,558
the future of ska is all of
us getting out our old CDs,
2140
01:33:59,558 --> 01:34:02,445
showing our kids and
dancing in the living room
2141
01:34:02,445 --> 01:34:03,866
about the good old days.
2142
01:34:03,866 --> 01:34:06,032
That's what I would've thought
2143
01:34:06,032 --> 01:34:07,900
because I thought those days were over.
2144
01:34:07,900 --> 01:34:12,338
But I think it has moved
past TJ Maxx commercials
2145
01:34:12,338 --> 01:34:14,253
and being played in department stores.
2146
01:34:14,253 --> 01:34:17,369
I think that people are gonna
start picking up horns again.
2147
01:34:17,369 --> 01:34:18,892
- There's like so much darkness
2148
01:34:18,892 --> 01:34:22,355
in the world and so many problems.
2149
01:34:22,355 --> 01:34:24,794
We need a place to be able to go
2150
01:34:24,794 --> 01:34:27,711
and feel like I felt when I was 17,
2151
01:34:28,606 --> 01:34:32,755
goin' to Reel Big Fish
shows and just being okay.
2152
01:34:32,755 --> 01:34:35,145
We felt like everything was
gonna be okay in the world.
2153
01:34:35,145 --> 01:34:37,728
Woo! (screams)
2154
01:34:39,251 --> 01:34:41,763
♪ All my friends get 'em altogether ♪
2155
01:34:41,763 --> 01:34:44,712
♪ I was gonna go and start a band ♪
2156
01:34:44,712 --> 01:34:46,807
- Ska never went away.
- It never went away.
2157
01:34:46,807 --> 01:34:49,490
- It just dips in and
out of the mainstream.
2158
01:34:49,490 --> 01:34:50,636
- Yeah for us,
2159
01:34:50,636 --> 01:34:53,930
we started a ska band in 2011.
2160
01:34:53,930 --> 01:34:56,870
If we're gonna make music,
why can't it be somethin'
2161
01:34:56,870 --> 01:34:58,945
that is somethin' that feels like home?
2162
01:34:58,945 --> 01:35:00,484
Ti's never been about
tryin' to get on the radio
2163
01:35:00,484 --> 01:35:02,859
or anything, it's just about--
2164
01:35:02,859 --> 01:35:05,832
- What feels right to us.
- Yeah.
2165
01:35:05,832 --> 01:35:06,665
♪ I'm a match ♪
2166
01:35:06,665 --> 01:35:08,095
♪ She kerosene ♪
2167
01:35:08,095 --> 01:35:11,037
♪ You know she gon' burn down everything ♪
2168
01:35:11,037 --> 01:35:13,837
♪ She's an arsonist in her past life ♪
2169
01:35:13,837 --> 01:35:17,156
♪ And I've been burned for the last time ♪
2170
01:35:17,156 --> 01:35:20,839
- That circles back to
havin' a place to go.
2171
01:35:20,839 --> 01:35:22,680
Somethin' you can listen to
that makes you feel less alone.
2172
01:35:22,680 --> 01:35:23,770
- Yup.
2173
01:35:23,770 --> 01:35:27,958
- For me, the whole thing
was about finding community
2174
01:35:27,958 --> 01:35:29,744
and a place to belong.
2175
01:35:29,744 --> 01:35:31,496
Living in Southern California,
2176
01:35:31,496 --> 01:35:33,001
you don't realize how fortunate you are
2177
01:35:33,001 --> 01:35:35,105
to have as much at your disposal.
2178
01:35:35,105 --> 01:35:36,583
When you go to small little towns
2179
01:35:36,583 --> 01:35:41,090
and you play some crazy
little community center
2180
01:35:41,090 --> 01:35:45,507
that holds 25 kids, they're
in this little small town
2181
01:35:46,673 --> 01:35:51,040
and nobody brings these
disenfranchised youth anything
2182
01:35:51,040 --> 01:35:54,123
'cause they're the weird kid in town.
2183
01:35:55,831 --> 01:35:59,953
They see them come, dance
and feel uninhibited.
2184
01:35:59,953 --> 01:36:02,306
I don't know, that's beautiful
2185
01:36:02,306 --> 01:36:03,773
'cause that was the real takeaway
2186
01:36:03,773 --> 01:36:06,771
from the entire ska
music experience for me.
2187
01:36:06,771 --> 01:36:10,079
It's like I got to make a difference.
2188
01:36:10,079 --> 01:36:11,961
Fuck money, fuck fame.
2189
01:36:11,961 --> 01:36:13,528
Make a difference.
2190
01:36:13,528 --> 01:36:15,241
None of that shit fuckin' matters
2191
01:36:15,241 --> 01:36:17,851
if it doesn't connect to something human.
2192
01:36:17,851 --> 01:36:20,518
(lively ska music)
2193
01:36:20,518 --> 01:36:21,649
♪ All I have to do ♪
2194
01:36:21,649 --> 01:36:23,956
(muffled lyrics)
2195
01:36:23,956 --> 01:36:26,435
♪ Baby don't you sign that
paper tonight she said ♪
2196
01:36:26,435 --> 01:36:31,435
♪ But I can't work in
fast food all my life ♪
2197
01:36:37,355 --> 01:36:38,188
- The end.
2198
01:36:40,181 --> 01:36:43,472
(chuckles) Credits roll.
2199
01:36:43,472 --> 01:36:46,339
("This Gigantic Robot Kills" by MC Lars)
2200
01:36:46,339 --> 01:36:48,739
♪ Billy built a robot
in his parents' garage ♪
2201
01:36:48,739 --> 01:36:50,331
♪ Because he had a list of problems ♪
2202
01:36:50,331 --> 01:36:51,882
♪ That he needed to solve ♪
2203
01:36:51,882 --> 01:36:53,315
♪ He said I'm sick of the Hills ♪
2204
01:36:53,315 --> 01:36:55,127
♪ Laguna Beach is fake and whack ♪
2205
01:36:55,127 --> 01:36:58,419
♪ Let's party like it's '96 and
bring the horn section back ♪
2206
01:36:58,419 --> 01:37:01,375
♪ Back before Gwen Stefani
started rappin' with Pharrell ♪
2207
01:37:01,375 --> 01:37:04,579
♪ Gas cost 1.15 and
Goldfinger could sell ♪
2208
01:37:04,579 --> 01:37:07,747
♪ When reality TV wasn't
scripted or contrived ♪
2209
01:37:07,747 --> 01:37:09,395
♪ The brass was phat and bumpin' ♪
2210
01:37:09,395 --> 01:37:11,047
♪ And the beats were all played live ♪
2211
01:37:11,047 --> 01:37:14,113
♪ See Billy was obsessed
with third wave ska ♪
2212
01:37:14,113 --> 01:37:16,067
♪ The Mighty Bosstones, Reel
Big Fish, Less Than Jake ♪
2213
01:37:16,067 --> 01:37:17,472
♪ He'd seen 'em all ♪
2214
01:37:17,472 --> 01:37:20,344
♪ He longed for a time when even
Bill Clinton played the sax ♪
2215
01:37:20,344 --> 01:37:21,770
♪ On the White House lawn ♪
2216
01:37:21,770 --> 01:37:23,688
♪ And kids wore shades
and checkered slacks ♪
2217
01:37:23,688 --> 01:37:25,457
♪ So Billy sits back in
the class and laughs ♪
2218
01:37:25,457 --> 01:37:26,920
♪ Put a notebook on his lap
'cause he plans a task ♪
2219
01:37:26,920 --> 01:37:27,800
♪ To make a giant robot ♪
2220
01:37:27,800 --> 01:37:28,679
♪ How's that ♪
2221
01:37:28,679 --> 01:37:30,218
♪ And bring the real Orange County back ♪
2222
01:37:30,218 --> 01:37:32,884
♪ This gigantic robot kills ♪
2223
01:37:32,884 --> 01:37:34,840
♪ He's gonna come down the block ♪
2224
01:37:34,840 --> 01:37:35,996
♪ He's gonna fire at will ♪
2225
01:37:35,996 --> 01:37:37,656
♪ He's got a cannon on his shoulder ♪
2226
01:37:37,656 --> 01:37:39,196
♪ And a laser in his hand ♪
2227
01:37:39,196 --> 01:37:40,769
♪ He's gonna win the day for Billy ♪
2228
01:37:40,769 --> 01:37:44,352
♪ Make the city understand ♪
2229
01:37:55,596 --> 01:37:58,378
♪ The robot was completed
and it opened up its eyes ♪
2230
01:37:58,378 --> 01:38:01,460
♪ Weighing 700 pounds and
standing eight foot five ♪
2231
01:38:01,460 --> 01:38:03,000
♪ With his black coat, white shoes ♪
2232
01:38:03,000 --> 01:38:04,576
♪ Black hat set to attack ♪
2233
01:38:04,576 --> 01:38:05,892
♪ The robot headed to the hills ♪
2234
01:38:05,892 --> 01:38:08,084
♪ To give those spoiled kids a smack ♪
2235
01:38:08,084 --> 01:38:09,501
♪ Christoph Leary got knocked flat ♪
2236
01:38:09,501 --> 01:38:11,108
♪ As Billy bumped the Aquabats ♪
2237
01:38:11,108 --> 01:38:12,704
♪ He ripped out Mischa Barton's spine ♪
2238
01:38:12,704 --> 01:38:14,320
♪ To crank Save Ferris and Sublime ♪
2239
01:38:14,320 --> 01:38:15,804
♪ He burnt down Heidi Montag's home ♪
2240
01:38:15,804 --> 01:38:17,312
♪ To blast the OC Supertones ♪
2241
01:38:17,312 --> 01:38:18,940
♪ His scream was smashing LC's head ♪
2242
01:38:18,940 --> 01:38:20,720
♪ Ska is not dead ♪
2243
01:38:20,720 --> 01:38:23,371
♪ This gigantic robot kills ♪
2244
01:38:23,371 --> 01:38:24,912
♪ He's gonna come down the block ♪
2245
01:38:24,912 --> 01:38:26,485
♪ He's gonna fire at will ♪
2246
01:38:26,485 --> 01:38:28,147
♪ He's blastin' bullets from his elbows ♪
2247
01:38:28,147 --> 01:38:29,688
♪ Shootin' missiles from his eyes ♪
2248
01:38:29,688 --> 01:38:31,205
♪ He's gonna win the day for Billy ♪
2249
01:38:31,205 --> 01:38:36,205
♪ Take the OC by surprise ♪
2250
01:38:39,396 --> 01:38:42,261
♪ He'll make you do the Macarena
as you rock your Tamagachi ♪
2251
01:38:42,261 --> 01:38:44,131
♪ With your Newton down in Woodstock ♪
2252
01:38:44,131 --> 01:38:45,872
♪ Playing Sega la-di-da-di ♪
2253
01:38:45,872 --> 01:38:48,556
♪ He brought the '90s back
and then he freed Tibet ♪
2254
01:38:48,556 --> 01:38:50,279
♪ If you can't find his jam on Napster ♪
2255
01:38:50,279 --> 01:38:51,875
♪ Then the warehouse sells cassettes ♪
2256
01:38:51,875 --> 01:38:52,713
♪ Old school ♪
2257
01:38:52,713 --> 01:38:53,615
♪ Gigantic ♪
2258
01:38:53,615 --> 01:38:54,448
♪ He was ♪
2259
01:38:54,448 --> 01:38:55,281
♪ Gigantic ♪
2260
01:38:55,281 --> 01:38:56,114
♪ This robot ♪
2261
01:38:56,114 --> 01:38:56,947
♪ Gigantic ♪
2262
01:38:56,947 --> 01:38:57,780
♪ So very ♪
2263
01:38:57,780 --> 01:38:58,613
♪ Gigantic ♪
2264
01:38:58,613 --> 01:38:59,446
♪ Ska robot ♪
2265
01:38:59,446 --> 01:39:01,187
♪ This gigantic robot kills ♪
2266
01:39:01,187 --> 01:39:02,800
♪ He's gonna come down the block ♪
2267
01:39:02,800 --> 01:39:04,387
♪ He's gonna fire at will ♪
2268
01:39:04,387 --> 01:39:07,666
♪ He's got a cannon on his
shoulder and a laser in his hand ♪
2269
01:39:07,666 --> 01:39:09,116
♪ He's gonna win the day for Billy ♪
2270
01:39:09,116 --> 01:39:11,239
♪ Make the city understand ♪
2271
01:39:11,239 --> 01:39:13,782
♪ This gigantic robot kills ♪
2272
01:39:13,782 --> 01:39:15,607
♪ He's gonna come down the block ♪
2273
01:39:15,607 --> 01:39:16,995
♪ He's gonna fire at will ♪
2274
01:39:16,995 --> 01:39:18,632
♪ He's blastin' bullets from his elbows ♪
2275
01:39:18,632 --> 01:39:20,195
♪ Shootin' missiles from his eyes ♪
2276
01:39:20,195 --> 01:39:21,647
♪ He's gonna win the day for Billy ♪
2277
01:39:21,647 --> 01:39:25,897
♪ Take the whole world by surprise ♪
2278
01:39:28,164 --> 01:39:30,247
- [Robot] Ska is not dead
167058
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