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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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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.

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No one's gonna get it.

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I get to go back to high school

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and the preppy girls are gonna be like,

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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,

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very black and white specials.

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Everything was just (vocalizes).

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Somehow the color exploded
from the No Doubt,

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Reel Big Fish, Less Than
Jake and Goldfinger.

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That was that positive, here we go.

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- Now you're startin'
to see a national level,

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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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In their mind, they're probably thinkin'

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maybe hip-hop or something.

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- I think a lotta people just looked at,

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especially the ska music of the late '90s,

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as this kinda wacky, silly thing.

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Don't take it seriously, it's just a joke.

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But it means a lot to us.

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- As a teenager, it was just like wow,

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there's a music out there

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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.

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- If literally somebody walkin'
down the street that's like

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why do I wanna come see your show?

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I'm like you'll like it, I guarantee.

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Come in, like '90% chance you'll like it.

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- It made me really happy.

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To watch the way a bunch of
young musicians in America

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decided they would love and
use this really powerful

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dance music with an incredible
groove that they had.

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It was amazing for me.

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- It's kinda hard to
deny ska in a lotta ways.

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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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maybe you're not gonna get there.

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But if you're at all
susceptible, it's gonna get you.

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- It's just fun music, man.

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It's like you can dance to it.

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You feel like you can
let go of all the shit

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that happens in your life.

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- It's a very infectious sound

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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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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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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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get to make friends all over the place.

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- I think just right
place, right time a lot too

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where the world was ready for fun music.

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I think ska especially in Orange County,

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Southern California and the United States,

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it blew up at that time.

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- The idea of us being a ska
band was kind of ridiculous.

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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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from Southern California.

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We probably have no business playing ska.

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- Yeah, the way SoCal blended all the punk

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that was already SoCal
punk with the modern ska

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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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and I will never turn my
back on ska. (vocalizes)

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Looking back, I have no regrets.

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- You should.
- Yup.

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- It was a very short
window of passing time.

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Then by late '99, 2000, it was over.

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Bands were gettin' dropped.

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- A lotta people thought maybe
we were a joke or something

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because we were a third wave ska band.

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- Blame us, why don't you?

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Just come out and say it,

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it's Orange County's
fault that ska crashed.

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Yes.

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Yes, we overdid it.

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Are you happy now?

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(jazzy ska music)

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♪ Pick it up ♪

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♪ Pick it up ♪

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♪ Go team go ♪

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♪ Pick it up ♪

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- It became different because in '87,

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you'd be hard-pressed to find people

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who knew what ska music was.

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But seven, eight years later,

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you'd be hard-pressed
to find a young person

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who'd never heard of it.

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(lively ska music)

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♪ Aww yeah ♪

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- Hi, I'm Scott.

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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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Ska.

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Ska music, familiar?

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Ska music, you know about ska music?

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Sir, ska music?

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Ma'am, no?

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We're asking people on
the street in New York

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if they know anything about ska music.

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- Not at all.

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- Are you familiar with ska music?

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- What kinda music?

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- Ska music.
- No.

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- Ska music, do you know
anything about ska music?

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- Ska music, never heard of it.

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- Are you familiar with ska music?

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- No.

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- There's no pressure.

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This is not a test.

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There's no money involved.

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Would you know

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like Sublime?

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- No, I'm too young for that.

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- (chuckles) No no no, that's like '90s.

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(Scott chuckling)

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- Unfamiliar territory.

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Completely.

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- No, what is ska music?

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- Have you ever heard of The Specials?

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- No, what are The Specials?

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- They're a band.

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- The Specials?

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- I've heard of them.

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They're an old English band, aren't they?

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- Yup.
- Yeah.

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- What do you know about ska music?

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Do you know about ska music?

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Come here, talk to me for goodness sakes.

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- I hate saying No Doubt
'cause they're not really ska,

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but they have the elements.

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- How about No Doubt?

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- I have heard of No Doubt.

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Gwen Stefani, right? (laughs)

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- Okay, great.

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How familiar are you with ska music?

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- Ska?

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Not at all.

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- How familiar are you with ska music?

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- Very familiar with the ska music.

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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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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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- [Narrator] Where did
ska music come from?

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Ska begins in Kingston, Jamaica
at the end of the 1950s.

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The homegrown music of the island, mento,

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blended with the jazz music

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performed for tours and nightclubs

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and the rhythm and blues
picked up on transistors

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from American radio stations.

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It was a strange recipe
of lively horns and drums,

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sometimes a piano and
maybe even some vocals.

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But it was that distinctive,
syncopated rhythm

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that really made ska its own creation.

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It was different, it was fun.

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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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Danced to it they did in
places like Forrester's Hall,

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Chocomo Lawn and Tile Jubilee Gardens.

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These were the original dance halls.

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Some had walls, some
were outdoors in yards

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with nothin' but a zinc fence
surroundin' the space inside

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where Kingston DJs, called
sound system operators,

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held dances every night of the week.

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Imagine payin' a few bucks or shillin's

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since Jamaica was still a
colony of Britain back then.

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Walkin' inside a sound system
dance on a Saturday night.

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Bass pumpin', horns blarin'
from massive handmade

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speaker boxes stacked
high in the hot night sky.

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Speakers strapped to tree branches

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so every man, woman and
child from miles around

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could hear their records
on the turntables.

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The sound waftin' mixin'
with the smoke of curry goat

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and fried red snapper.

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Ska was more than music.

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Ska was an experience.

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Dances attracted hundreds
of people who dressed sharp

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to move to the music of local artists,

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like Laurel Aitken, Derrick
Morgan, Prince Buster,

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Desmond Dekker and even young
Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley.

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To supply the music,
sound system operators

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also recorded these new Jamaican artists.

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Auditioning vocalists in their studios

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every day of the week.

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Behind the singers were the house bands,

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hornsmen as they were called.

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They were highly-skilled musicians,

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trained in jazz and classical music.

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They came to the recording
studios to try to earn a livin'.

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A few coins for a recording
that the sound system operators

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then used to play that night.

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Sometimes they'd battle one
another for the biggest crowd

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in what was known as a clash.

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Competition was tough.

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It was a big business.

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There were fights between groups

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that aligned themselves
with the sound systems.

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These were The Rude Boys.

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They dressed to the nines,
wore sunglasses at night

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and exhibited their
power by breakin' needles

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from the rival turntable and
pushin' around the audience

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to break up the party.

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How did this music, dance and culture

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even make its way to America?

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It wasn't a direct route.

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It was through the
migration of Jamaican people

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to England that ska travels,

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like a bird with a seed
where it's planted in places

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like Brixton, Nottinghill, Coventry.

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They came in search of work
and brought their records

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and musical taste with them.

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Show at house parties and dance clubs,

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Jamaican immigrants felt
like they were home.

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The white working class youth

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who lived and worked
alongside the Jamaicans

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loved what they heard.

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They loved My Boy
Lollipop by Millie Small.

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They loved Desmond
Dekker's 007 Shanty Town

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and Prince Buster's One Step Beyond.

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They also loved their style
of dress and attitude,

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sharp and cool like The Rude Boys.

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When the white youth brought
their own musical backgrounds

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and taste into the mix, punk and soul,

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another recipe for ska was born: two-tone.

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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