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I played sax in a ska-punk band in Gainesville, Florida in the late '90s called Baker Act. We got together around the time Less Than Jake (local ska-punk heroes) started making a big splash with their major label debut album Losing Streak, and we made a very small splash in the same town. LTJ was good to us -- their bass player Roger recorded a six-song demo tape for us in his apartment studio, and they were big action figure and Pez dispenser collectors just like I was at the time. We played quite a bit around Gainesville, mostly in 1997 and '98, toured Florida (the 1997 Flori-DUH tour), and made it as far out as New Orleans. We recorded in several different studios and got a few of our songs onto compilations, but never released an official album while we were together. Anyway, Baker Act hasn't been active in years, but I'm still friends with most of the guys, and we recently put up a Myspace page with streaming songs and a history of the band (some of which I didn't even know): http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=243322252 While ska was big in the late '90s, I had the opportunity to see several great bands in concert: The Skatalites The Specials The Toasters (x3) The Pietasters (x3) The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (x3) The Scofflaws The Slackers Hepcat Cherry Poppin' Daddies (best known as a swing band, but they played badass ska and tried their hand at every other genre from grunge to country!) Skavoovie and the Epitones (great big-band inspired ska) Less Than Jake (saw them countless times, needless to say) The Hippos (we played shows with them in Miami and Gainesville) Spring Heeled Jack (played with them in Tallahassee) The Decepticonz (played with them in Gainesville) Reel Big Fish Save Ferris The Aquabats Goldfinger Mad Caddies MU330 Mustard Plug Bim Skala Bim Skinnerbox (a side project of Jeff "King Django" Baker) The Usuals (a wonderful traditional ska band from Gainesville with a lovely and cute girl singer, Julie Esbjorn. I even auditioned for them once -- they humored me just because I was a huge fan. They have two CDs, distributed by No Idea Records, and I highly recommend them to anyone who likes trad ska and female vocals.) I could go on and on. I admit I don't listen to too much ska anymore, but I have extremely fond memories of the music and the scene, since my college years came along just in time to be part of the Third Wave. Big Bad Voodoo Lou fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Nov 2, 2007 |
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Nov 2, 2007 03:57
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Mysterious Aftertaste posted:And I swear Baker Act played here (West Palm Beach) before. Maybe with Neptune 66 a while back? I don't remember... Where in West Palm, and when? Some of the guys in the band kept doing stuff after I left, but I don't believe they did any organized touring after 1999 or so. There is another band called Baker Act, possibly even another Florida band, but as far as I know they don't play ska or ska-punk.
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Nov 3, 2007 15:45
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Mysterious Aftertaste posted:It was when I was about 8th grade. I'd say 98-99. If Neptune 66 or Napkin don't ring a bell, I could be wrong. As for venue, Spankys, maybe? Definitely not in '98, since I left the band late that year, and I know we didn't make it down there. None of those names sound familiar either, and I don't think they made it out of Gainesville for many gigs in '99.
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Nov 4, 2007 04:04
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lessthankyle posted:Oh god, female ska singers. They make me weak in the knees There are two Ska Down Her Way compilation albums of girl-fronted ska bands. You must get them! http://www.amazon.com/Ska-Down-Her-Way-Women/dp/B000000DSJ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5728920-0607158?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1194187920&sr=8-1 and http://www.amazon.com/Ska-Down-Her-Way-Women/dp/B00000AFQ4/ref=pd_sim_m_shvl_title_1/104-5728920-0607158 You'll also fall in love with the aforementioned Usuals, one of my favorite ska bands. Get both of their albums, trust me on this! http://www.noidearecords.com/bands/usuals.php
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Nov 4, 2007 15:56
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StrikerObi posted:Why is Chris such a douche sometimes? Scott Farcas is easily in my top 5 LTJ songs, it's got so much loving energy. I visited Gainesville over the weekend and saw a poster advertising that free show. It made me nostalgic for all the times I saw LTJ when I went to college at UF (mostly 1996-2000), and how amazing they were back then. I guarantee that if I went to the show tonight, I would just feel ancient and get depressed, and I used to be an acquaintance of LTJ and in a Gainesville ska-punk band of my own.
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Nov 12, 2007 22:23
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You guys have a great sound! Much more traditional than I was expecting, and very cool.
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Nov 13, 2007 04:51
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Wizard Mannequin posted:What was everyones first ska show? Mine was SGR(who I hate), Ruder Than You(who were incredible) and the Slackers, back when I was in like 9th grade. I'm really glad my first ska show was more trad/reggae oriented, and definately helped me get into that stuff. Less Than Jake at the old Covered Dish in their home town of Gainesville, FL, although I have long since forgotten the two (non-ska) opening bands. This was in the fall of 1996, and I had only moved to Gainesville to start my freshman year at UF about a week prior. I had such an amazing time that night, and I knew I had found a great town, a great band, and an exciting new scene to be part of.
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Nov 15, 2007 23:21
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lessthankyle posted:Pretty good rundown of the State of Ska right now: https://www.brooklynvegan.com/ska-is-thriving-right-now-heres-a-look-at-the-diy-scene-thats-keeping-it-alive/ Thanks for posting this article. I haven't been "into" ska in almost 20 years, but I played in a ska-punk band in Gainesville FL back in the late '90s, during the height of the third wave, saw almost all the third wave bands, and have nothing but nostalgia and love for the sound and the scene. Ska might be "uncool," but I never felt cooler than when I was away from home for the first time in college and playing fun music with my new friends. I didn't even realize a fourth wave was happening, so this warmed my heart and introduced me to some cool new groups. I've always been a sucker for female-fronted bands, so I already dig the Interrupters and Bite Me Bambi.
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Sep 30, 2020 17:32
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This new book is coming out, Hell of a Hat: The Rise of '90s Ska and Swing: https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-09038-2.html?fbclid=IwAR1qZi2dTriQvxtyyhXwuLltpeYzWhAT3XKKmnRrINecaG-bp4Ph4l8pSlA I was in college from 1996 to 2000, the perfect time to be enmeshed in both scenes, especially as a sax player. I'm really looking forward to reading the book.
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Sep 29, 2021 11:43
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