Rick Johnson Rock And Roll Machine

Rick Johnson is probably best known as the bassist for Michigan ska band Mustard plug, however, I was never really into said band and when my friend told me he had released solo material and recommended I listen to it, I was very sceptical. Despite that I downloaded only album of his I could find, entitled "Six Crappy Months Part One" and loved it. What's interesting about this album is that it's a thirteen track album, and only about 20 minutes long, with eight of the tracks being under two minutes long, each one a catchy fusion of Ska, Punk and Electronic. I would definately recommend the album, I cant really say I recommend him because there are two albums of his i havent heard, but go download the record, you can find it on QuoteUnquoteRecords. It really is awesome.

Last.fm
Myspace
QuoteUnquoteRecords

Suburban Rhythm

Lyrics from "S.R." by Reel Big Fish:

"Whatever happened to Suburban Rhythm? Why did Ed and Scott quit? Please don't go, Suburban Rhythm. All the other bands are just shit."

This is pretty much the only way people discovered the band Suburban Rhythm after they disappeared. Suburban Rhythm was a band that existed in the early nineties, when ska was underground in Southern California but not hitting mainstream yet. These guys played alongside bands like Reel Big Fish, Sublime, and No Doubt when they were all new bands. Constant bickering between the band members led to their early demise. This self-titled compilation album is all of their recorded material, but it's no longer in print. The band is most noteworthy for their genre bending. Besides ska and punk elements, they have funk ("18 Inch Ruler"), reggae ("Incomplete"), bluegrass ("Blue Hawaii"), psychedelia ("99 Degrees"), jazz ("Bright City Lights"), and whatever the fuck "Bixville" is. That's why Reel Big Fish plays "S.R." in so many styles live. (Aaaaah, now it makes sense!)

Suburban Rhythm

Last.fm Page

I just discovered that they recorded a music video. However, I don't deem that song worthy enough of being the one I embed. Note that every comment is related to the Reel Big Fish song.

The Slackers

Holy shit, a ska album on a ska blog?

So when ska went through its "third wave revival" during the nineties, most bands were doing the "punk with horns" formula popularized by Less Than Jake and the like. As somewhat of a rebellion, there were some bands trying to revive the more traditional sound of ska, such as Hepcat, The Pietasters, and The Slackers. When I was first discovering the third wave of ska, I didn't dig this bands too much, since my idea of ska was the pop punk of Goldfinger. After I stopped being a picky twelve-year-old, however, this album grew on me. Like a tumor. This album has a pretty damn relaxed vibe to it most of the time, even when discussing heated aspects of politics. This is the only album I've listened to in full by this band. I should probably fix that.

Official

Myspace

Last.fm

Peculiar

Buck-O-Nine

There's not too much to know about this band. Buck-O-Nine is a southern-Californian ska punk band (surprising to see them here, right?) from San Diego. They were one of the first bands I liked when I first started listening to ska punk on Pandora radio two (or three I lost track) years ago. There's some obvious Joe Jackson influence, which I love. This is the only album I currently own by them, but I'll find more if anyone wants more.

Twenty-Eight Teeth

Myspace

Official Site

Last.fm

The Suicide Machines

Another band in the mid-to-late-nineties wave of ska that achieved minor, minor success. (Inclusion on Tony Hawk video game soundtracks.) They were probably too energetic for the mainstream mass to handle. I have three albums of theirs. The latter two are solid skacore releases, but Destruction by Definition is a must listen. They disbanded in 2006 after the release of War Profiteering is killing us all.

Destruction by Definition

Battle Hymns

War Profiteering is Killing Us All

Myspace

Last.fm

The King Blues

The King Blues were, at one point, underground. Then their sophomore release Save the World, Get the Girl got mainstream attention by the British media, and they began touring with "punk rock" (pfffft) bigwigs like Anti-Flag and Rise Against. (You know, those mainstream bands that claim to be rebellious.) Despite its incredibly "mainstream" status, their newest album is an enjoyable mix of ska and pop, and their first record is a hodge-podge of folk, ska, reggae, and punk rock. Here are both of their full-lengths:

Under the Fog

Save the World, Get the Girl

Myspace

Official Site

Last.fm

Bomb the Music Industry!

Bomb the Music Industry! are one of those ridiculously D.I.Y. hardcore bands. Even though they offer all of their music for free, I shelled out $15 to see them (awesome) and $10 for Album Minus Band on vinyl. It made me feel like such a punk. I usually don't feel like that. Since they offer all of their music for free download on their site, I'm not going to post my own links for them.

Myspace

Official Site

Last.fm

Reel Big Fish

One of the most popular bands of third-wave ska, they hit it big (big for a ska band, anyway) with the single "Sell Out." In recent years their quality has dwindled, but back in the height of their popularity (and when they play live) they're masters of what they do. I have two studio albums and one live album (the latter being incredible). If anyone wants me to post more, I'll be glad to do that.

Turn the Radio Off

Why Do They Rock So Hard?

Our Live Album is Better Than Your Live Album

Myspace

Official Site

Last.fm

Streetlight Manifesto

I don't know whether or not this really basic first choice makes my blog "cool." However, I do know that they're of super-duper quality. It's likely that, if you're here, you've heard (of) this band. They're supposed to be releasing a cover album soon, called 99 Songs of Revolution, but their label is giving them some sort of crap. Damn record labels. Here's all of their studio material:

Everything Goes Numb Demo

Everything Goes Numb

Keasbey Nights

Somewhere in the Between

Myspace

Official Site

Last.fm