In 2010, Real Gone received a sampler of punk and ska bands from the US. As always with compilation discs, it was a mixed bag, but a few bands really stuck out. One of those was Johnny Cakes & The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso, a band mixing ska, punk and calypso sounds. After hearing a few more tracks via their Bandcamp page, JC seemed to be a particularly accomplished band whom, crude humour aside, had the potential to stand proudly alongside Reel Big Fish and a couple of the other better known bands from ska’s third wave.
Tag Archives: ska
Streetlight Manifesto: upcoming tour dates
US ska merchants Streetlight Manifesto have finally set a date for their next release. After various delays, ‘The Hands That Thieve’ will be released in the US on April 30th 2013.
To help promote the album, the band will be trakking across the US and Europe. The run of dates includes a stop-off in the UK, although no London date has been scheduled. The closest the band get to visiting the capital is a show at The University of Herts in Hatfield, a few miles further north.
Big D & The Kids Table launch Kickstarter campaign
Big D & The Kids Table have launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund not one, but TWO new albums.
Best associated with the third wave of ska in the US, the band’s sound can be somewhat more eclectic, taking in elements of punk, pop, thrash, reggae and a bit of dub. With this in mind, Big D are set to release two albums: one of upbeat ska and punk, with a second release taking in more of their lighter, reggae influenced sounds.
The Specials: confirmed 2013 UK tour dates
As part of their ongoing reunion shows – including all the band’s original members bar Jerry Dammers – The Specials ended 2011 with a run of very well received gigs which yieded a live album ‘More or Less…’
The band has confirmed they will tour again in 2013. The following May dates are now filled in the band’s calendar:
5/10 Glasgow Barrowland
5/13 Newcastle O2 Academy
5/15 Manchester O2 Apollo
5/18 Liverpool Olympia
5/19 Leicester De Montford Hall
5/21 Birmingham O2 Academy
5/23 Newport Centre
5/25 Margate Winter Gardens
5/26 Portsmouth Guildhall
5/28 London O2 Academy Brixton
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Everybody Likes a Good Rusty Trombone
In 2009, the Florida ska-core band Out of Nothing broke up. Realising that over the course of five years they had played alongside lots of other great (mainly unsung) bands, their guitarist/vocalist Mark and drummer Ryan decided a release featuring some of these bands should be made available. The resulting self-financed disc ‘Everybody Likes a Good Rusty Trombone’ features 16 bands (many from Florida, but a few from farther afield) most of whom, as you’d expect, fit neatly into the ska/punk genre.