This is a list of notable bands and musicians who performed primarily
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
or ska-influenced music for a significant portion of their careers.
Original (starting in late 1950s)
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Aubrey Adams
Aubrey Wellington Adams (17 June 1920 – 6 August 1990) was a Jamaican pianist and keyboard player who was one of the top bandleaders in Jamaica in the 1950s, and led the Dewdroppers as well as playing with Clue J & His Blues Blasters.
Biograp ...
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Laurel Aitken
Lorenzo "Laurel" Aitken (22 April 1927 – 17 July 2005) was an influential Caribbean singer and one of the pioneers of Jamaican ska music. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of Ska".
Career
Born in Cuba of mixed Cuban and Jamaican desc ...
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Roland Alphonso
Roland Alphonso OD or Rolando Alphonso "The Chief Musician" (12 January 1931 – 20 November 1998)Thompson, p. 262 was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist, and one of the founding members of the Skatalites.
Biography
Born in Havana, Cuba, Alphonso c ...
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Theophilus Beckford
Theophilus Beckford (26 June 1935 – 19 February 2001) was a Jamaican pianist and one of the pioneers of Jamaican popular music during the transition from rhythm 'n' blues to Jamaican ska.
Biography
Beckford was born in 1935 in Trench Town, Kin ...
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Val Bennett
Val Bennett (born Lovall Bennett, ?, died 1991) was a Jamaican tenor saxophonist and jazz and roots reggae musician who began his career in the 1940s. He made a number of releases on the Island Records and Crab Records labels.
Biography
In the ...
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Baba Brooks
Oswald "Baba" Brooks (born c.1935) was a trumpet player who played jazz in the 1950s with the Eric Dean orchestra and recorded during the 1960s original Jamaican ska era for producers Duke Reid, Sonia Pottinger and her husband Lindon, King Edwar ...
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The Blues Busters
The Blues Busters was a vocal duo from Jamaica formed in 1960, consisting of Philip James (9 March 1941 – 1989) and Lloyd Osbourne Campbell (31 December 1941 – 1992).Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, ...
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Prince Buster
Cecil Bustamente Campbell (24 May 1938 – 8 September 2016), known professionally as Prince Buster, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer. The records he released in the 1960s influenced and shaped the course of Jamaican contemporary ...
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The Clarendonians
The Clarendonians are a ska and rocksteady vocal group from Jamaica, active initially from the mid- to late 1960s. They reformed in the 1990s and continue to perform live.
History
The Clarendonians were originally Fitzroy "Ernest" Wilson and Pe ...
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Jimmy Cliff
James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...
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Clue J & His Blues Blasters
Clue J & His Blues Blasters were a Jamaican band of the late 1950s and early 1960s led by Cluett Johnson, who were one of the first bands to play ska. Several of the band's members went on to join The Skatalites.
History
Formed in the late 1950 ...
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Stranger Cole
Stranger Cole, also known as StrangeJah Cole (born Wilburn Theodore Cole, 26 June 1942)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 335 is a Jamaican singer whose long recording career dates from the early days of ska ...
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Desmond Dekker
Desmond Dekker (16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group The Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Howard), he had one of the earlie ...
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Don Drummond
Don Drummond (12 March 1932Cane-Honeysett, L: ''Don Drummond Memorial Album'', liner notes. Trojan 2009. – 6 May 1969) was a Jamaican ska trombonist and composer. He was one of the original members of The Skatalites, and composed many o ...
The Ethiopians
The Ethiopians were one of Jamaica's best-loved harmony groups during the late ska, rocksteady and early reggae periods. Responsible for a significant number of hits between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, the group was also one of the first ...
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Owen Gray
Owen Gray, also known as Owen Grey (born 5 July 1939),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, is a Jamaican musician. His work spans the R&B, ska, rocksteady, and reggae eras of Jamaican music, and he has been c ...
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Derrick Harriott
Derrick Clifton Harriott Order of Distinction, OD (born 10 February 1942) is a Jamaican singer and record producer. He was a member of the Jiving Juniors with Herman Sang before embarking on a solo career. He has produced sound recording and re ...
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Justin Hinds
Justin Hinds (7 May 1942 – 16 March 2005) was a Jamaican ska vocalist, with his backing singers the Dominoes.
He is best known for his work with Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Records, where his most notable song, "Carry Go Bring Come" recorded ...
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Jah Jerry Haynes
Jerome "Jah Jerry" Haynes OD (11 August 1921 – 13 August 2007) was a Jamaican guitarist and former member of The Skatalites.
Haynes was born in Trench Pen, presently known as Trench Town, the cultural capital of Jamaica, in 1921. He learned ...
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Lloyd Knibb
Lloyd Knibb OD (8 March 1931 – 12 May 2011) was a Jamaican drummer who is considered Jamaica's most important and influential modern drummer. A master percussionist, he contributed to every style of this nation's popular and not so popular mus ...
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Byron Lee & the Dragonaires
Byron Lee and the Dragonaires (known as Byron Lee's Dragonaires after Lee's death and now The Dragonaires) are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world. Byron ...
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Count Machuki
Winston Cooper (c.1929–1995), better known as Count Matchuki or Count Machuki, was a Jamaican deejay.
Biography
Cooper was born c.1929 in Kingston, Jamaica,Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Me ...
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Carlos Malcolm
Carlos Malcolm OD (born c. 1934) is a world renowned Jamaican trombonist, percussionist and bandleader who helped cultivate the infamous Jamaican genres of music known as Ska and Reggae.
Biography
Carlos Malcolm was born in Panama c. 1935Port ...
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Tommy McCook
Tommy McCook (3 March 1927 – 5 May 1998) was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel One S ...
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The Melodians
The Melodians are a rocksteady band formed in the Greenwich Town area of Kingston, Jamaica, in 1963, by Tony Brevett (born 1949, nephew of The Skatalites bassist, Lloyd Brevett), Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton.
Derrick Morgan
Derrick Morgan (born 27 March 1940)Walters, Basil (2012)A New Day – Songs heralding JA’s Independence", '' Jamaica Observer'', 3 June 2012, retrieved 3 June 2012 is a Jamaican musical artist who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He worke ...
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Eric "Monty" Morris
Eric "Monty" Morris (born c.1942)Campbell, Howard (2016)Eric 'Monty' Morris to perform at Grace Jerk Festival, ''Jamaica Observer'', 12 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016 is a Jamaican ska singer, known for his work with the Skatalites an ...
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Jackie Opel
Dalton Sinclair Bishop (27 August 1937 – 9 March 1970), better known as Jackie Opel, was a Barbadian singer who possessed a rich, powerful voice with a high octave range. He was known as the "Jackie Wilson of Barbadian culture" and was als ...
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The Paragons
The Paragons were a ska and rocksteady vocal group from Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica, initially active in the 1960s. Their most famous track was "The Tide Is High", written by band member John Holt (singer), John Holt.
Career
The Parago ...
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Lee "Scratch" Perry
Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...
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Lord Tanamo
Joseph Abraham Gordon (2 October 1934 – 15 April 2016), better known as Lord Tanamo, was a Jamaican-Canadian singer and songwriter best known for his mento and ska work.
Career
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston and raised in Denham To ...
Ernest Ranglin
Ernest Ranglin (born 19 June 1932) is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels including Studio One (record label), Studio One and I ...
The Skatalites
The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many othe ...
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The Silvertones
The Silvertones (who also recorded as The Valentines, The Gold Tones, The Admirals and The Muskyteers) are a Jamaican reggae harmony group formed in 1964, best known for their recordings for Lee "Scratch" Perry in the early 1970s.
In 1964 thre ...
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Millie Small
Millicent Dolly May Small CD (6 October 1947 – 5 May 2020) was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who is best known for her 1964 hit "My Boy Lollipop". The song reached number two in both the UK and US charts and sold over seven million ...
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Symarip
Symarip (also known at various stages of their career as The Bees, The Pyramids, Seven Letters and Zubaba) were a British ska and reggae band, originating in the late 1960s, when Frank Pitter and Michael Thomas founded the band as The Bees. The b ...
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Lynn Taitt
Lynn Taitt (22 June 1934 – 20 January 2010) was a guitarist born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, who later moved to Jamaica and became a pioneer of rocksteady music.
Biography
Born Nerlynn Taitt, in San Fernando, Trinidad, he got his s ...
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Toots & the Maytals
The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.
...
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The Wailers
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
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Delroy Wilson
Delroy George Wilson CD (5 October 1948 – 6 March 1995)
Greene, Jo-Ann, " Delroy Wilson Biography, allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation
was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. Wilson is often regarded as Jamaica's first child s ...
Pauline Black
Belinda Magnus (born 23 October 1953), better known as Pauline Black (), is an English singer, actress and author.
In a music career spanning over 40 years, Black came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the 2 Tone ska reviva ...
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Bad Manners
Bad Manners are an English two-tone and ska band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included ''Top of the Pops'' and the live film documentary, ''Dance Craze'' (1981).
They were at their most popular during the early 1980 ...
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Mike Barson
Michael Barson (born 21 April 1958) is a Scottish-born multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Barson came to prominence in the late 1970s as the keyboard player for the band Madness (band), Ma ...
Mark Bedford
Mark William Bedford (born 24 August 1961),Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Rock Discography'', Canongate, , p. 638 nicknamed Bedders, is an English musician, songwriter and composer. Bedford came to prominence in the late 1970s as the bass ...
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Buster Bloodvessel
Douglas Trendle (né Woods; born 6 September 1958), better known as Buster Bloodvessel, is an English singer who has been the frontman of the two-tone band Bad Manners since forming the band in 1976.Larkin, Colin (1997) ''The Virgin Encycloped ...
Andy Cox
Andrew Cox (born 25 January 1956) is a British guitarist, who along with Dave Wakeling, formed ska band the Beat in 1978.
The Beat achieved eight Top 40 singles and three hit albums in the UK before announcing their break up in 1983. Some of t ...
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Rhoda Dakar
Rhoda Dakar (born 1959) is a British singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of The Bodysnatchers, who were signed to the 2 Tone record label. She also worked with The Specials and Special AKA, also 2-Tone artists.
Career
Dakar, bor ...
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Jerry Dammers
Jeremy David Hounsell Dammers GCOT (born 22 May 1955) is a British musician who was a founder, keyboard player and primary songwriter of the Coventry-based ska band The Specials (also known as The Special A.K.A.) and later The Spatial AKA Orches ...
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Judge Dread
Alexander Minto Hughes (2 May 1945 – 13 March 1998), better known as Judge Dread, was an English reggae and ska musician. He was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica, and the BBC has banned more of his songs than ...
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Chris Foreman
Christopher John Foreman (born 8 August 1956), nicknamed Chrissy Boy, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Foreman came to prominence in the late 1970s as the guitarist for the Engli ...
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Lynval Golding
Lynval Golding (born 24 July 1951) is a Jamaican-born British musician. His family moved from Jamaica to Gloucester, before moving to Coventry when he was eighteen. He is currently living in Gig Harbor, Washington. He is best known as a rhythm g ...
Everett Morton
Everett may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Everett, Ontario, a community in Adjala–Tosorontio, Simcoe County
* Everett Mountains, a range on southern Baffin Island in Nunavut
United States
* Everett, Massachusetts, in Middlesex County, Massachu ...
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Horace Panter
Horace Panter (born Stephen Graham Panter, 30 August 1953) also known as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the bassist for the British 2 Tone ska band The Specials.
Early life
Panter was born in Croydon, Surrey and spent most of his formative years in ...
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Roddy Radiation
Roddy Radiation (born Roderick James Byers, 5 May 1955 in Keresley, Coventry, England) is an English musician who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers. He wrote the S ...
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Ranking Roger
Roger Charlery (21 February 1963 – 26 March 2019), known professionally as Ranking Roger,Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Rock Discography, 6th Edition'', Canongate, , p. 72Huey, Steve "Ranking Roger Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 17 Februa ...
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The Selecter
The Selecter are an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979.
The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead vo ...
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Chas Smash
Cathal Joseph "Carl" Smyth (born 14 January 1959), also known as Chas Smash, is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His career spans more than 40 years. Smash came to prominence in the late 1970s as secondary vocalist, trump ...
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The Specials
The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...
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Neville Staple
Neville Eugenton Staple (born 11 April 1955), sometimes credited as Neville Staples, is a Jamaican-born English singer, known for his work with the 2 Tone ska band the Specials, as well as with his own group, the Neville Staple Band. He also per ...
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Suggs
Graham McPherson (born 13 January 1961), known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor from Hastings, England.
In a music career spanning 40 years, he came to prominence in the ...
Dave Wakeling
David Wakeling (born 19 February 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his work with the band the Beat (known in North America as the English Beat) and General Public.
Career
Wakeling began his professional career ...
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Daniel Woodgate
Daniel Mark (Woody) Woodgate (born 19 October 1960) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Woodgate came to prominence in the late 1970s as the drummer for the English ska band ...
Third wave ska (starting in early 1980s)
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Against All Authority
Against All Authority (often abbreviated -AAA-) is an American Punk rock, punk band, formed in Florida in 1992. Playing in a ska punk style, their business practice follows a stringent DIY ethic.
History
Against All Authority was founded in Cutl ...
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Allniters
The Allniters are a Sydney-based Australian ska pop band, founded in 1980. Original line-up was Ted Ayers on saxophone, sax, Dave Bebb on drums, Stuart Crysell on guitar, Martin Fabok on guitar, Peter Hill-Travis on vocals, Graham Hood (The John ...
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Animal Chin
Animal Chin was a ska punk group from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group was named after the 1987 skateboarding film, ''The Search for Animal Chin''. They released their debut LP, ''All the Kids Agree'', in 1997, and soon after signed to Fueled By ...
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The Aquabats
The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1994. Throughout many fluctuations in the group's line-up, singer the MC Bat Commander and bassist Crash McLarson have remained the band's two constant fixtures. ...
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Area-7
Area-7 (also known as Area 7) are an Australian ska punk band. Formed in Melbourne in 1994, they have released four studio albums, ''No Logic!'', '' Bitter & Twisted'', '' Say It To My Face'' and '' Torn Apart''. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2 ...
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The Arrogant Sons of Bitches
The Arrogant Sons of Bitches (commonly abbreviated as ASOB) was a 6-piece ska punk band from Long Island and Baldwin, New York. The band was known for its strong DIY punk roots, self-releasing two albums and two EPs. Their final album, ''Three ...
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Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
Big D and the Kids Table
Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts when its members converged in college. Their first release was on their own Fork in Hand Records label, but have since teamed with Springman Records and ...
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Bim Skala Bim
Bim Skala Bim formed in Boston as a ska band that was influenced by the bands in England’s two-tone movement as well as artists such as the Clash, UB40 and Bob Marley. Their "Boston Blue Beat" sound, a mix of upbeat two-tone ska, rock ‘n’ r ...
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The Bruce Lee Band
The Bruce Lee Band (or B. Lee Band) is the name given to the releases of Mike Park and his backing band which up until 2005 included members of Less Than Jake and the Rx Bandits. As of 2014, the collective consisted of touring and recording mem ...
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Buck-O-Nine
Buck-O-Nine is an American ska punk band which was formed in San Diego in 1991. The band has toured internationally and released several albums and EPs, as well as appearing on compilations and film soundtracks. During the mid-to-late 1990s, t ...
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The Busters
The Busters are a German third wave ska revival band, established as a side project in 1987. Playing 2 Tone-influenced ska, they became one of the best-known German ska bands, having a minor hit single in Germany with a ska cover of Bobby McFe ...
Cherry Poppin' Daddies
The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing and ska band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced numerous personnel changes over the course of its 30 ...
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The Chinkees
The Chinkees are an American ska punk band fronted by Mike Park (formerly of Skankin' Pickle). The group debuted with 1998's ''The Chinkees Are Coming!'', and followed with 1999's ''Peace Through Music'' and 2002's ''Searching for a Brighter Fut ...
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Choking Victim
Choking Victim was an American Punk rock, punk band formed in New York City, which lasted from 1992 to 1998. They played a mix of hardcore punk and ska (sometimes known as ska-core). Following the breakup of the band, which occurred the same day ...
Citizen Fish
Citizen Fish is an English punk rock band that has been active since 1990 and shares members with Subhumans. Citizen Fish does not emphasize the raw political statements and nihilistic viewpoint of the former, instead focusing on issues of ...
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Common Rider
Common Rider was an American ska punk band, formed in 1999 by Jesse Michaels (guitar, vocals), Mass Giorgini (bass) and Dan Lumley (drums). The band's name is taken from a Japanese TV show, ''Kamen Rider'' (Kamen Rider means "Masked Rider" in Ja ...
Dance Hall Crashers
Dance Hall Crashers (often abbreviated to DHC) was an American ska punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Initially founded by former Operation Ivy members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, the band has had a fluid lineup over its care ...
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Deal's Gone Bad
Deal's Gone Bad is a band from Chicago, Illinois. Their sound mixes reggae, rocksteady, and ska music with American soul. They have been together since 1994, with numerous lineup changes over the years. The current incarnation has been mostly ...
Doe Maar
Doe Maar was a Dutch ska band with punk and reggae influences whose career peaked from 1978 to 1984. They are one of the most successful pop bands in Dutch history. 'Doe maar' translates as ''go ahead'' or ''just do it''.
History Early years a ...
Edna's Goldfish
Edna's Goldfish was an American ska punk band from Long Island, New York.
Together from 1997 to 2000, their studio albums include ''Before You Knew Better'' (1998) and ''The Elements of Transition'' (1999), both released on Moon Ska Records. T ...
Farse Farse may refer to:
* Farsa
Farsa (Italian, literally: ''farce'', plural: ''farse'') is a genre of opera, associated with Venice in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is also sometimes called ''farsetta''.
Farse were normally one-act o ...
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Fishbone
Fishbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1979, that plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late ' ...
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Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy is an American band formed in Denver, Colorado, in 1995. Best known for playing ska punk music characterized by an offbeat sense of humor and prominent Christian themes, Five Iron was one of the pioneering figures of the Christi ...
The Gadjits
The Gadjits were an American ska and rock and roll band from Kansas City, Missouri, United States.
History The Gadjits
Brandon, Zach, and Adam Phillips come from an artistic family, their father was a jazz musician and their mother an art teac ...
General Rudie
General Rudie was a third wave ska band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In their nine-year career, the band released two full-length albums on Stomp Records and toured extensively throughout Canada and the United States.
Career
General Rudie was fo ...
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Go Jimmy Go
Go Jimmy Go was an American ska, rocksteady, reggae and Soul music, soul influenced band from Honolulu, Hawaii. Although chronologically, the band belongs to the Third-wave of ska, third-wave, their mellow, slower tempo sound is reminiscent of th ...
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GOGO13
GOGO13 is an American ska band formed in 1993 by singer and artist Parker Jacobs and currently based out of Huntington Beach, California.
Originally formed in St. George, Utah, the first incarnation of GOGO13 lasted for just under a year, yet ul ...
The Hippos
The Hippos were an American rock band formed in 1995 in Los Angeles, California, and disbanded in 2002. The band released three full-length albums. Their early work is best classified as part of the third wave of ska music, or as ska-punk, th ...
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The Hotknives
The Hotknives are an English ska band from Horsham in Sussex, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and t ...
Inspecter 7
Inspecter 7 is an American ska band formed in 1992 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, with a sound that combines all three waves of ska (traditional, two-tone and third wave)
After releasing a seven-inch single on Moon Ska Records, and appearing ...
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The Insyderz
The Insyderz were an American Christian ska-punk band from Detroit, Michigan. They formed in 1996 and disbanded in 2005. The band reformed in 2009, but have not been actively playing shows in the last few years. The Insyderz are one of the "big t ...
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Jeffries Fan Club
Jeffries Fan Club was a southern California Third-wave ska band formed in 1996. The band released several albums on now-defunct Vegas Records before breaking up in 2001. The band played their final show January 6, 2001, at The Glasshouse in Pomo ...
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Johnny Socko
Johnny Socko was an American third wave ska band formed in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, in 1990. It was founded by Dylan Wissing. Originally signed to BiB Records and later Asian Man Records, they later started their own record label, T ...
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Kemuri
Kemuri (Japanese for ''smoke'') is a Japanese-American ska punk band formed in Oxnard, California in 1995. They have an upbeat sound with positive lyrics which they refer to as PMA (positive mental attitude). While the majority of their songs ar ...
The Kingpins
The Kingpins featuring Lorraine Muller - The Queen of Ska was a ska band from Montreal, Quebec that created Stomp Records label with fellow Montreal Ska band The Planet Smashers. The last Kingpins tour took place in 2004, after which the members ...
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The Know How
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
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Lightyear
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
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Leftöver Crack
Leftöver Crack is an American punk rock band formed in 1998, following the breakup of Choking Victim. The band is currently signed to Tankcrimes for CD releases, and Alternative Tentacles for vinyl releases. Leftöver Crack spans several di ...
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Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxoph ...
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Let's Go Bowling
Let's Go Bowling is an American third wave ska band hailing from Fresno, California. Since the band's inception in the year 1986, the band's traditional ska style, barbershop harmonies, wisely crafted instrumentals, and its frantic live performanc ...
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Link 80
Link 80 was an American punk rock/ska punk band from San Francisco's East Bay, United States.
Band history
Link 80 started in the summer 1993 in the East Bay of California. In the beginning, original members (guitarist Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, d ...
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs is an Argentine ska band from Buenos Aires.
Background and style
Formed in 1985, they released their first album, ''Bares y Fondas'' (Bars and Boardinghouses), in 1986 and have since released fourteen more albums. They ...
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Mad Caddies
The Mad Caddies (or the Caddies) are a ska punk band from Solvang, California, United States. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. To date, Mad Caddies have sold over 500,000 albums worl ...
Mealticket
Mealticket was an American ska punk band, formed in the San Fernando Valley area of Southern California, United States, in late 1991. Although part of the larger third wave ska revival, Mealticket offered a unique sound thanks to its serious mu ...
Mephiskapheles
Mephiskapheles is a ska band based in New York City. Their name is a portmanteau of "ska" and "Mephistopheles", of the Faust legend. As their name suggests, their lyrics are often playfully satanic in nature.
Career 1990–1994: Formation and ea ...
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The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (informally referred to as The Bosstones and often stylized as The Mighty Mighty BossToneS) were an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky ...
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Monkey
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
Mu330
MU330 are an American ska punk band from St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Formed by students of St. Louis University High School in 1988, MU330 played a self-described brand of music called "Psycho Ska", high energy ska punk marked by manic ...
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Mustard Plug
Mustard Plug is an American ska punk band from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, consisting of Dave Kirchgessner (vocals), Brandon Jenison (trumpet), Jim Hofer (trombone), Nate Cohn (drums), Colin Clive (guitar/vocals), Mark Petz ...
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No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...
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Nuckle Brothers
The Nuckle Brothers were a third wave ska band from Huntington Beach that was part of the early 1990s music scene in Orange County, California, United States, inspiring such bands as Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris and The Aquabats.
History
Playing ...
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The O.C. Supertones
The Orange County Supertones (a.k.a. The O.C. Supertones, or simply The Supertones) were a Christian ska band from Orange County, California. The band was signed to Tooth & Nail Records and its imprint, BEC Recordings, before becoming an indepen ...
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Operation Ivy
Operation Ivy was the eighth series of American nuclear tests, coming after '' Tumbler-Snapper'' and before '' Upshot–Knothole''. The two explosions were staged in late 1952 at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Proving Ground in the Marshall Is ...
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Panteón Rococó
Panteón Rococó is a Mexican ska band from Mexico City. Despite flourishing black markets, they have sold thousands of records. While being stars in Mexico, they have been touring Europe for the last several years, especially Germany, where th ...
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The Pietasters
The Pietasters are an American eight-piece ska/soul band from Washington, D.C., with additional members from Maryland and Virginia.
History
In 1990, Stephen Jackson and Chris Watt met at Virginia Tech, through mutual friend Tal Bayer, who was at ...
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Pilfers
Pilfers are an American ska band formed in 1997, when former Toasters vocalist, Coolie Ranx, at the urging of Pietaster's vocalist Steve Jackson, joined with former Bim Skala Bim trombonist, Vinny Nobile. To complete the lineup, they recruit ...
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The Planet Smashers
The Planet Smashers are a Canadian ska punk band from Montreal. Since their formation in 1993, they have been a staple of the Montreal music scene. During the third wave of ska, they performed nationally and later internationally, with tours in t ...
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The Porkers
The Porkers are an Australian ska punk band from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Formed in 1987 as The Pork Hunts, the band was eventually forced to change its name to the less offensive-sounding The Porkers in 1990 after their regular ...
Pressure Cooker
Pressure cooking is the process of cooking food under high pressure steam and water or a water-based cooking liquid, in a sealed vessel known as a ''pressure cooker''. High pressure limits boiling, and creates higher cooking temperatures which c ...
Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Orange County, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album ''Turn the Radio Off''. Soon af ...
Ruder Than You
Ruder Than You is an American ska band that was founded in 1989 at Penn State University and, in 1991, the group relocated to Philadelphia. While ska and reggae stylings have always provided the common musical thread, over the past 15 plus year ...
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The Rudiments
The Rudiments are an American ska punk band from the East Bay, California, United States.
Biography
Known originally as Los Rudiments the group came together in the early 1990s, getting their start playing such venues as Santa Clara's One Step ...
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Rx Bandits
Rx Bandits are an American four-piece band based in Seal Beach, California, United States. The band formed in 1995 in Orange County, California. They have appeared on the Vans Warped Tour, at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valle ...
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Save Ferris
Save Ferris is an American ska punk band formed circa 1995 in Orange County, California, United States. Their name is a reference to the 1986 film ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off''. In 1995, the band began to perform underground venues in Southern Cal ...
The Scofflaws
The Scofflaws are a Huntington, Long Island, New York-based third wave ska band that debuted in 1988. Known for their rambunctious live shows, technically proficient horn solos and tight arrangements, the Scofflaws were one of the top third wav ...
Ska-P
Ska-P () is a Spanish ska punk band formed in 1994 in Vallecas, a district of Madrid, by a group of friends from Madrid, Navarre and Euskadi. Review by Chris Trueat Allmusic
The band can be categorized, politically, as an anti-establishment mu ...
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Skankin' Pickle
Skankin' Pickle was an American ska punk band formed in San Jose, California that was active from 1989 to 1997.
Biography
Skankin' Pickle first formed in December 1988, made up of students from Westmont High School and Los Gatos High School. T ...
Skinnerbox
Skinnerbox is a third wave ska band formed in New York City in the late 1980s by King Django.
Discography
Full Length
*''Instrumental Conditioning'' (Stubborn) 1990)
*''Now & Then'' (Stubborn) (1992)
*''Tales of the Red'' (Stubborn) (1993)
*'' ...
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The Skoidats
The Skoidats was an American band that played music combining elements of ska, Oi!, jazz, and punk rock.
History
The Skoidats formed in the summer of 1995 in Helena, Montana, and soon after their inception, they relocated to Missoula, Montana ...
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The Skunks
The Skunks are a three-piece rock band formed in 1977 in Austin, Texas. The band debuted in early 1978 at Raul's, quickly became a mainstay of the Austin, Texas music scene. They rapidly expanded their fan base beyond early punk/ new wave int ...
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The Slackers
The Slackers are an American ska band, formed in Manhattan, New York in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz. The Slackers' notability is credited to their prolific career, tours of Nort ...
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Slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...
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Slow Gherkin
Slow Gherkin is an American ska punk band from Santa Cruz, California, United States.
Slow Gherkin was formed in 1993 by AJ Marquez, Zack "ZK" Kent, Phil Boutelle, and James Rickman; they released their first album, ''Double Happiness'', which ...
Spring Heeled Jack
Spring-heeled Jack is an entity in English folklore of the Victorian era. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over the United Kingdom and were especially prevalent in suburban Lo ...
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Stubborn All-Stars
Stubborn All-Stars are an American, New York City-based ska band led by King Django, front man of Skinnerbox and owner of Stubborn Records.
In 1994, Django assembled Stubborn All-Stars for a studio session which resulted in the four-song ''Old ...
Suburban Legends
Suburban Legends are an American ska punk band that formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1998 and later based themselves in nearby Santa Ana. After building a fanbase in the Orange County ska scene through their numerous regular perform ...
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Suburban Rhythm
Suburban Rhythm was a ska punk band from Long Beach, California. Formed in 1990, they played numerous shows in small-venue clubs with many now famous O.C. bands opening their performances, including Sublime, No Doubt, and Reel Big Fish. Suburban ...
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The Suicide Machines
The Suicide Machines are an American punk rock band formed in March 1991 in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. During the course of their career, the band has released seven full-length albums on the labels Hollywood Records, Side One Dummy Records and ...
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Superhiks
Superhiks ( mk, Суперхикс) is a Macedonian ska-punk and reggae band with occasional swing, Latin and Balkan folk music elements from Skopje, North Macedonia. They gained international prominence after appearing on MTV France, MTV Israel ...
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The Toasters
The Toasters are one of the original American second wave of ska bands. Founded in New York City in 1981, the band has released nine studio albums, primarily through Moon Ska Records.
History
Englishman Robert "Bucket" Hingley relocated to New Y ...
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Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
, commonly abbreviated by fans as Skapara or TSPO, is a Japanese ska and jazz band formed in 1988 by the percussionist Asa-Chang, and initially composed of over 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene. At the time, the band's sound was unlike t ...
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The Uptones
The Uptones are an American ska band, based in Northern California. Formed in 1981 by a group of high school students in Berkeley, California, The Uptones were influenced by the English 2 Tone sound, as well as the British mod scene, punk rock, ...
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The Untouchables
Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to:
American history
* Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness
* ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley
* ''The U ...
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Tijuana No!
Tijuana No! is a Mexican ska, rock and punk band from Tijuana, Baja California, México. The band is considered a punk rock, ska band in Mexico and influenced by The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols and Black Flag. In the beginning their nam ...
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Voodoo Glow Skulls
Voodoo Glow Skulls are an American ska punk band formed in 1988 in Riverside, California, by brothers Frank, Eddie, and Jorge Casillas and their longtime friend Jerry O'Neill. Voodoo Glow Skulls first played at backyard parties and later at Spa ...
Post-third wave (starting in early 2000s)
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Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution
Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution, or BOTAR, is a musical collective including influences from ska, punk, classical, and eastern European music, entirely in an acoustic format including classically trained musicians. It is composed of form ...
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Beebs and Her Money Makers
Beebs and Her Money Makers (BaHMM) is an American post-third wave ska band from Orlando, Florida, fronted by Michelle Beebs. The group first achieved national exposure while on the Vans Warped Tour 2013 alongside Reel Big Fish with whom they toured ...
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Bomb The Music Industry!
Bomb the Music Industry! (commonly abbreviated as Bomb or BtMI!) were an American punk rock musical collective from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, United States, led by singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Rosenstock.
...
Capdown
Capdown is an English punk rock band from Milton Keynes. Originally known as Soap, their songs have political themes as alluded to by their name, which is short for Capitalist Downfall. Mixing ska, punk, hardcore, dub, drum and bass, and regga ...
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The Cat Empire
The Cat Empire are an Australian jazz/funk band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1999. For most of the band's duration, the core members were Felix Riebl (lead vocals, percussion), Harry James Angus (trumpet, vocals), Will Hull-Brown (drums), ...
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Chase Long Beach
Chase Long Beach is an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, Long Beach, California, that formed in 2002 by former lead vocalist Karen Roberts and former bassist/vocalist Patrick Fitzgerald. In 2007, they released their first full- ...
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The Flatliners
The Flatliners are a Canadian punk rock band from Richmond Hill, Ontario. Since their formation in 2002, the band has been a growing influence in the Toronto punk/ska movement, with consistently well-received albums and live shows.
History ...
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The Forces of Evil
The Forces of Evil was an Orange County-based ska punk band, formed in January 2001 with the intention of creating a ska supergroup, being the side project of fellow ska punk band Reel Big Fish. The band split in 2005 after releasing a four-song ...
Hub City Stompers
Hub City Stompers is an American ska, reggae and oi! band formed in 2002, based out of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The band includes former members of Inspecter 7, Professor Plum, Predator Dub Assassins, Bigger Thomas, The Best of the Worst, ...
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The Interrupters
''The Interrupters'' is a 2011 documentary film, produced by Kartemquin Films, that tells the story of three violence interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. It examines a year in which Chi ...
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I Voted for Kodos
I Voted for Kodos (often abbreviated IV4K) was an American ska punk and pop punk band, signed to Snapdragon Records.
History
The band was founded in Madison, Wisconsin in 1999, after the singer-trombonist Rick Bisenius met the guitarist Chris H ...
Jeff Rosenstock
Jeffrey Ernest Rosenstock (born September 7, 1982) is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter from Long Island, New York. He is known for his former bands Bomb the Music Industry! and The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, as well ...
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The Johnstones
The Johnstones was a ska punk band from Ajax, Ontario, Canada formed in 2002 and signed to the Union Label Group. In 2006, they signed to Stomp Records of Montreal, released the full-length album Word is Bond and began touring Canada and the U.S. ...
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The King Blues
The King Blues are a British punk rock band from London credited for fusing punk and hip hop together with influences from ska and spoken word. Tariq Ali described the band's sounds as "rough, radical music that should unsettle the rulers of th ...
Lightyear
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
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Locomondo
Locomondo is one of the most known and successful bands in Greece.
The 6-member band fronted by Markos Koumaris, the main songwriter and composer of the group, fuses Reggae, Ska and Caribbean sounds with Greek lyrics and Greek traditional musical ...
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The Locos
The Locos are a Spanish ska punk band formed in 2005. The Locos were founded as a side project by Pipi, the backup vocalist for Spanish ska-punk group Ska-P, after the latter dissolved that same year. Although originally inclined not to rejoi ...
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Missing Andy
Missing Andy is a British mod-influenced band based in Essex. The group comprises Alex Greaves, Jonathan Sharpe, Rob Jones, Steve Rolls, and Elliot Richardson. The band's debut single "The Way We're Made (Made In England)" reached number 38 on ...
No Torso
No Torso was a Norwegian eight piece, DIY ska band from Oslo, Norway. The band began in 2001 as a three-piece with just Eivind, Chris, and Martin as members. Between then and 2006, the band would add members and drop only one until the current li ...
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Oreskaband
is an all-female ska band from Sakai, Japan. As well as performing regularly within Japan, they have toured in North and South America, as well as Europe.
History Origins (2003-2006)
Oreskaband began in 2003 when the members were still in midd ...
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Orpheus
Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
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The Orobians
The Orobians are a ska band founded during 1997 in Bergamo, Italy and still based in Bergamo. They play ska and rocksteady standards (mostly instrumental) with a modern jazz twist.
The name comes from the Orobian Alps, a mountain range located bet ...
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Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra
Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra are a Hungarian ska band formed in Budapest, in 2003. The band's musical style has fused Jamaican-style ska and reggae with jazz melodies and elements of traditional Hungarian folk music.
After their first demo in ...
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Random Hand
Random Hand is a British ska band, formed in Keighley in 2002. Their sound fuses influences from many genres, including ska, reggae, punk rock, Heavy metal music, metal, Hip hop music, hip hop and Dub music, dub. The band is typically associated ...
Rude King
Rude King is an American ska band originally formed in Chicago, Illinois in 2003 before relocating to Dallas, Texas in 2006. Their music is a fusion of influences including early ska, reggae, blues, soul, rocksteady, 2 tone, third wave ska, and ...
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Russkaja
Russkaja (stylized as ЯUSSKAJA) were a ska punk band from Vienna, Austria. The band calls its sound "Russian Turbo Polka Metal." It has drawn on polka, ska, fanfare, pop, rock, and traditional Russian music. The band was founded in 2005 by fo ...
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The Rudimentals
The Rudimentals are a nine-piece ska/reggae band from Cape Town, South Africa. The band's releases include two CDs, ''More Fire'' and ''Set It Proper'', and a live DVD/CD combo of the 2007 Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens Concert. More recently a n ...
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Ska Cubano
Ska Cubano is a London-based group which combines ska and Cuban music such as son and mambo, with elements of other genres including cumbia and calypso.
History
The group was put together by investment manager Peter A. Scott, who in his own wor ...
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The Skints
The Skints are an English reggae punk band from London, described by Clash Music as "the torchbearers for modern British reggae music." The Skints mix reggae, ska, dub, punk rock, dancehall, soul, and rap, touring extensively across the UK, Eu ...
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Slightly Stoopid
Slightly Stoopid is an American band based in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego, California, who describe their music as "a fusion of folk, rock, reggae and blues with hip-hop, funk, metal and punk." As a band, they have released thirt ...
Sonic Boom Six
Sonic Boom Six (often shortened to SB6) are an English five-piece band from Manchester, United Kingdom. Their eclectic sound combines different elements of several genres and has been described by ''Kerrang!'' as "taking ska, pop, grime, dubs ...
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Sounds Like Chicken
Sounds Like Chicken was a band from Melbourne, Australia, which formed in 1999 and disbanded in 2007. They were one of Australia's most well-known ska bands and one of the most popular Christian bands in the country. They were signed to Boomt ...
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Starpool
Starpool is an American ska band consisting of former members of Save Ferris and former No Doubt member Alan Meade. The band's name is taken from a nickname given to trombonist Tbone Willy's house that had a swimming pool shaped like a star, wher ...
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Streetlight Manifesto
Streetlight Manifesto is an American ska punk band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, formed in 2002. They released their first album, ''Everything Goes Numb'', which was distributed by Victory Records, on August 26, 2003. The band he ...
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The Supervillains
The Supervillains is a five-piece reggae, ska/punk band from St. Cloud, Florida. The band has released nine studio albums.
History Formation and ''Self-Titled EP'' (1996–2000)
During the summer of 1996, Floridian high school friends Scott " ...
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Survay Says!
Survay Says! was an American independent ska/pop punk band from Blairstown, New Jersey. Originally forming in 2008 by brothers Henry & Dennis Menzel, Survay Says! developed some following through their extensive tour schedule playing hundreds of s ...
The Unlimiters
The Unlimiters are a German ska band from Berlin, formed in 2010 by members of the German ska band The Essentials (active since 2003). Their music is influenced both by the early years of ska and its later revival in the 2 Tone (music genre), 2 ...
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The Upgrades
The Upgrades were a third wave ska band from Dublin, Ireland. Goldenplec.com named them as their "band of the week"" during March 2009 and hailed them as
Probably the best known unknown band in Dublin.
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Westbound Train
Westbound Train is a ska band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 2001.Apar, CoreyWestbound Train Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2012-03-21 Their name originates from the Dennis Brown hit song by the same name.
Westbound Train released their ...
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We Are the Union
We Are the Union is an American ska punk band from Ann Arbor, Michigan formed in 2005. The band is now based out of Michigan, California and Florida. The band has had numerous lineup changes since its inception, with vocalist/guitarist Reade Wolc ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Ska Musicians
Ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...