Pilfers are an American

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 ...

band formed in 1997, when former

Toasters A toaster is a small electric appliance that uses radiant heat to brown sliced bread into toast. Types Pop-up toaster In pop-up or automatic toasters, a single vertical piece of bread is dropped into a slot on the top of the toaster ...

vocalist, Coolie Ranx, at the urging of Pietaster's vocalist Steve Jackson, joined with former

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 ...

trombonist, Vinny Nobile. To complete the lineup, they recruited the

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) *'' ...

rhythm section of Anna Milat-Meyer on bass and James Blanck on drums, as well as guitar player, Nick Bacon of The Erratics.

History

The band released one demo tape and played many

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

area shows, before self-releasing their debut, self-titled album, in 1998. Response was positive enough, that the band was signed to

Mojo Records Mojo Records was a California-based record label founded in 1995 by producer Jay Rifkin. It became a joint venture with Universal Records in 1996 and then sold to the Zomba Group in 2001, who placed it under their subsidiary Jive Records.

, and they released ''

Chawalaleng ''Chawalaleng'' is the Pilfers' second full-length album, and their first and only to be released on a major label. It was released on September 21, 1999 through Mojo Records. ''Chawalaleng'' is a record that blends pop, metal, reggae, dub, har ...

'', one year later. Soon after their major label debut, Anna Milat-Meyer and James Blanck, left the group. Anna Milat-Meyer took a position, playing bass, in Latin Jazz band, Los Mas Valientes. Carl Barc, of the band Ever Since Day One, took over on bass and Dave Karcich, formerly of

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 ...

, took over on drums. The band continued to tour, and build a strong fanbase. The band recorded a live show at

CBGB's CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

, intending for it to be released on CD. The album would never see release though, since the band split up on July 13, 2001. Soon after the breakup Coolie Ranx started a solo career, recording and playing shows around the world with back up band Fear Nuttin' Band. Nick Bacon joined

Lost City Angels Lost City Angels were a punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Their most well-known line-up consisted of members, Ron Ragona, Adam Shaw, Chris Duggan, Drew Indingaro and Nick Bacon. Overview Lost City Angels were founded in 2001 by Adam ...

, who were looking for a second guitarist. On December 9, 2001, Nobile, Barc and Karcich, joined with Spring Heeled Jack guitarist, Mike Pellegrino to perform as Cenzo for a Ska For Youth benefit show to raise money for the Twin Tower Orphan Fund after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

on the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

. Karcich also took the drum position in Avoid One Thing, a band fronted by former

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 ...

bass player,

Joe Gittleman Joe Gittleman (born April 6, 1968 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American musician, best known as the bass guitar player for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. His proficiency on bass earned him the nickname "the Bass Fiddleman." Career Gittlem ...

. Karcich suffered a sudden brain aneurysm and died on April 5, 2002. Eight months later, a tribute show was held at

Toad's Place Toad's Place is a concert venue and nightclub located in New Haven, Connecticut. History The building, located on York Street down the street from Ashley's Ice Cream and across an alley from Mory's Temple Bar, was the original location of t ...

, in honor of Karcich. During a performance by Cenzo, Nobile and Barc welcomed Coolie Ranx and Nick Bacon onstage for a brief Pilfers reunion. On November 4, 2005, the original five members of Pilfers, reunited at the

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

, in

for a sold-out show. Two more reunion shows took place at the same location on May 6, 2007 and January 25, 2008. Coolie Ranx continued with his solo career as Vinny Nobile continued with Cenzo who promoted their album ''Maybe Now''. Nick Bacon continued to pursue other musical projects in

, making his film debut in the 2007

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

and

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...

film, '' Music and Lyrics''. In 2009, he appeared on '' Rescue Me'' as a member of Mike Lombardi's band, Apache Stone. In 2008, Pilfers performed nine shows outside of NYC, including six shows in November with Sonic Boom Six. Pilfers performed two shows on the second leg of the ''Ska is Dead 4'' tour. They played on November 14, 2009 at the Showcase Live in Foxboro, MA, and November 15, 2009 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ. Pilfers performed for a Haiti benefit concert at the Knitting Factory on April 23, 2010 with Karen Gibson Roc, Tsunami Rising, and Across The Aisle. In November 2011, Connecticut's

Asbestos Records Asbestos Records is an American independent record label in Stratford, Connecticut, United States, founded in 1996. It was established as a business to release albums and compilations for local bands, and to book shows at the Newtown Teen Cente ...

and Chicago, IL's Underground Communiqué Records launched a fundraiser together on Kickstarter to release Pilfer's self-titled album on vinyl, among other third-wave ska classics from

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 ...

, Edna's Goldfish, and

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 ...

. If the funding goal was met by January 18, 2012, the records were scheduled to be released later in the year. In 2013, Pilfers toured with

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 ...

across the U.S. and Canada. Joining for this tour was Ben Basile (bass) and Billy Kottage (trombone/keys). In addition, Pilfers, with their original lineup, headlined a show at The Gramercy Theater on January 19, 2014. This show marked the first time that Coolie Ranx and his son, singer-songwriter/rapper Mark U, will share the same stage.

Band members

Current line-up

*Coolie Ranx - Lead Vocals *Dan Wenger - Trombone and Backing Vocals *Vic Rosario - Guitar and Backing Vocals *Steve Capecci - Bass Guitar *Phillip Wartell - Drums

2013 Tour line-up

* Coolie Ranx - Lead Vocals *Billy Kottage - Trombone, Vocals and Keys *Nick Bacon - Guitar and Vocals *Ben Basile - Bass Guitar *James Blanck - Drums

2000/2001 line-up

*Coolie Ranx - Lead Vocals *Vinny Nobile - Trombone and Vocals *Nick Bacon - Guitar and Backing Vocals *Carl Barc - Bass *Dave Karchich - Drums

Original line-up

*Coolie Ranx - Lead Vocals *Vinny Nobile - Trombone and Vocals *Nick Bacon - Guitar and Backing Vocals *Anna Milat-Meyer - Bass Guitar *James Blanck - Drums

Discography

* ''Pilfers'' (cassette demo) (1997) * ''Pilfers'' (1998) * ''

'' (1999) (Mojo Records) *''Pilfers'' (2012, vinyl reissue) (Asbestos Records) *''From Far'' (2015)

Critical reception

Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

Curtis Zimmermann described the 1998 debut, ''Pilfers'', as "... an intense hybrid of ska, hardcore, and hip-hop that comes out sounding drastically different from many of the groups contemporaries ..." and as a "ground-breaking album" for the genre.

References

{{Authority control Third-wave ska groups American ska musical groups