In Defense of Ska

Comedian Felipe Esparza may have won Last Comic Standing in 2010 and is currently touring theaters. But probably the most important thing to know about him is that he loves ska. We’re talking Madness, The Skatalites, Los Skarnales, Toots and the Maytals and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. 

We talk about all these bands with Felipe. But the group we spend the longest time on is Voodoo Glow Skulls. Felipe is friends with the group; he uses a...

There were a lot of ska-punk bands in the ’90s. Perhaps, none were more out there than Northern CA’s Janitors Against Apartheid: A wild group that played hyper-fast ska and had a singer who sang about Punky Brewster and Little Caesar’s in a demented Kermit the Frog voice. And the stage show was completely unhinged. Usually, stuffed animals were getting destroyed. 

This week, we talk to the sax player (And later le...

They said it couldn’t be done, but In Defense of Ska laughs in the face of such faithlessness. It's with great pride and honor that the crew unveils this week's episode -- a lengthy discussion and breakdown of the infamous mozzarella stick ska meme that has come to define the genre's culture across the internet. Listen now.

Join the In Defense of Ska investigation team as they dive into the meme's history, its impact...

Eras of ska are, in part, defined by the ska labels. This week on In Defense of Ska, the crew chats with the head of one of those labels helping make the modern age of the genre -- Chris Reeves, owner/operator of Ska Punk International. Listen now.

With Reeves' business and artistic insight, In Defense of Ska explores the bands that helped the label carve out its ethos, as well as its continuing legacy. Then, hear all about the ...

New Orleans had a surprisingly big ska scene in the late 2000s. This caught the attention of In Defense of Ska host Aaron Carnes after he wrote the first edition of his book on the genre (also called In Defense of Ska). Today on the podcast, Carnes recaps and re-airs a recent panel he hosted in New Orleans about the era, touching on the bands o the time, the impact of Katrina, and more. Listen now.

Carnes had previously caught up wi...

In England, two-tone ska was absolutely huge -- but only for a brief time. By the early ’80s, the country had moved on to other sounds in pop music, and most of the two-tone bands broke up or moved on to play non-ska tunes. But in this vacuum, a band called Potato 5 formed. This week on In Defense of Ska, the band's four original members jump on the horn to chat about the unlikely story of Potato 5. Listen now.

Potato 5 wasn'...

This week on In Defense of Ska, the gang travels to the ska-loving country of Japan to interview the amazing ska-punk group Hey Smith. Listen to the band's singer and primary songwriter Shu and trombonist Ume (also of Kill Lincoln) chat about the band's growth, music, and more now.

The In Defense of Ska crew, Shu, and Ume discuss everything from the band's origins to their most recent accomplishments, like signing to a m...

This week on In Defense of Ska, host Adam Davis takes the spotlight to detail his time touring with his ska band Omnigone. The act hit the road back in March, and along the way he interviewed a whole bunch of interesting and notable characters, all in the name of seeing what life is like when you're on the road playing ska music. Listen now.

Having returned from the Omnigone tour, Davis tells road stories and explores how tourin...

There’s a piece of Gilman (the legendary underground venue) lore that involves a huge fight between punks and nazis in the late '80s. Thankfully and expectedly, the punks kicked the nazis' butts. So much so, in fact, that the latter never showed their faces at Gilman again. Such is the tale now used as inspiration for the new film Freaky Tales, which features the likes of Pedro Pascal and Tom Hanks. On this episode of In De...

At the moment, Dubioza Kolektiv are one of the biggest ska bands in Europe. The Bosnia-based group melds ska, reggae, hip-hop, and alt-rock, fusing it all with traditional Balkan elements. This week on In Defense of Ska, the band joins the podcast to talk about their sound, their story, Eurovision, and more. Listen now.

Dubioza Kolektiv chat about the time they almost made it on Eurovision, what it was like to grow up during the Bos...

Let In Defense of Ska introduce you to The Chains, a new ska band out hailing from Denmark. Their sound leans heavily into traditional ska, rock steady, and boss reggae, and they put out a killer album last year, Crying on the Dancefloor. This week on the podcast, the band joins the crew to chat about the ska scene in Denmark, their new music, and more. Listen now.

Ahead of their set at this year's Supernova International Ska Fe...

This week on In Defense of Ska, the crew asks a question that has been on everyone's mind: What the hell is crack rock steady? Along with author and fellow ska-enjoyer Jeff Burk, the crew discusses the subgenre in all of its glory. Listen now.

The gang tackles everything from crack rock steady's unique musical elements to its aesthetic to its lyrical approach. Along the way, they chat about the groups that helped forge the s...

When people say they want ska music to come back, what they’re really saying is that they want ska music to once again be a part of the pop music world. If that were to happen, though, it likely wouldn’t sound anything like '90s ska-pop (Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, Mighty Mighty Bosstones). Simply put, pop music has changed. So, what kind of ska would fit into the current landscape of pop? To answer that question, Catbite and p...

Back in the mid '90s, ska was on the rise in the United States. Ready to ride the wave, a new band formed in San Jose, California, that specialized in ska-punk and pop-punk tunes, and they called themselves Smash Mouth. Of all the ska tunes on their debut album, Fush Yu Mang, though, it was the non-ska single "Walking on the Sun" that became the hit. The band hasn't played ska since... until now.

On this episode of I...

For most of his life, the legendary Bob Marley was actually something of a cult artist. After his death in 1981, though, his popularity only grew and grew. Now, he stands as a bonafide icon. On this episode of In Defense of Ska, Bob Marley expert Roger Steffens joins the podcast to chat about where Marley's legacy stands in 2025. Listen now.

From his hugely popular posthumous album Legend to last year's biopic One Love, ever...

Kayleigh “Kmoy” Malloy released The Precure Album in 2021. It’s a brilliant, ska concept album that could be described as “Laptop Ska.” That’s changed. Now Kmoy is a full band with guitars and drums. And it sounds incredible. But something else is happening in the world of Kmoy. The Precure Album is finally getting a vinyl release. You can pre-order it here!

This week we talk to Kayleigh (and Anj Capizzi, who did the art for the vin...

At this point in their career, perhaps it’s unfair to call Los Fabulosos Cadillacs strictly a ska act. The band blends the genre with reggae, wider rock, and various Latin rhythms. However, when they started in the mid-’80s, they were certainly a ska band. Good enough for us! On this episode of In Defense of Ska, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs founder and saxophonist Sergio Rotman joins the podcast to chat about the band, politics, and ar...

It's no secret that the In Defense of Ska crew loves them some Mike Park -- the musician, ska aficionado, and Asian Man Records founder. So, this week, the gang invites Park's best friend onto the show -- Chris Candy. Listen to Candy discuss Park, his own band Chotto Ghetto, Vans Warped Tour, and more.

Candy, the son of comedy legend John Candy, has a whole host of stories to share. Be it his hijinks playing in ska bands in ...

In 2008, when the “Jesus Is a Friend of Mine” video blew up on YouTube, it seemed almost too good to be true. An early '80s Christian ska video from public access television? Was this even real? The video is hilariously of its time, the lyrics are religious but also kind of silly, and the ska music at its core — incredibly — is actually good! On this episode of In Defense of Ska, the gang gets into the true story of the ska-tas...