In Defense of Ska

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...

The past few years have felt like something of a modern renaissance for hardcore music. There's Soul Glo, Scowl, Sunami, and other bands whose names presumably start with the letter "S." On this episode of In Defense of Ska, the crew swaps out that "S" for a "Z" to chat with Braxton Marcellous, guitarist of Zulu. Listen now.

Marcellous chats about everything from his work with Zulu to the Southern Califor...

We need more ska supergroups! Mutiny and Rude Girl Revue are both amazing. But today we reveal that Joan Jett the Blackhearts drummer Michael McDermott is in the ska group The Kilograms, which formed in 2023, along with Mighty Mighty Bosstones bassist Joe Gittleman, THEE Sammy Kay, Craig Gorsline and J Duckworth. After a handful of releases, on April 4, they release their debut LP, Beliefs and Thieves

Ska and reggae are global genres, but the specific region in which a band originates undeniably influences their sound. Case in point, the wonderful world of British ska. To explore the minutia of the subgenera, this episode of In Defense of Ska welcomes Josh Waters Rudge, guitarist and vocalist of The Skints. Listen now.

The ska scene our friends across the pond cultivated take from such specific, niche influences that, as Rudge te...

No question about it, The Beatles forever changed the face of music -- but that's a discussion for another day. This week on the In Defense of Ska, the crew instead wants to look at the iconic band's relationship with ska and Jamaican music. Listen to the hosts chat with Jorge Pezzimenti (of The Loving Paupers and formerly of The Pietasters) and Jay Nugent (of The Slackers) about The Beatles and ska.

As seen in both the work...

Welcome to Season 5 of In Defense of Ska! After a quick break for the holidays, hosts Aaron Carnes and Adam Davis are back for even more ska-tastic interviews, conversations, and analysis. To kick off the new season, the crew invites music critic Rob Harvilla (of the 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s podcast) to chat about '90s music, ska erasure, and the songs that defined the 2000s. Listen now.

As the host of 60 Songs That Explai...

In Defense of Ska is taking a few weeks off for the holidays. But don’t worry, we're re-running our favorite episodes from Season 1 to hold everyone over. This week, we’re revisiting an early episode that many of our listeners missed with Alex Begay about the Tuba City venue The Crack Shack. 

Back in the early 2000s, the Crack Shack was one of the wildest, coolest DIY venues. It was located in the Native Nations community, Tuba ...

In Defense of Ska is still on break for the holidays, but don’t worry, there will still be an episode every Wednesday! We’re re-running our favorite episodes from Season 1, and this week we’re revisiting our all-time favorite episode: Tim Cappello.

"Who is Tim Cappello?," some of you may be asking. If you grew up in the ’80s, you probably saw him in the horror film The Lost Boys. He had a small part early in the film, playin...

2024 is just about finished, so In Defense of Ska hopped on the mic and looked back at a year's worth episodes. This year, we talked to two members of 311, 1 member of Operation Ivy, did a full breakdown of Skachella, and a whole lot more. 

In order to properly discuss this year’s episodes of In Defense of Ska, we brought on THEE Mike Park and our editor, Chris Reeves. Mike is very opinionated this year. Did we have some bad epi...