Third Wave Ska Preservation Society announces '90s ska represses, Kickstarter campaign

Contributed by drummerx. Posted by john on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 10:00 AM (EST)

Asbestos Records and Underground Communiqué have unveiled a joint project to issue vinyl pressings of several third-wave ska records they recently acquired to rights to. The project, The Third Wave Ska Preservation Society, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the pressings.

The records to be repressed are:

Pilfers - self-titled
The Pietasters - Oolooloo
Edna's Goldfish - Before You Knew Better
Suburban Legends - Rump Shaker

The project and and pledge incentives can be read about here.

Bands in this story

Pilfers

The Pietasters

Suburban Legends

Ska and Reggae (126 comments)

Please login or register to post comments.What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?

Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

Lysdexia (November 22, 2011)

There's a "Third Wave Ska Preservation Society"? I thought they just called that, "The time capsule your second-grade class left in 1997 with a Reel Big Fish album in it."

nphilthy91 (November 22, 2011)

Because if we forgot about third-wave ska, it would happen again. And that would be terrible.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Third wave is fine, just take ska-punk back behind the barn and shoot it in the head.

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

I hated the Pilfers when they were around. Love that Edna's Goldfish album though

eatdogs (November 22, 2011)

you down with bim skala bim, or johnny socko??? heck, there's a lot of obscure third wave ska i still dig

the allstonians
let's go bowling
skanana
mail order children
the oc supertones
the blue meanies
critical mass

at least i think most of those are third wave...

leecorsoisapenis (November 22, 2011)

Johnny Socko might be one of the most underrated bands of all time, ska or no ska. God, they were good. Not really the same after Trout left though. They used to play in a bar here in my town all the time when I was in high school. There used to be a picture of my friends and I on their website standing outside the bar, in the snow, with a Socko sign we made. They snuck us in, but the bar found out and kicked us back out. I did manage to see them probably 10 times or so. They were such a great live band.

Also, I agree that Edna's Goldfish album is pretty good. I also never liked the Pilfers much.

Eatdogs, that Critical Mass album was on that Moonska offshoot label, right? I swear I still have one of their albums somewhere.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

I love Johnny Socko, although I really don't care for that last album. I'm assuming that's when "Trout" left? I don't know any of the members in that regard.

leecorsoisapenis (November 22, 2011)

Yup. Trout was the singer. The last album was decent but lost a lot of what made Johnny Socko so great with him gone. They could still play their respective instruments like nobodies business though.

eatdogs (November 22, 2011)

yeah i think so. they coered the beatles on that album i believe. lol

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

I believe it was just on the regular Moon label. And it was a Simon & Garfunkel song.

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

Loved the Meanies and Socko. Was never too into Bim Skala Bim but I wouldn't have turned them off if they came on

The Exceptions
Gangster Fun
The Skolars/ Telegraph (kinda goes without saying really)
Johnny Socko
Parka Kings
The Mad Butchers
AKS Mamma
The Electics
The Pacers

I listened to a ton of ska in the mid 90's
most of the ska bands i was into back then were mid west, usually related to Jump Up Records. At this point the last Socko, Pacers, Blue Meanies and both Exceptions albums are all I regularly listen to out of that list though. And some of the comps (The American Skathic series is always good)

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Hell yes, Jump Up Records. The midwest scene was my absolute favorite of the whole mid-90s American explosion. There was so much eclecticism and experimentation that was missing from the coasts. If Asian Man Records can have their reunion festival, I don't see why Jump Up can't do the same. Didn't they have a huge ska fest of their own with practically all the bands on that list?

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

I think there are youtbe clips of most of them from some show in 2000 or so. A couple of years ago the Mustard Plug xmas show in Detroit had Gangster Fun and the Exceptions (with both Johnny and Damon singing) which was incredible. I would love for a fest with all or even some of those bands but I don't know that it would happen. I know the Telegraph guys were totally burned out after that last show they did over the summer and want to let it rest. Damon has mentioned a few times over the past few years that there is a third Exceptions album recorded but they still haven't released it

leecorsoisapenis (November 22, 2011)

Speaking of Jump Up! Records, anybody remember First Grade Crush? I loved that band, too. Really nice guys too. They had a fun live show as well.

Blue Meanies were one of the best live bands ever, btw. I forgot to mention that in my last post...

Does anybody remember an outdoor show in Indiana (really close to Chicago though) where Alkaline Trio, the Blue Meanies, and Hot Stove Jimmy played? Damn, that show was awesome.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Just a few days ago I pulled a stack of ska CDs I couldn't remember what they sounded like out of my collection to re-listen to, and FGC's 'It's Not You, It's Me' was in there. Weren't they kind of indie rockish? I'll have to give it a spin tonight.

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

I remember a Telegraph show with them opening (at the Metro with Mustard Plug and The Tossers playing after Telegraph) when I was selling merch but I didn't get to see them live. Remember not being too excited about the tracks I'd heard through comps though. Should probably go back and give them another chance though

flood (November 22, 2011)

one of my best friends has been on my ass to reissue the Pacers discography for years..

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

I'd love to have heard more from them, I have Strictly for Lovers and some random comp tracks here and there

Banger (November 22, 2011)

The entire Pacers catalog is available on bandcamp, I presume uploaded by one of the bandmembers:

http://www.thepacers.us/

"Strokes of Reality" was one of the best ska songs of the 90s.

Cos (November 22, 2011)

you forgot the best midwest band: The Adjusters.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

'Before the Revolution' is one of my favorite Moon discs.

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

Best soul ska band for sure

schaumpton (November 22, 2011)

Was always a fan of The Eclectics. Their full length album ruled. Plus, Albini recorded it. punx

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

They had at least two of them that I own, one with Damon singing and one with guest singers on each song. Did they ever release an album with Roy singing? I know there was at least a few 7"s with him but I don't remember seeing any full lengths.

schaumpton (November 23, 2011)

I do not know. I only saw or heard them with Damon singing. I am aware of another album, but i never cared to listen after I heard they were going away from the original sound. I remember seeing one of their last shows w/ Damon, I think they opened for Mustard Plug. One of the guys was dressed as Eddie from Iron Maiden and another was Paul Stanley.

xmikeiscoolx (November 27, 2011)

Roy was the best! There were at least two cassettes released when he was still in the band. There was the 6 song "Don't Jump" and 4 song "We Can Make It Happen." The 7" version of the We Can Make It Happen EP had that cool live cover of Just Like Heaven.

flood (November 22, 2011)

we did an Allstonians reunion show in boston when we booked the pilfers reunion tour... they're still sooo damn good. Allston Beat was one of the best moon releases. The Blue Meanies were incredible too

majic (November 22, 2011)

Fuck off.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

This fucking pisses me off. Considering the vast amount of ska records from the '70s, '80s and '90s which are genuinely lost - whether they were never issued on CD or fell completely out-of-print - I simply don't see the point in spending money to "preserve" albums which can be found on iTunes.

Seriously, I can buy a copy of 'Rump Shaker' on CD RIGHT NOW, but if I wanted to find any of, for example, the classic late-'80s releases from Skank Records or Unicorn Records, my best bet would be to fly to the UK and hope I get lucky browsing through used record stores. Even with American third wave, there's TONS of bands from the early '80s which have been almost entirely lost to time or never had their work properly issued on CD (remember the original 'New York Beat!' compilation?), so why are we fighting to "preserve" bands that are still actively touring and recording?!

If anyone wants to know why the American ska scene is complete shit right now, it's because nobody can get their fucking priorities in order. Maybe if we worked harder to keep the good ska as opposed to the mediocre shit nobody will care about in 20 years, we'd have a lot more better bands and a much stronger scene. Christ.

ExtraCheesePizza (November 22, 2011)

Amen to this. I would donate to your kickstarter page. Saying.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Luckily there are a lot of great resources like Tone And Wave ( http://toneandwave.blogspot.com/ ) which work hard to keep many of those lost and obscure ska recordings alive through digital uploading, but quality-wise, it's no different than getting a DVD bootleg of a film taped from VHS. THESE are the recordings that need to be re-issued and made widely available, not CDs one could find in the used section of their local retail store.

Dante3000 (rich) (November 22, 2011)

So my kickstarter to repress Smash Mouth's full length is something you might be into? That's what you're saying, right?

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Did enough people buy the original pressings of Smash Mouth's albums to warrant a re-issuing? O_o

lostcausegiveup (November 22, 2011)

are smash mouth ska? all i know are their terrible singles which appear in every shitty preview/movie ever made.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

They were ska-ish at a time when it was popular to be so. Truthfully, they probably flaunted it more than Goldfinger did. Hoobastank's first album was ska-punk, and that unfortunately harbored the dawn of humanity's spiral into the apocalypse.

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

The Bravery started as a ska band as did the Rasmus in Finland

It's kind of funny how many of those bands jumped ship so fast and so hard once 98 rolled around and horns were seen as evil in the scene

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

That, or even worse, they turned into swing bands.

eatdogs (November 22, 2011)

i think it was just the singer. he was in skabba the hut...

flood (November 22, 2011)

the singer definitely fronted skabba the hut.. i still have the demo haha

secretagentska (November 23, 2011)

Come-on (cum-on?), they were never ska-ish, that's just like saying NOFX are ska-ish just cause they have 1 or 2 ska tinged tunes on an album. The media threw around the term ska quite often, but they also said punk is dead, yet here we are on punknews.

Skibz777 (November 23, 2011)

Have you never listened to 'Fush Yu Mang'? There's a good chunk of ska-punk tunes on that record, from what I recall. They kind of ditched it immediately afterwards.

Steeves88 (November 22, 2011)

Do you feel there are currently any good ska bands on the scene today Skibz, or should we all be looking to the past?

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

In the American scene? I'd have to do some searching, but I'm sure there's only a small few of note. Elsewhere in the world, I've heard some promising talent from the UK and Europe. Admittedly, I'm an old fogey and I prefer to stick with my vintage records (I'm also a collector) so I don't closely follow any new acts unless they get some good press on any of the ska blogs I follow.

"Ska blogs I follow"...jeez, and I wonder why I'm single...

Steeves88 (November 22, 2011)

Anything good you can recommend? I find myself getting increasingly bored with general ska-punk these days.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

What, of new stuff? I've bought, like, only 5 or 6 new ska albums this year, most of them from older bands. If you want recommendations, then go find someone who actually gives a shit about what a stranger might listen to in their spare time. It's not that hard to find blogs or message boards.

flood (November 22, 2011)

theres a kinda cool movement in the UK with bands really blending ska/reggae/punk/hip hop thats pretty incredible... sonic boom six, the king blues, and some other bands are all really worth checking out.

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

I'll have to check that stuff out later on when i get home. Sounds interesting

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

I'll be honest, I'm not sure if I love it or hate it. The King Blues totally reminds me of EMF though, that much I'm sure of

NotSteven (November 22, 2011)

Since we're talking about genuinely out of print records, try Plan of Action by The Kingpins. You can't even find used copies on Amazon.com, and there's only one on Amazon.ca going for 1,000 dollars (what the fuck?). But you can find a 19 Megabyte zip or rar file on the internet. If you find yourself looking for an album that really doesn't sound generic, that's a good one. Also it's just a good one anyway.

Whereas you actually can still buy all of those albums on Amazon.com. I know Moon Ska doesn't exist anymore, but there are a lot of those albums still leftover that you can buy used and new (as new as one might consider 1998 or whatever).

rumblefish330 (November 22, 2011)

Green Room Rockers are pretty good

leecorsoisapenis (November 22, 2011)

An Indiana band too!

rightcoast (November 22, 2011)

So you're saying the ska scene needs to pick it up pick it up pick it up a little bit and stop being lazy?

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Dang, I apologize for the anger and profanity. Should anybody behind this project read this, I don't feel *that* strongly against the concept, it's just that I tend to get rather emotional and protective when it comes to the ska. Kudos to you for doing this, regardless, even if I don't fully follow the idea. Sorry.

flood (November 22, 2011)

Simple solution homeboy... start a label, get the rights , and reissue the records that are important to you. These records are from bands i love, and am friends with, and it would make myself, and my friends happy to own copies of them on vinyl. See i got off my ass and did something .. you are sitting on the internet complaining. Thats the difference between us.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

I can't even load my dishwasher without severing an artery, I wouldn't know how to run a record label! I got my degree in business, not recordology. Plus, do you really feel justified in pulling the whole "then why haven't you gotten off your ass yet?" spiel? I haven't even had the time to make breakfast, let alone start working off an idea based on a complaint I made *26 minutes ago*.

flood (November 22, 2011)

i started my label when i was 16, and had no idea what the hell i was doing. No excuses .

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

I've actually talked with some people about starting a label, but I just don't think I can handle it. I buckle under pressure quite easily and I'm downright incompetent in nearly every facet of business...I'd mismanage it right into the ground and have lawsuits up the wazoo. Plus, I don't think my heart's really in it.

gotsubverted (November 22, 2011)

We also got this!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/59430281/the-infamous- jake-and-the-pinstripe-mafia-lp-proje

mattramone (November 22, 2011)

Ska? Kickstarter? I assume Matt Flood is behind this.

flood (November 22, 2011)

guilty as charged :)

ragdoll (November 22, 2011)

I think you mean Kickskarter.

gotsubverted (November 22, 2011)

We are open for Ideas on other records to press! this is just the start people! The more money made, the more records that can be pressed!

phantom_maggot (November 22, 2011)

I actually loved that Pilfers ST. I might have to pick that up.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Someone's gonna slag me off for this, but
'The Elements of Transition' > 'Before You Knew Better'

flood (November 22, 2011)

always disliked Elements because of the production on it... those songs live killed.. but the cd itself never did it for me.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

They were just a solid, tighter band by that album. First album's kind of sloppy, but I guess some people find that endearing.

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

I'd agree to that actually. The songs are so much better written on that album. Too bad they went on to The Reunion Show after that album. That band was pretty horrible

mightybombjack (November 22, 2011)

if the entire mephiskapheles catalog isnt included than forget this. someone somewhere needs to remaster those albums and give them the royal treatment they deserve. especially 'god bless satan.' that album is perfect from start to finish.

flood (November 22, 2011)

we've been in talks with the band for a long time on this, i have faith it'll happen... alot of these records are tough because you have to track down like 10 people, a good number of whom probably havent spoken since the band broke up... so it takes time to get stuff done

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

I have cursed myself for not picking up their later albums when I had the chance years ago. God Bless Satan holds up a lot better than most albums from that time.

Also wish i hadn't lost my "Mephiskapheles is my co-pilot" patch

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

I never understood the praise behind that album, and I've listened to it for over a decade. Must be a regional thing. I liked 'Maximum Perversion', though.

NotSteven (November 22, 2011)

I personally like that album just for Saba alone. And I mean that literally, it's the only track I listen to. Maybe I'll give the album a thorough listen again sometime, but Saba is like the Party at Ground Zero of the east coast.

flood (November 23, 2011)

seriously... that track slays... i still play it all the time

secretagentska (November 23, 2011)

I think the world is a better place now that Mephiskapheles is being used in conversation again, let alone they may be re-issued.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

The term "third wave" doesn't really hold much relevance outside of America, does it? I mean, why would it? Many countries are still technically in their first wave as their scenes weren't so easily delineated by specific points of commercial notoriety. That's always kind of pissed me off. It's like the ska version of our country's insistence on using imperial units.

flood (November 22, 2011)

ive always viewed it as 60's jamaica, late 70's UK, and then mid ninties America. Its more of just a record of when the music was charting/popular

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Yeah, but there's more to it than that. It's like super-generalized. If you were splitting it up between time periods, then it makes sense, but it's never seemed fair to designate it to those specific scenes. I mean, there was a late-'80s revival in the UK, wouldn't that count as a "third wave"? And what of other countries whose scenes began in the early 80s, what does the term "third wave" mean to them if they weren't part of the American scene whose national success begat the term in the first place? Even as a kid, it never made sense to me.

flood (November 22, 2011)

theres plenty of disagreement in what they actually mean.. some people wanna go for style not time... so its trad/2-tone/punk-ska.. personally i just prefer time period. And yeah theres always been plenty of mini-revivals.. the late 80's had the police and UB40 type stuff... as well as bands like Bim, the bosstones, ny citizens etc.. i don't get too worried about terminology or else i'd drive myself nuts

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Yet so many people place such emphasis on it. Case in point being this campaign. Wouldn't "American Ska Preservation Society" worked just as well? Does that mean it might exclude anything produced before 1993?

flood (November 22, 2011)

just a catchy name... theres definitely older records we wanna do as well. so far we've done the first slackers, first mustard plug, both spring heeled jack, and the rudiments/suicide machines split

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Whoever thought it was a good idea to re-issue the first Mustard Plug album has no business having a career in music.

flood (November 22, 2011)

who wants a career.. i just want an enjoyable hobby :)

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Then go bowling or something. Christ.

skolarx (November 22, 2011)

Thanks to this post (and the conversation above) I'm now listening to American Skathic 2 at work. Amazed at how good some of these bands that I used to skip over in favor of the bands I knew better are (Stinkfish, Suspect Bill, Tha Skatet)

Will have to break into my 7"s when i get home tonight I know i still have at least a few from The Jinkies, Superdot and who knows what else at this point. Nostalgia is fun

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Nostalgia is for assholes! If it's not modern, then it should be held up to modern standards: time should have no effect on emotions. >:(

eatdogs (November 22, 2011)

i blame save ferris and reel big fish...

eatdogs (November 22, 2011)

even though i like both of them...

johnnyz77 (November 22, 2011)

yeah Monique is hot. RIP save Ferris!

Cos (November 22, 2011)

I'm guessing the Pietasters album is the only one on this list that was ever released on vinyl. The Pilfers album was self-released, and I don't remember them selling it on anything but CD.

flood (November 22, 2011)

the only one that was ever on vinyl was Ednas'... but that was a small german pressing, and is pretty much impossible to find... i only know one person who has a copy.... most of the band doesnt even own one

fresnoska (November 22, 2011)

I have one, bought it on ebay years ago for like $15 :D

flood (November 22, 2011)

you interested in getting rid of it?

askthemagic8ball (November 22, 2011)

I've been looking for one for years...

fresnoska (November 22, 2011)

Sorry, I hold onto my ska collection for dear life......Once I'm dead and gone, I wonder if my kids will throw them in a dumpster.

tmuda (November 22, 2011)

I saw Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto last night. That was a fun show. I thought it was kinda weird though that Reel Big Fish was opening. The venue was pretty packed, so I guess ska is still fairly popular and not "dead" as implied on that record in the pic.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

The fact that Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto are still playing shows is a pretty strong testament to the validity of that record's claim. I can almost smell the hot stink of decay wafting from its putrescent corpse....smells kind of like Jeff Rosenstock.

fresnoska (November 22, 2011)

How in the hell is RBF opening? Would people show up if they weren't on the bill?

NotSteven (November 22, 2011)

You'd be surprised. Of the people I've met in my life, the Streetlight Manifesto fans definitely outweigh the Reel Big Fish ones, and if they like both, they usually prefer Streetlight Manifesto.

MN_DrNick (November 22, 2011)

Skibz, you are really pretentious to hate on this. Idiot....

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Sorry, maybe my mind will change when these hardcore ska fanatics come up with their next plan of "preserving" the rare albums of obscure bands like Less Than Jake and 311.

MN_DrNick (November 22, 2011)

I would very much love some LTJ vinyl yes. Thank you.

Also, the Pietasters rule. Deal with it.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

I love The Pietasters. 'Willis', man, 'Willis'. You're not making a convincing argument against me.

ericb (November 22, 2011)

Willis is pretty solid though the only Pietasters album I still bump is Oolooloo. I believe that they had a mild case of what Dave Hillyard refers to as the "funk virus," which he argues claimed many of the "3rd wave" ska bands. I think that theory has some serious validity.

Though I also absolutely love their cover of "I can't stand it." Call me trad... oi! oi!

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

I love Dave Hillyard, but his anti-third wave bias gets quite annoying at times.

NotSteven (November 22, 2011)

Dave Hillyard was really just referring to Californian bands in the 80s. I read those myspace posts, too. Made me realize he's a real cynical bastard, man. Makes good music, though.

mill83 (November 22, 2011)

There are roughly 73 more comments than this topic deserves...

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

That's almost twice the number of people who still listen to ska music in 2011! :-o

cuffer (November 22, 2011)

Oolooloo is one of the best albums in the genre. Listen to that album if you haven't yet. DO NOT listen to Rump Shaker. Holy shit that album/band is embarrassing

ericb (November 22, 2011)

Two thumbs up for this comment,

eatdogs (November 22, 2011)

high fives to all the guys!!!

cardboardroom (November 23, 2011)

Lies. Rump Shaker is a fucking good album.

secretagentska (November 23, 2011)

I still say 'Strapped: LIVE' is the greatest collection of Pietasters, let alone sak, songs out there

flood (November 23, 2011)

the band said we could strapped as well if we wanted... we're gonna see how the proper album does, and hopefully we can do that one as well... and yeah its def one of my favorite live albums

Heathbar (November 22, 2011)

Reading this thread made me re-realize that I know nothing about ska.

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Count yourself among the lucky ones.

tonyregret (November 22, 2011)

Skibz, I just wanted to say that you are a giant fucking idiot and reading your comments make me feel embarrassed for you. Ska doesn't need your support

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

You're just jealous because I'll have the blue 'Oolooloo' vinyl before you will. >:D

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Although looking at some of the shit you listen to, I'm guessing you've never even heard of The Pietasters. Damn. Well...I'll get you next time, anonymous stranger. Next Kickstarter campaign. >:(

gotsubverted (November 22, 2011)

I wouldn't know you knew the pietasters either man. based off your punknews profile

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

Touche, ma'am...touche...

gotsubverted (November 22, 2011)

Skibz made a donation!

Skibz777 (November 22, 2011)

I never said I wouldn't...

ehxen (November 22, 2011)

That Pilfers record is so good.

secretagentska (November 23, 2011)

I still can't figure out why people who are not into something get on sites just to say they don't like what it is they are reading about. I don't search out Britany Spears forums, I just stay the hell away from those turd nugget people.

Skibz777 (November 23, 2011)

PunkNews is a public forum where everybody can comment on stories of many diverse topics. It's a totally different matter to complain on a forum which is devoted solely towards one subject (such as Britney Spears), but here, a negative comment has as much validity as a positive one, just as long as people aren't assholes about it.

....like me, I guess.... :(

lostcausegiveup (November 25, 2011)

jesus tap-dancing christ. skibz, you just summed up everything in one fell swoop. goddamn,.