Category: Ska

Saturday Matinee – The Courettes, The Holophonics & Dan Patlansky

Dubbed The World’s Greatest Two Person Rock ‘N’ Roll Ensemble, Flavia & Martin Couri, aka The Courettes, make retro new again. Hop hop.

The Holophonics are a ska punk reggae band with members from New York City, Dallas/Ft. Worth & Southern California. At least they have a Facebook page.

This trio consists of Dan Patlansky / guitar & vocals, Tom Schwan / bass and Ben Matthews / drums. Patlansky is a blues guitarist from South Africa, was voted the No. 4 Best Guitarist in the world. He’s the only artist with two worldwide No. 1 and two No. 2 Best Blues Rock album awards as voted by Blues Rock Review.

Been another week full of Time Flies and I still haven’t figured out how to slow them down. I plan to be up at the crack of noon tomorrow for porch time and we can discuss our options then. See you when you get here.

Saturday Matinee – The Young@Heart Chorus, The Linda Krieg Trio, The Hacklers & La Perra Blanca

What started out in 1982 at a Western Massachusetts elderly housing project to joyfully pass the time instead of passing before your time has developed into the stereotype-defying, generation-crossing musical extravaganza better known as The Young@Heart Chorus. 

Linda Krieg is one of the few prominent blues harp players in Germany and a fixture in the Rhine-Main blues scene. Her trio includes Dominik Krauss (guitar) and Klaas Wendling (bass); she also tours with her guitarist husband Oliver Hell as Mrs. Krieg & Mr. Hell.

The Hacklers are an Irish Ska band based in Kildare. They formed in 2014 and “developed their own distinguished sound, a mix of Ska and Reggae blended with their own unique ‘Extra Stout’ Irish flavour.”

Alba Blanco, aka La Perra Blanco, is a blues/rockabilly guitarist from Cádiz, Spain, and has been performing since the age of 14. This video highlights her stage act, kind of over the top with the mugging, but her talent shines.

Another long week gone in no time, and it’s already the weekend. We have big plans for tomorrow, or maybe we don’t. See you on the porch noonish.

Saturday Matinee – Cimafunk, Raskahuele & Seratones

Erik Alejandro Iglesias Rodríguez, aka Cimafunk, chonks out Afro/Cubano grooves with some hip hop on the side. Nice blend.

L.A.’s Raskahuele from a few years back. (Don’t mind the Toaster, the music gets better).

They’re part rock, part psychadelia, part R&B and part soul, but mostly Seratones is lead singer and guitar player A.J. Haynes. When asked what inspires her, she responded, “Afrofuturism.”

Since tomorrow is Fathers Day, let’s schedule some quality Sitting-On-The-Porch-With-The-Dogs time. Have a great weekend.

Saturday Matinee – Ren Gill, Mocca Garden & Laid Back Country Picker

Ren Gill is a Welsh musician / performance artist who tells heavy (and often dark) stories in his songs and videos.

I was about to categorize him as merely a talented multi-media character actor until I read his horrific story in the Daily Mail. In 2009 he woke up severely ill with what he described as the worst hangover he’d ever had, but it didn’t go away. After years of misdiagnoses that included physical and psychological treatments, specialists eventually identified the culprit as chronic Lyme Disease in 2016.

Mocca Garden is a ska / reggae band from Thailand. Can’t find much about them, but this (translated) page explains what to wear to their shows.

Laid Back Country Picker (LBCP) is guitar slinger LB, Honey Bun on drums, and that’s about all anybody really needs to know.
[h/t Gorehound]

Have a great weekend folks and we’ll deal with the balloons tomorrow.

Saturday Matinee – Raoul Servais, Doo Rag, Flat Duo Jets & Raskahuele

Harpya, by Belgian animator and filmmaker Raoul Servais, is based upon C.L. Moore’s 1933  creepy short story Shambleau.

Music video for the song Trudge by Tucson, Arizona duo Doo Rag, shot on 35mm film. Pure roots blues industrial punk is kinda hard on the earballs, but I like it.

Flat Duo Jets  performed a cover of Benny Joy’s Wild Wild Lover on Letterman in 1990, with backup by Paul Schaefer’s Late Night band. Don’t know how I missed these psychobillies. Dexter Romweber was/is an animal.
[h/t Gord S for both Doo Rag & FDJ.]

L.A.’s Raskahuele is tight  My Spanish is too slow to translate, but sometimes I don’t need to know the words.

Have a great weekend, see you back here tomorrow, at least for a while.

Saturday Matinee – Aaron Moloney, Markus Proske & Lollypop Lorry

Aaron Moloney‘s Toast (2017) won an RTÉ 60 Second Short Award.

Markus Proske‘s 4-string electric cigar box guitar.

Lollypop Lorry covered the Wailers’ / Skatalites’ 1964 hit Simmer Down in style – wait for the trumpet solo. Not bad for a ska band from Russia.

Okay, outta steam, outta time, gotta go, be back tomorrow, seeya.

Iatromathematical Hot Links

Sea Cruise, Rico (1980) One of the most prolific session players of Jamaica’s pre-ska era, trombonist Rico Rodriguez (1934-2015) also recorded as a solo artist. He was an honorary member of The Specials, and was a longstanding member of Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.

Written by Huey “Piano” Smith, Frankie Ford scored a gold record with Sea Cruise in 1959.

If I was a bug.

Saharan sand.

1844-pack of PBR.

Instant Karma.
[via Feral Irishman]

Dinousaurs ate bees.
[via Memo of the Air]

Cornered waterspout.
[via Mme. Jujujive]

The 1933 Miami Air Races.

The Donora Smog Museum.

Animals chasing laser pointers.

Aliens – the honest movie trailer.
[ht/Wheels.]

The number of European pigs per sq. km.
[h/t Possum]

[Top image: Photocollage of the colors of the moon by Marcella Giulia Pace, h/t Paul Y.]

From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.

Saturday Matinee – Avner the Eccentric, Khruangbin & Raskahuele Estridente

That’s some class clowning. While street performing in Paris,  Avner Eisenberg (aka Avner the Eccentric) was once arrested for buffoonery in public.

Space surf funk jazz mixed with world music = Khruangbin.
The name is Thai for “aeroplane,” and they make their recordings in a barn in  Burton, Texas (pop. 300). There’s more about them here than on their cool website.

Formed in 2004, L.A.’s Raskahuele Estridente is sort of a latino version of Fishbone, and I like their style.  Their song topics include socio-political / immigration issues mixed in with fun stuff.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, fight for the leftovers, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.

Blennophobic Hot Links

No More Doggin’, Roscoe Gordon (1952)One of the original Memphis “Beale Streeters,” Roscoe Gordan‘s breakout hit Booted made No. 1 on the R&B singles charts in 1952; No More Doggin‘ made No. 2 the same year. Gordon (and Fats Domino) influenced Jamaican pianist Theophilus Beckford, and Gordon’s back-beat style is credited as the foundation of Jamaican ska, bluebeat (Jamaican R&B) and reggae.

Rivers.

Frog Game.

I need this hat.

Bozo Fish Mask.

Gumby’s final days.

Aikey Brae and stuff.

Bushman scares dogs.

“What are you, French?”

25 new buses lasted four years.

Dan Akroyd explains Bass-O-Matic.

Clay Head with Turkey, Cheese and Ants.

Go taste-tripping with synsepalum dulcificum. Everyone should try a “miracle berry” at least once.

[Top image from here.]

From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.

Saturday Matinee – A Banana, Бра́во, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones & Cam Cole

This banana comes with a cool Django Reinhardt vibe.
[Found here.]

Marty Robbins goes to Russia? Бра́во [Bravo] was founded in 1983 in Moscow, was one of the most popular underground acts.
Ветер знает [The Wind Knows] sounds just like the real deal. (There’s an English version here.)

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones‘ song intro has been stuck in my head for months and now that I’ve rediscovered it I can finally sleep at night. This live version is from 2011.

Cam Cole, busker, bluesman, rocker, recording artist, and “the most impressive one-man band you will ever see” nails the blues to your forehead and plugs it into your ears. This guy is definitely one to watch for.

Have a great weekend, something else will show up here tomorrow.