What The Scene Means

So there's thing the ska calender coming out. On the site for they have people from a bunch of bands talk about what the ska scene means to them. Here's my version.

A big part of who I am is because of my high-school. Not that they were the best years of my life, and I made friends I’ll never forget and it prepared me for life, the exact opposite. I didn’t fit in whatsoever. Everyone was a jock or a gino. Everyone had skin tight Hollister shirts and played hockey and chewed skoal and said “unreal” all the time. I was a scrawny kid in a suicide machine shirt.

I had listened to ska music for awhile, no doubt about that. But I hadn’t seen a ska band live. At The first warped tour I went to there was a band playing beside us while we were getting food. Everyone there looked like they were having the most fun of their lives. Instead of trying to kick the shit out of each other the audience was just dancing around in a circle and having a lot of fun. He band threw a giant inflatable microphone onto the crowd and made the audience do this thing where they crouch down and then jump up on the count of ten and go crazy. I was amazed by the aura around the stage when the planet smashers played.

It was later on that year when I got a random call from my guitar teacher telling about a show that was going on that day. I called up a few friends and went to my first ska show ever. It was the planet smashers, the toasters, the pietasters and the pylons. The pylons were just ending as we got their and the show wasn’t that full yet. As soon as the pietasters started everyone went crazy. My friend had been to a show before and dragged me into to “skank” with him. I was having a blast. For the entire show everyone just went crazy. We were up on stage dancing with the bands, singing back-up vocals and everyone loved every second of it.

I left that show feeling incredible and that was all it took. From there I became entirely immersed in the scene and the music. I’d go to at the very least one show a month and during the summer I would be at shows almost every weekend. Bands like the Makeshift Heroes, Keepin’ 6, One Size Fits Most and The Flatliners had shows around the city almost whenever I wanted. This was a place that was free of the judgement of high-school.

I’m not the ska dork I used to be (well I’m still a dork). Most people start off liking one genre of music in particular and then expand to many different ones later in life, I’m no different. I mean when you see me now I’ll have on a Bane shirt and camo shorts, but don’t even think for a second that I don’t still bust out my Bosstones records every now and again.  I’ve thought it many times, that when you feel down there’s only so far that a lyricist like Cuomo or Raneri can take you. Sometimes you just need a good, fun and upbeat ska record to make you realize that life ain’t so bad.

I’ve loved ska for the better part of my life, from hearing “Superman” and “New Girl” on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater to seeing Less Than Jake for the first time. I’m sure I’ll love it for years to come as well.