Third Wave ska bands...

[Steven Denney Shafer II]

I need some help...

I have reccently been getting into a lot of third wave ska. Early to mid 90s especially. NOT SKA PUNK. but I am having a hard time finding bands that are not ska punk. I'm talking about bands like Let's Go Bowling, The Toasters, or Undercover S.K.A.

I really want some of these style bands to add to my collection, so if you could list some of your favorites, lemme know.

NOT SK-PUNK.

[skaisyourfriend]

The Skunks were an incredible group, Jeffries Fan Club (not much punk-but a little), Magadog was very 2-tone-y, The Usuals - traditional and female fronted, Regatta 69, I'm sure I could think of more but these should keep you busy for a while.

[Skibz McCullock]

Ah! So it's third wave you're after, eh? I'm surprised you know of Undercover S.K.A....they're pretty obscure, but a really good band.

My favorite third wave band ever (now defunct) is one called The Siren Six! from Minneapolis. They're on MySpace, but the bad live songs don't do them justice. They're sort of a Mod-ish, 2-Tone type of third wave, with a bit of an indie rock vibe and really good lyrics. Their second album found them getting more into New Wave-type ska rock.
This is their cover of the Pixies' 'Holiday Song'. It's not representative of their work, but it's a start.

The Agents (New England jazzy third wave)
The Allstonians (Boston third wave with a first wave spirit)
Bim Skala Bim (the Boston version of The Toasters, featuring some of the best trombone players in the genre)
Easy Big Fella
(Isaac Green &) The Skalars
Johnny Socko (they alternate between ska-punk and third wave, but worth checking out)
Johnny Too Bad and the Strikeouts (third-wave garage mod)
Magadog (horn-heavy 2-Tone; 'Dui-N-I' is their best album)
Monkey (a recent band, just now getting into them)
The Parka Kings
Regatta 69
Spider Nick & The Maddogs (East coast third wave. A must!)

Any mid-90s ska compilation is worth checking out...'Skarmageddon', 'American Skathic', etc., etc.. I chose only bands that had more than one CD...I know a bunch of obscure bands that only had one album, but what I've given should be more than enough....for now....

[Steven Denney Shafer II]

I've heard of all those but Usuals, Ill check them out.

[Steven Denney Shafer II]

I love Undercover S.K.A. with great enthusiasm. I have been obsessed with "The Things Men Do" since I got it yesterday. One of the best albums I've heard.

Alas, I've heard most of those guys, but I'll check out the rest. I get most of my third wave from a moon ska comp called "Skarmageddon" which changed my view on third wave ska completely.

[TavoSka]

Alpha Boy School!!!! Exellent German Ska Band!!!

[Brixton Beat]

Ok, well all of these bands have some "3rd wave" style songs, but a lot of them may also have "2-tone", trad ska or ska-punk, or all of the above. I tried to leave off the totally obscure stuff (why bother if you can't find it, right?) Oh, and by the fact that I mention these, they must be good ..as I have great taste in ska :P

Big Dog Small Fence - Very good 3rd wave
Bigger Thomas - Some really good 3rd wave, quite 2-tone-ish (and amazing live!)
The Blaster Master - Euro 3rd wave and 2-tone
The Bustups - Female fronted Euro 3rd wave, trad, reggae.
Boss Relief - Funky 3rd wave, some punk-ishness
The Darelicks - Sound a lot like Cherry Poppin' Daddies (ska-wise), some alt rock/punk
Goldfinger - You probably know these guys ..mostly ska-punk
Greg Milka Crowe - Some trad/neo-trad and rock steady, some "acousti-ska"
Las Cabriolas - 2-tone-ish 3rd wave
The Nods - Freakin' awesome 2-tone-ish garage ska ..pre-Slackers material
The Jinkies - Female fronted neo-trad and 3rd wave
The Kingpins - Trad/neo-trad and 3rd wave
Lo & The Magnetics - Female fronted off-shoot of the Kingpins ..aaaawesome new wave-ish/2-tone-ish ska
Mad Caddies - 3rd wave, other genres (swing, rock, etc), some ska-punk
Fishbone - You know them...
Mento Buru - Mostly trad, some Toasters-esque 3rd wave
The Pacers - 3rd wave, ska-rock/metal, reggae.. try to find stuff from these guys!!
The Pilfers - Some really good stuff!
The Smooths - Like the Siren Six! (mentioned earlier) ..veeery goooood!
Squad 5-O - Mostly punk and ska-punk, but some good 3rd wave
Agent 99 - Female fronted, exellent stuff, some ska-punk
Animal Chin - Some ska-rock, ska-punk ..goooooooood!!
Area 7 - Australian ska-punk, some 3rd wave
The Busters - German 2-tone, some Toasters-esque 3rd wave
Cut Once - All waves
The Dingees - Punk, some 2-tone-ish 3rd wave, some trad and reggae
The Donkey Show - Some trad and reggae, some 2-tone-ish stuff ...find their stuff!!
Ednas Golfish - Some ska-punk
Engine 54 - Love these guys.. neo-trad and 3rd wave
The Gadjits - Some trad, some 3rd wave, some rock
Highball Holiday - One of my fave bands ever! Female Fronted neo-trad, 2-tone-ish ska and reggae
Mealticket - Female fronted... goooooooood stuff
Dance Hall Crashers - Female fronted, some ska-punk ..you should know them
King Apparatus - Super-dooper Canadian 3rd wave
Metro Stylee - Female fronted garage rock-ish ska, some trad and reggae
My Superhero - Some ska-punk, emo-ska (!?)
Skofflaws - Trad and 3rd wave
The Skalars - Trad/neo-trad and 3rd wave
The Skeletones - Some funtastical 3rd wave, 2-tone-ish stuff, punky, funky, etc.
The Skalatones - Euro 3rd wave and 2-tone
Skanic - 2-tone and 3rd wave
Skinnerbox - All waves, punk, reggae, etc.
Steady Ernest - Off-shoot of Bim Skala Bim ..some neo-trad
Stinkfish - Pre-Siren Six! new wave-ish ska
The Suspects - Some good stuff
Umbrella Bed - Pretty good 3rd wave
Unsteady - Some good stuff
The Uptones - 2-tone-ish early 3rd wave

...and I know from your radio thingie you know of:

The Planet Smashers
The Skadaddyz

[TheCheat2189]

The Blue Meanies, and check out Westbound Train. A lot of the others have already been mentioned...

I think you'd like The Cat Empire. Amazing, talented band. They're more jazz/latin, but they definitely have a big ska influence. Listen to their song, "The Chariot".

[Steven Denney Shafer II]

awesome list. I've heard of a lot of them, but most I have not.

[Steven Denney Shafer II]

Blue Meanies are very ska-punk. I love WBT, but they're more trad revivalist.

And I am a big Cat Empire fan, but aren't they only a couple years old?

[Chris Da Maddog]

"A Must"?

haha Skibz, you're going to make me blush :p

Just to clarify:

Hi!

My name is Chris and I play trombone in Spider Nick and the Maddogs, Bigger Thomas and The Rudie Crew (ex skinner box/stubborn all stars).

Here's some background on these bands:


The Agents (New England jazzy third wave) - gone the way of the dinosaurs I believe. I heard talks of a reunion but, i fear they were just talks. They had a few cool tunes, and a really nice cover of "sally brown"

The Allstonians (Boston third wave with a first wave spirit) - Really cool band that just got back together after a couple year hiatus. Right now you can see their tenor sax player Tommy touring with Bad Manners. Interesting factoid, he and the alstonians trombone player also play with Darkbuster (a boston punk band with a few tunes that use horns)

Bim Skala Bim (the Boston version of The Toasters, featuring some of the best trombone players in the genre) - Sadly defunct with various members now living in various corners of the world. On the bright side though, both their trombone players, Vinnie and Mark moved onto great bands (Vinne - Pilfers, Regal Begal. Mark - New York Ska Jazz Ensemble)

Easy Big Fella - Defunct

(Isaac Green &) The Skalars - The Skalars were a 3rd wave band for their first few releases. Their last album tended to slow things down a bit and head back to a more traditional sound (after Isaac Green had left).

Johnny Socko (they alternate between ska-punk and third wave, but worth checking out) - I still contend that Full Trucker Effect was probably the best 3rd wave ska cd to ever come from a US band in the mid 90s, however after that the band dropped their ska, picked up a rock feel and attempted to work the college circuit. Last I heard they were pretty much doomed to inactivity. Still that one cd is freakin great!

Johnny Too Bad and the Strikeouts (third-wave garage mod) - I remember hearing about this band, and not thinking too much of them at the time... maybe I'll have to give them another listen.. i mean its been like 8 years.

Magadog (horn-heavy 2-Tone; 'Dui-N-I' is their best album) - Meh, I could never get into them really. I appreciate the talent, but they just never did it for me. I believe they are also defunct (as with much of the old moon ska roster)

Monkey (a recent band, just now getting into them) ... Not THAT recent of a band. True they still play and tour, but they've been around for over a decade now havent they?

The Parka Kings - one of the first ska bands i ever really listened to. Check out their early stuff on jump up if its quality 3rd wave ska jams that you're seeking.

Regatta 69 - VERY interesting band. The singer/songwriter started this band down in North Carolina, but after the band broke up initially he decided to move to germany. He restarted the band there with a group of people from all over europe. I played a show with them once, and they were very nice people.

Spider Nick & The Maddogs (East coast third wave. A must!) - I joined the band about 4 and a half years ago, and its been a pretty fun ride. They were actually the first band I really got into in Jr. high and then fate led me back to them after I'd played in a few of my own bands. New album coming out soon. If you're looking for 3rd wave ska heavy material, seek out the first two cds first, Voyage to the Palace of Kali and Firepit, and then move onto Bonedog (which has a bit more of a punk rock feel than the previous records).

[Chris Da Maddog]

Excellent Ska cover of Boys Dont Cry

[Chris Da Maddog]

As mentioned above, I play trombone in Bigger Thomas! Thanks for the compliment! We've only really played 2 shows on the west coast (some dinky bar in san diego and the first LA 3FOS), so to find someone who saw us and remembers us fondly is pretty cool.

We're currently celebrating our 20 year anniversary this year, and have errily enough played with a few of the bands on this list over the last 6 months or so.

so far this year (2008 only) we've had shows with The Pilfers, Bad Manners (uk 2tone legends) and we have shows at princeton university tonight and tomorrow and a gig with The English Beat in May. Keep any eye out for us possibly making our way back out west sometime in the near future.