The Slackers: Unconfined ska at The Casbah

The Slackers at the Casbah (Photo by Steven Bartholow)

Six well dressed musicians step up bathed in the pink glow of the stage lights, don their respective instruments and break into a downbeat rhythm lifted by a volley of horns. The Slackers begin their sermon at the Casbah, transformed for the moment into the “Church of Slack.” I swear I heard someone yell Hallelujah!

Do the SKA! Depending on when you were born, the word might bring to mind entirely different types of music. From the original Skatalites to The Specials to Reel Big Fish, the many waves of ska eventually sent The Slackers to the shores of San Diego.

For those whose only experience with ska is the 90’s wave of pop-punk-ska epitomized by Reel big fish, you are missing out on the real thing.

At the moment the two national titans of traditional ska are arguably The Slackers from New York and The Aggrolites in L.A. If you haven’t already, be sure to check these bands out.

If you like to get out on the dance floor every-now-and-then, but, like me, can’t actually dance, get down to a ska show and learn to skank. That’s right- skank it up. It’s kind of like a slow motion mosh pit, no one’s getting roughed up, in fact it’s an atmosphere of brotherly love. You let everything go except the music, meditating like a whirling dirvish. Some of my happiest moments have been while skanking.

But, The Slackers are not strictly ska, it’s hard to assign them a definitive genre. Their music is full of soul, R&B, and downright rock at times. They are touring behind the 2008 release “Self Medication,” a healthy mix of sounds a bit different from earlier LP’s. Perhaps because it is their first album on Indication Records, a new label run by members of The Pietasters, legends of ska in their own right.

Enough about that, onto the show-

Saturday’s show opened with Social Green, a groovy local ska-reggae band that puts on a unique and lively show- just what the crowd needed to whet their appetite for the night.

See Spot's drums lit up the stage... literally. (Photo by Steven Bartholow)

The next act, See Spot, is a well rounded band hailing from Burbank. They kept the crowd happy, toes tappin’ and bodies groovin’ with a mix of roots ska, latin, rocksteady, jazz, and big band influences. Think classic UK two-tone brought up in Southern California. Their drummer also happens to play with the Aggrolites- the L.A. ska scene is a tight knit group with musicians that tend to bleed between bands. This is the first time I have seen this group, though they have been around since the early nineties. I will be letting you guys know the next time they come to town.

By the time The Slackers came on the crowd was more than ready to show their love. A heavy bass line brought the band together for Rider, off their 2006 album Peculiar, a relatively new song already recognized as classic Slackers.

Frontman, Vic Ruggiero, a witty vocalist with a sharp tounge and a brutal Bronx accent, turned a snare drum problem into a five minute comedy routine, and a situation that could kill the mid performance vibe was laughed off and enjoyed by everyone in the room. This is par for the course for a Slackers show, a good time all around.

The Slackers saxaphonist David Hillyard can wail so hard you’d think there were three of him. He is a hometown San Diegan, and I want to know where he earned his chops. Look out for a profile on him in the near future.

Glen Pine, on trombone and vocals, looks like he could play James Bond, and if he did, Marcus Geard, playing electric bass like a standup in a bright white suit would definitely be the Bond villain- his devious scheme would probably involve armies of hard hitting bass riffs taking over the entire world.

The SD ska scene showed up in full force, all the friendly faces made it to this one. Most notably “Auggie” Christman founder of Skank Out, a promotion outfit that has revived the SD ska scene in the last couple years, pumping up the fan base and creating a more ska friendly atmosphere at venues around town. “Duke Duel”, a local force in ska oriented graphic design and promotion, was also there, along with Reggie Costa, one of the musical geniuses driving San Diego ska. They are all members of the Amalgamated, an up-and-coming ska-reggae group with a show at O’Connells Bar this Saturday. I know that’s where I’ll be.

Bottom line- The Slackers are made up of amazing individual musicians that have formed a “über band” not to be missed.

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Steven Bartholow is SDNN’s Multimedia Editor and San Diego ska correspondent.

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 12th, 2009 at 2:53 pm and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.