LINKS/INFO
Texas Bands-links are up to sites that are often updated, band without sites or massively out of date sites just have info
FREE RADICALS-Houston instrumental trad ska, reggae, jazz, funk, Indian music. These guys are very serious and skilled musicians. Check em out, their site has some songs for ya too.
SECRET AGENT 8-Ska Fusion from Texas City. This large band gets better and better each time I see em, and they kicked ass to begin with. They have two albums out, and you can hear songs from each at their site. Extremely diverse music ranging from two tone to smooth, soulful reggae. The song "So Cold" epitomizes the band to me, in that its ska influenced yet totally unique sounding. You want to see these guys live.
LOS SKARNALES-Houston Ska/Punk/rockabilly. Expect to hear everything from punk to rockabilly to reggae at their live shows, which are extremely high energy. Songs are in English and Spanish. They have a couple CDs out.
SOUND PATROL-Incredible 5-person ska/reggae group from Houston whose music tends to be on the slower and dubbier end of the spectrum. These guys are good songwriters, but the vocal harmonies really blow me away. They have a damn good CD out called "Slow Motion," but now they have another singer that isn't on that album. Seriously, don't miss a chance to see this group live. Ragga, one of their singers, has a great stage presence and is entertaining as hell on top of the great music.
THE STINGERS-Austin ska/soul/rocksteady. Very impressive songwriting, musicianship, and vocal harmonies. These guys are killer live, so check em out when you can. You can also get their first album from their site. Their newer material is much better, but I definitely recommend "Punk at 15" and "16 Guns." Check out their other songs if you like it. They have a very good ep out "Big (In Mississippi)" that's available on Grover records. Their latest full length, "This Good Thing" has gotten fave reviews for its songwriting and lyricism. Often compared to the Slackers. Later this summer, they're backing Laurel Aitken in Europe.
BARGAIN
MUSIC-not their official site,
this one has lots of high-quality shows and songs. Nice!
ANOTHER BARGAIN
MUSIC SITE-another unofficial site, has a great live show on it.
BRENT BERRY-Amazing reggae influenced singer/songwriter out of Kansas, get some songs from the site, yo!
DUBCAT-members of Sublime, Long Beach Dub All Stars, Hepcat, and dub guru the Scientist! Get 4 tracks from their site
GO
JIMMY GO-Soul drenched ska and reggae from Hawaii
THE PLAYERS-these
guys play rootsier stuff as well as my favorite third wave type tunes.
PRESSURE COOKER-Boston trad ska and reggae, their site has some sweet live tracks
RHYTHM DOCTORS-organ driven cali skinhead reggae
THE SLACKERS-only the best for our friends, exclusive songs too
SPECIAL DISASTER TEAM-oklahoma skapunk
THE
STEADY UPS-Cali skinhead reggae, lots of great vocals + music for
ya!
THIRD GRADE SCUFFLE-oklahoma skapunk
TWO
AND A HALF WHITE GUYS-ska and reggae from utah, get some songs
from their kick ass new album here!
THE UPRIGHTS-Trad
ska from Kansas
WESTBOUND TRAIN-Soulful, Soulful reggae from Boston
GROVER
RECORDS-probably the best ska/reggae label at the moment. Always
has a pop-up that plays music when
you enter the site.
LAWLESS STREET-Old school reggae, especially of the skinhead bent. Not a big quantity of titles, but great quality
MEGALITH
RECORDS- Buck and Chucks new label
MOON ROOM RECORDS-Do yourself a big-ass favor and listen to clips of the new Go Jimmy Go album here
RIVERCIDAL
SYNDICATE RECORDS-CA based trad ska, reggae, and dub label. Bringing
you the self-titled
Debonaires and Primosonic Rhythms v.1, two of my favorite albums.
JUMP UP RECORDS-Lots of imported ska, this and rivercidal is where I get all my good CDs.
ABOUT.COM SKA+REGGAE-lots of features, great forum
PLANET SKA-reviews, news, etc. good stuff!
RUDE ROOTS-interviews, reviews, articles
SKAPUNKANDOTHERJUNK-more reviews, interviews, etc, more punk flavor
SOUTHERN SKA-very nice site ranging from Texas to North Carolina-info, reviews, shows, etc.
TEXAS RUDE GIRLS-very cool site with very sweet show listings for San Antonio
TIMEBOMB--Austin-based punk zine
BAY AREA SKA-Covering the San Francisco Area Scene
BOSTON SKA-Boston ska stuff, has some live songs for ya
DC SKA-cool, cool graphics on this page
ORANGE COUNTY SKA-oc scene
OKLAHOMA SKA-yes, oklahoma ska.
THE ORIGINAL SIN-covering Long Island area
SKA PUNK & OTHER JUNK-shows for northeast US
SYRACUSE SKA-unsurprisingly, syracuse ska
UTAH SKA-yes, they have ska in Utah