Ska Boom - An American Ska & Reggae Podcast

Welcome to the Ska Boom podcast. This episode marks the conclusion of the Soul Salvation series, which has served as the audio companion to my book Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat. Across 18 episodes, I’ve explored the legacy of the English Beat and their final album, Special Beat Service, highlighting its significance to a generation of music lovers. This final episode encapsulates the journey of celebrating a band that has profoundly influenced so many –...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant...

Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast! This season is called Soul Salvation and its the companion to my new book “Soul Salvation – A Gen X Love Letter To The English Beat." Through the book and this podcast I’m telling the story of the Special Beat Service album which embodies both the brilliance and the bittersweet end of the English Beat whose songs served as a soundtrack for thousands of Gen Xers like me. The book and this podcast is my tribute to the band’s final, triumphant ...

Hi! It’s Marc Wasserman! It’s been a minute. But I’m glad to be back. Welcome back to the Ska Boom podcast and welcome to Soul Salvation, a limited edition series about the English Beat and their third and final album Special Beat Service that was released in 1982. I have a question for you? Can music save your life? I believe it can. Not surprisingly, many great thinkers across the ages have considered this question. The 18th century German romantic writer Jean Paul Friedrich Richt...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. When it came time for The English Beat to create a logo for their first album and for marketing posters and advertisements they called upon Hunt Emerson who is a noted British cartoonist and comic book artist. Emerson drew the Beat Girl from an orig...

In this episode, I focus on the incredibly influential and often overlooked role that Eddy Grant has played in merging the sounds of ska, reggae, pop, dance and rock music. I’ve always been a huge fan and consider Grant a musical futurist who has successfully combined the best of James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley into something completely unique. I’ll be taking a look at Grant’s diverse musical career and will also dig into his most well known American hit “Electric Avenue” which ...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the so...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of this podcast is talk about ska with an emphasis on American ska history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. In this episode, I’m speaking with Noah Shachtman, the edito...

Welcome to Ska Boom Stories which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of the Ska Boom podcast is talk about ska with an emphasis on American ska history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. Though Augustus Pablo never gained the international rec...

Welcome to Ska Boom Stories which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of the Ska Boom podcast is talk about ska with an emphasis on American ska history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. Like me, you’ve probably heard 'Pass the Dutchie' many t...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of this podcast is talk about ska with an emphasis on American ska history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. In honor of the 30th anniversary of Stubborn Records, I inte...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae. The musical development which ignited Danny Elfman’s interest in starting Oingo Boingo and inspired him to start writing his first conventional pop songs was the emergence of British 2 Tone ska bands whose music reminded him of the Highl...

In honor of Black History Month and as part of my mission to share unique and often untold American ska stories, this episode of Ska Boom Stories is dedicated to John Spence the original lead singer of No Doubt.Spence often gets short shrift whenever the story of No Doubt is told and regrettably his contribution to the band has been somewhat overlooked and slightly scrubbed from No Doubt’s history. On the one hand I understand that because his story is a sad one. But the truth is that wi...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae.If any band deserves the title of punky reggae kings its Steel Pulse. They helped invent British reggae and their debut single "Ku Klux Klan: is definitely one of the great punk singles, without actually being a punk record. Steel Pulse w...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae.If any band could give the 2 Tone bands and The Clash a run for their money when it came to singing about the state of politics in the late 70s and early 80s, it was the Gang Of Four. And, if you listen carefully, many of the band’s earli...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae.On February 27, 1986, the Cosby Show, then the most popular TV show in America aired an episode that featured the music of Black Uhuru. Let that sink in for a moment. How often did you hear roots reggae on American network television in t...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae.I first became aware of Grace Jones late one night during the mid 80s when I happened upon her video for “My Jamaican Guy” on Friday Night Videos. For younger listeners, Friday Night Videos aired on NBC and was an attempt by the network t...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of this podcast is talk about ska and reggae with an emphasis on American ska and reggae history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. In this episode, I’m speaking with Gra...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae.The Members were one of the prime movers in the era's cross-cultural mix of reggae and punk. The NME wrote of the band in 1978: “Of the many rock bands co-opting reggae into their act, few do so with as much love and style as th...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae.So it was only a matter of time before I got around to talking about The Police and their embrace of reggae. If you are of a certain age -- I’m looking at all of my fellow Gen X-ers – then the band’s early records Outlandos D'Am...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of this podcast is talk about ska with an emphasis on American ska history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. In this episode, I’m speaking with Horace Panter – bassist f...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. The goal of this podcast is talk about ska with an emphasis on American ska history and the bands, musicians and people who have helped to create and influence a uniquely American version of ska and reggae that spans from the late 70s until today. In this episode, I’m speaking with Jayson Nugent – guitarist...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggaeThe convergence of punk with reggae and ska in the late 70's and early 80's resulted in some significant musical developments leading some punk and post-punk bands in England to experiment with the sound of reggae and dub in particular.Reg...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggaeThough drum and bass rhythms drive the various eras of ska, rocksteady, reggae, 2-Tone, dancehall and beyond, drums and drummers have defined each distinct phase. And like the divide in rock music that occurred in the mid 70's when s...

Welcome to “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggaeThe convergence of punk with reggae and ska in the late 70's and early 80's resulted in some significant musical developments leading some punk and post-punk bands in England to experiment with the sound of reggae and dub in particular.Reg...

Welcome to the first episode of “Punky Reggae Party” a special audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the historical origins and impact of reggae on popular music that will explore the phenomenon of punk and post-punk bands adopting the sounds of reggae The convergence of punk with reggae and ska in the late 70's and early 80's resulted in some significant musical developments leading some punk and post-punk bands in England to experiment with the sound of reggae and...

Welcome to a special edition of the Ska Boom podcast which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History. I was very sad to hear that Astro, the vocalist and DJ for UB40 and later the splinter group UB40 featuring Ali and Astro passed away at the age 64 on Saturday November 6th. This episode is a tribute to him and the iconic role he and UB40 have played in popularizing reggae around the world. Astro – born Terrence Wilson – got his nickname as a k...

Welcome to Ska Boom Interviews, which is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History now available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon. In this episode, I’m speaking with Brendan Tween the guitarist and vocalist who co-founded Mephiskapheles along with drummer Mikal Reich. The two now play together in the New York-based ska band Barbicide Mephiskapheles started in New York City in 1990 after Brendan's hardcore band The Shaved Pigs sp...