Andy Pohl Aaron Carnes loves Ska. He loves it so much, that he has dedicated the last seven years of his life putting together his soon to be released book, In Defense of Ska. The book is a love letter to the genre, diving very deep into the music’s history, cultural impact, and evolution.
In the book, Aaron takes us from the dancehalls of Jamaica to the working class neighborhoods of London and over to the orange groves of Anaheim as he delivers tales of the various groups of bands that helped to showcase the music since the 1950’s. There is an entire chapter dedicated to defending Reel Big Fish, a great story about how a little known Ska band in the East Bay area became a HUGE inspiration for the young lads in Operation Ivy and Rancid, as well as the story of how Let’s Go Bowling avoided being gunned down in their van after a gig. It’s really a great book that anyone who appreciates Ska would enjoy.
Aaron has written for the likes of Playboy, Salon, Bandcamp Daily, Sierra Club, Sun Magazine and is the music editor at Good Times Santa Cruz weekly newspaper. He spent several years as a the drummer for the hyper Ska Punk band Flat Planet, and has toured with the likes of Skankin’ Pickle and MU330 doing merch and roadie duties. The book comes out in May of 2021 via Clash Books and is available to pre-order now.
You can follow Aaron Carnes and his activities via his website. He also curated an In Defense of Ska Spotify Playlist which features many of the artists featured in the book.
To hear music from some of the bands mentioned on this episode, as well as our other episodes, checkout our official Spotify Playlist (and be sure to click that ‘Follow’ button).
Question The Answers Podcast is hosted by Andy Pohl, who is the founder of Sell The Heart Records and the guitar player for Tsunami Bomb. Every week we will be presenting a brand new episode featuring an individual that has made a contribution to the independent music scene in some way. Check back here on Wednesdays for a premiere of each episode, and you’ll also be able to find us on Spotify, Apple Music, Stitcher and other audio podcast streaming services in the days following the initial premiere.
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