Ska

You may or may not be familiar with Ska, a music genre that began in Jamaica. I remember it becoming popular with Ska bands like Madness, The Specials, The [English] Beat, and to some extent, ska influenced songs by UB40 and the Clash.   Some classic Ska songs from my younger days include "One Step Beyond," "A Message to You Rudy," and "Ghost Town." Later in life there was a heavily ska influenced band in Bloomington called Johnny Socko, true entertainers that often played at The Second Story.

When our friend Anne texted me and said there was a ska band playing in Nelson tonight, I was intrigued.  Ska bands in New Zealand are a fairly rare commodity, let alone ska bands in Nelson. When I heard their name, I had to go.  Ladies and Gentlemen . . . .

 BATTLE-SKA GALACTICA

Check out the keyboard player to the right.  Is he ready to play?

They were great.  A lot of people attended and a lot of people--old people--were up dancing.  They did a couple of covers but most of their material is original and quite good.  The front man for the group, Saali Marks, came and sat with Anne and I at the break and we had a great discussion about the band, how they got into ska, their roots in the Nelson School of Music, and their politically charged song "Wake Up NZ."