Syracuse Ska Forum

Excuse me pulling this quote from another thread:



I think Karenjacktastic makes a couple good points here worth discussing more in depth ...

1) If you don't have a good beat (preferably ska, but others work too), then don't expect us to dance to your band. We might like you just the same, but we can't dance if there isn't a dance beat there. I'm constantly amazed how many bands seem totally oblivious to that simple trusism.

One reason ska has endured is that people naturally love the ska beat. It naturally makes them wanna move. Bands for 40+ years now have exploited that simple fact and gotten millions of people to dance to them. For some reason, some bands don't think its the beat, but something else, but what that is, I'm always unclear ...

2) Horns are common to ska, but ska does not equal bands with horns. Its constantly irritating that some people fail to understand that. I love good horn parts and tight horn sections can be heavenly. But I also love early Suicide Machines, Op Ivy, The Selecter, The Hotknives, Dance Hall Crashers, Chris Murray, Daly's Gone Wrong, etc., etc. that have no horns at all. I really wish more bands would explore that avenue of ska.

And I'll state publicly here that I'm dying for a new ska band to arrive in Syracuse that does a good ska beat without horns ...

Early DHC actually did have horns. ("The Old Record: 1989-1992")

I don't have else to say though because I agree with everything you said. I do, also, love the fact that despite being five hours away from where DGW are from, you have brought them up a number of times in the 24 hours that I've been posting here. That's awesome.

I love Daly's Gone Wrong and have brought them to Syracuse twice now and hope to bring them back again sometime soon ...