by Klaus Kinski

My recent contributions to BV have afforded me the opportunity to wax nostalgic about my checkered past (SKA reference), so why should this article be any different? When I was living in Greenpoint back in 2002, I had two important neighbors in my building; Jeff Mangum and Dave Karcich. And while Mangum had zero impact on my life, Karcich had more of an impact than he would ever know. You see, in high school and college, one of my favorite bands to see was Bim Skala Bim and my favorite venue to see them in was the Paradise. Trombone player Vinny Nobile's phenomenal stage presence made him an icon to my friends and me. Vinny ended up leaving Bim, heading to NYC to form a band called The Pilfers with ex-Toasters vocalist Coolie Ranx. A little ways into their existence, the Pilfers ended up losing their bass player and their drummer. Dave Karcich, former drummer for Connecticut based Ska band Spring Heeled Jack, filled the drumming void. And like zillions of other bands, The Pilfers too saw their eventual dissolution (only to reform just a few years ago).

After the Pilfers, Vinny Nobile and Dave Karcich went on to form a band called Cenzo who, at the time when I met Dave, was kind of on their back burner. As a result of my living down the hall from Dave, and Dave's relationship with Vinny, I eventually got tight with them both, which blew the minds of the folks I stiil kept in touch with from high school/college. Sadly, my relationship with Dave was short lived. After recording my band's demo EP, Dave suffered a massive cerebral aneurysm and passed away on April 5th, 2002. Eventually, Vinny hired me to take Dave's place on drums in Cenzo and for a short while I enjoyed playing sold out shows with Cenzo in support of acts including The Toasters, The Pietasters, Murphy's Law, and The Slackers.

A lot of people give a knee-jerk scoff at SKA because it's apparently unfashionable; admittedly, the thought of skinny ties, checker-accented gear, black and white wing tips, pork pie hats, and massive sideburns makes me feel uneasy. But some of the bands from back in the day, back in my day, continue to bring serious talent and awesome sounds to those of us who are still willing to listen. So I was pretty skankingly excited to see that SKA powerhouses The Toasters and The Pietasters will be sharing a bill with Hub City Stompers and more for an all ages show at BB Kings on 10/29/10. People with even a casual interest cannot pass up the opportunity to see these third wave legends in the same house.

More tour dates below, including Bim Skala Bim, The Slackers, The Pietasters (who also play a boat tonight), and The Toasters.

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