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Show University EKe0IIIO TME May 15, 1998 - May 21, 1998 Weber State African Jammaocao lka Soothing souls around the globe IS 4 ' r ' ' V - i A" i 4 : I? : " A By Dennisia Whisler senior reporter-77e Signpost M Although the PieTasters are from Washington D.C., they have made several stops in Utah over the years to put on some spectacular shows, with Alan Makranczy on sax. The PieTasters are scheduled to return to Salt Lake City with Warped Tour on July 11. any musical concepts are forgotten be fore they're even heard, because they could not evolve as society progressed. However, even if a musical concept can change according to society's demand to be entertained, it usually undergoes a metamorphosis and becomes something different from its original concept. The musical concept of ska is unique, because it's simple and is able to evolve without changing into something completely new. This is because it has only one law of doctrine it must be danceable. This guarantees its universal appeal and novelty. It will never age, because it will always be too young to die. Ska is presently going strong because of such groups as Let's Go Bowling, the PieTasters, the VooDoo Glow Skulls' and The Mighty Mighty BossTones. However, this is the "Third Wave" of ska, and although it still holds the original concept of ska sacred, its means are eccentric. Ska is a musical concept like jazz or rock and roll. It is dance music with Jamaican "mento" influences as well as those of jazz, blues and swing. Guitars, drums and horns are all vital instruments to playing ska, while vocals and keyboards, like piano or organ, add a nice sound, but are not essential. Accordions can be added, but they usually aren't. Guitars are played rhythmically, as in "mento," focusing on the up of the second, third and fourth beats. The drum and bass beat on the second and fourth beats shows ska's jazz and blues roots. As far as chord progressions go, simplicity is the key that makes for memorable lyrics and great dancing. The most common progressions are as follows: I-vi-IV-V; I-IV -V, and I -IV- V9 -1. Ska was started in Jamaica in the late 1950s by the working class as a release from the pressures of daily life. As Jamaica was to gain its independence from Great Britain, a record producer by the name of Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd asked his musicians to create a sound that was uniquely Jamaican and that was great for dancing.Bass player Clue J developed this sound, and as he'd greet his friends, he'd say "Love Skavoovie." Thus, the name ska was invented after shortening the greeting. In 1960 and 1961 , Dodd's bands began the first true ska tracks, indepen-r dent from jazz, R&B , calypso, and American- and British-inspired pop styles. 3 The new style hit it off so incredibly well, that by the time it was introduced 5 to the world at the 1964 New York World's Fair at the Jamaican exhibition. ska was already a common thing in Jamaica. f When Jamaican immigrants came to England in the 1960s, they brought ? their ska with them. For a while it was known as "Jamaican Blues" and then as "Blue Beat" in association with the Blue Beat Record Company. ? Gradually, youths of England's "Mod" scene, with their scooters and pork- pie hats, adopted the music. This led to the common sight known today as 1 "Rude Boy." Rude Boys, however, began in Jamaica. They were the street rat gangsters, ruling the dance halls and dressing sharply in the latest fashions. Unemployed and seeking mediums for indi-3 viduality. they united with the delinquents and the underworld. However, by the end of the '60s, as reggae and rocksteady began to make their debuts, the tough-guy attitude was lost. Almost a decade later, the British Rude Boy, revolutionized by the Specials and Madness, was presented as being fashionably stylish in his two-tone suit and pork-pie hat and as just wanting to have fun. Today, Third Wave plaid has replaced two tone, and the Rude Boy or Rude Girl is a diehard ska fan, knowing the history and style of ska as well as the workings of the ska scene. Suits and ties .are common, but are often See Ska pnge 2 |