A group of musical friends in Southern California have banded together to create a raucous and fun ska dance tune in the style of second wave ska. Calling themselves “Ska ‘n’ Bones,” and led by bassist/vocalist Jonathan Mohr, the group just released their hilarious debut on Facebook and YouTube.
I asked Mohr what motivated him to create the song, which he began writing in the middle of 2016, even before the first GOP debate. “I have family, and I have other friends,” Mohr explains,”people who have been big supporters of Trump, and I couldn’t keep quiet about it. I had to voice my opinion. So this particular way of making a criticism with a little bit of humor seems to have relaxed the boundary a little bit.”
The reactions by folks on both sides of the political spectrum have been very positive, Mohr says: “I have a very good musician friend who supported Trump, and I played the music for him and he’s been able to sit and listen and laugh about it. To me that is a victory. To not get into an argument about it. It’s a way to let off a little steam without all of the vitriol.”[pullquote]“ I couldn’t keep quiet about it. I had to voice my opinion. So this particular way of making a criticism with a little bit of humor seems to have relaxed the boundary a little bit.” Jonathan Mohr, Ska ‘n’ Bones. [/pullquote]
It seems that ska music is an ideal form to present political issues. “I think ska is important,” Mohr explains, “because, I guess it was the second wave of English ska, there was a moment when there were a lot of social issues being addressed at that time. When that second wave came, people voiced a lot of opinions and they addressed social issues, they addressed teenage pregnancy, they addressed racism and race relations, they addressed various political [issues] ….The first time I heard about the National Front it was from The Specials. Whatever tropes we’re borrowing from that time I can relate to it and I think it’s appropriate for today.”[pullquote]“The first time I heard about the National Front it was from The Specials. Whatever tropes we’re borrowing from that time I can relate to it and I think it’s appropriate for today.” Jonathan Mohr[/pullquote]
In addition to Mohr, Ska ‘n’ Bones features the Moynahan Brothers Mike, Tim and Danny on trumpet, trombone and saxophone (respectively) along with Doug Sanborn on drums, Jason Myers on electric guitar, Al Keith on percussion, and Keith Walsh on keyboards. Everyone sings. Mohr, The Moynahans and Walsh go all the way back to high school, where they first played ska together in 1981 after hearing the second wave of ska coming from Britain, including bands like The Specials, Madness, Selecter, The English Beat, and Bad Manners. Perhaps even more impressively, the Moynahans and Walsh go back to 1975, when they met in grade school.
There’s more. Except for Mike Moynahan, Myers, and Walsh, all of the members of Ska ‘n’ Bones were formerly of Dave Wakeling’s touring band in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. In addition, Mike and some of the others played on studio recordings with Wakeling including on General Public’s version of “I’ll Take You There,” which was used in the 1994 film “Threesome.” Various members of Ska ‘n’ Bones have also played in other ska bands over the years, including The Munsters, The J-Walkers, The World Peace Posse, and The Untouchables.
The video for “Smally Fingers” was recorded at North Hollywood’s “Beat Garage 2” and directed by Rob Dew, with the help of cinematographers Missy Galore and Melanie Chapman, and video editor Karl Ivanson. The audio recording was engineered by Danny Moynahan and mixed and mastered by John Bird, who also served as puppeteer for the video.
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For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/skanbones/
www.skanbones.com