News & Updates — ska

Here's a shout-out to "The Ugly One", pioneering Jamaican dee-jay "toaster" Winston Sparkes aka King Stitt. Born with a unique face and a stuttering habit, he embraced these attributes and they became part of his public persona. He got his start as an early deejay for Coxone Dodd's Downbeat sound system in 1956 after being spotted by the OG deejay Count Machuki and went on to be a popular attraction during the ska years. In '69 he cut his first recordings for producer Clancy Eccles (not including some live action sound system recordings from '63 that weren't released until later)....

Happy born day to the ex-Skatalite bassist Lloyd Brevett. He played the upright and was a founding member of the Skatalites, one of the most important bands the planet has ever known. One of their best albums came under the leadership of Brevett, the amazingly funky 1975 classic African Roots. He was a trained jazz bassist and knew how to build & repair them. With the Skatalites he provided backing to early recordings by The Wailers, as well as early Lee Perry and Alton Ellis records. He played with The Soul Vendors and Herbie Mann while the Skatalites were broken up,...

One of Jamaica's great drummers, Sticky Thompson played on many, many reggae sessions with The Wailers, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Jimmy Cliff, Dennis Brown, Junior Byles, Grace Jones, Culture, Gregory Isaacs, Black Uhuru, The Techniques, Mighty Diamonds, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, Ziggy Marley, John Holt, Soul Syndicate, Yabby You, Tommy McCook, Burning Spear, Tom Tom Club and many, many others. A few of his catalogue credits: "Beat Down Babylon", "Soul Rebel", "Duppy Conqueror", "I Need A Roof", "Pull Up To The Bumper" and other classics. He was a member of the Compass Point Studio band for Island Records. He was also...

Happy birthday to the Desmond Dekker, best known for singing his original compositions "The Israelites" and "007 Shantytown", among others. In the early '60s he signed to Beverly's Records, recorded some ska singles and became well-known on the island. In the late '60s he became popular in the UK with his rocksteady songs commenting on rudeboy culture. "Israelites" was a huge world-wide hit in '69 (including being the first charting reggae song in the US). His music was featured in The Harder They Come, but his career sagged a bit in the '70s until the Two-Tone bands helped bring a revival....

We're excited to be returning to one of our favorite spots -- The Alvah Stone! This fantastic restaurant, located in an old mill overlooking a falling river, is a perfect rural spot for a lively party! The restaurant is celebrating three years and the week-long festivities will be capped off by a tropical-funk dance party featuring DJs Andujar and Bongohead of Peace & Rhythm Records. The Alvah Stone offers incredible food, a great bar with plenty of local drafts and hand-crafted cocktails and a wonderful staff. The DJs will be spinning groovy international flavors, all from vinyl -- from cumbia...