MARCH 17, 2005 Music bands come to Nashville for festival By Andrew Johnson 1950s as a combination between Jamaican folk music One does not immediately asso- and American R&B with an ciate ska music with the city of emphasis on off beats. Nashville. It has always been started to take shape famous for its country music scene, when artists started to slow but does a ska music scene exist down the tempo of ska for there? musical variation. The term The answer is yes, and there is ska includes reggae. one person responsible for develop- "Many ska bands today are ing a large portion of the ska fan trying to be pop instead of the base in the Middle Tennessee area. indigenous form of ska from His name is Nick Hardy, a student Jamaica," said Rob Hoskins, a at MTSU, and he booked the bands member of the Southern Ska for the first Nashville Ska Festival. All-Stars. Both Hoskins and "I think it's a good representa- Hardy said that MTV ruined tion of what ska music is in ska in the early 1990s by America." Hardy said. focusing on the pop aspect At 7 p.m. March 18, five ska and not the traditional bands from around the country will Jamaican roots. come to Nashville to celebrate the While promoting the show traditional roots of ska at the Hair with fliers and by "word of of the Dog, a club located at 1831 mouth," Hardy has also 12th Ave. S. in Nashville. spread the news on his Web The bands include site, www.southernska.com. from New York, Westbound Train Launched in 2002, the pur- from Boston. The Hub City pose of the site was to unite Stompers from New Jersey, Deals ska fans in the southern Gone Bad from Chicago and the United States. With an exten- Southern Ska All-Stars, an energetic sive collection of tour dates, band who plays traditional Jamaican CD reviews, band information, songs and is from Nashville. interviews and an active mes- sage board, Hardy's Web site The All-Stars feature members of another Nashville ska-band called has become one of the biggest online ska Web AKA Rudie and also members from sources in the country. North Carolina's Las Cabriolas. The Of course, Hardy couldn't band is considered a side project do it alone. Hoskins has and they have only played three helped him with coding the shows before. Web site with HTML, set up "The people of Nashville are awe- interviews with ska artists some and usually open to different and labels and has found con- kinds of music. I'm really looking tacts when Hardy wasn't sure forward to the show," said Obi who to talk to. Mike Mowry, Fernandez, lead singer of Photo provided by Danny Clinch | Righteous Babe Records another member of the All- Westbound Train. The group Deals Gone Bad will be one of the acts performing at the Nashville Ska Stars, works as an intern gath- Fernandez describes his band's Festival tomorrow at Hair of the Dog. The show begins at 7 p.m. Band members are ering news and written CD sound as infectious, old-school ska Danny Johnsen, Karl Gustafson, Dave Bossaneta, Todd Hembrook, Mike Corcoran, reviews and has also inter- music with soul influences. The band Aaron Hammes, Dave Simon, Tom Riley and Mike Hobson. viewed ska artists. just finished a tour with After his Web site started to gain in populari- and is getting ready to play the Nashville and Thankfully, they all agreed. Without hesitation, he chose Hair of the Dog because he had ty, Hardy was able to book numerous shows with Atlanta festivals. good turnouts, including the first Southern Ska Hardy came up with the idea for the show booked two previous shows there, and from his when he heard about a ska festival in Atlanta. experience, the people who work at the club are Tour. As Hardy's Web site continues to grow, so He wondered if the participating bands might be friendly, and the club has a good live sound. does the ska scene in the south, especially in interested in playing a similar festival in "Hair of the Dog likes ska and reggae shows Nashville right before they traveled to Atlanta. So because it brings them good business," Hardy the Middle Tennessee area. While it's mostly he chose five out of the 10 bands that he said. Se« Festival, 9 thought best represented traditional ska. Ska was first introduced in Jamaica in the