Courtesy of Tianna Ayala
It’s that time of year again when everyone dresses up, reminiscing about skankin’ it up at the high school dance. That’s right: Skabrona Entertainment presents the next installment of Ska Prom! Take a stroll down nostalgia lane by suiting up to tear it up the dancefloor, witness who wins Ska King and Queen and pose for your (digital) prom pictures while knocking back some Ska brews. This year, local punks and rudies will be lacing up their Docs for some of California’s finest.
Courtesy of The Steady 45s
The Steady 45s, out of Los Angeles, offer up their brand of traditional ska and rocksteady jams for Ska Prom 2017. These hooligans have been goin’ strong for around five years and have already mastered a sound that’s been around for about fifty years. Don’t mistake them for being (completely) old-fashioned, though, as they splice elements of bands like Hepcat and The Slackers as much as acts like The Skatalites and Desmond Dekker. Get ready for a grand time while The Steady 45s leave us groovin’ on the dancefloor.
Courtesy of Matamoska
Montebello, California bilingual ska punkers Matamoska also support Ska Prom this year. For the past fifteen years, this motley mob of rudies and punks have been busting out their fresh sound while throwing back to bands across the ska (and punk) spectrum, like The Skatalites, The Specials, Operation Ivy and Voodoo Glow Skulls. One thing is for sure: Matamoska will make you dance your ass off.
Courtesy of the Chris Murray Combo
Headlining Ska Prom 2017 is the Chris Murray Combo out of Los Angeles, who’ve been kicking out acoustic and electric ska, rocksteady and reggae for about fifteen years. Frontman Chris Murray, however, made his initial splash on the Toronto ska scene in the late eighties by way of King Apparatus before bouncing out to California to perform as Venice Shoreline Chris in the mid-nineties and becoming one of the key producers for some of the top acts in nineties ska. Be sure to stick around for one helluva treat in the Chris Murray Combo while stompin’ up the dancefloor.
The Chris Murray Combo, Matamoska and The Steady 45s play Ska Prom 2017 on Saturday, March 25th at Yucca Tap Room, located at 29 W. Southern in Tempe, with locals soul skankers Bowcat, eighties reggae ska band The Effects, Mesa ska punkers Jack The Cat and DJs Selecta Scream and Mama Melody.
~ Garyn Klasek
