One of the burgeoning army of American punk/ska bands to gain success in the wake of Rancid and the Dropkick Murphys’ breakthrough, Los Angeles’ Less Than Jake are led by singer Chris Demakes. The band was founded in Gainesville, Florida in 1992 by Demakes, Shaun (bass) and Vinnie (drums), and was actually one of the first proponents of the punk/ska style. Roger repla
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An engaging, scruffy collection of musical misfits, the ethos of seven-piece Reel Big Fish is immediately apparent from their punning name and rampaging, good-time ska music. The band was formed in Huntington Beach, California, USA, in the early 90s by Aaron Barrett (30 August 1974; guitar, vocals), Matt Wong (b. 12 January 1974; bass), Andrew Gonzales (b. 1 November 1973; d
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Formed in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, during the mid-80s, by Nate Albert (guitar), Joe Gittleman (bass) and Ben Carr (vocals). They were joined by Dicky Barrett (vocals) and Tim ‘Johnny Vegas’ Burton (saxophone) completing the line-up of the original Bosstones. After a laconic lacuna during the Reagan years the band returned as the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, having enro
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This ska/punk outfit was formed in Detroit, Michigan, USA in 1990 by Jason Navarro (2 April 1973; vocals), Dan Lukacinsky (b. 26 April 1970, USA; guitar/vocals), Jason Brake (bass), and Stefan (drums). Originally called the Uglies, and then Jack Kevorkian And The Suicide Machines!, the band originally featured Navarro on bass, before Jason Brake was brought into the line-up.
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Goldfinger sprang from a new wave of ska punk bands formed in California, USA, in the wake of Green Day and the Offspring’s international breakthrough. Based in Los Angeles, Goldfinger blend elements of ska and punk (à la Rancid and Reel Big Fish) with emocore (as pioneered by Guy Piccoloto’s pre- Fugazi group, Rites Of Spring). The band was formed in 1994 by J
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Of the multitude of pop punk bands that emerged during the 90s, the majority seemed to come from the west coast of the USA, but there was a number of east coast counterparts during this era, such as the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Bouncing Souls. The band has been going strong in one form or another since 1989, when Greg Attonitoi (vocals), Pete Steinkopf (guitar), Bryan Ki
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The mid- to late 90s saw a mini-ska punk explosion occur in the USA, as countless bands from California stormed the charts, with one of the first to emerge being the Voodoo Glow Skulls. Originating from Riverside, the band was formed in 1988 by brothers Frank (vocals), Eddie (guitar) and Jorge Casillas (bass), and Jerry O’Neill (drums). They branched out from their hardcor
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NOFX was formed in Berkeley, California, USA, in 1983. Immediately, it was obvious that they were one of the few bands on the hardcore scene to embrace humorous lyrical fare to genuinely amusing effect. The original trio of Fat Mike (Mike Burkett; vocals/bass), Eric Melvin (guitar/ vocals) and Erik Ghint/Groggy Nodbeggar/Erik Shun/Smelly (b. Erik Sandin; drums), was joined b
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Lars Frederiksen (guitar), Brett Reed (drums), Matt Freeman (bass) and Tim Armstrong (25 November 1966, Oakland, California, USA; vocals/guitar) provide street-level punk with their ideas informed and inspired by a youth of blue-collar poverty in Albany, California, USA. Armstrong and Freeman (often under the alias Matt McCall) had formed their first band, Operation Ivy, in
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