ReadJunk.com

King Django

• Interviews

Jeff “King Django” Baker has been one of the most prolific musicians of our generation. Whether he is playing ska, reggae, dancehall, punk, hardcore, or some conglomeration of any/all of those, he has put out quality release after quality release. Musically, he has been the ringmaster of Skinnerbox, the Stubborn All Stars, his Roots & Culture band, and recording under his own name. He has also worked with a who’s who of bands such a Rancid, Murphy’s Law, the Slackers, Civ, and the Toasters. Not just a musician, Django also runs long running label Stubborn Records and the Version City studio.
Read More

The Adicts (Monkey)

• Interviews

The Adicts have been touring pretty much the whole year and continue to do so. They will be touring in California, some cities in the Midwest and South in September and they also have a new album coming out as well! The new album is called “All the Young Droogs” and comes out on September 11th 2012. We sent some questions over to lead singer Monkey to answer, and below is what he said. Check them out and be sure to get the new album, it’s classic Adicts!
Read More

Matt Flood (Asbestos Records)

• Interviews

The early 2000s were a dark period for ska music. It seemed that the bubble had burst on the 3rd Wave of ska. Many of the record labels, who released the ska music that we loved, went out of business or stopped pressing our favorite releases. It was a dark time indeed.

Asbestos Records is a label out of Connecticut who has been around since 1996. In the last number of years, Asbestos has been super involved in spreading the gospel of ska. In a joint effort with Underground Communique and Ska Is Dead, they worked on the Ska Is Dead 7” Series. In 2011, they teamed up with Underground Communique once again to launch the 3rd Wave Ska Preservation Project. Run through Kickstarter, this project takes classic ska records from the 3rd Wave and presses them to vinyl for all fans to enjoy.

We had a chance to chat with Matt Flood from Asbestos Records about Asbestos, ska, and so much more.
Read More

Less Than Jake (JR)

• Interviews

Less Than Jake are currently celebrating their 20th anniversary with having nightly parties with clowns, ponies, and snorting pez off midget stripper’s bodies. No, honestly….They have just released an EP in February called “Seasons Greetings From Less Than Jake” and just finished up a US tour. They have some sporadic dates this Spring and will head to Jolly Ole England in June. In the meantime, you can check out a quick interview with JR:
Read More

Taj Motel Trio

• Interviews

1) The Taj Motel Trio formed around the height of the ska craze in the late 90’s. What was it that made you want to start your own ska punk band?
I’m not really sure what made us want to do this, we just like making music I guess. We didn’t intentionally start a ska punk band, it was an accident. When we started, the plan was just to be a band with horns. We didn’t even know what ska was. We wanted to be like Cake w/ more horns. Eventually we became a ska band.
Read More

Pepper

• Interviews

Having formed in 1997, Pepper has since become one of the premier rock/reggae bands the lands have seen. Their fusion of punk, rock, reggae and dub has helped them sell more than half a million records worldwide independently on their own record label LAW Records. The band is a touring machine and they have been so kind as to take a few minutes out of their busy schedule and constant rocking to answer a few questions for ReadJunk.
Read More

Mike Park

• Interviews

2011 marks the 15th Anniversary of Asian Man Records, an independent record label based in Northern California, that is the epitome of DIY. Asian Man Records has released albums by Less Than Jake, Five Iron Frenzy and Alkaline Trio to name a few and genres that you will find on their roster range from ska punk to psychobilly and just about everything in between.
Read More

Carbon Leaf (Barry Privett)

• Interviews

It’s no secret that Carbon Leaf is one of my favorite bands. They are a hard-working, independent folk/rock band that never stop touring, and just make incredible music! Their last full-length album “Nothing Rhymes with Woman” has been played on my iPod at least once a day and now they just released a digital EP on their own called “How the West Was One,” which you can order here. The ReadJunk staff (Bryan, Kristen and Matt) decided to send some questions over to frontman Barry Privett to answer, here’s how it went down:
Read More

The Menzingers

• Interviews

The Menzingers have a brand new album “Chamberlain Waits” out NOW, and have been touring the country in support of it. Definitely check out their live show because it can get insane! Their new album is awesome as well! While out on the road, singer/guitarist Greg Barnett answered some questions that Adam Coozer and Bryan Kremkau sent his way. Check out what he said after the jump:
Read More

Authority Zero (Jason DeVore)

• Interviews

Just in case you don’t know already, Authority Zero have a brand new album coming out called “Stories of Survival.” It will be released on June 22nd on Viking Funeral. You can pre-order the album here. For a whole week, we’ll be streaming one of their tracks from the new album called “Liberateducation.” You can listen to that on the website’s sidebar in the “Featured Music” at the top.

Adam Coozer and I had the chance to send some questions to AZ frontman Jason DeVore, who answered questions about the new album, his singing style, the current state of Arizona and what’s the band’s signature dish if they opened up their own restaurant. Read what he said below:

Read More

Brighton, MA

• Interviews

ReadJunk recently teamed up with Chicago’s indie band Brighton, MA for a ticket giveaway to their upcoming show with Quieting Syrup and The Good Life at Subterranean in Chicago. In anticipation of their show, we interviewed lead singer/songwriter Matthew Kerstein. Be sure to enter the contest for a chance to win tickets!
Read More

The Ovni Sound System

• Interviews

The Ovni Sound System are a 4 piece ska, punk reggae band from Cocoa Beach, Florida. The band were desperate for an interview on ReadJunk.com but I would imagine they wouldn’t be desperate anymore after answering these questions. Ovni Sound System took 2 minutes out of their busy lives of playing retirement homes and thinking of Mel Gibson’s ass to answer our stupid questions. Here’s what they had to say:
Read More