By skamonic
A year ago we were asked to play at the opening of a country pub near Andover.
We were delighted to asked back to play at their first birthday party.
This nearly turned into the gig from hell as the car carrying Veronica, Frank, Nigel and the PA system got stuck in in terrible traffic despite having left what should have been more than enough time to get there well in advance.
Even on the last ten miles they got stuck behind a tractor for most of the way. This does not happen on the way to gigs in Camden.
We were due to start playing at 8pm. The rest of the band were therefore more than relieved when the PA turned up at 7:20.
With a little bit of luck, a lot of organisation and a 3 minute sound check we were still able to play our first song by a few minutes past 8. It was good that we were playing in a marquee as they help prevent feedback.
And once we were playing everyone relaxed into a great party atmosphere and we played two hour long sets to much appreciation. Everyone seemed more chilled about our late arrival than we were – as we pride ourselves on a professional approach. But you can’t plan for that many accidents on the M25 and M4.
This is what we played.
- Chinatown
- Guns Of Navarone
- Latin Goes Ska
- Tide Is High
- Mood For Love
- Harder They Come
- Alley Cat Ska
- Man In The Street
- Mambo Number 5
- Dr Who
- Egyptian Reggae
- Enola Gay
- Price Tag
- Red Red Wine
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- Tequila
- Misirlou
- One Step Beyond
- Simmer Down
- Pata Pata
- 10 Out Of 10
- 99 Red Balloons
- Tainted Love
- Rudy A Message To You
- My Boy Lollipop
- Monkey Man
- Baggy Trousers
- Night Boat To Cairo
- Gangsters
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By skamonic
By skamonic
We had a great time last weekend playing the vintage event that was part of the Crystal Palace Overground festival.
We decided to play music from the 1960s or earlier for our set to make sure we kept to the vintage vibe. And this is what we played.
- Chinatown
- Guns Of Navarone
- Latin Goes Ska
- Mood For Love
- Tide Is High
- Fly Me To The Moon
- Mambo Number 5
- Simmer Down
- Tainted Love
- My Boy Lollipop
- Gangsters
And we could have played many more 60s tunes if we had been given more time to play.
We hadn’t quite realised before that the Skamonics are an ideal fit for a vintage themed event. Normally they draw influences from a number of decades, but tend to rely on 40s swing for their music. There’s nothing wrong with that but adding some authentic 60s ska adds variety.
We commissioned some photos ourselves as we don’t have any good ones from an outdoor festival. Mouse over the one below to start the gallery. And there are some more photos and phone video taken by others on our Facebook page.
By skamonic
We were delighted to play for Roger’s 60th on Saturday in Greenwich.
This is what we played:
- Chinatown
- Guns Of Navarone
- Latin Goes Ska
- Tide Is High
- Mood For Love
- Harder They Come
- Man In The Street
- Mambo Number 5
- Egyptian Reggae
- Enola Gay
- Red Red Wine
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- Midnight Hour
- One Step Beyond
- Misirlou
- James Bond
- 99 Red Balloons
- Tainted Love
- Rudy A Message To You
- My Boy Lollipop
- Baggy Trousers
- Night Boat To Cairo
- Gangsters
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This was the first time we’ve played Egyptian Reggae for many years (and in a new arrangement).
We were also happy to do Midnight Hour (not as ska or reggae) so that Roger could join us on the vocals, as he used to be in a band with members of the Skams.
And here are some pictures from the soundcheck.
By skamonic
We are playing The Crystal Palace Overground festival for the Vintage Up at the Palace day on June 29th.
We are on stage at 3pm. And it’s free.
It’s at Crystal Palace Park Gardens beside the bus station.
By skamonic
We played a private party gig on Saturday – in fact a significant birthday for our bass player Nigel.
We managed to video and record the gig, so after we have had the chance to do some mixing and editing, we should have some reasonably good quality live video of the band.
This is what we played.
- Chinatown
- Guns Of Navarone
- Latin Goes Ska
- Mood For Love
- The Tide Is High
- Man In The Street
- Mambo Number 5
- Enola Gay
- Red Red Wine
- Simmer Down
- Pata Pata
- 99 Red Balloons
- Tainted Love
- My Boy Lollipop
- Gangsters
By skamonic
The Earl Haig is an old British Legion social club in Crouch End now converted into a pub and social centre for the area.
We like it because it has a good stage, and great sound.
We played two sets last night, with special guest Jackie Grant making her debut on tenor sax.
It was too dark – and a bit too much of a rush – to take more than a few snaps.
But this is what we played:
- Chinatown
- Guns Of Navarone
- Latin Goes Ska
- Tide Is High
- Mood For Love
- Harder They Come
- Alley Cat Ska
- Man In The Street
- Mambo Number 5
- Dr Who
- Price Tag
- One Step Beyond
- Work Song
- Simmer Down
- Pata Pata
- 10 Out Of 10
- 99 Red Balloons
- Tainted Love
- My Boy Lollipop
- Night Boat To Cairo
Thanks to Elliot for being a great sound engineer.
By skamonic
Last night we were happy to play for Sean’s birthday upstairs in a pub in Islington.
The management had told Sean that live music was fine, but there was a limiter that would shut down the power if we went too loud.
That’s fine with us. We do not need to turn everything up to 11, particularly in a relatively small room. We can hear ourselves better at lower volumes.
But it turned out to be much stricter than that, as there was also a no drums rule for the evening as the pub had some folk in the room below.
That is not OK. You can’t play ska with no drums at all.
So we negotiated a compromise: no kick (bass) drum and brushes rather than sticks.
We dubbed this chamber ska.
But it worked surprisingly well. Sean had already told us to concentrate on our 60s material – a client of fine taste. So by concentrating on some of the jazzier numbers and ditching the most raucous we still managed a full two sets, and it certainly did not stop anyone dancing as the floor was full the whole evening.
As we chopped and changed the set around, this may not be quite what we played – but it’s mostly right if probably in the wrong order.
- Chinatown
- Guns Of Navarone
- Latin Goes Ska
- Tide Is High
- Mood For Love
- Alley Cat Ska
- Man In The Street
- Mambo Number 5
- Enola Gay
- Red Red Wine
- Tequila
- Work Song
- Simmer Down
- Price Tag
- 10 Out Of 10
- 99 Red Balloons
- Tainted Love
- Rudy A Message To You
- My Boy Lollipop
- Gangsters
By skamonic
Our next public gig is next Thursday when we return to the Earl Haig Hall Elder Avenue, London N8 9TH.
We had a great time when we played there before. There’s a good stage and a great sound system, and a lovely relaxed vibe to the place.
We will be playing two full sets – and it’s free to get in.
And if you want to invite your friends, here is the Facebook event.
By skamonic
Thanks to Stephen Russell for taking this great set of photos. You can see more of his photography here.
London ska band
rocksteady and unusual covers
female vocals and blazing horns
festivals, weddings and functions
most age and clique smashing sound I have ever heard’