Sunday, May 5, 2024

90s…Whatever.: Mepiskaphales


 I can't do a series on alt-music in the 90s without some mention of 3rd wave ska. Being a big fan of new wave and a total Anglophile, I always loved the "second wave" of 2 Tone crowd (Specials, English Beat, Madness). And yes, I do love the original Jamaican stuff. 


Third Wave ska took that Two Tone sound and added a 90s punk feel to it. Bands came across the country and across labels, but in many ways, Moon Records in New York was the home.


Critics generally didn't go for it, but cult genres like this, it doesn't matter. Ska has went in and out of favor over the years, and seems to be back again. For the most part, when ska did break through, it either was heavily polished with a pop sound (No Doubt, Mighty Mighty Bosstones) or as a joke (Less than Jake, Bowling for Soup, Reel Big Fish). Even bands like Goldfinger, were still generally held to a modicum of success.


I am glad that I saw quite a few of these bands who almost always were a fun time, whether they became national acts or regional acts that have grown via the internet years. The Bosstones were one of the best live bands on the planet.


I also saw ska and ska-adjacent bands: The Toasters, Murphys Law, Rancid, Hepcat. MU330, Johnny Socko, Skankin Pikcle, MU330, Blue Meanies and the Dance Hall Crashers.


One of my favorite albums is 1994's God Bless Satan by New York's Mephiskapheles.


If you can't tell from that, at least the track listing would let you know it's a bit of a joke mixing the Devil and Ska. I can only imagine it owes a great deal to 1990's Devil's Night Out - the Bosstones' debut- which was one of the first albums to give ska a metal edge.


Produced by Bill Laswell, it's an album that seems likely to have connected with a big crowd if more people had heard it- catchy tunes set to strong musicianship played fast and tight. On the other hand, of course, as with much of the third wave genre, it's all played for jokes. Still, it's an incredible example of what the best of the genre was.


The band released two more albums before breaking up in 2001, riding the ska wave to its top and then fading along with the scene.


The band did reunite in 2012and have been pretty active touring since; as the Third wave becomes popular again. They have recorded two EPs since the reunion - 2015s self titled six song EP which was engineered by All/Descendents guitarist Stephen Egerton and 2019s four song Never Born Again. 2023 saw the release of a live album "Live at Supernova Ska Fest 2021"


1993 - Koch/Moon/Pass the Virgin Records



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