The Jinkies : Scooby Doo

Continuing with the Minneapolis Third Wave ska scene, next up The Jinkies. If you haven’t figured it out by now, they did take their name from a favorite exclamation from a certain Scooby Doo character. So, of course, they had to cover the theme song, right? It would be wrong not to! This song was a big crowd favorite at their shows, and was recorded for their demo tape, 9 piece nug combo. The Jinkies were formed back in 1994 and lasted until around 1999 when they finally went their separate ways. They took their sound from the Two Tone era, and mixed in some swing jazz that created a sound all their own. A big contribution to their unique sound were the two harmonizing female vocalists,  Leah Drury and Christy Reiss. A big drive behind the band itself was the main songwriter, Jesse Minor, who was also the trumpeter. Jesse was always considered the authority on ska music in Minnesota, who even had his own ska show on the now defunct Rev 105. Well, on to the song, I hope you enjoy it!

The Siren Six! : One Sided

Back in the mid 90′s, the third wave of ska was in full force, and Minnesota had quite a few bands that were making a name for themselves nationally for their brand of ska, and The Siren Six! were one of those bands. Signed to Kingpin Records, a small label specializing in Ska Bands, they released their debut, The Voice with a Built-In Promise in 1996. Their sound was based in the Two Tone Ska era, mixed with a bit of Mod rock and a little emo-punk. They even dressed the part, taking cues from the Two Tone Era, on stage, they dressed in black and white. They had a phenomenal live show, full of energy, and the crowd on their feet and skankin’. Their sound was irresistible, and you couldn’t help but move your feet! They eventually moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles to pursue their dream of signing a major record deal. They were all living in one apartment, squeezing mattresses anywhere they could, and having little to no money, playing shows for next to nothing. The record deal never came, and they eventually broke up. The third wave ska kick eventually faded, now we are just left with memories and thankfully, their records… so enjoy this little gem from the past…

Joy Division : Love Will Tear Us Apart

32 years ago, Ian Curtis took his own life, after battling with Epilepsy and Depression. That day, May 18th, 1980, a part of music died that day. We will never know what genius he still had in him, what songs, what lyrics he was ready to unleash onto the world. What we do know, is what is left of his legacy in Joy Division. Songs that sound as relevant over 30 years later as they did the day they were written. I hope you were finally able to find your peace and end your pain, Ian. We miss you.

Spinal Tap : Gimme Some Money

After listening to the Complete Collection of Something Fierce (which can be found here),  there was a live cover that stuck in my head, and well, as I mentioned in the earlier post of Something Fierce, they liked to pull this song out in the live set. I was only 14 when I snuck in to see Spinal Tap (the movie). It was amazing, I was kind of a metal head at the time, so it just made me laugh so much, since I could relate to a lot of what was going on in the movie also. To this day, it remains one of my all time favorite movies, and I still have the VHS, and two different versions of it on DVD. Such a classic. Although, this might not be my favorite Spinal Tap song, it still is one of the great ones from them… I am assuming that you have seen the movie of course, and if you haven’t, go rent it now. And I do mean NOW!

Matt Skiba and the Sekrets : Voices

You might recognize the name Matt Skiba, as he is one of the founding members of the pop punk band, Alkaline Trio. Don’t worry, Alkaline Trio hasn’t broken up, but Matt wanted to release some of the material that he’s been working on, but that didn’t quite work for Alkaline Trio, or just some other material that he wanted to release, but never quite made it to an Alkaline Trio album. While the album as a whole is different than any of the AT albums, it stays very much in familiar territory, so AT fans will not be disappointed, and new fans just might make that leap over to AT… This particular song has the Trio sound written all over, and wouldn’t be out of place on one either. It’s very much Skiba signature writing. I personally love it and think it’s the strongest song on the album. So, if you are a fan, or just checking it out, I think you just might like it…

Four Year Strong : Love Song (Sara Bareilles Cover)

As we were eating dinner last night, the original of this song came on the stereo, and while the original isn’t offensive, it’s not really that great either. And my wife and I discussed this cover, and how it was infinitely better than the original, so of course, when we were first dating, I had put it on a mix CD for her, and she just happened to have that CD in the car, so I had to put it in, right? So, we were rockin’ to the cover on our way home from Sushi Tango, and our bellies full of delicious sushi. It was quite a nice end to a great dinner. So, I give you a great cover of a mediocre pop song!

Vena Cava : Everything I Need

Vena Cava was a short lived band back in the 90′s. The leader was a musician named Brad Cassetto, who also was a producer and engineer in the music business, who’s client list includes, Mark Mallman and Babes in Toyland. They only put out one EP to my knowledge, but to me, it was fantastic. I loved this EP. I knew about them, because they opened up for a different band, but I don’t even remember which band that one was, but Vena Cava blew me away. I bought the EP that night, and tried seeing them whenever they played, which was only a handful more times. He now lives in Louisville, KY, and has put out several solo releases, and still does producing and engineering. But to me, this band should have gone places… and this song is the one that hooked me right away. So, enjoy!