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Ticket Giveaway – 6/29 School of Rock Fest!

Listen up folks because we will be giving away 4 tickets to the June 29th School of Rock Festival show with Dropkick Murphys, Less Than Jake, Goldfinger, Westbound Train, and Suburban Legends. It’s a huge show and the tickets are valued at $30 each.

The tickets will be raffled off at our upcoming PhillySka show on May 31st (which is free, by the way). Everyone in attendance gets an opportunity to win. On top of that, THE FIRST 20 PEOPLE THROUGH THE DOOR WILL GET AN EXTRA RAFFLE TICKET. Be sure to get to the Rotunda early!

Doors will be opening promptly at 7pm. We ask that you line up outside at the door and please keep things sane and orderly. The order of the line will be adhered to as we let people in so, again, be there early to ensure that you are one of the first 20.

PhillySka staff and performing artists on the lineup are not eligible to participate. The drawing will take place during the final set change.

New Releases from Jump Up Records!

Deal's Gone Bad - Welcome To The Vault ($15 ppd)
A limited edition 3-disc box set containing the band's first 3 albums: Large and In Charge, Overboard, and Guide To Boat Drinks & Cruise Cocktails. The set is housed in a hand-assembled vintage reel to reel tape box with new artwork and liner notes. These are all of the albums from the band's first iteration when it was fronted by Lord Mike. Get it!

The Soulsteppers - The Return of... ($10 ppd)
Skinhead reggae out of California in the vain of the Upsetters. Contains all of their European-released singles as well as some brand new selections.

Lady Ann - Bad Gyrl Inna Dance ($10 ppd)
The first release from this early dancehall queen in 23 years! She is joined by DJ Mush One (The Scorchers and ex-Slackers) and Vic Ruggiero (Slackers). Vinyl coming soon, too.

Orders may be placed directly through Jump Up Records or through Amazon.

Spring Update From Black Butcher Records

Germany's Black Butcher ska label has just announced the arrival of 3 new releases along with news of tantalizing music to come.

The first is another helping of Talco's Italian combat-ska-punk entitled Mazeltov. Next is a sophomore release from a somewhat newer face in Italian ska-punk, Redska.

For those into the more traditional sounds, Black Butcher is releasing the LP version of Babylove and the Van Dangos' much-anticipated second album Lovers Choice. It will also be made available on CD and download via Megalith Records.

Due out in the near future is a Skaliners EP (Germany's answer to the Planet Smashers), both a single and an album from Minnesota's Umbrella Bed, a some more Italian ska-jazz from The Orobians, and the 8th volume of the Skannibal Party compilation series.

Ska Labels - Liquidator

Liquidator is a label and distro out of Madrid, Spain with a focus on the traditional ska and reggae sounds. So far it has released a total of 29 albums, singles, and EPs. If you are into the trad sounds and have not yet checked this label out, you have been missing some great music. Most of the artists are Spanish, but most of it is very accessible to an English-speaking audience.

What you will find is a collection of some of the best ska and reggae that Spain has to offer as well as material from some of the legendary Jamaican artists that have remained very popular there.

Click through for the discography...

Ruder Than You CD Release Show

In celebration of the official release of their new EP, God's Ghetto, Ruder Than You is hosting a free show at the Rotunda on Friday, May 23. Also on the bill are Wareika Hill and the Philly Reggae Girls.

Doors are at 7pm. Be sure to bring a few bucks so that you can get yourself a copy of the new CD. Expect a generous helping of Ruder Than You.

Congratulations to Ruder Than You on the new release, from all of us at PhillySka.com!

The Slackers - Self Medication

Come April 29th we will have a brand new Slackers album to put into heavy rotation. Self Medication will be released by Indication Records, which is the label run by the Pietasters. It is rumored that the CD and LP versions may differ in perhaps the same way that the contents of their Wasted Days album differs between the two formats (the LP has alternate versions and dubs).

Sample clips of all 12 tracks can be heard on Amazon. While you are there, you can pre-order it too. The Battle of the Midwestern Housewives blog has posted 2 full tracks off of the album: "Every Day Is Sunday" and "Happy Song".

Specials Reunion in the Works!

This is no April Fools joke: the original lineup of The Specials is reuniting to play some live shows this fall. BBC 6 Music reported on the announcement with a direct quote from vocalist Terry Hall. It seems the members have finally come to agree that the time is right for the band to reform in a dignified manner.

No details have been released about the dates since there is not much solidifed at this point. It is safe to say that there will be at least a few UK dates. An appearance in the US may perhaps be wishful thinking, but it sure would be awesome.

Check Out The Reviews

5 new albums reviews have been posted in the Reviews section. This is just a start, so expect plenty more to come.

These reviews include Big D, The Vessels, Red Soul Community, and Me Mom and Morgentaler. Give them a read and supply your own ratings and comments.

Ska Labels - Black Butcher

Black Butcher is a lesser-known ska label out of Germany which is an imprint of Mad Butcher Records. It continues to release its own albums along with European distributions of albums originally released by other labels such as our own Jump Up Records. The bands found on Black Butcher hail primarily from Europe, the United States, and Australia.

The label is perhaps best known (or should be) for its on-going Skannibal Party compilation series. These feature ska bands from all over the globe. Some more well known than others. There are few new bands to fall in love with on each release. So far 7 volumes have been released and an 8th volume is in the works.

Click through for the discography...

Ruder Than You EP Previewed

On March 8th, Ruder Than You held a private party in celebration of the completion of the band's new EP. I got to hear the CD in its entirety and am ready to report back to the PhillySka community.

Click through for the full report...