Hornpod: A Ska Podcast JJ Loy and Matt Wixson

Dicky Barrett sang in the Mighty Mighty Bosstones for 39 years, and announced for the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show for 18 years. In 2022, his stance on COVID vaccines seemingly ended both careers. Nowadays he writes and sings in 90s punk supergroup The Defiant, alongside members of Smash Mouth, the Offspring, the Street Dogs, and the Briggs. He joins Hornpod to share stories about the earliest days and highest heights of U.S. ska, as well as his place in the world these days.

Hornpod theme written by Matt Wixson. Performed this episode by Brunt of It.

The Hornpod Ska Canon lives at hornpod.org

You know him as a modern-day dub master and ska producer, but now we're calling him "professor" as Victor Rice takes us to production school.

Ricey shares his advice on composing, performing, recording and mixing your music- it's like Masterclass but for ska kids.

Rebroadcast of an episode of the Monster Boogie Show, originally aired March 5th, 2024 on WCSB 89.3FM Cleveland

Cleveland native and trombonist Greg Robinson (Mephiskapheles) guest hosts the Mikal Reich Memorial Show. For two hours, Greg spins rare, early Mephiskapheles tracks from 1992-1996, along with vintage ska from the 1960s that Mikal loved, and a few selections from the bands Meph toured with back in the early days. In between, there are brief interview segments from the Mephiskapheles circle as well as guests from the NYC scene who knew Mikal and pay tribute to him on-air. Together, we remember this brilliant, creative person who touched so many lives significantly with his friendship and his enthusiasm for ska music and living life to the fullest. We hope you'll find time to listen and remember Mikal too.

Guests: Mike Drance, Dave Martinez, Andre Worrell, Mike Bitz, Rob “Bucket” Hingley, Brendan “Brendog” Tween, Irena Hyena

RIP Mikal Reich (Mephiskapheles, Barbicide)August 28, 1965 - February 20, 2024

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (TSPO, or Skapara) has been making records since 1990, but their music has been hard to come by in the US for much of their career. However, after their Supernova debut, and the availability of their entire back catalog for streaming, TSPO is finally getting the recognition they deserve.

JJ and Matt have decided to become experts on the legendary band, and with the help of Chris Malone from The Pandamics, The Pilfers, and Bigger Thomas, they will take you through the history of TSPO.

Matt recently had the opportunity to hop on a Zoom with Coolie, Vinny and Nick from The Pilfers! Their seminal record from 1999, Chawalaleng is available for streaming for the very first time, and this coincides with a reunion of the band's original lineup.



This is Coolie Ranx's third visit to Hornpod, check the feed for episodes 027 and 028 for the full Pilfers' Saga.

It's been a fantastic year for ska music and we have been making lists. JJ and Matt welcome the curator of the BIG 2023 Ska Releases Spotify playlist, Cody Freedom and author/blogger of Ska, Punk and other Junk, Dane Jackson to the show.

We each share our own Top Ten lists, find some common overlap and reflect on another year in ska.