Have you ever had a day where you just wanted to sleep because you felt so upset or sad about something? Did you try everything you can possibly think of and nothing put a smile on your face? Did you try music?

I have something that will most likely boost your spirits. The genre is known as ska. For people who love it, it is essential in their life.

Ska bands in general are never on the charts, unless they’re masked with another genre such as No Doubt in the early 1990s. One band that deserves to be looked at is the band Big D and the Kids Table.

Big D has had an incredible journey in the ska music world. They’re a band who have really stuck to their ideals of what music is and set an example that the music is more important than the money.

They are fashioned in a Boston Ska form such as the Mighty Mighty Bosstones who you probably remember from the early 90s.

The band consists of seven members. Chris Bush on saxophone, Sean P. Rogan on guitar, Dave McWane is the lead vocals, Jon Reilly on drums, Steve Foote on bass guitar, Paul E. Cuttler on trombone, and Dan Stoppelman on trumpet.

Their first CD Good Luck was released in 1999, and they have had a loyal fan base since then. With hits like “Fatman” and “She won’t ever figure it out,” we see the classical ska upbeat with the Boston ska style fast paced music.

In 2004, they released their long awaited CD How it Goes.

To understand How it Goes you have to know the history of the band. Big D had lost their house, and had no place to live for two years because of their choice to become a band and tour. 

How it Goes is a CD which symbolizes their view of the music scene. When recording  How it Goes, the band could have “sold out” but rejected the offer because they didn’t want to give up their freedom of performing their own music. They choose to remain poor and homeless in order to give their fans what they wanted.

 The best song on How it Goes would have to be “LAX.” It represents their feelings toward people who have nothing to care about because they’re rich and live off of their parents money. It’s an interesting blend of lyrics which compares their life to the poor musicians life.

STAFF WRITER
JIM ERNST
Email address: jwe04401@sjfc.edu