Saturday, December 30, 2017

House in Orbit - Same Sun (demo tape 1991)

This one is so rare that I'm not thoroughly convinced that it exists (even though I have the physical copy).

The band House In Orbit was from Austin Texas that was voted Best Reggae Band in Austin in 1993. They released a demo tape in 1993 called "Turn Left at the Moon" which I don't have because nobody has it. I don't think one single copy of it exists. Despite how rare that tape is this one is even more rare.
See, the tape is titled "Same Sun" after their song of the same name, but that song is not on the tape. Like the Doors with "Strange Days" A live version of the song "Same Sun" was released on a compilation in 1991 called "KLBJ FM's Local Licks Live 1990".

There are only two tracks (repeated on both sides) on this tape:

01 Stand Front
02 Money

"Stand Front" is an incredible ska-punk song (one of those "how did this go unnoticed for so long?" ska songs) which did see another release. The label Reel George Productions put out a compilation in 1991 called "Tales From the Edge Volume III: Cannibal Crabs Crawl to Kill" that included it.

I'm guessing both songs were included on the official demo but I have no idea what the track listing is.

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Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Tone and Wave is ten years old!

I toyed with the idea of doing a blog for a few weeks before I actually started it. I had some friends from back in the days that had left the state and were living in so many different places. In the 90s I used to love making tapes for friends. The idea of a blog was great - I could make mixtapes for several people at the same time.
I was talking to somebody about the Graduate's "Elvis Should Play Ska" and that became my first post on December 16th, 2007.
I didn't know much about computers. Some of my earlier covers that I tried to clean up in Microsoft Paint look horrible today but I still find them online every now and then.

This banner here was used for the first two years or so before my wife designed the one that's been at the header for the last eight years.

(...and this was the early Tone and Wave header with the original Marco on the Bass header)


People keep saying how I should change the blog. Monetize it. Change the background. Add this and that to it. Aside from changing the header the blog has been consistent for better or for worse. I like stability and I hope you do too.

I have posted some punk, new wave, reggae, and mod over the years but I try to maintain 90% ska.

Most of the feedback I have gotten from the artists themselves have been positive. A small percentage has been negative and I used to try and argue why introducing their music to people who like their style of music but have never had a way of hearing it before is a good thing. I have since stopped arguing. Instead I just eliminate their name from the blog and I don't include them in any compilations I make for the blog or for people I know in the real world. I passively disavow them. Good luck selling your music from 30 years ago without allowing people to hear it first.

Anyway...I have had three different jobs, have lived in three different houses, and have had two children since I started the blog. I have met a few of you guys that I never would have met if I never started the blog. I have made numerous online friends and have been able to see how your lives have changed over the years through Facebook and other things.

I have learned a lot from you guys and I hope I have taught you a lot about this subterranean genre.

Ska is alive and well and I still have so many things that haven't been posted yet not to mention the nearly 200 records, tapes, and cds that I am still looking for.

I did not expect Tone and Wave to last for ten years (to be honest I didn't see Blogger lasting this long) and, at this point, I sure as hell don't see it going for another five years. I'm thinking I might make it another 2 years but who knows. I aim to post old forgotten ska music. If I make it to 2020 the stuff from 2007 will be old. I'm all for keeping it going. What do you say?


I wanted to do something 'special' for this 10-year anniversary but I can't think of what I could do that would be considered special to you. I thought of posting my favorite 100 songs that I've posted over the last ten years. I started a great list but then I realized that it's not really about me. It's about the bands and it's about you. What songs do you know and love that you only know about because of the blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll put a compilation together for the people who may have come to the blog too late to absorb all of these great rarities.


   

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Skatologicals - What's in a Name? (1992)

Dutch ska/funk band who released a live album on vinyl in 1990 before they put out this studio album. I don't have the live one yet but I've heard it and there is a lot of original material that's not on this or any other recording. It's at the top of my wantlist. I'll post it when I get it.

1. Happiness
2 Screamin', Dancin' and Smiling
3 Skank it Away
4 Funk Jam
5 Time
6 Loveletter
7 Rastaman
8 Take it Easy
9 Elephant
10 Drunk Again
11 Have you Met the Williams'? / Kelele






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Sunday, December 10, 2017

Suspect Bill - Mr. E (demo tape 1994)

1 Skamitzvah
2 Shipwrecked
3 Filler
4 City Light
5 What's Under Your Bed?
6 Mr. E
7 Pinnochio
8 Cement Shoes
9 Sing, Sing, Sing



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Thanks to SRP for this rip!

Lord Domino and the Ska Boys - I'm in the Mood for Love 7'' (1989)

A - I'm in the Mood for Love
B - Simply Funky

("Simply Funky" reminds me way too much of Madness' "The Prince".)

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Jamallad - Jah Creation (demo tape 199?)

Jamallad (Juh-mall-aid) was born and raised in the Ivory Coast in Africa. He was taught music by a folk singer named Lisa Sammet who was volunteering for the Peace Corps. He then traveled Europe and eventually got a degree in Music and Business at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

He spent time in L.A. and now lives in Hawaii. He released his first album "Global Citizen" in 2008 but he recorded this demo over a decade before then.  

I have no idea how many copies were made, where it was recorded,  or what year it was released. This is ultra-rare.


1 Jah Creation
2 Jamallad
3 Lion's Way
4 Children
5 Jah Creation

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