In 2004, The Ska Is Dead Tour was created to help reinvigorate a genre and a scene that was much loved by its fans, but often dismissed by the mainstream media.   The first tour brought together bands on the forefront of the genre (Big D, Catch 22, Mustard Plug, The Planet Smashers), and proved that ska was very much still alive.

Since that initial spark, Ska is Dead has organized hundreds of shows in North America, Europe, and Australia, involving some of the best bands in the genre, (Streetlight Manifesto, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Bomb the Music Industry, The Toasters, etc.) Ska is Dead has gone on to release a CD compilation on Asian Man records, a 7” record series and co-sponsored the East Coast “Ska Massive” and “Skanksgiving” events

In 2011 The Ska is Dead tour continues this tradition by sponsoring the Young Guns 2011 Tour.  The Young Guns tour spotlights the best of the new generation of bands including Detroit’s We Are the Union and New York City’s The Forthrights and will be teaming up on select dates with the best up and coming bands in the American scene, including Nashville’s Stuck Lucky (4/15-4/22),Boston’s Brunt of It (4/23-4/28), NYC’s The Fad (4/19-4/27), and Indiana’s Green Room Rockers (4/13 & 5/1) among others

Wed. April 13 – Indianapolis, IN – The Hoosier Dome

Thurs. April 14 – Cincinnati, OH - TBA

Fri. April 15 – Nashville, TN – The Muse

Sat. April 16 – New Orleans, LA – Block Party 2011

Sun. April 17 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade

Mon. April 18 – Columbia, SC – New Brooklyn Tavern

Tues. April 19 Norfolk, VA – Jewish Mother

Wed. April 20 – Richmond, VA – The Canal Club

Thurs. April 21 Philadelphia, PA – The Ox

Fri. April 22 – Garden City, NY – Ethical Humanist Center

Sat. April 23 (1pm) – Boston, MA – Middle East

Sat. April 23 (6pm) – Hamden, CT – The Space

Tues. April 26 – Bethpage, NY – Mr. Beery’s

Weds. April 27 – Asbury Park, NJ – Asbury Lanes

Thurs. April 28 – Syracuse, NY – Funk N’ Waffles

Fri. April 29 – Cleveland, OH – TBA

Sat. April 30 – Lansing, MI – Mac’s Bar

Sun. May 1 – Chicago, IL – TBA

For more information please visit:

www.skaisdead.com

www.facebook.com/skaisdead

www.wearetheunion.tumblr.com

www.theforthrights.com

Mustard Plug’s “Big Daddy Multitude” Digital Re-Release

Mustard Plug’s first official release on CD format, Big Daddy Multitude, came out in 1993 - well before Ska became a household word, but after Mustard Plug had spawned a large Midwest following. Originally released on lead singer Dave Kirchgessner’s Dashiki Clout Records, it was soon picked up by Ska powerhouse Moon Ska Records. With Moon’s distribution, Mustard Plug found an international audience ready for Ska to explode. Soon after the release of Big Daddy Multitude, the Plug began to tour nationally and amassed a solid fanbase coast to coast.

On Big Daddy Mulitude, the band had developed a better understanding of writing and playing since their first self released cassette, Skapocalypse Now! The songs were cohesive, catchy and great to skank to. Some tracks were released on compilations and quickly became “hits” in the still underground Ska scene. After the unfortunate demise of Moon Ska Records, this CD was re-released on Hopeless Records in May of 2001. 

In 2010, Big Daddy Multitude has been re-released digitally with 4 tracks from the 1995 “Beer Song” 7” sessions. These tracks were the last tracks the band recorded before signing to Hopeless Records. They feature the “Big Daddy” line up, including the stellar horn section of Mark Petz on sax, Bob Engelsman on trombone and Craig DeYoung on alto sax.  Several songs from this session, including the “Beer Song,” were re-recorded for the band’s breakthrough record “Evildoers Beware,” but these original self-produced versions have been unavailable for several years.  They represent a moment in the band’s career, when Mustard Plug had congealed their own unique sound, taking in influences from Two Tone Ska, Oi, bubble gum pop, and Socal Punk and creating the Mustard Plug sound that fans would know them by for many years to come.

Upcoming shows (not all ska)!

Big ups to Cory from the forums/Sparks/the real world for compiling this!

July 15 (Thursday) - Royal Oak (Club 309) - CBJ, Staple Salute, Explicit Bombers, Take a Hint, A.T.G.

July 17 (Saturday) - Grand Rapids (Billy’s Lounge) - Vic Ruggiero, Chris Murray, The Forthrights, Deals Gone Bad

July 18 (Sunday) - Ann Arbor (Blind Pig) - Vic Ruggiero, Chris Murray, The Forthrights, 1592, Matt Wixson

July 22 (Thursday) - Rochester (The Factory) - Still Rings True, Seized Up, Piece of Mind, My Alumni

July 24 (Saturday) - Detroit (St. Andrew’s Hall) - The Suicide Machines, We Are The Union, Bill Bondsmen, The Code, Wreak Havoc

July 24 (Saturday) - Detroit (The Shelter (St. Andrew’s Hall)) - A.T.G., All My Blood, H8 Inc.

July 25 (Sunday) - Lansing (Mac’s Bar) - Bomb The Music Industry, Take a Hint, A Name for Ourselves

July 29 (Thursday) - Rochester (The Factory) - Paranoia Dance Party, The Best of the Worst, Take a Hint, Sparks, Due North

July 31 (Saturday) - Royal Oak (Club 309) - Fatter Than Albert, A Billion Ernies, Stuck Lucky, Seized Up, Take a Hint, Matt Wixson

August 1 (Sunday) - Troy (Cory’s Basement) - Fatter Than Albert, A Billion Ernies, Stuck Lucky, The Best of the Worst, Sparks

August 2 (Monday) - Grand Rapids (The DAAC) - Fatter Than Albert, A Billion Ernies, Stuck Lucky, A Name for Ourselves, Matt Wixson

August 5 (Thursday) - Ann Arbor (BTB Cantina) - 1952, Unlikely Alibi

August 6 (Friday) - Grand Rapids (Jukes Bar) - Unlikely Alibi, The Redlights, 1592 

August 7 (Saturday) - Detroit (Magic Stick) - Frank Turner, William Elliott Whitmore

August 7 (Saturday) - Romeo (Static Age) - We Are The Union, Hostage Calm, Sunlight Ascending, Headlight Over Hills

August 7 (Saturday) - Ann Arbor (Blind Pig) - Against the Grain, BootKnife, Duppy a Jamba, Taking on the World, Arrogant Bastards, Poncho Villa’s Skull

August 10 (Tuesday) - Rochester (The Factory) - This Is A Stick Up, Seized Up, A.T.G., A Name for Ourselves, Core Rotten

August 14 (Saturday) - Southgate (The Modern Exchange) - Ziptacular, Granola Add Bacon, Hometown Heroes

August 15 (Sunday) - Royal Oak (Club 309) - 2 Tone Runts, Car Full of Midgets, Take A Hint, Clear Blue Ska

*August 21 (Saturday) - Hamtramck (Bohemian National Home) - Hub City Stompers

August 27 (Friday) - Detroit (St. Andrew’s Hall) - Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Flatliners, Teenage Bottlerocket

*Mentioned in Subborn Records newsletter, no other information known.