Mike Park | |
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Background information | |
Born | 11 November 1969 |
Genres | Ska punk, punk rock, indie rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter, Producer, Label Owner |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar, Saxophone |
Years active | 1985–present |
Labels | Asian Man Dill Dr. Strange Simple Stereo Sub City Suburban Home |
Website | http://www.mikeparkmusic.com |
Michael Brian Park is an American musician and progressive activist. His musical ventures include Skankin' Pickle for whom he both played the saxophone and sang, The Chinkees, The Bruce Lee Band, and Ogikubo Station, as well as an acoustic solo project under his own name. After his time with Skankin' Pickle he went on to found Asian Man Records, [1] a label which he has run out of his garage in California since 1996 with only help from his parents and friends. [2] Asian Man Records supports mostly ska and punk bands. Park has used Asian Man Records to release his own music, in addition to providing a start for smaller bands to allow them to grow, including Less Than Jake, Alkaline Trio, and The Lawrence Arms. In 1999 he formed the Plea for Peace Foundation an organization whose aim is "to promote the ideas of peace through the power of music", something which Park has been trying to do with his own bands and with the help of other groups.[ citation needed ]
Park was the impetus behind the Spring 1998 "Ska Against Racism" tour. The goal of the tour was to promote awareness about racism and raise money for anti-racism organisations such as the Museum of Tolerance. The national tour included The Toasters, Less Than Jake, the Blue Meanies, Mustard Plug, Five Iron Frenzy, MU330, Kemuri, and Mike Park himself. [3]
The Plea for Peace Foundation was founded in 1999 by musician and founder of Asian Man Records, Mike Park. The Plea for Peace Foundations is a 501C3 Non-Profit Organization based in San Jose, California, in the United States. The organisation's stated goal is to "promote the ideas of peace through the power of music". Initially the foundation was only active in national and global music tours, but in 2007 it intends to open a youth center for children where they will be encouraged to "perform music, create art, dance and talk to others of similar interests".
In 2004, Plea for Peace organized a musical tour of the same name. The tour was a stand against President George W. Bush and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. [4]
Park grew up in Silicon Valley in Northern California, where he still lives. He majored in music in college. [5]
He is a Minister of the Universal Life Church. [6]
Year | Title | Label |
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1991 | Skafunkrastapunk | Dill Records |
1992 | Skankin' Pickle Fever | Dill Records |
1994 | Sing Along With Skankin' Pickle | Dill Records |
1996 | Live | Dill Records |
1996 | The Green Album | Dr. Strange Records |
Year | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
1995 | The Bruce Lee Band | Asian Man Records |
2005 | Beautiful World EP | Asian Man Records |
2014 | Community Support Group EP | Really Records [7] |
2014 | Everything Will Be Alright, My Friend | Asian Man Records |
2019 | Rental!! Eviction!! | Asian Man Records |
2021 | Division in the Heartland EP | Asian Man Records |
Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes, Roger Lima, Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxophone).
Skankin' Pickle was an American ska punk band formed in San Jose, California that was active from 1989 to 1997.
Link 80 was an American punk rock/ska punk band from San Francisco's East Bay, United States.
Present Day Memories is an EP by the Chicago, Illinois punk rock band The Lawrence Arms and the San Francisco, California ska punk band The Chinkees, released in 2001 by Asian Man Records. It is considered a "split" CD in that each band contributes several songs. It is now out of print, however all of the Lawrence Arms tracks have been reissued on their B-sides album Cocktails & Dreams. This is the release that got Fat Mike interested in signing The Lawrence Arms to his label, Fat Wreck Chords.
Tuesday was a punk and emo band formed by three ex-members of Chicago ska punk band Slapstick after the latter's breakup in 1996. The band's initial line-up consisted of Dan Andriano (bass/vocals), Matt Stamps (guitar), and Rob Kellenberger (drums/vocals). They released a demo on 1133 in 1996, before releasing an EP, titled Early Summer, on Asian Man Records in 1997. Later that same year, they released their first and only album, Freewheelin. While recording this album in California, the members of Tuesday also served as the backing band for Mike Park for the first album by The Chinkees, The Chinkees Are Coming. Also during this time, Rob and Matt were in college, and Dan found himself with extra free time. He started playing with other bands on the side including an instrumental band called Dulcet Tone, and eventually Alkaline Trio, after their original bass player Rob Doran departed. In early 1998, Tyler Wiseman from Dulcet Tone joined as a second guitarist for Tuesday to help expand the band's sound and tour in support of Freewheelin. They toured the U.S. in spring and the summer of 1998. They continued to write songs throughout this period intended for a follow-up album. With other members of the band devoting more time to family and college, and Dan enjoying success with the Alkaline Trio, Tuesday faded away as an active band sometime in 1999.
Slapstick is an American punk-ska fusion band from the Chicago area that was primarily active from 1993 to 1996. Started by a group of friends from the Elgin area, the group took inspiration from Operation Ivy and the guttural punk vocals of Crimpshrine. Though they had made the decision to break up a couple of weeks beforehand, their original final show was October 5, 1996 at the Metro with Less Than Jake and Skankin' Pickle. Since disbanding, Slapstick has periodically reunited to perform shows for various reasons, including benefits and anniversaries. The band is known for being the root of the "Slapstick Family Tree", a group of musical projects which spawned from members of Slapstick, including Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms, The Broadways, Tuesday, Duvall, Colossal, The Honor System and The Falcon.
The Uptones are an American ska band, based in Northern California. Formed in 1981 by a group of high school students in Berkeley, California, The Uptones were influenced by the English 2 Tone sound, as well as the British mod scene, punk rock, and the original Jamaica ska sound. The Uptones were one of the first U.S. bands devoted to playing ska and were an influence on the burgeoning West Coast punk/ska scene. The band reformed with core founding members in the early 2000s and continued to play live shows throughout the Bay Area until 2018.
Ear of the Dragon (1995) is a CD album released on the Fortune 5 label in collaboration with A Magazine. It is a compilation of tracks by American and Canadian indie bands which contained Asian-American members. The album contains a broad range of American indie music styles and notable indie artists from the early to mid 1990s including indie rock, punk, ska punk, slowcore (Seam), cuddlecore (cub), and key players in post-rock.
The Bruce Lee Band is the name given to the releases of Mike Park and his backing band which up until 2005 included members of Less Than Jake and the Rx Bandits. As of 2014, the collective consisted of touring and recording members from Skankin' Pickle, MU330, Hard Girls, The Chinkees, Bomb the Music Industry, The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, among others.
Dill Records was a small punk rock/ska record label based out of Monte Sereno, California, that put out CDs/records from 1989-1998. The name is an allusion to initially the label's only band, Skankin' Pickle. The record label was started by Mike Park, a.k.a. Bruce Lee of Skankin' Pickle. The first other band with a release on Dill Records was the Tantra Monsters in 1994. After the breakup of Skankin' Pickle, Mike Park continued releasing records, beginning the label Asian Man Records in 1996. Asian Man and Dill Records coexisted until 1998. Asian Man re-released many albums originally released by Dill Records, as all releases are now out of print and Dill Records is no longer in operation.
The Chinkees are an American ska punk band fronted by Mike Park. The group debuted with 1998's The Chinkees Are Coming!, and followed with 1999's Peace Through Music and 2002's Searching for a Brighter Future before a greatest hits album was released in 2003. According to the liner notes for the band's debut album The Chinkees Are Coming!, the music was recorded by members of the band Tuesday with vocals provided by Mike Park. Subsequent albums were recorded all or in part by members Park, Miya Osaki, Greg Alesandro, Jason Thinh, and Steve Choi, as well as "guest" musicians, including Slapstick and Tuesday drummer Rob Kellenberger and Link 80's Steve Borth, often with members trading and playing different instruments than listed. All of the members were involved with the ska/punk scene. Jason Thinh was from the band Short Round, Miya was a member of the Santa Cruz punk trio The Muggs, Greg Alesandro a member of San Jose band Statue Man, and Steve Choi later becoming a keyboardist and guitarist for Rx Bandits in 1999.
The Rudiments are an American ska punk band from the East Bay, California, United States.
Sing Along With Skankin' Pickle is the third studio album by the American ska punk band Skankin' Pickle. It was released on Dill Records in 1994. Four of the bandmembers contributed to the songwriting. The band supported the album with a North American tour.
Skankin' Pickle Live is a live album by American ska punk band Skankin' Pickle, released on Dill Records in 1995.
Skafunkrastapunk is the debut album by American ska punk band Skankin' Pickle, released in 1991 on Dill Records and subsequently re-issued in 1995.
The Green Album is the fourth and final studio album by American ska punk band Skankin' Pickle, released in 1996 on Dr. Strange Records.
The Chinkees Are Coming is the first studio album by the all-Asian ska punk band the Chinkees. Released in 1998 on Asian Man Records, it was the first of three studio albums by the band. Some of the album's proceeds went to anti-racist organizations.
The Ska Against Racism Tour of 1998 was a one time musical tour in the United States organized by Mike Park, a Korean American musician. The audience was mainly young white male hardcore ska devotees. Ska is a music genre that originated in Jamaica and later became the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. This genre of music promoted racial tolerance through a variety of multicultural artists and bands. The purpose of this tour was to overcome racial barriers in a nonviolent and peaceful manner.
Lynette Christine Knackstedt was an American punk and ska musician, as well as a member of the band Skankin' Pickle.