The Toasters | |
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 The Toasters playing at LabaDaba Festival, August 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | Ska, Third wave ska |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | Megalith, Moon Ska Records, Moon Ska World |
| Members | [[]] |
| Website | thetoasters |
The Toasters are one of the original American third wave of ska bands. Founded in New York City in 1981, the band has released nine studio albums, primarily through Moon Ska Records.
Englishman Robert Hingley relocated to New York City in 1980, where he managed that city's Forbidden Planet comic book store location. Hingley formed the Toasters in 1981 after seeing the Beat perform at the Roseland Ballroom. [1] [2] [3]
The group's first live show was supporting Bad Brains at A7 in 1981. [4] One of the original second-wave ska bands, the early Toasters lineup included other employees of the Forbidden Planet store. [5] [6] [7]
The group self-released their first single, "Beat Up", in 1983. [6] They recorded their Joe Jackson-produced debut EP, Recriminations, in 1985. After failing to find a label to release it, Hingley formed his own label Moon Ska Records. [8] [9] [10]
The group collaborated further with Jackson on later albums and in live shows. [11] [12] Jackson had known Hingley since 1978, and appeared on some Toasters albums under the pseudonym Stanley Turpentine. Then later the group expanded with the addition of a brass section. Their first full-length album, Skaboom!, was released in 1987. [3] [6] [10]
Hingley has been the only constant member in the band. [6] [13] While the band's lineup has seen many changes, regular contributors included Coolie Ranx (vocals), Matt Malles (bass), Dave Barry (keyboards), Johnnathan McCain (drums), Freddie Reiter (saxophone), Brian Sledge (trumpet), and both Rick "Chunk" Faulkner and Erick "E-Man" Storckman on trombone. [6]
Veteran Jamaican saxophonist Lester Sterling has made several guest appearances, [6] and Deejay Andrew "Jack Ruby Jr." Lindo, son of Jamaican producer Jack Ruby, was also a long-time member. [14] [15]
Reiter joined the Toasters after playing in the New York Citizens, who had supported the Toasters on tour. [16] Trombonist Buford O'Sullivan joined around 2000 after leaving The Scofflaws. [17] Faulkner and Reiter went on to form the New York Ska Jazz Ensemble. [18] The band now consists of a revolving cast of musicians, with Hingley as the central and only consistent member.
In 2004 Moon Ska Records collapsed, and Hingley has been based in Valencia, Spain. He started the Megalith label, which has since been the band's home. [4] [9] [19] [20] The Toasters still perform around the world, and in 2007 they celebrated their 25th anniversary with a new studio album, One More Bullet. [5] [6] In 2011 they undertook a 30th anniversary world tour. [3] [4]
The Toasters blend ska with pop music, rap, R&B, and calypso. [12] [21] Their mixed-race lineup has seen them break through with both black and white audiences in the US. [15]
The Toasters experienced a small degree of commercial success in the late 1990s due to the popularity of third wave ska in North America. Their song "Two-Tone Army" is the theme song for the Nickelodeon show KaBlam! . The song is performed by the 'Moon Ska Stompers' - members of the Toasters and friends.
The Toasters song "Skaternity" was used for the end credits of KaBlam! during most of season 1, while "Everything You Said Has Been A Lie" was used for the end credits during seasons 2-4. [5] Their song "Don't Let The Bastards Grind You Down" appeared in the pilot episode of the animated series Mission Hill . [5]
The Toasters have recorded background music for many TV commercials, including for America Online and Coca-Cola. Members of the Toasters performed on King Django's 1998 album Roots and Culture. [22]
In 1998 the Toasters were part of the 'Ska Against Racism' tour, along with the Blue Meanies, Five Iron Frenzy, and Less Than Jake. [15]
Ska is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the off beat. It was developed in Jamaica in the 1960s when Stranger Cole, Prince Buster, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, and Duke Reid formed sound systems to play American rhythm and blues and then began recording their own songs. In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant music genre of Jamaica and was popular with British mods and with many skinheads.
The Slackers are an American ska band, formed in Manhattan, New York in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz. The Slackers' notability is credited to their prolific career, tours of North and South America, Europe, and elsewhere, and signing to notable punk label Hellcat Records.
Go Jimmy Go was an American ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul influenced band from Honolulu, Hawaii. Although chronologically, the band belongs to the third-wave, their mellow, slower tempo sound is reminiscent of the classic style of the original 1960s Jamaican first wave of ska.
Voodoo Glow Skulls are an American ska punk band formed in 1988 in Riverside, California, by brothers Frank, Eddie, and Jorge Casillas and their longtime friend Jerry O'Neill. Voodoo Glow Skulls first played at backyard parties and later at Spanky's Café in their hometown of Riverside, where they played shows with the Angry Samoans, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Firehose, Murphy's Law, and The Dickies.
Mustard Plug is an American ska punk band from Grand Rapids, Michigan, consisting of Dave Kirchgessner (vocals), Brandon Jenison (trumpet), Jim Hofer (trombone), Nate Cohn (drums), Colin Clive (guitar/vocals), Mark Petz and Greg Witulski (bass).
Let's Go Bowling is an American third wave ska band from Fresno, California, formed in 1986.
The Scofflaws are a Huntington, Long Island, New York-based third wave ska band that debuted in 1988. Known for their rambunctious live shows, technically proficient horn solos and tight arrangements, the Scofflaws were one of the top third wave ska acts of the '90s and one of the most beloved bands on the now-defunct Moon Ska label, as well as the center and focal point of the once-thriving Long Island ska scene.
Edna's Goldfish was an American ska punk band from Long Island, New York.
The Pietasters are an American eight-piece ska/soul band from Washington, D.C., with additional members from Maryland and Virginia.
Spring Heeled Jack is a third wave ska band based out of New Haven, Connecticut. The band was formed by guitarist/vocalist Ron Ragona and drummer Dave Karcich in 1991. After a short breakup, Ragona and Karcich reformed the band with a new lineup. This lineup went on to record two albums before announcing a hiatus in 2000. While the band members moved on to perform in several new bands, their intention was to play the occasional reunion show. This plan would never come to fruition as a cerebral aneurysm would be cause for Karcich's death in 2002. In 2015, several band members returned to reform the band full-time. A third studio album, Sound Salvation, followed in 2017.
Stubborn All-Stars are an American, New York City-based ska band led by King Django, front man of Skinnerbox and owner of Stubborn Records.
Robert "Bucket" Hingley is lead singer and guitarist for the ska band the Toasters.
Skavoovie and the Epitones Skavoovie & The Epitones is an American ska band formed in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1992. The band is recognized for integrating traditional Jamaican ska with jazz, big band, and other musical styles. From 1992 to 1999, the band released three studio albums and appeared on multiple compilations. They played a significant role in the third-wave ska movement of the 1990s. In 2024, they reunited for a performance at the Supernova International Ska Festival, marking their first live appearance in over two decades.
Deal's Gone Bad is a band from Chicago, Illinois. Their sound mixes reggae, rocksteady, and ska music with American soul. They have been together since 1994, with numerous lineup changes over the years. The current incarnation has been mostly stable since 2003. The band hews to a more traditional ska-reggae sound while many others working in the genre morphed into a more punk variety.
The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many other Jamaican artists who recorded during that period, including Bob Marley & The Wailers, on their first single "Simmer Down." They reformed in 1983 and have played together ever since.
Murphy's Kids was a six-piece American ska punk band from Richmond, Virginia, formed in 1999. The group has toured up and down the East Coast of the United States and is noted for organizing the yearly Happy Skalidays charity benefit show. The Band is also known for being politically active.
Don't Let The Bastards Grind You Down is the seventh studio album by The Toasters. It has a much more mature sound than their previous albums and wasn't as solely focused on one genre (2-Tone) as their other albums before it had been. The album's cover includes the supposed-Latin motto, "Illegitimis non carborundum", which is supposed to mean "one must not be ground down by the bastards", although it is largely faux-Latin, with "carborundum" actually referring to silicon carbide, a type of abrasive.
I Voted for Kodos was an American ska punk and pop punk band, signed to Snapdragon Records.
Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra are a Hungarian ska band formed in Budapest, in 2003. The band's musical style has fused Jamaican-style ska and reggae with jazz melodies and elements of traditional Hungarian folk music.
Inspecter 7 is an American ska band formed in 1992 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, with a sound that combines all three waves of ska
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