The Up Beat

New title, trailer and website

2008-04-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

I've finally got a website up for the documentary.

Please visit www.theupbeatmovie.com. This will be the last post on the production blog. Please add yourself to the mailing list to get the latest updates on THE UP BEAT.

For those of you who have myspace accounts, go to www.myspace.com/theupbeatmovie and add THE UP BEAT to your friends.

The Upstarts

2008-04-03T19:33:00.001-07:00

For the past year I have been documenting the progression of The Upstarts, a ska, reggae and rocksteady band from the Salt Lake City area. I followed the seven piece group as they prepared to release and promote their self-titled debut album, regardless of the dwindling ska scene in Utah.

Insatiable

2008-03-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

Insatiable is Utah's longest running ska band. Their current incarnation started back in '92. I spoke with Jeff before he was to go on stage for a show in their 17th year. We talked about the 2-tone era influences Insatiable had during the early years. Jeff commented, "The beauty of it is... we've been able to perform with all those icons over the years. That's the best part... to not only be influenced originally by [2-tone bands], but being able to share a bill with them."

2.5 White Guys

2008-03-21T15:23:00.001-07:00

2.5 White Guys are quite arguably the driving force behind ska and reggae in Salt Lake City these days. I stopped by during one of their weekly practice to chat with Andy and Nate. We talked about a lot about ska, and if it needs a tangible scene to sustain itself. Nate commented, "We will take any scene that wants to come see us, but I don't think we try to project that we are in [a scene], or that we are [a scene]." Andy added, "The kind of people that return to our shows are the people that are like 'you guys throw it down so I'm going to come support you'."

Atta Boy, Skip

2008-03-11T22:16:00.001-07:00

Dustin "Skip" Blad, formerly of Go Go 13 and Atta Boy Skip, sent me some super cool photos he snapped back in the day. Check 'em out...

Superhero

2008-03-11T14:14:00.001-07:00

I spoke with Dean, Shaun and Joel of our very own local Superhero. We talked about their influences and where they fit within ska. Shaun said, "We play with a distortion pedal, which some ska-purists may say 'that's not ska'. Just like with any type of music, everybody has their own twist. I think bands in the mid nineties like Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, the Hippos... are kind of what we draw our influence from, maybe like a fourth wave." Joel added, "Most people would identify us with third wave ska. I don't really feel like it's like that, because we try to move on from that."

Robert "Bucket" Hingley

2008-02-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

Bucket fronts the United States longest running ska band, The Toasters. From the city of New York, the band is in it's 27th year and still going strong. Bucket also owned the ska-only label Moon Ska Records during its existence, as well as today's Megalith Records. I asked him about his dedication to the style, regardless of popularity or album sales. To that he said, "I found something I loved, I guess. When you love something like that you stick with it. The music business is a cyclical thing, it goes up and down. You have to be prepared to go through some lean times as well as the fat times."

Editing

2008-01-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

Although I want to get about 3 more interviews, I have been busy editing the film. Everything so far has been going pretty smoothly. I have some awesome segments I wish I could show you all. I am pretty confidant that the film will be ready for a late Spring / early Summer release. Thanks for your interest in the film.
Oh, does anyone out there know of any live concert footage from Swim, Stretch or My Man? I'm currently trying to track some down. Much thanks to Hammond who has set me up with the entire Stretch collection (live stuff too).

Parker Jacobs

2007-12-04T08:57:00.001-08:00

I caught up with Go Go 13's Parker Jacobs. Although Go Go 13 is located in Southern California, they got their start in St. George, Utah in the early 90's. Parker talked about seeing a Bad Manners show that made a huge impact on him. He said, "That show changed my life... they put on such an amazing show... I was like 'this is it, this is my thing, this is what I love'... ever since then I had to start a band with my brother Tyler... then my brother in California saw what we were doing and started The Aquabats... where I'm at right now in my life, it all happened from that one show."

Ska Bob

2007-11-15T13:47:00.001-08:00

"Ska Bob" Walters' intereset in ska led him to the London International Ska Festival in 1989. He experienced the 2-Tone scene first hand and it made a lasting impression on him. He said, "I really liked the idea of these sharp looking kids, guys in suits and girls in mini skirts, riding scooters. [They] stuck to what they liked, and let themselves stand out by looking decent."

Fews & Two

2007-11-07T11:57:00.001-08:00

Matney and Ecks play in one of Salt Lake City's finest ska and reggae bands, Fews & Two. We talked about how music has influenced their lives in a positive way. Ecks stated, "Cab Calloway survived the great depression with a wealth of money, class and style because he played music that gave people hope. That's what good ska and reggae does." Matney added, "As soon as a good beat kicks in, the off-beats are in the right place, the drums are perfect...You just know that everything at that moment is perfect."

Swim Herschel Swim

2007-11-07T11:52:00.001-08:00

I had a good time with Jon Armstrong and Jeff Hibbert as they reminisced about the early days of ska in Utah. They played in the band Swim Herschel Swim. As they talked about their success, Jon said, "There was a drive for us to do a good job in whatever it was we were doing. Not just in the band, but in life in general. I think a lot of local bands don't have that same drive."

Steve Purves

2007-10-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

Steve and I met up at his office in Sacramento. He sang for Logan based Model Citizen. We talked about his band being apart of a larger Utah ska scene. He said "Our first big show was with Skankin' Pickle at the skate park in Provo. I remember thinking, 'we get to go to a Skankin' Pickle show for free.' We where excited to play the show, but were just happy to be there. I think that was kind of our attitude throughout most of Model Citizen, we were just happy to be there. "

Toots

2007-10-10T21:50:00.001-07:00

This week we were incredibly blessed with an interview with the legendary Frederick "Toots" Hibbert. He moved to Kingston at the age of 16, where here formed to gospel vocal trio The Maytals. Backed by The Skatalites, The Maytals saw much success in the early 60's. After changing their name to Toots and the Maytals, they recorded a number of albums which included a single entitled "Do the Reggay." In the interview, Toots said, "I started with ska. A few years after that, the good musicians in Jamaica created the rhythm. No one really knew what to call it, until I recorded this song called "Do the Reggay." People started to call me from all over the world and say, "I know what the music that you're playing is named. It's reggae and you are the inventor."

Skaquel

2007-10-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Raquel played a vital role in the local ska scene throughout the 90's. Under the name Skaquel Productions, she produced and managed numerous local shows. Notably, was the 4 day Ska Patrick's Days festival. Along with many local acts, the festival also featured performances from Buck O' Nine, The Aquabats, Reel Big Fish, Mephiskapheles, and Mustard Plug. She said, "Ska was getting pretty big in Utah right around that time. All these bands knew that Utah would be a fun place to play."

Along with doing promoting, she is also a talented photographer. We spent some time going through her large collection of negatives, which she was kind enough to share.

Gus Chin

2007-09-26T22:29:00.001-07:00

Gus grew up in Kingston, Jamaica. Some favorite songs in his youth included Israelites and Shanty Town by Desmond Dekker and The Aces. He also enjoyed the music of The Dragonaires and The Skatalites. Of his favorite music he said, "It was played quite regularly, especially in the heart of downtown, in the Kingston business district. You had a lot of little shops and bars that had jukeboxes, that would be open and played [the ska] from mid morning till late midnight."

English and Kelly Brooks

2007-09-09T01:00:00.001-07:00

English and Kelly Brooks created and hosted a show on KRCL 90.1 called Huzzah for Ska. On Saturday nights, they would spin ska tracks from both local and national bands. They also interviewed local and national artist including King Django and Dr. Ring Ding.

We talked about the local ska scene the year they ended the show. Kelly said, "I think in 2004, even though ska had simmered down quite a bit, there was still a lot of fans. When we left, we heard from a lot of people that were bummed because it's still really good music."

Dave Hillyard and Vic Ruggiero

2007-09-09T00:58:00.000-07:00

I was able to get an incredible interview with Dave and Vic of The Slackers. They freely shared insights from their first exposure to reggae, to being mentored by Roland Alphonso, Tommy McCook, Lloyd Knibb and Lester Sterling of The Skatalites. They also talked about continuing on for over 15 years.
Vic - "The Slackers were lucky, because we never fit in, ever. And it's always been good for us."
Dave - "We had to find out own path, and that's what we encourage other bands to do. Instead of relying on the scene we just went out and played...In the long term, it payed off."

Caleb Chapman

2007-09-09T00:54:00.000-07:00

I met with Caleb Chapman at The Music School in
American Fork. Caleb founded the private institution back in 1998.

He also played alto sax in the band My Man Friday. He stated, "I remember playing at the last Stretch show at club Omni...it was a packed house with thousands of people. As My Man Friday took over...we gradually built up that fan base...and were back playing for two and three thousand people at shows."

Impromptu Interview

2007-09-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, I met Josh Summers at a local music festival. He is a huge Stretch Armstrong fan. I had all my gear in the car, so we sat down for a quick interview. He said, "I saw [Stretch] open for Offspring and Guttermouth, which are pretty well known punk bands. In my opinion, [Stretch] got the crowd moving more than the national acts were."

Scott Van Wagenen

2007-08-27T23:46:00.001-07:00

Scott fronted Stretch Armstrong for their amazing 8 year run ('90-'97). He recounted, "I never got nervous to play a show, I always got anxious, because I just loved getting out there. There's nothing like seeing kids that know your songs well enough they know the lyrics. That's a big rush."

Corey Fox

2007-08-18T01:44:00.001-07:00

I has a great interview with Corey Fox on Friday. Cory is the owner and manager of Velour, a live music gallery in Provo. Corey began managing local bands in the early nineties. His ventures in local music eventually led him to Wrapsody, a venue he managed from '96-'00. He also managed Muse Music from '02-'05, before opening his own venue. He spoke of promoting shows during the ska craze in Utah county. "Swim Herschel Swim shows were a thousand people [in attendance]. That's unheard of these days."

Cory was also kind enough to dig up some old promotional posters, flyers, concert tickets and newspaper articles. I was able to scan the lot of them.

Jeff Vice

2007-08-11T16:26:00.001-07:00

Jeff Vice is a film critic for the Deseret Morning News. In the early nineties, he began reviewing ska shows in Utah, featuring local and national bands. "Considering how fast ska grew in Utah, it was stunning. The number of quality bands and quality shows that there were..." Jeff recalls. "There was so many amazing touring bands that came through, and we all got good exposure."

2 Interviews this weekend

2007-07-29T20:25:00.001-07:00

Jessy Stewart - utahska.com ('01-'05)
"[Ska has] always been dance music...It just seemed like you didn't have anybody on the sidelines."

Portia Early - X96 Live & Local
"I remember there was a lot of kids with the scooters and two tone jackets and the patches."

Interview With Buster Bloodvessel

2007-07-09T20:03:00.001-07:00

After an incredibly exciting Bad Manners show, we had the chance to sit down and talk with Buster. He had a lot of great things to say about his experiences throughout the years. He also recounted his incredible story of weight loss, which landed him in a coma. As motivation to survive, Buster recalled thinking, "I've got to [perform] once more, to make people smile once more."

Tyler Jacobs

2007-06-20T20:36:00.001-07:00

I have been speaking with Tyler Jacobs. Tyler started Go Go 13 back when he was just a lad in St. George. Fortunately, Tyler has an awesome collection of ska promo posters he's saved throughout the years. These posters are such a great visual representation of the ska scene in the mid-nineties. I'm super stoked that he has offered to scan them for the film. I also plan to talk with Tyler on camera about his involvement in the scene.

Buster Bloodvessel

2007-06-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

Production will kick off with an interview with Bad Manners front-man Buster Bloodvessel. Bad Manners formed in the northern London area in the mid 70's. They were a large part of the 2-tone ska scene throughout the late 70's and early 80's. Although Buster is the only original member, he continues to keep the band going today.

Additional Producers

2007-06-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

A long time associate of mine, Andrew Kirk will be involved in the production as a writer and producer. Andrew has a MA degree in Communications from the University of Utah. He currently works as a freelance journalist, writing for The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News. Along with this film, he'll be writing a piece on ska in Utah, with hopeful publication in the Salt Lake City Weekly or Slug Magazine. Andrew and I studied trombone together throughout high school, and both grew to love ska.

Also, Tyler Jacobs, Scott Neves, John Smith, Ecks, Bucky Cash and Robert Smith have expressed interest in helping produce the film.

My Demo Reel

2007-06-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

This is a demo reel of projects I've produced.

If you are interested, here is a link to my
IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) account

Film & Ska

2007-06-03T23:42:00.000-07:00

My love for filmmaking and ska are finally crossing paths. I've wanted to do a ska documentary for quite a while, but the timing has never been right. Until now.

My introduction to the ska scene came in high school, around 1997. As a trombone student and a desire to support local music, finding the scene was quite inevitable. Although I'd just barely missed great bands like Swim Herschel Swim and Stretch Armstrong, the wake they left was still quite alive. I followed a few bands quite religiously. One of my fondest memories was seeing The Skatalites play at the University of Utah. After high school I took a few traveling ventures through Europe and the deep south, and ultimately lost touch with the local scene. Apparently almost everyone else lost touch as well.

Fast forward to 2003. With my career in it's infancy, I met Nate Fackrell, a fellow filmmaker. His brother Andy had recently formed a ska band and was looking for a trombone player. I immediately jumped at the opportunity and helped form The Upstarts. Over the last 4 years, we've played small shows to those tried-and-true ska fans. We've even played shows where we as a band out-numbered those in the audience. Unfortunately, the scene today just isn't what it used to be.

Poster Concept

2007-06-03T00:52:00.000-07:00