Tyler Jacobs

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

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

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

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

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