n 1981, the third wave of ska crashed on both American shores.

Influenced by the UK 2 Tone scene of The Specials, Madness and the Beat, the rock steady sound took root In L.A. with The Uptones, and the mighty Fishbone, while here on the Atlantic side the Toasters started a scene that would include The A-Kings, The Second Step, The Boilers, and in a few short years The Beat Brigade.

New York City had just come out of a very vibrant and fertile period in music and art; the holy trinity of CBGB’s, Max’s and The Mudd Club, the scene that spawned Patti Smith, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie and Television. Halston and disco at Studio 54. . Basquiat. Rap, break-dancing, and graffiti seeping from outer borough projects into the mainstream. It was the dawn of the era of club kids and mega clubs like Area, Danceteria, and Limelight. Skinheads slam dancing at A7. A music video channel was born. Squeegie men hadn’t been Giulianied out of existence yet, and you could still ride between cars on the subway and play radios in Central Park. Keith Haring’s bubble babies adorned the East Village, crack was most definitely whack, the Beastie Boys were a hardcore group and Madonna was just getting into her groove. NYC was dangerous, filthy, graffitied over and oh so alive.

All in all it was pretty damn cool place to be.

In 1983 Jack Hoppenstand (guitar) and Andy Frolov (drums) form a short lived reggae band in Forest Hills called IAF.

In early 1984, the two place an ad in the Village Voice for a lead singer. That person turns out to be Carmelo Di Bartolo. Another ad is placed for a bassist ("Must have Looks and Chops"). Enter Frank Usamant. Frank brings on board a friend of his, Nelson Rivera, who plays sax. And so, the earliest incarnation of the Beat Brigade is born. Taking its name from a line from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, (“What is this, the beat brigade”?) the band had not one but two killer songwriters in Jack and Carmelo, eventually Dave Barry would join on keys, solidifying the line up in ninth chord arpeggios.

They are young, stylish and definitely had the afore mentioned chops. Immigrants all, Italian, Polish, Thai Ukraine, first generation at best. They start gigging with original material, which at that time is a mashup of many styles – reggae and ska, but also British soul and pop. Jack happens to have a part-time job at a vintage clothing store around Union Square called Cheap Jack's . Forbidden Planet is a block or so away and it is there that he meets Rob “Bucket” Higley, who manages the store and also happens to be the front-man for the Toasters – probably the best-known NYC ska band at the time. A demo tape is handed off and they talk about playing some shows. This friendship pulls the Beat Brigade into what is quickly becoming a very vibrant and exciting ska scene.

An ex girlfriend of Jack's is booking shows for NYU, and arranges a show that features the Beat Brigade, the Toasters, the A-Kings, and Second Step. It’s well attended and solidifies the scene. The Beat Brigade welcome the addition of a sixth member to the band - Erick Storckman – a trombone player with some heavy chops who had arrived in NYC from his home in Indiana just a week or so before, (the Village Voice sure was useful in those days) . The tunes were insanely infectious, and the band played every room in the city that mattered, from CB’s and Danceteria to The World and SOB’s.

The legendary night with Johnny Thunders at 40 Worth, “Hang on Sloopy” never sounded so cool.

Trust me, they were the real deal.

The Beat Brigade was tight.

They gigged and gigged. The Danceteria show in 1986 is a particular milestone, with different ska bands playing on each of the massive clubs four floors. It was a celebration of the release of Moon records NYC Ska Hit and Run, the album that captured the scene and preserved it in wax (available at Bleeker Bob’s!). The now classic album features Beat Brigade's "Armageddon Beat”.

The Beat Brigade boys keep gigging and recording.

In 1987, they release a double A-side single with the Toasters that features the song "Try and Try Again" and sign with a manager.

I wish this next part covered the world tours, the music videos, celebrity fans, and magazine covers but it doesn’t. Those things never materialized. As so many of these stories go, the relationship with the manager brings about creative issues and strain over what direction to take. Andy, the original drummer is asked to leave during a recording session. Various studio musicians are recruited and things become more business and less fun. Times changed, jobs were gotten, bands break up, new bands formed, the world moves on. By 1988 Jack had left and the Beat Brigade were no more, fallen soldiers outside the castle walls, eventually breached a decade later by west coast bands No Doubt and Sublime. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones had their moment too, but by and large ska remained on the fringe, popping up in crossword puzzles more than on the radio. (“Emo" also gets a lot of crossword love).

Maybe its because radio as a medium just doesn’t cut it. You have to be there in the room, sweating and skanking and soaking in it to really truly get it. Does this mean they failed? Not hardly. (needs something) . Their lives went on, careers, families other bands, but they always remained true to their roots.

Now once in a great while there are comeback stories, reunions, second chances. This is one of them.

Now I’m not saying that they are topping the charts, or found out that they’re Sugarman huge in some far off country.

But they are back. Working, recording and keeping the flame burning and their craft alive.

There has been a criminal lack of Beat Brigade music available for mass consumption, until now.

Finally. Finally almost three full decades from that first Village Voice ad, comes the disc you are now holding, simply titled KINGS.

Re-recorded classics and new tunes give the full picture 30 years in the making.

KINGS is a borough, KINGS is a boast, KINGS is what the Beat Brigade are.

All hail.



Take a listen. Go to a show. Second that emotion.


www.reverbnation.com/beatbrigadenyc


www.facebook.com/BeatBrigadeNYC/


beatbrigade.bandcamp.com