Riding off our Grrl Power #unitycommunity high notes we have a new episode of checkered cast where Tara & Christine get a bonus field trip!! On this episode we have an interview with Brie from the Doped Up Dollies & Dave from Big D & the Kids Table (https://www.bigdandthekidstable.com/) . Who our listeners all know is one of Tara’s favorite bands of all time, she has talked about flying out for their shows on episodes prior, & throughout the pandemic she was constantly begging them for new music. It has been a long time coming but we are finally here to chat with them about Do Your Art (http://smarturl.it/doyourart) the new album from Big D & The Kids Table. Tara & Christine are also going to be reporting live from the record release show in boston together in person meeting for the second time ever for this epic halloween party with Cat Bite (https://www.facebook.com/catbiteband) & Kill Lincoln (https://www.facebook.com/KillLincolnDC). Who knows maybe a doped up dollies rude girl revue collab coming your way someday! We are so excited for shows coming back & tours we might be getting ahead of ourselves a little bit with that ha! Well we are huge supporters of musicians & women collaborating to create a great scene to be part of and you get a lot of that enthusiasm in this episode. If you are feeling inspired to get more involved with the #unitycommunity check out the Thursday Zoom night (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1236185059917263) there will be plenty of other ska nerds to talk about Big D records old & new as well as a conversation about how important it is to keep supporting the arts and live music scene but mostly just come have a happy hour with some fellow ska nerds. Please support the new & long awaited return of Big D & The Kids Table, support your local ska band, and support women artists!!! Follow our podcast on Instagram to see pics, videos, & livestream from the record release party (https://www.instagram.com/checkeredcast/) & give us a like on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/checkeredcast) Your support means a lot to us please share!

This ep is coming out a month too late but, life. Christine and Tara bring in their friend Camille to talk about how awesome Supernova was. They hit on Rude Girl Revue as well as the importance of building communities for people to be part of. 

The ladies talk about getting ready for Supernova Ska Fest! Tara speaks on going to live shows again and the adventure it takes to get there. This episode is short and sweet. We can't wait to see yall at the fest. Come find us. We have stickers. 

After a year of manifesting, we are proud to announce the Rude Girl Revue! The RGR will be playing Friday night at Supernova Ska festival. You should purchase the live stream so you don't miss out on 30 hours of ska and 1 sold hour of the most amazing, talented and powerful women in ska take the stage.

Ska is back & so is checkered cast with a new episode! Tara & Christine are catching up about the explosion of ska show announcements on this episode where we recap the major events happening. If we missed an important show announcement especially a local ska band event please message us so we can show support to the #unitycommunity Also on this episode we're featuring music from a few of the artists that have submitted their songs for our show! We are so grateful to everyone who tunes in & have become part of our inclusive community. Tara shares her experience of traveling & checking out one of the recent Slackers gigs. We also do our best to encourage & support everyone who is anxious for better or worse about returning to shows and shared space after the pandemic pandemonium. If you have suggestions that can help others adjust to social gatherings again or avoid burnout please feel free to contact us so we can share those tips with our listeners. We really appreciate all of you & your input! Featured artist is Girls Go Ska!

So on this episode of the Checkered Cast we have an interview with Lindsay Goodwin McCarthy vocalist of one of our favorite up & coming ska bands The Skluttz(https://theskluttz.com/) she also sings in another epic ska punk band Thirteen Towers(https://thirteentowers.com/) We talk with Lindsay about being from the badass scene that is the RVA/DC area, there’s some hot takes about gatekeeping in the ska scene, and we talk about how amazing Supernova Ska Fest is & how we all cannot wait to goooooo! We are totally biased with how much we at the Checkered Cast love Lindsay as you will hear on this super casual chat amongst ska soul sisters because she is also a participant in our weekly Thursday Ska Happy Hour Zoom Chats! If you want to experience a live rendition of this podcast episode with you included in the conversation go over to Tara’s Facebook group for the Supernova Ska Community(https://www.facebook.com/groups/1236185059917263) where you can find a link every week to hang with fellow ska freaks, every thursday evening 7pm til 10pm EST (it goes later most weeks tbh). While you are on Facebook, we would super appreciate it if you also hit the like button on the Checkered Cast Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/checkeredcast), follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/checkeredcast/), & stay in touch with us through our social media by dropping us a line at our Anchor.fm (https://anchor.fm/checkeredcast). Also give a like/follow/support to The Skluttz who have an album on bandcamp you absolutely must own, it features the RAD single called Ska Police which we feature in this episode because it is SO GOOOOOD! (https://theskluttz.bandcamp.com/) Please show your support for women of ska punk by picking up their album or sharing their music AND this podcast with your friends! We love our unitycommunity & we wouldn’t be doing this without all of you xo

Okay yall this is episode 4 of Season 2 & we are still supremely grateful for the support of the #unitycommunity. We know you have lots of options when it comes to spending time listening to folks talk about Ska but we hope that we have been providing you all a different perspective & take on the subculture from an angle that helps you expand your own viewpoint on the scene. That being said we got a really informative & FRESH take on SKA with this episode because we have on the Checkered Cast; The CEO of SKA - JER of Skatune Network! (https://www.facebook.com/Skatunenetwork/) If you think that is a bold statement to claim well we invite you to listen to the episode to find out WHY they are the CEO of SKA. We also mention in this episode that we recorded this interview with Jer on Transgender visibility day and that Jer is a non-binary person who uses the pronouns THEY/THEM. Real talk they are constantly misgendered by folks & it’s unfortunate that the labor of educating people falls onto the person who experiences the harm of being erased by gender norms so we hope that we are doing a small part to spread the awareness of ASKING SOMEONE THEIR DAMN PRONOUNS & not making assumptions. Don’t make asses out of you & me, just ask!  And if you refuse to respect pronouns we are going to have to identify as A FKN PROBLEM. In this episode we talk to Jer about being a SKAlebrity aka how strange it is to have such a huge platform to speak about all things ska, how they built their social media empire(278k on TikTok, 190k on YouTube, 91k on Facebook, 38k on Instagram, 34k on Twitter) being on Vice.com, name drops on BrooklynVegan & supporting themself through Patreon as well as being a musician for hire (https://www.patreon.com/Skatunenetwork) & what we ALL chat about what we want to see being done better in the music industry post COVID lockdowns to make it a safer space for all. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCji2l5wcs6GoYJY1GgG_slQ) “Anything you can do, they can do SKA. Skatune Network is what happens when you get a person who really likes ska, as well as not ska, but wants to hear the not ska as ska, SO they use their skill to be kinda ok at every part of a band to re-create songs that aren't ska as ska songs.” This episode was recorded while Jer was on a roadtrip to California so there were a little bit of technical issues but hopefully you wont even notice in the edit. Don’t forget to show your support for their music & talent by following them on social media, sharing their music, & GET THAT FIRE MERCH! (https://www.skatunenetwork.com/)

Checkered Cast would also super appreciate it if you showed us some support by smashing the like button on the our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/checkeredcast), follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/checkeredcast/), & stay in touch with us through our social media by dropping us a line at our Anchor.fm (https://anchor.fm/checkeredcast). If you are not already part of the Supernova Ska Community Facebook group that Tara runs & are planning to attend the festival definitely go join the group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1236185059917263). We have a Ska Chat Happy Hour every thursday on zoom (7pm-10pm EST) come chat with other ska folks just like you would outside the venue between bands!

Checkered Cast is delighted to bring you Season 2 Episode 3 featuring an interview with the incredible, dynamic, badass vocalist & Saxophonist Leanor Ortega Till of Five Iron Frenzy. (https://www.fiveironfrenzy.com/) Also known as Jeff the Girl by her die-hard Five Iron Family she has been part of the ska punk music scene since 1995. She has been part of major events such as numerous Warped Tours, The Back to The Beach Festival, & The Pick It Up! Ska in the 90’s movie. Her band broke a record as one of the largest funded kickstarters ever. The band is also well known for the Christian mission behind their music; so we talk to Leanor about her faith & being a woman involved in a secular music scene. She is so generous with what she shares during this conversation with us & we are supremely honored to have someone of her experience & longevity on the show. Five Iron Frenzy has a new album out now called “Until This Shakes Apart” which we discuss the production of and the challenges releasing an album during a pandemic quarantine. (https://www.facebook.com/5ironFrenzy/) We would super appreciate it if you also hit the like button on the Checkered Cast Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/checkeredcast), follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/checkeredcast/), & stay in touch with us through our social media by dropping us a line at our Anchor.fm (https://anchor.fm/checkeredcast). If you are not already part of the Supernova Ska Community Facebook group that Tara runs & are planning to attend the festival definitely go join the group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1236185059917263). We have a Ska Chat Happy Hour every thursday on zoom (7pm-10pm EST).

Season 2 Episode 2 of Checkered Cast is here and it’s a big deal!!! As we have discussed we decided to expand our content this season so that we not only continue to use our platform to highlight the voices of women in the #unitycommunity but also include people who are actively using their platform as allies to women & BIPOC rudies. Now with February being Black History Month here in the states we are honored to interview mister Coolie Ranx on the checkered cast. Coolie is a musician based out of NYC who hails from the UK & has complex Afro-Caribbean roots. He is the host of Car Sessions 2035 a weekly livestream that promotes traditional ska, two tone, punk ska, reggae, and international musicians. He featured us on an episode back in December of 2020 so if you haven’t heard that yet go to our Facebook page to find the video replay. (https://www.facebook.com/Car-Sessions2035-108323954288434) You might also know Coolie from his Emcee days with The Toasters, as the frontman of the band he founded Pilfers, or his legendary guests vocals on a tremendous amount of tracks spanning the early 90s ska through present day. (https://www.facebook.com/pilfers) His legacy is massive as he has worked with artists such as The Pietasters, Reel Big Fish, Catch 22, various Grammy winning artists and he was featured as the voice of the character Little Jacob in Grand Theft Auto IV. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolie_Ranx) He is also the official MC of the Supernova International Ska Festival & hosted their epic 8+ hour livestream event as well as their weekly supernova saturdays streaming series. Make sure to show him & the festival your support by following their social media accounts, donating if you are able to, or you can buy Pilfers merch here (https://pilfers.storenvy.com/) & support Coolie’s music directly through bandcamp (https://pilfers.bandcamp.com/album/from-far). If you are not already part of the Supernova Ska Community Facebook group that Tara runs & are planning to attend the festival definitely go join the group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1236185059917263). They have a Ska Chat Happy Hour every thursday on zoom (7pm-10pm EST). We would super appreciate it if you also hit the like button on the Checkered Cast Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/checkeredcast), follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/checkeredcast/), & stay in touch with us through our social media by dropping us a line at our Anchor.fm (https://anchor.fm/checkeredcast).

We couldn't fit everything into our last episode with Tim and April so, we thought why not split it into two parts! Here is the last bit of our interview when we ask the two of them all the fast questions in true Checkered Cast style. Shout out to Chapmans DC, go check out her tasty treats here https://www.facebook.com/ChapmansDC. Music included, Hub City Stompers, The sensible and Flip the Switch.