World/Inferno Friendship Society was not a ska band. However, their punk cabaret sound was similar in spirit and they played with a fair amount of ska bands. They even toured with Blue Meanies and The Independents. Accordion/Keyboardist Franz Nicolay WAS a ska fan. When he moved to New York in the 90s, he saw many brilliant ska shows at The Wetlands. Later when joined indie rock group The Hold Steady, and continued to love the music wholeheartedly.

Today, we talk to punk rock's number-one accordionist, Franz Nicolay. He explains why he once sent In Defense of Ska a message to inform us that he NEVER renounced ska. He tells us about discovering ska in the 90s and seeing many Moon Ska bands perform in New York. He also tells us many unhinged World/Inferno stories from the road. And he tells us what the other members of The Hold Steady REALLY think about ska!

We also discuss Franz's excellent novel, Someone Should Pay For Your Pain, and he tells us why he often thinks about the unglamorous side of being a touring musician. 

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon! 

If you like our theme song, go download the EP Lives by Slow Gherkin. They wrote the opening and closing songs for our podcast. You can get both tunes from their Lives EP. Also, check out Dan P and the Bricks two LPs. They provided the mid-roll ad transition music. 

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in October 2024. 

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023. 

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

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