May 17, 2023

In Defense of Ska Ep 122: Esteban Flores (Catbite, Matamoska, Mr. Kingpin, The Bandulus, The English Beat, The Interrupters, The Steady 45's, We Are The Union)

1 hour 32 minutes

You probably know our next guest for playing keyboards with Catbite. But Esteban Flores has played with a ton of ska bands, (live or just recording on some tracks). We're talking somewhere in the range of 80 groups! The point is that Esteban is THEE keyboardist of ska, so he needed his own episode.

We talk about the many bands he's played with like Matamoska, The Steady 45's, The Bandulus, Mr. Kingpin, The English Beat, We Are The Union and The Interrupters, and how he played in 8 separate bands one year at Supernova. We also talk about one particular band he wishes he could play with, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (His all-time favorite ska band). Esteban then gives us a lesson on how to play traditional ska/reggae on the keys and even explains what "the bubble" is.

Esteban also tells us why he thinks the East LA ska scene is the best in the US. We talk about the time he (and this scene) were featured on a Fox News 11 segment, and we talk about the Ska Wars festival that is a major part of this scene. Esteban also gives us his top 4 craziest tour stories (Which involve car accidents, breakdowns and theft). And we also talk about his personal history as an immigrant that moved to the US at age 3, and how he benefited from the DACA program as a Dreamer.

Plus, Esteban brings up Brent Friedman a few times for no apparent reason! Hey, maybe he's a big fan?

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 Oct 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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By Aaron Carnes

4.9

8787 ratings