Punk and Ska Will Shake the ıSco this Weekend

Toasters to Play Friday, Sleater-Kinney Saturday

This weekend the ıSco will feature its first two major concerts of the year. Performing Friday will be the pioneering American ska band the Toasters, with the all-female punk band, Sleater-Kinney rounding out the weekend on Saturday.

According to Assistant Director to the Student Union Chris Baymiller, those who attend the ıScoıs back-to-back shows can look forward to sounds that ³will cover a wide-spectrum of music for anyone interested in some entertainment this weekend.²

Sleater-Kinney, which earned its name from a local freeway off-ramp, consists of three members. The group features Corin Tucker on guitar and vocals, Janet Weiss on drums and Carrie Brownstein. Brownstein, who also handles guitar and vocal chores, was once quoted as being ³the most interesting singer in the United States,² by legendary rock critic Greil Marcus in an issue of Seventeen.

The group was formed in 1994, in Olympia, Washington, by Brownstein and Tucker, both of who were students at Evergreen College at the time. Sleater-Kinney was inspired by the ³Riot Grrl² movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s pioneered by such bands as Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. ³Riot Grrl,² which has been described as ³radical feminist punk,² was begun by college students who decided to apply feminism to the arts. Many of these ³riot grrl² bands include politically charged lyrics into their songs concerning womenıs issues such as rape, sexual abuse and gender inequity.

In keeping with the feminist spirit, Sleater-Kinney will be accompanied by representatives from Planned-Parenthood this weekend.

The band has five albums to their credit. The most recent, All Hands on the Bad One, was released this year. Two other punk bands, White Stripes and COCO, will open for Sleater-Kinney, who has previously performed at Oberlin.

Saturday, the ıSco will be filled with the sounds of The Toasters, an eight-member ska band headed by lead guitarist Rob ³Bucket² Hingley. Ska music, the origins of which can be traced back to the 1960s, is described by Hingley as ³really up-tempo dance music, like reggae on crack.²

Most ska bands consist of many members, all of which are needed because of the large amount of instruments used. The core of most ska songs, especially the earlier ones, is the horn section. Ska bands also usually include alto and tenor saxaphonists, a trombonist, trumpet player, stand up bass, vocalist and sometimes even an organist or pianist. The guitar is played in an upbeat quick, staccato style.

The Toasters, who derive their name from the Jamaican style of rapping called ³toasting,² were formed in 1982. Hingley, a native of England, started the band in New York City with several of his co-workers after discovering that the ska music he loved was virtually non-existent on the American music scene. Hingleyıs ambition ³to have something to do after work² led to a long-lasting musical career, his own all-ska record label called Moon Records, and a band Billboard Magazine has dubbed ³ska pioneers.²

The Toasters incorporate the earlier styles of the genre along with more recent ones, reflecting influences of island sounds along with the faster uptempo blends of 1970s two-tone and the influence of 1980s and 1990s ska-punk rhythms. The Toasters have released eight albums over the last two decades. However, the group spends most of their time touring and playing live, averaging about 150 shows a year. Jack Friday, a Cincinnatti-based ska band, will open for the Toasters.