In the late ’80s and throughout the ’90s, Southern California was the center of the ska revival.
The area spawned third-wave ska (so-called for coming after originating in Jamaica in the late ’50s and evolving into the 2-Tone style in the UK in the ’70s). The acts were numerous: Hepcat, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, The Aquabats, Buck-o-Nine, Goldfinger, The O.C. Supertones and Suburban Legends.
Oh, and let’s also include the two biggest and most commercially successful bands to come out of that scene, No Doubt and Sublime.
Radio personality Tazy Phyllipz was there for it all, championing the guitar riff and horn-filled genre that grew out of the punk scene, one that rejected violence and racism and promoted good vibes. Phyllipz and his brother Albino Brown started Ska Parade as a two-hour radio documentary on KUCI 88.9 FM in Irvine in 1989 and they were invited to go weekly on the station in 1990.
Now in its 30th year and at its new home at 8 p.m. Sunday evenings on DirtyRadio.FM, Phyllipz and the show continue to promote the genre and will commemorate the show’s three decades with the Ska Parade 30th Anniversary Tour featuring Los Kung Fu Monkeys, Hans Gruber and the Die Hards, The Holophonics, Monkey and Joker’s Republic. The 14-date jaunt kicks off in Seattle, Wash. on Jan. 17 and wraps up in Las Vegas, Nev. on Feb. 1. Of course, there’s a date in Orange County, with the Ska Parade coming to Chain Reaction in Anaheim on Friday, Jan. 24.
“I’ve been attending shows there since their second show ever, back when they were Public Storage,” Phyllipz said of the popular all-ages venue where so many of the bigger name ska bands played early on in their careers. “I’ve had a long love affair with that venue and everyone there has been a big part of (the scene), and I couldn’t be more thrilled to bring the show there.”
Back in the early days of Ska Parade, Phyllipz befriended Eric Stefani and Tom Dumont of No Doubt. He spent a lot of time at the band’s Beacon Street house in Anaheim and one time tagged along with the guys to go see a new band called Sublime at the Coconut Teaszer in Los Angeles.
“We picked up Adrian (No Doubt’s drummer) and they took me to my first-ever Sublime show,” he recalled. He later got a hold of a cassette single by the band, played it on his show and “it took off like wildfire,” he added.
No Doubt were also frequent guests on Ska Parade and Phyllipz still remembers vocalist Gwen Stefani as being sweet and baking cookies and brownies for radio DJs. During one visit in February 1995, the band gave Phyllipz an exclusive, a cassette single of its brand-new song, “Just a Girl.” He was the first to play the song that would later become a hit and launch No Doubt into the mainstream.
“It’s amazing how things can turn out,” he said. “It’s amazing how just one thing can really take everything to the next level.”
Phyllipz was also one of the first to play Reel Big Fish’s breakout hit, “Sell Out,” back in the mid-’90s. Vocalist-guitarist Aaron Barrett said the first time his band was on Ska Parade they felt like they had “made it.”
“Tazy Phyllipz is definitely ska music’s biggest fan,” he said. “I swear he’s been at every local ska show in Southern California for 30 years … always supporting the bands, always spreading the word about this music he loves so much. Whenever I get down on my life or wonder ‘What the hell am I doing this for?’ I look at Tazy and go ‘Oh yeah, it’s because I love the music.’ I think Tazy is a good representation of all the people of the ska scene. Passionate, dedicated, devoted, ska’d for life.”
Phyllipz was also around for the very first Aquabats show in Irvine in 1994 and one of his fondest memories involves the band: In 1998, they were on the show when heavy metal band Gwar — known for its outrageous act and fantasy warrior costumes — came to the studio to battle the superhero-inspired ska band.
At that time, “Ska Parade” had made the move to X103.9 FM in San Bernardino.
“Believe it or not, that’s something that took about six months to produce,” he said. “There wasn’t a lot of digital editing going on back then. It really goes to show you how incredible Gwar is, to even do a silly radio show back in 1998, which was a huge success and feather in our cap. But they were so gracious because it was the first time ever in their career that Gwar lost. They did a whole like ‘Scooby-Doo’ ending, like ‘We’ll be back…,’ but the Aquabats won. I’d like to thank the Aquabats for saving the ‘Ska Parade’ from Gwar.”
For each major anniversary of Ska Parade, Phyllipz has tried to do something special. For the 20th, Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman let him do a ska stage during the West Coast dates of his annual run. So for the 30th, he figured he’d take a page from Lyman’s book and put together a D.I.Y.-style tour.
He also worked out a partnership with director Taylor Morden to sell the Blu-Ray version of the 2019 crowd-funded documentary “Pick It Up! – Ska in the ’90s,” and received four exclusive 10-minute segments to screen in between bands during the tour stops. The documentary is narrated by Rancid’s Tim Armstrong and features interviews with dozens of artists and scene supporters including The Aquabats’ Christian Jacobs and former drummer Travis Barker, Reel Big Fish’s Aaron Barrett and Scott Klopfenstein, No Doubt’s Dumont, The Interrupters’ Kevin Bivona, Save Ferris’ Brian Mashburn and Monique Powell, Goldfinger’s John Feldmann, pro skater Tony Hawk, MTV host Matt Pinfield and Phyllipz.
“I can’t get over the skill set of the director,” Phyllipz said. “It is incredible that he managed to get everyone to be a part of it and sign on the dotted line. It really is a love letter to ska, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it.”
Since Chain Reaction more recently obtained a license to sell alcohol, Ska Brewing will do a complete tap takeover during the Ska Parade 30th Anniversary Show.
Phyllipz said he’s proud of the bands he was able to gather from across the U.S. for his tour. Los Kung Fu Monkeys hail from Tijuana, Mexico, Monkey came out of the San Francisco Bay Area, Holophonics and Hans Gruber and the Die Hards are from Texas and Joker’s Republic is from New Jersey. A local ska act has also been added from each city on the tour and in Anaheim that will be the Huntington Beach/Long Beach band Hooray for Our Side.
Cameron Hallenbeck, co-founder of Pocket Entertainment and guitarist of Orange County ska band Half Past Two, said Ska Parade has been a huge supporter of his band and that the program was a gateway for him to get to know several other ska bands in the area.
“I heard a couple rad groups from ‘Ska Parade’ shows a few years back like Roncovacoco and The Paranoias,” he said. “A lot of those L.A. groups weren’t really coming down (to Orange County) back then, so I saw quote a few L.A. groups at Slidebar (in Fullerton) from ‘Ska Parade’ Lounge shows.”
Even after three decades, Phyllipz said he’s still very passionate about the genre and its community, which is why he continues to honor the forefathers and the up-and-coming artists on Ska Parade.
“For me, I love when people come up to me and say, ‘Not only have you turned me onto my favorite bands, but you keep turning me on to my new favorite bands,’” he said. “That means the most to me.”
Ska Parade’s 30th Anniversary Tour
With: Los Kung Fu Monkeys, Monkey, Hans Gruber and the Die Hards, The Holophonics, Joker’s Republic and Hooray for Our Side
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24
Where: Chain Reaction, 1652 W. Lincoln Ave., Anaheim
Tickets: $15 at allages.com.
