Ska is Dead Tour

The rumors about ska's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Rude Boys have kept reinventing it again and again, and ska's last incarnation, "the third wave," saw its horns and tempo mixed with punk's sound and drive, as exemplified by bands like the Voodoo Glow Skulls and MU330. Purists often deride...

By Benjamin Leatherman

March 3, 2005

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The rumors about ska's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Rude Boys have kept reinventing it again and again, and ska's last incarnation, "the third wave," saw its horns and tempo mixed with punk's sound and drive, as exemplified by bands like the Voodoo Glow Skulls and MU330. Purists often deride the latest wave, but alt-kids in high school and college tend to latch onto it, usually forming a band or two before abandoning it for something more serious. But not the Voodoo Glow Skulls, whose seven members have been fusing relentless ska-punk with Hispanic influences for more than 16 years. Fronted by the outrageous Frank Casillas, who occasionally wears Mexican wrestling masks onstage, the Glow Skulls prove that -- just like Jason -- ska will never die.

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Benjamin Leatherman is a staff writer for Phoenix New Times where he focuses primarily on arts, culture, music, and nightlife. He began writing for New Times in 2003 and joined the staff full-time in 2005. Prior to that, he contributed to magazines such as Tips & Tricks and The Wrestler. Benjamin has earned multiple awards from the Arizona Press Club including an award for sports enterprise reporting in 2009 and an award for statewide arts reporting in 2014. He holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Contact: Benjamin Leatherman

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