Ska Punk.

I remember when I was 13, I joined a band with some older dudes and met all the 'cool' kids in my two bit home town. Being 13 and hanging out with people in their eary/mid 20's was weird, I suddenly thought I was REALLY cool and sneaking into Level Three on a Saturday night, was the fucking tits. The draw back of this was that I got into some really, really awful bands. If the cool kids liked a band, I liked them too and Swindon fucking LOVED ska punk. Four Foot Fingers would sell out 250 capacity venues... it was nuts. I remember being played Spunge (I'm not putting your fucking name in brackets) for the first time at my friends house and thinking 'Wow! They're covering Bob Marley?! FUCKING ACE' ...oh the folly of youth.

Luckily, my Dad hated me listening to that sort of music and for my 15th birthday he brought me 'Rocket to Russia' and 'Next Years Model' so bit by bit, I snapped out of it. By the time I was at College I was in the much cooler 'I wish I was Matt Skiba' stage (And now I wish I was Dan Andriano).

But not content with being 'yesterdays news' Ska Punk is trying to skank its way to a return. Last year Capdown played some reunion shows and this week it was announced that Whitmore are doing the same. WHITMORE... FUCK.

For those lucky enough to be too young to remember, Whitmore were at one point members of (the only slightly better) Uncle Brian, until they were kicked out by Uncle Brian's Management (the singers Mum) for smoking weed on tour. This meant they were sort of 'Ska-punk bad boys' and everyone loved them. That fucking 'Allison' song was everywhere. At one point they even brought their way onto an Avril Lavigne tour. And now... they're back. Playing the hall of broken dreams that is Salisbury Arts Centre, on March 26th.



Seriously, what's next? Mixtwitch? Gravel Trap? Headroom? Ye Wiles? Farse? Gone to Pot? Mustard Plug? Voodoo Glow Skulls? Mr. Zippy? Lubby Nugget? Kenisia? Jesse 'Paedo singer' James? The Toasters? Route 215? Spankboy? Eurgh...

THAT WAS TEN YEARS AGO, FUCK OFF.

I was so jealous when my friend Gaz told me he saw Botch at the Packhorse when I was 15. Wicked, I saw 'Skankt' at the Vic. Dear Ska Punk, you ruined my youth. Fucking do one.