The Toasters

The Toasters are one of the original American third wave of ska bands. Founded in New York City in 1981, the band has released nine studio albums, primarily through Moon Ska Records. Englishman Robert Hingley relocated to New York City in 1980, where he managed that city's Forbidden Planet comic book store location. Hingley formed the Toasters in 1981 after seeing the Beat perform at the Roseland Ballroom. The group's first live show was supporting Bad Brains at A7 in 1981. One of the original second-wave ska bands, the early Toasters lineup included other employees of the Forbidden Planet store. The group self-released their first single, "Beat Up", in 1983. They recorded their Joe Jackson-produced debut EP, Recriminations, in 1985. After failing to find a label to release it, Hingley formed his own label Moon Ska Records. The group collaborated further with Jackson on later albums and in live shows. Jackson had known Hingley since 1978, and appeared on some Toasters albums under the pseudonym Stanley Turpentine. Then later the group expanded with the addition of a brass section. Their first full-length album, Skaboom!, was released in 1987. Hingley has been the only constant member in the band. While the band's lineup has seen many changes, regular contributors included Coolie Ranx (vocals), Matt Malles (bass), Dave Barry (keyboards), Johnnathan McCain (drums), "Rocksteady" Freddie Reiter (saxophone), Brian Sledge (trumpet), and both Rick "Chunk" Faulkner and Erick "E-Man" Storckman on trombone. Veteran Jamaican saxophonist Lester Sterling has made several guest appearances, and Deejay Andrew "Jack Ruby Jr." Lindo, son of Jamaican producer Jack Ruby, was also a long-time member. Reiter joined the Toasters after playing in the New York Citizens, who had supported the Toasters on tour. Trombonist Buford O'Sullivan joined around 2000 after leaving The Scofflaws. Faulkner and Reiter went on to form the New York Ska Jazz Ensemble. The band now consists of a revolving cast of musicians, with Hingley as the central and only consistent member. In 2004 Moon Ska Records collapsed, and Hingley has been based in Valencia, Spain. He started the Megalith label, which has since been the band's home. The Toasters still perform around the world, and in 2007 they celebrated their 25th anniversary with a new studio album, One More Bullet. In 2011 they undertook a 30th anniversary world tour. The Toasters blend ska with pop music, rap, R&B, and calypso. Their mixed-race lineup has seen them break through with both black and white audiences in the US. The Toasters experienced a small degree of commercial success in the late 1990s due to the popularity of third wave ska in North America. Their song "Two-Tone Army" is the theme song for the Nickelodeon show KaBlam!. The song is performed by the 'Moon Ska Stompers' - members of the Toasters and friends. The Toasters song "Skaternity" was used for the end credits of KaBlam! during most of season 1, while "Everything You Said Has Been A Lie" was used for the end credits during seasons 2-4. Their song "Don't Let The Bastards Grind You Down" appeared in the pilot episode of the animated series Mission Hill. The Toasters have recorded background music for many TV commercials, including for America Online and Coca-Cola. Members of the Toasters performed on King Django's 1998 album Roots and Culture. In 1998 the Toasters were part of the 'Ska Against Racism' tour, along with the Blue Meanies, Five Iron Frenzy, and Less Than Jake. 1990: T-Time 1995: Ska Killers 1996: History Book 1998: History Book 1987-1998 2000: The Best Of... 2003: In Retrospect 2007: Ska is Dead 1990: Frankenska 1993: Live In LA 1998: Live In London 2003: en Caracas Recriminations (1985), Moon Ska The East-Side Beat EP (1987), Moon Ska Live In Sao Paulo Brazil (2002), Grover "Beat Up": "The Beat"/"Brixton Beat" (1984), Moon Ska "Don't Say Forever" (1990), Pork Pie "Chuck Berry"/"Maxwell Smart" (1995), Moon Ska "Dub 56" (1995), Stubborn "Dog Eat Dog" (2000), Grover "You're Gonna Pay!" (2006), Megalith "House Of Soul" (2013), Megalith "Ska Jerk" (2018), Tighten Up Split singles "Talk Is Cheap" (1987), Moon Ska - split with Beat Brigade "The Stage" (1997), Island - promo only, split with Fishbone Robert "Bucket" Hingley: vocals, guitar Tim Karns: bass Larry Ace: drums Nathan Koch: saxophone Gilbert Covarrubias: trombone Josemi Martínez: drums Alex Bochetto: drums Jon Degen: saxophone Logan La Barbera: trombone Carlos "Charlos" Menezes: saxophone & trombone Robbie "Fancy" LaFalce: Drums [ex. Miasmics] Steve "the Basement" Russo: drums Chappman "Choppah" Sowash: trombone Thaddeus Merritt: bass Jesse Hayes: drums Arjen "Rotterdam Ska-Jazz Foundation" Bijleveld: trombone Neil "Lonestar" Johnson: saxophone Jason "Jah-Son" Nwagbaraocha - bass, vocals Dan "Duckie" Garrido - drums Jeff Richey - saxophone (alto and baritone) Mike "Philly" Armstrong - tenor saxophone Greg Robinson - trombone Lionel Bernard - vocals Adam "Prince Beaver" Birch - trombone, trumpet Tim Champeau - trumpet John "Skoidat Sr." Chapman - saxophone Mark Darini - bass Sean Dinsmore - vocals Brian Emrich - bass Gary Eye - percussion (original member) Rick "Chunk" Faulkner - trombone Paul "Spondoulix" Gephardt - alto saxophone Donald "The Kid" Guillaume - drums Gregory D Grinnell - trumpet (1985–1988), bass (1988–1990) Ann Hellandsjo - trombone Steve Hex - keyboards (founding member) Scott Jarvis - drums (founding member) Dan Jesselsohn - bass Neil Johnson - saxophones Danny Johnson - drums Tim Karns - bass Ivan Katz - drums Matt Malles - bass Johnnathan "JMac" McCain - drums Kashu (Cashew) Miles - vocals Andrew "Jack Ruby Jr." Lindo - vocals Fred "Rock Steady Freddie" Reiter - saxophone Ron Ragona - guitar, vocals Marcel Reginato - alto saxophone Nilda Richards - trombone Mo Roberts - drums Vicky Rose - bass, vocals (founding member) Jim Seely - trumpet Brian Sledge - trumpet, vocals Erick E. "E-Man" Storckman - trombone Obi-Ajula "Coolie Ranx" Ugbomah - vocals Big Steve Carroll - vocals Dave Waldo - keyboards, vocals Pablo D. "The Professor" Wright - vocals Chris Rhodes - trombone Ozzy "The Wiz" Cardona - trumpet (1988-1990) Larry "Ace" Snell - drums Anthony Vito - drums Lluís Martínez: Drums Dave Barry: Keyboards Ade McSpade- guitar. Teddy McSpade- guitar. Woody Bond- drums. Peter Burkis- great guy. Smallwood 1993. Augustyn 2010, p. 176. Guillot 2011. Fernandes 2011. Travis & Hardy 2012, p. 95. Huey. Partridge 2005, p. 8. Augustyn 2010, p. 177. Budjinski 2004. Greene. Hainer 1988. Houlton 1989, p. 16. Augustyn 2010, p. 179. Nickson (February 1998). Nickson (July 1998). Augustyn 2010, p. 188. Augustyn 2010, p. 181. Augustyn 2010, p. 190. Anderson. Iwasaki 2006. Nickson (March 1998). Rogovoy 2000, p. 142. Anderson, Rick. "Enemy of the System Review". Allmusic. Retrieved September 7, 2013. Augustyn, Heather (2010). Ska: An Oral History. 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Iwasaki, Scott (November 17, 2006). "Toasters on a mission of music". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah.