Ska and punk have a conjoined history that, according to ’70s music lore, harkens back to Don Letts spinning dub and reggae records at The Roxy nightclub in London to fill a void at a down moment for early punk. This coupling, possibly strange on its face, nevertheless brought outcasts and protest music together in a way that suddenly made perfect sense. Hence, The Clash’s forays into Jamaican music, the output of The Slits as well as The Specials, Madness and more who would, in turn, open doors for John Lydon after the Sex Pistols to extrapolate dub into PiL with bassist Jah Wobble.
Those records also crossed the pond, igniting a movement that coalesced a decade later into the greatest ska-punk band ever, Operation Ivy. In racially diverse and sprawling California, Op Ivy’s long wake inspired countless ska-punk amalgamations. Enter La Pobreska, formed in 2004, mixing ska punk with East Los Angeles Latin roots to create a musical blend with deeper grooves and faster, more brutal punk breakdowns — akin in some respects to Voodoo Glow Skulls but, like the best of the bands above, bearing their own special sauce and personality.
With masked immigration agents licensed by the White House and the Supreme Court to racially profile and arrest non-white people, it’s bracing to have protest songs in Spanish played with ferocity and integrity. In heated times, the appropriate soundtrack is one of defiance, passion and authenticity, coupled with the ability to have fun. Somehow, the America of today mirrors that of the 1980s (and later eras), when cultural warfare led to certain people being demonized as outsiders and threats.
But we made it through that time, with some scars and amazing, unparalleled art to show for it. We’re still a melting pot, whether those in power like it or not. The only place that is as representative of that cultural fact as Southern California or New York City is South Florida. So let’s make our comrades from the west feel welcome, and toast to everyone in all the places that made this great convergence happen.
La Pobreska open for Leftover Crack 7pm Saturday at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach. lapobreska.com ~ Tim Moffatt
