MNSKA’s own Aaron Porter (The Prizefighters) took a recent trip to Jamaica and was able to meet many legendary ska and reggae artists in person.  Hopefully we will be able to chronicle some of Aaron’s adventures here on the site, but for now we can share this video.  The video shows Aaron in ska legend Derrick Morgan‘s home studio in Clarendon, accompanying him on guitar while he sings his 1962 ska hit “In My Heart.”  Enjoy!

You can check out the video on YouTube HERE

Hey ska fans!  I wanted to take the time to remind you that our friend Brad Klein (aka General Moses) is still hard at work on the upcoming Legends Of Ska documentary.  His Kickstarter campaign is coming down the homestretch with only 16 days left, he is a little over $1,000 dollars short of his $15,000 goal.  We at MNSKA feel that this is a very important film and a piece of history, so we encourage you to please contribute HERE.

Back in 2000, General Moses was the host of Rude Radio (Radio K, KUOM 770AM/100.7FM/104.5FM, Minneapolis, MN) and he conducted a phone interview with ska legend Derrick Morgan.  Check out his 4-part interview HERE.

DJs Reverend Evan and Citizen D had the privilege to interview Heather Augustyn, the author of upcoming book Ska: An Oral History that aired last on last Sunday’s episode of Rude Radio on Radio K (University of Minnesota College Radio).  For those of you that missed it, don’t panic!  We’ve got the whole interview streaming here as well as link to download it!

The book features first-hand accounts from ska legends and luminaries from Jamaica, England and the United States (Derrick Morgan, Prince Buster, Doreen Shafer, Judge Dread, Laurel Aitken, Roland Alphonso, and many, many MORE).  Augustyn started work on this book back in 1996 and highlights some of the many stories found within.

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You can download the entire interview HERE

You can find out more about this incredible book HERE

Welcome to another edition of Miss Upsetter’s Retro Vinyl Review!  Miss Upsetter is originally from Arizona where she was very involved with the ska scene and used to run the now-defunct ska site Get Up Edina! Being the vinyl junkie that she is, she posted many quick-hit reviews of some classic ska and reggae albums on that site.  We have unearthed these reviews and will share as many as we can for a somewhat daily review segment.

Today’s review is of the album Time Marches On by Derrick Morgan (Heartbeat Records):

An all-around look at Mr. Morgan’s carreer.  This album has 6 songs in his ska years, 8 in his rocksteady years, and 7 in his reggae years.  I was quite surprised that “forward march” isn’t on this compilation of his hits, but it does have songs like “Fatman” and “Tears on my Pillow” which I think are probably some of the most well-known Derrick Morgan songs.  I like this album cause you can just put it on for someone who’s never heard of the man and they can get a good feel of how talented he is and how he can sing to just about any genre of music.

Legendary ska artist Derrick Morgan will be the subject of a documentary by Boston DJ Generoso Fierro.  Fierro announced to the Boston Globe last week that the film may be released as early as 2009.  As a chance to “preserve history” as well as see a  well-known ska legend perform, Fierro flew Morgan to Cambridge, MA in June to play at the Middle East Club before an intense crowd of die-hard ska fans.  This performance was filmed and will be the centerpiece of the documentary.

Morgan was one of the first superstars of popular Jamaican music and is partially blind.  His hits include “Lover Boy,” “Don’t Call Me Daddy,” “Be Still,” and “Blazing Fire.”  Fierro has created a filmed documentary on Tinidadian guitarist Lynn Taitt, who was a key figure in ska and rocksteady.