After getting caught in an early summer thunderstorm prior to their concert in Minneapolis, Dan and Dom from the MNSKA band Hardcore Crayons took shelter in Courtney’s living room long enough to talk about their upcoming album Crayogenics.  The fellas dry off and chat about venues come and gone, why they no longer sing about Taco Bell, and the suicide-pacts of their underage fans.  If you are in the Minneapolis area, be sure to check out their 21+ CD Release at Sauce (Lyndale and Lake) on Friday, July 30th or their ALL AGES CD Release at Eclipse Records (St. Paul) on Saturday, August 7th.

This show is brought to you in part by MNSKA.com, Minnesota’s Ska Community and the Fancy Pants Gangsters podcast network.  Become a fan of the show on Facebook, follow Courtney on Twitter, or email him at FOSS@fancypantsgangsters.com.

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MNSKA band Hardcore Crayons played a FREE show last Friday at the 501 Club in Minneapolis, MN.  Here’s a video from that performance.  The band is gearing up for their upcoming CD Release show at Sauce in Minneapolis on Friday, July 30th.

You can check out more videos from this show on the MNSKA YouTube Channel.

There’s a big MNSKA show happening this week to warm you up during this sub-zero winter.  On Wednesday, January 6th 2010, head over to The Depot Coffee House in Hopkins, MN to see the reunited Airwave Bandits, Moving To Pluto, Hardcore Crayons and local indie-pop group Whosah.  This ALL AGES show is only $4 and the music will get started around 6:30 pm.  Get out to the show and shake those mid-winter blues!

When people talk about ska music, they probably think of band geeks and trombones.  The Hardcore Crayons would like to wipe that thought from your feeble mind.  This Minneapolis band replaces the horn section with psychedelic guitar riffs, tripped out basslines and borderline pop vocal hooks.  Not the brightest crayons in the box, but definitely the most hardcore.

Track of the Day: “Honky Dory” by Hardcore Crayons from their current demo

This episode is brought to you by the Fancy Pants Gangsters, a Twin Cities netcast network and MNSKA, Minnesota’s Ska Community.  If you are in a ska or reggae influenced band and would like to be featured on the show, email Courtney at MSM@fancypantsgangsters.com

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Hey there MNSka!  This weekend is loaded with shows.  Tonight, of course, Boston’s Westbound Train comes to the Triple Rock Social Club.  WBT just released a brand new album, entitled “Come and Get It,” and you can pick it up at tonight’s show.  I’ve heard it’s pretty hot, so pick it up while you can!  Local acts The Prizefighters and the revamped Small Kitchen Appliances open, as do MNSka’s favorite Reggae-Rock band, the Fear Nuttin’ Band (wink wink . . . ).  The show is all ages, and the doors open at 5 p.m.  Tickets are $12 at the door.

Saturday is absolutely packed with shows!  The festivities get started at 6 p.m.–local favorites Hardcore Crayons share the stage with The Style Biters (and others) at The Beat Coffeehouse.  The show is $5.  At 9 p.m., then, Sans Pants takes the stage at The Rox in St. Cloud.  The big show of the day, though, is at First Avenue–Mexican ska stars Panteon Rococo take the stage alongside Malafacha and Los Vicios de Papa.  The show is all ages and the doors open at 6.  Tickets are a little pricey–$45 at the door, $33 if you got/get them in advance–but according to a member of the MNSka forum, the price is worth it.  Check it out and see!

MNSka band Hardcore Crayons have dug into the archives and have posted their first demo Hello, My Name Is… for download.  Bassist Dom had this to say about the demo:

If anything, it shows how much we’ve changed since we started off a few years back.  Right now we are in the middle of preparing something amazing for this summer.  It’s taking us a while, but only because we want everything to be perfect.

Looks like we have things to look forward to from the Hardcore Crayons.  You can download Hello, My Name Is… HERE.

Check them out Saturday, May 9th at The Beat Coffeehouse in Minneapolis, MN with The Style Biters and The Body Politic.

Hey there MNSka peeps!  It’s a relatively quiet weekend for the ska round these parts (although Panel of Experts are supposed to be playing at the 7th Street Entry tomorrow night, I haven’t found any evidence to back it up).  Plenty of MNSka kids are road-tripping to Chicago for The Slackers show on Saturday.

Next weekend, though, is gonna be filled with fantastic shows!

It all gets going Thursday night with two great shows.  At 9 p.m., local ska/reggae/soul septet The Prizefighters play at Stasiu’s Place in Minneapolis alongside ska-rockers Panel of Experts.  The cost is $5.  At 9:30, then, at the Uptown Bar, ska-punk trio Hardcore Crayons takes the stage alongside Guzzlemug, Bouncer Fighter, and Anders Ponders.  This show is FREE, so check it out if you wanna see four great bands and don’t have much money to spend.

If you’re in the Mankato area on Friday night, then, you can see the Crayons again, this time with The Style Biters, The Body Politic, and Gumbi at the What’s Up Lounge.  The music starts at 6 and the cost is $5.

If you’re in the cities on Friday night, then you are also in luck!  Mike Park, of Asian Man Records and several great California ska bands, is playing an All Ages show at the Triple Rock along with Classics of Love (consisting of Park and several members of seminal ska-punk band Operation Ivy) and The Evening Rig.  Music gets going at 5, and tickets are $10.

There are no shows on Saturday, but there’s one last one on Sunday.  In place of the originally planned Ska Prom 2009, Duluth ska-rockers Mikey Talented are coming to the cities to play.  The All Ages show at The Red Sea Bar also includes The Brilliant Beasts, The Oh Eeks!, and Licker; while these bands aren’t ska, they are a nice collection of indie and rock bands.  Doors open and 5 and cover is $5, so come on out and check the awesome variety of this show!

Brooklyn’s Dub Trio will be coming to the Twin Cities.  You can check them out on Sunday, November 23rd at the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown, Minneapolis.  Tickets are available in advance for $10 and for $12 the day of the show.  Special guests for this show includes MNSka band Hardcore Crayons.

Check out the show poster after the jump.

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