MNSKA band and Jump Up Records artists The Prizefighters will be playing this Friday night in Minneapolis at Nick & Eddie (1612 Harmon Place).  The band will be playing first at 9:30 pm, followed by Kill Me Kare-Bare, Badgermen, and Beyond The Element (featuring former Prizefighter member Josh Thomas).  This 21+ show has a $5 cover.

You can RSVP this show on Facebook HERE

MNSKA band The Prizefighters just released a special edition LP of their debut album Follow My Sound on Jump Up Records!  The vinyl is available at the Jump Up Records site, including DARK BLUE colored vinyl!

Label owner Chuck Wren shares the good news:

The long wait is over! Minneapolis ska, rock steady, early reggae band (with SOUL!) finally gets their vinyl debut from JUMP UP!  This SPECIAL EDITION has some different tracks than the CD, including alternative mixes and versions, instrumentals, and a dub from Anthony of THE DRASTICS.

Side A:  Brujeria, Follow My Sound, Karma, Before Tonight, Hypocrite, There’ll Be A Day
Side B: Moonlight, Take More Time, Ghost In The Night, Truth And Lies, Fibbers Dub

LIMITED EDITION of 500 copies, pressed on thick BLACK WAX and the just arrived DARK BLUE WAX (witch black specs). CD is still available too!

You can order the vinyl LP or CD at the label’s website HERE

MNSKA band The Prizfighters have unveiled the covert art for their upcoming vinyl release Follow My Sound Special Edition LP, available on Friday, October 21st on Jump Up Records.  You can get your own copy at the MNSKA Double Release Party at Nomad World Pub in Minneapolis on October 21st, also featuring The Dropsteppers and Umbrella Bed.

Tracklisting:

Side A
Brujeria
Follow My Sound
Karma
Before Tonight
Hypocrite
There’ll Be A Day

Side B
Moonlight
Take More Time
Ghost In The Night
Truth And Lies
Fibbers Dub

If you follow this site, you know by now that we are sponsoring a big ol’ release party featuring 2 brand new releases from MNSKA bands The Dropsteppers and The Prizefighters on Friday, October 21st at The Nomad World Pub.  To get you geared up for their special edition vinyl LP, The Prizefighters are streaming 3 brand new songs on their website, each of which can be found on the upcoming release.

Here’s what the band had to say:

We are proud to announce our release of the Follow My Sound special edition vinyl LP on Jump Up Records!  Almost a year ago, we put 5 years of writing, rehearsing, performing and overall hard work into our debut album Follow My Sound.  To commemorate that effort and to show our lovely fans a hint of things to come, we have recorded new bonus tracks and reworked old favorites with our new band members to put forth a special vinyl edition of our debut album.

As a treat for you all, you can check out our music player and stream 3 new songs from the special edition LP!  “Moonlight” is a previously unreleased rocksteady tune we wrote a long time ago that we dusted off and improved with our new members.  “Take More Time” is an instrumental horn version of our song “Take Some Time” written by our horn players Courtney Klos and Ryan Peterson.  “Fibber’s Dub” is dub version of our song “Truth And Lies” created by our friend Anthony Abbinanti (The Drastics, Deal’s Gone Bad).

You can check out the hot new tracks as well as videos of their recent performances HERE

The month of  October is a gigantic one for MNSKA.  Just look at the show calendar below…it’s crazy!  Let me highlight some of the shows that you, the MNSKA faithful, should be at.  This Sunday, the infamous crusty ska-punk heroes Leftover Crack will be playing at the Triple Rock Social Club with MNSKA band Rocksteady Breakfast.  A couple days later at the First Ave Mainroom is legendary Ziggy Marley.  Arizona surf/ska/punk band Authority Zero is bringing it to the 7th Street Entry on Sunday October 16th.  Looking ahead to that weekend, check out Thursday October 20th where the mighty Aggrolites are bringing their dirty reggae to the 7th Street Entry!  The next night is an all-out MNSKA Double Release Party at the Nomad World Pub.  On Friday, October 21st you can dance to the boss tunes from MNSKA’s The Dropsteppers, who are releasing Get Up In It! on Megalith Records, and The Prizefighters, who are releasing their special-edition vinyl of Follow My Sound on Jump Up Records.  The show opens up with the epic return of long-running two-tone massive known as Umbrella Bed!  But the month is not over yet, because the superhuman ska force known as 3 Minute Hero is playing a release show at the Fine Line Music Cafe on Friday, October 28th.  The band is only releasing a limited number of their new music collection, so you should make it your bee’s wax to be at that one!

Whew!  Tons of ska shows to attend.  Which shows will we see you at?  Be sure to continue to check our SHOWS page for updates.

Fall 2011 is looking to be a solid season for MNSKA!  There are going to be a whole truckload of new releases from bands in the MNSKA community.  Let me give you a run down of what you can look forward to:

Rocksteady Breakfast will be releasing their new CD on Saturday, September 3rd at The Rat Hole in South Minneapolis.  The band has spent the past year and a half working on this album.  It is a must-have for fans of raw energetic underground punk-ska!  Details for the release show can be found HERE

The Prizefighters have been busy this past year putting together a special-edition vinyl LP of their recent release Follow My Sound via Jump Up Records.  Along with songs from the album, side B of the vinyl will include new unreleased songs, instrumental versions, and even a dub from Anthony Abbinanti (The Drastics).  The band will be releasing the album at special double release show with MNSKA band The Dropsteppers on Friday, October 21st at The Nomad World Pub in Minneapolis.  The Dropsteppers spent the early part of 2011 in the studio to create their debut full-length CD Get Up In It via Megalith Records.

Veteran third-wave ska band 3 Minute Hero recently announced their triumphant return to the Twin Cities music scene.  To commemorate being back in the saddle, they are hard at work on a new release that should be out this Fall.  Stay tuned to MNSKA.com for more details!

Long-time Twin Cities reggae band Dred I Dread will be releasing their much anticipated follow-up to 2009′s Tribulation sometime in early 2012.  The band previewed some of their new songs at the recent Jamaican Independence Day party at The Red Sea.

It’s an early-reggae throwdown!  Two of the biggest MNSKA bands on one stage, bringing the best rough and tough sounds around!

The Dropsteppers are fast-rising stars in the world of reggae and rocksteady. Influenced by the Northern Soul artists of Motown and the Jamaican sounds of early reggae and ska artists like The Upsetters, The Dropsteppers bring an authentic and unique sound, honed in their Nordeast Minneapolis rehearsal space.  They have a 7″ and a full-length album due out this year on Megalith Records.  Perfect band to dance and groove to!

The Prizefighters have been getting noticed around the Midwest for their traditional ska and authentic scorching reggae sound.  Complete with a full horn section, this band has studied the artists of the past and made their own mark on that hot Jamaican sound.  They have their full-length debut album Follow My Sound on CD via Jump Up Records, but be sure to check out the special-edition vinyl coming later this summer which will feature bonus tracks, new songs, and red hot versions of their original tunes.

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS Local Gypsy Americana band Cantankerous Folk and pop-punk ska band DB and the Catastrophe (Fort Collins, CO)

The Dropsteppers
The Prizefighters
Cantankerous Folk
DB and the Catastrophe (Fort Collins, CO)

The Nomad World Pub
501 Cedar Ave S, Minneapolis, MN
Doors 9pm | 21+ | $5

MNSKA heavy-hitters The Prizefighters had a busy weekend that involved several shows with Chicago’s Deal’s Gone Bad and Milwaukee’s Something To Do.  Last Friday, the band played in Milwaukee at the Bay View Brew Haus and debuted a brand new version of their song “Take Some Time.”  As you can tell from the video, this is a horn-driven instrumental version and it will appear on the vinyl release of Follow My Sound, coming out in a couple months on Jump Up Records.

You can check out the video on YouTube HERE

MNSKA band The Prizefighters had the privilege to open for legendary ska band The English Beat last night at The Cabooze in Minneapolis, MN.  Here’s a video from their set, with the band performing their songs “Storms” and “Brujeria.”

You can pick up The Prizefighters latest album Follow My Sound on Amazon.com or through Jump Up Records.

MNSKA band The Prizefighters have just been added to The English Beat show at The Cabooze in Minneapolis, MN on Sunday, April 3rd.  You still have until Friday to win a pair of tickets to the show by emailing mnskanews@gmail.com with ‘The English Beat’ in the subject line.  This show is 21+ with doors opening at 7 pm and music starting around 7:30 pm.

As reported earlier, The Prizefighters have a distribution deal with Jump Up Records, who will be releasing the vinyl version of their debut album Follow My Sound in the coming months.  For those who don’t know, they are a 7-piece band featuring saxophone, trombone, and organ supplementing the guitars and drums that combines heavy soul with real 60s Jamaican ska and early reggae.

See you at the show!