ATTENTION GREEN ROOM ROCKERS FANS! I’m pleased to announce another contest brought to you by MNSKA!  The red-hot Indiana soul-reggae band the Green Room Rockers are coming back to Minneapolis, MN to play an ALL AGES show at The Red Sea (320 Cedar Ave) on Saturday, April 17th.  Special guests include 3 MNSKA bands: The Prizefighters, 2 Tone Runts, and Midriff.  The doors are at 5 pm and show is at 6pm.

You can enter to win tickets by emailing me at mnskanews@gmail.com.  Be sure to include ‘Green Room Rockers’ in the subject line.  I will randomly draw a winner on Thursday, April 15th.  Good luck, everyone and remember…it’s just like the lotto: you gotta be in it, to win it!

My buddy Gabe Pressure over at Musical Occupation has kindly allowed me to post updates on his site.  I will be trying to post there weekly with updates and promotions from MNSKA to Gabe’s faithful followers.  I posted my first blog entry there today to introduce the Flyover Ska Show.  You can check out that entry HERE.

Be sure to add Musical Occupation to your regular rotation of websites to listen to all of the great podcasts there as well as keeping current on the happenings in the world of ska and reggae.

Welcome to the first episode of the Flyover Ska Show!  Join us as Courtney chats it up with Gideon Blumenthal of the soulful ska band Westbound Train.  The two talk about Gideon’s musical background, the benefits of renting versus buying a touring van, the grueling pace of life on the road, as well as detailing the band’s current hiatus.

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

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You can download this episode HERE or subscribe to the show on iTunes.

Teachers and parents in today’s society tell us that we are all winners.  I, however, know that there are only 3 winners…in our Cherry Poppin’ Daddies contest, that is.  This decidedly non-Midwestern episode of the Midwest Ska Moment has me announcing the lucky contest winners.

Track of the Day: “Hi and Lo” by the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies

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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If you would like to download this episode or subscribe to this podcast via iTunes, please CLICK HERE

Summer is in full swing, which means we are due for a good BBQ.  Join the MNSka crew at Morrison Park in Minnapolis, MN at 1pm where bands and fans alike can mingle, dance, and munch on some good food.  Bring a dish to pass…we’ll provide some boss tunes and hopefully Mother Nature will provide us with a gorgeous day.

For those who are directionally-challenged, here’s the directions HERE.

Hey there, fellow ska-lovers!  If you may have noticed, there are quite a few bands releasing new albums lately.  MNSka bands like 2 Tone Runts and Rocksteady Breakfast and national bands like Westbound Train have just dropped full-lengths.  We here at MNSka would love to read what you have to say about them and post your review on the site!  Just click the SUBMIT NEWS link at the top of the page to email us your review.  Any ska album, old or new, is fair game.  Make it as long or short as you like but try to rate it on a scale of 1-5.  We look forward to reading your reviews…it’s a great way to support the ska scene!

Do you have some news to be posted on MNSka.com? Are you tired of hearing about the same old bands and have info about your favorite band?

Just email the new MNSka News Email!
mnskanews@gmail.com

Send us your:
-news about a MNSka band
-news about any national ska/reggae/dub band
-show announcements (with all the information and a link to find it)
-album reviews
-show reviews
-new releases from ska/reggae/dub bands
-videos that relate to MNSka, or ska in general

This will help the site out immensely by getting you, the community, directly involved in what content and information goes on the site.

MNSKA BANDS: THIS IS A WAY TO ADVERTISE AND PROMOTE YOURSELVES FOR FREE! IT IS FOOLISH NOT TO SUBMIT NEWS ABOUT YOUR BAND!

You can also click on the SUBMIT NEWS button at the top of page.

Hey there, MNSka fans!  We are now on Twitter even though we still are not sure what it is!  You can follow us there to find out about MNSka shows, events, radio presence etc.  And if anyone wants to explain to us exactly what Twitter is, that would be helpful.

Follow us on Twitter HERE

The Official MN Ska Mix Tape Volume One, the compilation disc released earlier this month, is now available for streaming on this website.  Just click Mixtape at the top of the page!

Hey MNSka-ers! Since I realize that I have spread myself thin with doing everything for the website, I really need your help. We as a scene have laid some solid groundwork, I just need a few willing volunteers to help take it to the next level.

I am looking for people who will be committed to helping with the website and the best part is, you don’t even need any technical skills (aside from using the internet, but you are already doing that). I will teach you how to do anything you will need to do for your task.

Here are the different tasks you can sign up for:
-News Posts. If you read news blogs, forums, music sites, etc. and are up to date with the happenings in the ska world, I would like you to post that news on the site. It is really easy to do. The news would include things like Show Announcements for local shows, MNSka band news, National/International ska band news, etc. If you think you are able to post 3 times a week, please volunteer! I’m looking for multiple volunteers for this position!

-Show and Music Reviewer. Bari Sax has been our “sole reviewer” so far, but if anyone is interested in writing up reviews of local ska shows or any ska albums (past or present), please volunteer! I’m looking for multiple volunteers for this position!

-Bands page editor. I am working on putting together a page for every ska/reggae band that calls Minnesota their home.  This will require some research to find pictures, mp3s, and videos of each band.  I have already created some of the pages (click on BANDS and see 2 Tone Runts for an example).  Please volunteer if this interests you!

How To Volunteer:
Please email Courtney at klos0067@umn.edu with the subject line “MNSka Volunteer” and include your name, a way to contact you, and what task you would like to help with.