Back for his annual appearance on Checkered Past is the Hyperska Superstar, Eichlers! To kick the episode off he catches Rob and Joey up on his new album Ike World, his various other projects and his new, shocking, musical obsession. Then, the trio dig in on the Ska discography of Mest from their Ska-punk indie days to their pogo punk breakout to their smash records in the 00's. Unlike Ike's last appearance, are the facts real on this episode? Tune in to find out! Hosts: Rob and Joey Engineer: J...
Nov 05, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 176
Checkered Rob's Birthday comes but once a year, and always a round the spookiest season. Engineer Joey has decided HE will make the games and is ready to surprise Rob and Celine for a special games-only episode... but both are missing! Enter Jigska and his nemesis The Skabadook who have their own torturous plans but were thwarted by another new Ska Serial Killer on the scene. The games are flipped on their head as Joey pits the three against each other to seal the fate of the Skanking Sibs! It's...
Oct 29, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 176
It's another Ska Pod crossover! CP/SC welcomes on In Defense of Ska book author and podcast host, Aaron Carnes to discuss Mike Park's The Chinkees. First, Rob and Joey did a brief pick it up before talking to Aaron about his Checkered Past, the new edition of his novel and the early days of his podcast. Then the trio dig in on The Chinkees from their post-Pickle origins to their touring years as part of Asian Man Records to their brief reunion in the studio. It's all capped off with the return o...
Oct 22, 2024•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 175
Time for a companion piece to CP/SCs Blue Meanies episode... a primer on the Ska scene in the American Midwest from 1990-2010! First, Celine regales Rob and Joey with her trip to Italy before the trio run through 15 tracks of the weird, the trad and the punk. Rob builds the playlist focusing on the scenes in Chicago, Detroit and Chuck Wren's Jump Up Records. Expect tracks from Hot Stove Jimmy, Gangster Fun, Deal's Gone Bad and more! Hosts: Rob, Celine and Joey Engineer: Joey Editor: Joey Skassoc...
Oct 15, 2024•58 min•Ep. 174
Checkered Past heads to Illinois to talk about the TV Smashers themselves: Blue Meanies! For the discussion they bring along return guests Aaron, Eric and Justin of Western Mass genre band: PWRUP! They talk about local shows in Edmonton, Eric's Checkered Past and the angular Chicago music scene before diving into the meanies from their stoner, jam band roots to their million-mile-an-hour heyday in the 90s to their strange major label finale in the 00s. Its all capped off with an equally high spe...
Oct 08, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 173
It's time to take a breather from the Heptember bracket to dig in on another dark ages Ska cult classic, Zox! Rob and Engineer Joey do a quick pick it up before digging in on Zox's 00's discography from their ska heavy first album to their Side One Dummy sleeper hit to their indie rock inspired final album. Oh and they have a violin! Hosts: Rob and Joey Engineer: Joey Editor: Cutman Skassociate Producer: Chris Reeves of Ska Punk International Merch: www.checkeredpast.ca/merch Patreon: www.patreo...
Oct 01, 2024•58 min•Ep. 172
The quest to determine the greatest Reel Big Fish cover song finishes with return guest and podcaster extraordinaire, Jordan Morris! The CP/SC crew kicks off with a quick pick it up before chatting with Jordan on his new graphic novel Youth Group, Christian Ska and 90s YA Horror Comedies. Then, Rob, Celine, Joey and Jordan all dig in on both the Semis and the Finals to crown the ultimate winner. PLUS a return of the Checkered Rob Invitational and RBF round of Big Five! Follow along with the Hept...
Sep 24, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 170
The quest to determine the greatest Reel Big Fish cover song continues with first timers, Bad Mary! The CP/SC crew kicks off with a quick pick it up before chatting with Bad Mary on the formation of their band and their new EP Better(er) Days. Then, Rob, Celine, Joey, Amanda and Mike all dig in on the next 4 matchups of songs whittling down to the semifinals in preparation of next weeks finale. Follow along with the Heptember Bracket all September long at www.challonge.com/heptember2024 Hosts: C...
Sep 17, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 169
The quest to determine the greatest Reel Big Fish cover song continues with fan favorite guest, Devon Kay! The CP/SC crew kicks off with a quick pick it up before finding out what's new in the world of Devon Kay and is Ska-djacent project The Solutions. Then, Rob, Celine, Joey and Devon all dig in on the next 8 matchups of songs whittling down to the quarterfinals. Its filled with hot takes, upsets and no shortage of ties! Follow along with the Heptember Bracket all September long at www.challon...
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 168
It's the continuation of the annual Heptember bracket! This year, CP/SC is on the hunt to determine the greatest Reel Big Fish cover of all time, pitting 32 songs in mortal combat. In Part 2 of Round 1, it's just the Checkered Past Crew as they run through the final 2/3 of the bracket, eliminating tracks as they go. They go on Vibrato Watch, discuss the bands style-emulations and decide on the songs they think will go the distance Follow along with the Heptember Bracket all September long at www...
Sep 03, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 167
It's the debut of the annual Heptember bracket! This year, CP/SC is on the hunt to determine the greatest Reel Big Fish cover of all time, pitting 32 songs in mortal combat. In Part 1 of Round 1, it's just the Checkered Past Crew as they run through 1/3 of the bracket, eliminating tracks as they go. They also discuss the Heptember Miracle, lay the ground work for the next 4 weeks and discuss what it is they are looking for in an ideal song. Follow along with the Heptember Bracket all September l...
Aug 27, 2024•57 min•Ep. 166
If you're still walking on sunshine then this episode is for you! Rob and Engineer Joey sit down to do a full blind listen of the first two albums by modern metallers Ice Nine Kills! Both have only heard the Reel Big Fish song and are going in completely unaware as they listen to the entire Pop-Punk-Ska years compilation and INK's official debut, Last Chance To Make Amends. All the while they comment on the bands evolution, their love of a schtick and their long hard journey to superstardom. The...
Aug 20, 2024•55 min•Ep. 165
Hot off their Top 10 episode of 2023, Joystick returns to continue chatting about the one and only Voodoo Glow Skulls! From the airport on their way to a tour of the UK, Bex and Duck share their thoughts on the crowdstrike crash, mall shopping and bad tattoos before diving into VGS for a second time. They discuss the bands next era from their funk and hiphop influenced Symbolic to their ripping Victroy debut Steady As She Goes to the muddier Addicion. After, in the studio, Celine, Rob and Joey c...
Aug 13, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 164
Heptember is BACK for 2024! Rob, Celine and Joey sit down to prepare for another month long bracket to determine the best song by a band! In the pre-show they go through this year's band's side projects, other bands and the songs that didn't make the cut to mentally prepare themselves for the upcoming challenge. Which band will it be? Which guests will storm out in anger? Which song eliminations will cause listeners to fly into a violent rage? Tune in to find out! Hosts: Celine, Joey and Rob Eng...
Aug 06, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 163
Don't be scared by the title! In light of the controversies surrounding Bosstones singer Dicky, Rob makes an impassioned plea to reconsider the scene contributions of the bands legacy. First, Rob and Engineer Joey pick it up with a conversation about he carnival and IMAX movies before doing a shallow dive on the Coles Notes history of MMB from their heavy metal early days to the coining of the term Skacore to their blockbuster success. All the while, Rob plays clips, shares some historical conte...
Jul 30, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 162
It's a very special episode of Checkered Past! On this episode we invite in the man who was the first ever to wear the famed Banana Suit and dance at Ska shows: The Real Banana Man H! He walks through the early days of the scene, his business making banana juice cleanses for celebrities and his tragic relationship with Jackfruit. Then, he brings with him the original recordings of famous Ska songs with their original banana themes still intact. It's all capped off with a fruit themed game of Bui...
Jul 23, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 161
What is Post-Third Wave you ask? Why it's a subgenre coined by Checkered Rob of course! It's a regional Ska-Punk boom that existed between 1999 and 2005 after the death of mainstream Ska and before the advent of the true Dark Ages. It consisted of bands that were in high school or college, made rough studio recordings and were highly influenced by the Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake and the Bosstones. This primer is for those that remember the days of Winamp, Limewire, Myspace, Soulseek, Turn Up t...
Jul 16, 2024•56 min•Ep. 160
Hey elitists from the internet! Checkered Past is finally tackling one of the most requested subject bands: Big D and the Kids Table! To help with the discussion, Rob, Celine and Joey welcome Saxton of Prog Ska Midwesterners, Runaway Ricochet! They dig into Saxtons history with Ska, the evolution leading to their new record Diminishing Returns and the various influences that went into it. Then, they all dig in on Big Ds early era from the party atmosphere of their debut to the in-your-face Ska P...
Jul 09, 2024•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 159
Take a deep breath, cause we are heading to the Mile High City to drink, fight and play the bagpipes! That's right CP/SC is talking about Dark Ages Ska-Punksters, The Potato Pirates! Rob and Engineer Joey kick off the episode with a rare sports talk and the hockey atmosphere of Edmonton. Then, they dig in on the Potato Pirates' ska discography from their bagpipe heavy early days to their punk-and-dgaf middle period to their modern anthemic sound. Hosts: Rob and Joey Engineer: Joey Editor: Joey S...
Jul 02, 2024•50 min•Ep. 158
It's the third part of a three part series detailing Checkered Past's trip to SPI Fest 2024! On the third episode, it's a return of the fan favorite back alley interviews from SPI Fest 2023. This year the featured interviews include The Marijuana Brass, Bad Mary, The Ska Mailman, PWRUP and The Best of the Worst plus some very special drop in guests. PLUS, Rob is solo in studio to do bumpers and is subjected to rapid fire questions from the discord in a reversal of fate. Hosts: Rob Engineer: Joey...
Jun 25, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 157
It's the second part of a three part series detailing Checkered Past's trip to SPI Fest 2024! On the second episode we play our Day 2 Live performance featuring The Ska Mailman and Mega Infinity along with a Getting Witchy with Michi, games and some audience questions! Then we move to the studio where Rob and Engineer Joey discuss the second day of the fest, the epic afterparty and the sightseeing day around CT. Hosts: Celine, Rob and Joey Engineer: Joey Editor: Joey and Cutman Skassociate Produ...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 156
It's the first part of a three part series detailing Checkered Past's trip to SPI Fest 2024! On the first episode we play our Day 1 Live performance featuring The Skabadook and Common Sense Kid along with banter, games and some audience questions! Then we move to the studio where Rob and Engineer Joey discuss the lead up to the festival, the trip from Canada to the US and everything that went down on the first day!
Jun 11, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 155
Things are about to get irie as CP/SC tackles the low energy vibes of Reggae Rock! Rob and Joey do a quick pick it up on bicycles before going through the mainstream rock meets reggae scene from its creation in the early 80s to the wide spanning influence of Sublime to its surprisingly vast fanbase in the modern era. All the way they play a game to guess how many streams the songs have on Spotify. Hosts: Rob and Joey Engineer: Joey Editor: Joey Skassociate Producer: Chris Reeves of Ska Punk Inte...
Jun 04, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 154
It's the leather year of Checkered Past: The Ska'd Cast! For this very special episode, Celine, Rob and Joey welcomes long time guest Kayleigh of KMoy and first timer Javi of The Marijuana Brass for a long form interview. They cover a range of topics such as the state of New Tone, their individual journeys in a DIY scene and the culmination of hard work that led to SPI Fest 2024. It's a very different CP/SC experience! Hosts: Celine, Rob and Joey Engineer: Joey Editor: Cutman Skassociate Produce...
May 28, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 153
Things are about to get hyper as CP/SC tackles the high energy mania of Japanese Ska Punk! Rob and Engineer Joey do a pick it up about pinball before diving into the world of J-Ska from the mid-90's to the modern day. They go through its Third Wave influenced beginnings to its proliferation on MySpace to its penetration into the Japanese mainstream all while carving out its own unique sound and niche. Hosts: Rob and Joey Engineer: Joey Editor: Joey Skassociate Producer: Chris Reeves of Ska Punk ...
May 21, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 152
CP/SC concludes its thrilling Ska-ified Dungeons and Dragons real play with this the final episode! Large-oh Hotstepper, Xena Stefani and Whydthey Clocksard face their final challenges to save their idol from the clutches of a devious fiend. A Battle of the Bands! A Final Boss! Bathrooms! It's truly a finale to remember! Go back and listen to episode 0 and 1 to get all the background you need! CP/SC will be performing LIVE at SPI Fest 2 in Connecticut May 17-18! Tix at www.spifest.org Hosts: Cel...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 152
Do the Pod Kung Fu Checkerheads! Checkered Past is diving into dark ages Canadian Ska darlings, The Salads! Rob and Engineer Joey kick off with a quick talk on video games and U-hauls before digging deep on this fascinating success story of a musical group from their funk-metal-ska beginnings to their crunchy party records to their final, laid-back era. Put this pod in your ears if you're feeling alright! CP/SC will be performing LIVE at SPI Fest 2 in Connecticut May 17-18! Tix at www.spifest.or...
May 07, 2024•59 min•Ep. 151
The Ska'd-venture begins on another CPSC Dungeons and Dragons Realplay! Rob, Celine and Joey take their erstwhile band and characters to see their favourite musician perform when something unexpected thrusts them into adventure. There's flying imps, devils and maybe even a bong. How will Whydthey, Large-oh and Xena ever survive? Go back and listen to episode 0 to get all the background you need! CP/SC will be performing LIVE at SPI Fest 2 in Connecticut May 17-18! Tix at www.spifest.org Hosts: C...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 150
Anata mo watashi mo POCKY! Checkered Past is digging in on the international Dark Ages Ska hit, OreSkaBand! To help, they welcome their Skassociate Producer and label magnate, Chris Reeves of Ska Punk International! Chris talks a bit about sports before going through whats new with the label and what people can expect from SPI Fest 2. Then, Rob, Celine, Joey and Chris dig in on OreSkaBand from their bubblegum teen beginnings to their arena rock superstardom to their highly experimental, yet stil...
Apr 23, 2024•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 149
CP/SC is selling out! Rob, Celine and Joey do a Dungeons and Dragons real play with friend and theme song creator, Keelan as Dungeon Master. In this, the session 0, the CP/SC crew craft their characters, delve into the world and do a first draft encounter in preparation for their first full adventure! It's DnD with a Ska twist! Tune in April 30 and May 7 to hear Parts 1 and 2! CP/SC will be performing LIVE at SPI Fest 2 in Connecticut May 17-18! Tix at www.spifest.org Hosts: Celine, Rob and Joey...
Apr 16, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 147
