The UPTONES - Maximum Ska - MP3s

$100.00 prize for the best skanking. Be there!!!!

201 Broadway Ave, (at 2nd St.)
Oakland, CA
All Ages!! - $10.00

Legendary English Beat and UpTones return to Santa Cruz nightclub for mad skanking fracas.

UpTones bass player and founding member moves to dry land, invents Yacht Ska!

As our Ben, anchor of The UpTones sound, changes course, he has joined the iPhone crew, and moved his port of call South, leaving his boat behind. What a shame, he and I wrote a song about this boat, and now it’s up for sale. But the song isn’t. Check it out, our home demo of Bennie Got A Boat .

You too can be like Ben, on your day off!
Interested parties may contact yacht @ uptones dot com.

- Eric

Feb. ‘08 update: never mind, boat is sold!

TIM CARTER ROCKS MIECES TO PIECES

The Uptones once received a package in the mail from a band called The Field Mice, who wanted to open for The Uptones. It contained a one dollar bill clearly marked with the word “bribe,” plus a homemade cassette demo tape. The hand-drawn cover showed their high school buckling and cracking under the weight of a giant mouse. We called them straight away and gave them the gig.

Years later, when we were getting ready to start the next chapter of The Uptones, we needed a drummer. Charles “Dubmaster” Stella told us about Tim Carter. As it turns out, Tim was one of the aforementioned Mice. He showed up one night at rehearsal and totally rocked. He’s been our drummer ever since.

While the The Uptones are on summer break, The Field Mice are reuniting for a couple of shows, August 15 & 16. You can get all the details at their MiceSpace!

A DIALOGUE BETWEEN SCOTT BERTRAND AND THE SKANKING_FOOL

Fool: What is the purpose of ska?
Scott: To make you skank your ass off.
Fool: Here’s a tough one, is there more than one way to skank?
Scott: My personal research confirms there are an infinite number of ways to skank. But remember, all dancing is not skanking. Conversely, all skanking is dancing. Those facts alone take practice.
Fool: Who was the first trumpet player in the UpTones?
Scott: The Rev. Paul Jackson was the first, but he soon switched over to play his massive Organ.
Fool: Those are some big shoes to fill. Are you up to the gig?
Scott: I wear size 13’s. Big enough?
Fool: Are pelicans ska?
Scott: Of course, and so are penguins.
Fool: Is it true that in the UpTones new song, Ridiculous, you re-task the common household plunger and turn it into a mute? What’s your secret technique?
Scott: Fool, it’s all about the wrist. If you shake it just right, anything can happen. The key is in the timing.
Fool: Makes perfect sense. Scott, is it possible to play ska properly without a kick ass horn section?
Scott: No.

Young cinematographers live footage captures UpTones live show in full skanking mayhem

Jake The Skank has outdone himself. What a remarkable video of The UpTones rocking the Oakland Metro last month. Dodging skanking jubilant merrimakers, climbing rafters, and sneaking into the dark corners of the venue, Jake and his crew caught a brilliant moment in UpTones history. The sound quality is surprisingly good, and the editing is top notch. Clearly the work of a Skanking Fool.

Here is Skanking Fool from the show, and you can view all the clips here.

The UPTONES Live!! @ Bottom Of The Hill June 1

Trombone Heroine Makes The Uptones Proud!

Jeanne Geiger has been on a roll.
She recently joined living legend Dave Brubeck for his tour de force performance at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco. There’s a cool pic of this ensemble on Jeanne’s myspace page.

Our ska trombone star is as smart as she is beautiful. She’s poised to receive her Masters degree in Music Composition at Cal State East Bay. Jeanne’s Masters thesis, an innovative original big band composition called Reactance was a smash at the CSEB Jazz Ensemble’s final concert, with guest trumpet master Ingrid Jensen blazing on the lead. Check out an mp3 of this hot performance.

If that wasn’t enough, with Jeanne on the T-Bone, the Cal State East Bay Jazz Ensemble, and the CSEB Jazz Combo, both won 1st place at the prestigious Reno Jazz Festival last weekend.

Jeanne makes The Uptones truly Two-Tone. On behalf of the whole UpTones family, congrats to Jeanne, and we look forward to more jaw dropping trombone solos.

- Skanking Fool

Oakland Metro - Saturday, May 5!

The UpTones are bidding farewell to Minus Vince. A fine ska band goes on extended vacation. May 5 is their last show. Come on out and wish them good luck

- Skanking Fool

The UpTones SET LIST for Thursday, April 19, Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco CA, global positioning coordinates 1964 stat 1 channel 420 satellite 007 for triangulation 69 degrees W/SW.

PICK IT UP
RADIATION BOY
NOT FROM HERE
BOOK OF RULES
GHOST TOWN
SKANKING FOOL
RIDICULOUS
I DON’T KNOW EMILIE
BAD MEN OF BODIE
BONNIE AND CLYDE
RED HAIRED GIRL
MONKEY MAN
FORTUNATE SON
TOO MUCH PRESSURE

encore possibilities:
RUDE BOY
GET OUT OF MY WAY

Skank to that, you foolz.

- Skanking Fool