I'll be playing the some of the best ska, reggae, and post-punk records from 8-10 midnight ..read more

  I'll be playing the some of the best ska, new wave, and post-punk records from 8-10 pm ..read more

  I'm spinning the best in ska, reggae, new wave, and post-punk this Friday night from 8 p.m. to midnight at Otto's Shrunken Head Tiki Bar in Alphabet City (Manhattan)! (Apologies to Godzilla and Hedorah.) + + + + Also, here are the flyers I created for some other nights I've DJ'ed there recently ..read more

  ..read more

(Review by Steve Shafer) I've written a fair amount about The Selecter's brilliant but unfairly maligned second record, Celebrate the Bullet (read my appreciation of the album and my interview about it with Selecter guitarist/songwriter Neol Davies first published in my book The Duff Guide to 2 Tone). So, I didn't expect to have too much more to add to the (late to the game) 40th-anniversary release of Celebrate the Bullet, which has been remastered and issued on heavyweight, clear vinyl and as an expanded triple-CD deluxe version (which contains a 20-page booklet with new ..read more

50-page, 8 x 10 paperback book and 7" flex disc 2022 (Review by Steve Shafer) For much of our nation's history, Americans have been deluged with hearsay, humbuggery, and bunco. It's all a malignant but necessary component of our hyper-capitalist society where accumulating wealth and power means everything (it's the American dream!). Duping regular folks to win their cash, vote, and/or blind acquiescence to achieve all this is a feature of capitalism, not a bug. One area that always has been ripe for exploitation is non-prescribed medicines (aka over-the-counter medication). These "pat ..read more

Editor's note: Shots in the Dark spotlights Third-Wave ska releases that should have been massive hits on the scene but, due to bad timing, poor luck, or a fickle record-buying public, were lost in the fray. (Appreciation by Steve Shafer) The Band: The Adjusters, an overtly left-wing, mod-ish ska-soul band from Chicago who were heavily influenced by The Redskins (anti-fascist, socialist soul-rockabilly-punk skinheads, who released several singles and one classic album, Neither Washington Nor Moscow) and Billy Bragg (anti-fascist, socialist folk-punk rocker who still endeavors to write prote ..read more

Thursday, October 6, 2022 @ 6:00 pm (DJ set); 8:00 pm first band Subway to Skaville presents Joker's Republic, Rundown Kreeps, Eye Defy (NJ vs. CA Ska Punk Show), plus DJ Pitter Pat Otto's Shrunken Head Tiki Bar & Lounge 538 East 14th Street (between Avenues A & B) Manhattan, NY No cover/21+ But please bring cash for each band's tip bucket + + + + Saturday, October 15, 2022 @ 4:00 pm Otto's Shrunken Head 20th Anniversary Celebration Live music: The Bloody Muffs, Barbicide, Bikini Carwash, The Hipp Pipps, Recreational Outrage, The Electric Mess, Memphis Morticians, Crusier: Micha ..read more

It's a little late, but Chrysalis is finally releasing the 40th Anniversary of The Selecter's dark and superb 1981 sophomore album Celebrate the Bullet on November 11, 2022. The album is remastered from the original production tapes and being issued on heavyweight clear vinyl and in an expanded, triple-CD deluxe version, which features a 20-page booklet with notes from the band; the unreleased "Deepwater" single and its dub; the Celebrate the Bullet BBC sessions; and an unreleased live concert recorded at Birmingham's NEC in 1980. (Pre-orders can be made through ..read more

(Review by Steve Shafer) Blue Beat Baby: The Untold Story of Brigitte, a new 30-minute video documentary by Joanna Wallace, does an excellent job of piecing together the largely forgotten story of Brigitte Bond, who inadvertently inspired the design of The Beat girl. While the average ska fan knows 2 Tone's Walt Jabsco was created by Jerry Dammers (and refined with help from Horace Panter and John "Teflon" Sims) and based on a photo of Peter Tosh from his early Wailers' days, far fewer are aware of the origins and background of The Beat girl. In Blue Beat Baby, Wallace explain ..read more