![\"Ska](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/dane-3.jpg\")
<\/a>The \u201cwe\u201d Roberts refers to is the Victoria Ska Society, a non-profit society formed in 2004 after Roberts saw Ska Fest growing larger than he ever thought possible when he put on the inaugural festival in 2000. Inspired by the 1998 death of his good friend, Matthew Bishop, with whom he co-hosted the CFUV radio show Skankster\u2019s Paradise up at UVic, Roberts was determined to keep the ska scene alive in Victoria.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, ska was such a craze. I always liked reggae music and wanted to promote it, but [Bishop] introduced me to ska,\u201d explains Roberts. \u201cWhen I went to UVic I was so into ska and I thought we should make a ska festival, so I did it as a work term placement. My advisor said to me that if the festival did well, I would pass my work term, and if it didn\u2019t do well, I didn\u2019t pass. And that was how the first one started.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time Roberts wasn\u2019t thinking ahead to what the festival might look like 5, 10, or even 14 years later, but here we are in 2013 and Victoria Ska Festival is now globally renowned and has a number of large sponsors. Bands from all over of the world go out of their way to come here every July and play the festival. Some even do it for travel expenses alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re totally excited and to get to play again is super cool,\u201d says Matt Coyller, lead vocalist\/guitarist of The Planet Smashers, a Montreal ska punk band who first played the festival in 2011. \u201cDane\u2019s been good to us and it\u2019s expensive to get everyone out, but he covers the flights and we come out and basically play for free and it\u2019s lots of fun. The last time we played the festival it was crazy good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slowly, over the years, the Victoria Ska Festival has expanded beyond ska bands and into other related genres such as reggae, hip-hop, dub, soul, and punk rock, among others. Roberts says this has been a natural progression and is another key to the longevity of the festival.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad we only focused on ska, and ska alone, and nothing else, then we would definitely have a much more limited market,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Coyller, who also runs a record label called Stomp Records out of Montreal that predominantly releases ska-related bands, says branching out into other musical genres that are still somehow connected to ska is a great approach for a music festival. In fact, he\u2019s used the same approach for his record label.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to. If everyone is too similar, it just gets boring,\u201d says Coyller. \u201cWhen you do a live show that\u2019s a traditional ska night, by band three you\u2019re like, \u2018Ah, fuck, someone change the tempo, please!\u2019 You need to mix it up. And there are a lot of variations within ska, but adding other elements freshens things up to a nice level. Besides, any festivals that have been around for years, like the Montreal Jazz Festival, it\u2019s like 10 percent jazz; but hopefully that won\u2019t happen to Ska Fest.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Ska Fest lineup includes big-name acts such as hip-hop icon Mos Def, dub\/reggae beat looper Dub FX, influential reggae artist Tanya Stephens, and ska punks The Mad Caddies, alongside a host of local and smaller bands in many ska-related genres. Truly the definition of an underground, genre-specific festival, Ska Fest has succeeded by eschewing the trappings of the mainstream music industry and focusing on a community of bands that support each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think any of our artists are featured on commercial radio,\u201d says Roberts, proudly. \u201cI\u2019m looking at the poster right now and I can\u2019t see anything that would be in regular rotation on the radio.\u201d<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t need radio play, it seems, to play a style of music that gets people excited and dancing. One of the most noticeable things about the festival is how much people get into it. From the skanking dance moves, to the many different ways in which attendees express themselves, it\u2019s never a dull moment at Ska Fest.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely, it\u2019s huge,\u201d confirms Roberts. \u201cIt\u2019s a dancing kind of music and people are not afraid to express themselves. They like to dress in costumes, and there\u2019s a lot of good energy, and maybe it\u2019s because of the message it\u2019s traditionally shown, or maybe it\u2019s because the music is so cheerful and positive. Ska feels good, you know? And people lose their inhibitions.\u201d<\/p>\n Collyer, whose home of Quebec is also known for its strong ska scene, has a theory about why ska has caught on in what may seem like an unlikely place on the west coast, and it leads right back to Roberts and his team\u2019s enthusiasm for the festival they run every summer.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes down to it, the passion is there from the people who are putting on the shows,\u201d says Collyer, \u201cand I think people just pick up on that. It\u2019s a well-run festival, so that\u2019s why it\u2019s had longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n Kristie McCracken, co-founder of Vancouver’s eight-piece soul\/funk\/reggae\/R&B band The Ponderosas, agrees that the people behind Ska Fest are essential to its success, and that starts with Roberts.\u00a0“We love Dane. I admire his passion for music and how enthusiastic he is at every single show, to the point where he completely loses his voice,” she says.<\/p>\n Also, the laid-back west coast coupled with a community that\u2019s politically minded are two more reasons why Victoria Ska Fest has taken off, according to Roberts. Plus, he\u2019s just too humble of a guy to take credit for our healthy ska scene.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s definitely more of a free-thinking, left-wing vibe here and that really fits with the music, which is about freedom, about social injustice,\u201d says Roberts. \u201cSka music addresses a lot of those things, in addition to it being fun and jumpy. And there\u2019s a lot of love here for other music that ska\u2019s been connected to. Our efforts have been to make people aware that even though ska is the grandfather, it\u2019s related to other genres.\u201d<\/p>\n A huge fan of dancing at shows, Roberts does his best to find time to truly enjoy the festival amongst all of the hard work. But, more importantly, the man who wanted to bring ska to Victoria always takes time to reflect on what\u2019s being accomplished in a city he loves, and within a genre of music he holds so close to his heart.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I\u2019m in between dealing with the challenges of the festival, I always try to take a step back and go up to the top of the hill where everyone watches it for free,\u201d he says. \u201cI take a deep breath and thank God and the people in the community for supporting it.\u201d<\/p>\n Who to skank to:<\/strong><\/p>\n Who better to take advice on which bands to see at the Victoria Ska Fest than founder Dane Roberts? Known as one of Victoria\u2019s biggest live music enthusiasts, Roberts gives his top four picks for this year\u2019s loaded lineup.<\/p>\n The Debonaires Dub FX Mad Caddies Mos Def<\/a>
\n“They are one of the best ska\/reggae\/jazz\/soul bands in North America. Their brand of music isn\u2019t the popular sound of what gets played on the radio, but they are incredible, man. To me, they are one of the biggest gifts of the festival this year.”<\/p>\n
\n“I\u2019m really excited that he took time out of his schedule to come to our festival between shows on his European tour. That was really inspiring. I\u2019ve gotten in his face, in a friendly way, several times after his concerts and it was amazing that he took a personal interest in the festival and he remembered me.”<\/p>\n
\n“The vibe I always got from the band is that they always knew I was passionate and, even though they played lots of dates and are so well known around North America, the fact that they booked the show directly with us without having to deal with management was amazing.”<\/p>\n
\n“Well, obviously, I\u2019m really excited about that one.”<\/p>\n