Hey Folks, check us out on the latest Version City Podcast, #11.  Thanks to all of you who came out to see us play at our recent shows.

We'll be heading your ways soon.  Boston (12/6), Brooklyn (1/2/10) and Manhattan (1/16/10). 

Thanks folks.

http://versioncity.podomatic.com/

-The Stress

"Despite my grousing about having to travel to Brooklyn to see this bill at the new Knitting Factory (I'm a spoiled Manhattanite), I found it, in all honesty, to be an easy trip: L train to the first stop in Brooklyn--Bedford Avenue--and then a two-minute walk to the club. The excellent new space is split between a large bar with plenty of booths and huge tilted windows that look out directly onto the dancefloor and stage (it resembles an oversized control booth in a recording studio--the bar is actually called The Control Room--and when I ran into KF Vice Prez of East Coast Productions Shay Vishawadia, who was both The Skatalites' and Laurel Aitken's manager in a former life, he told me that the venue is purposefully set up in this manner, as The Knitting Factory operates several associated labels and they plan to offer the club as a place to cut albums) and a medium-sized performance space (through a good deal smaller than the first floor room of their old Manhattan joint). Also, the beer was reasonably priced for a club, which is always a welcome turn of events.

Just outside the club, a chalkboard sandwich sign listed the line-up for the night and times the bands were scheduled to play--and it was a nice surprise to find that The Stress had been added to the bill at the last minute, since I've been wanting to see them since I ran across their MySpace page a few weeks ago. (You can download their Muk! Muk! EP for free from Witty Banter Records--I tried to buy a hard copy of the EP, but the band forgot to bring them down from Rhode Island--d'oh!--so they gave me a free badge for my effort.) The Stress' sound is a cross between the soulful rocksteady stylings of The Bluebeats and the melodic, if quirky, ska of Easy Big Fella (both bands feature their keyboardist also as their singer). Wish I had videotaped a song or two of theirs to post here, like "What Cheer" or the tune that mentioned dropping bombs (any help here, Stress fans?) that's not on the EP. It was still pretty early when they hit the stage and since the room hadn't filled up yet, I felt a little self-conscious whipping out the Flip...next time I won't be so bashful. The superb Toasters/Void Union drummer Jesse Hayes played with the band, giving the rhythm section an extra shot of power and precision. Great songwriting and spot-on performances here--making The Stress a band to make sure to keep on your radar.

Hey Stranger, decked out in pirate gear, rocked out with their ska-pop-punk sound (think 1996 or '97, if you lived through it) and threw plastic gold coins into the audience now and then (hopefully missing the fan in the full-body penguin costume, who danced the entire night and probably lost 10 lbs sweating in that suit). I was a bit disappointed that no one in the band made themselves up like Johnny Depp in the second "Pirates of the Caribbean" flick with all of those extra painted-on eyes...

This was the first time I've seen The Forthrights, who performed a great set of rocksteady tracks (see their video at the bottom of this post). At the show, I picked up a copy of their debut vinyl single (pressed in Jamaica, natch) on Stubborn Records (preview the cuts on their MySpace page) and their sound is very much what you would expect to be associated with Django's label. Very good stuff.

I caught about 35 minutes of The Toasters' set, but had to leave a bit early, as the MTA was doing track work on the L line after midnight (which would've made traveling back to Manhattan a nightmare). As always, The Toasters delivered the goods--top notch performances from an extraordinary catalogue of songs (I shot video clips of four songs from this set--"Shocker," "I'm Running Right Through the World," "Pirate Radio," and "Sitting on Top of the World"--which are posted below). Since the lot of the constantly touring musician is a rough one, the Toasters core of Buck, Jesse Hayes, and Andy Pearson (on bass) is usually augmented by a rotating crew of sidemen (the time out, the horn section was comprised of Sander Loog from Rude Rich & the High Tones/The Beatbusters on sax and Cooper Barton on trombone), which ends up giving the band a bit of a different feel each time you see them. The Toasters' ex-keyboardist Dave Barry also joined the band (though Buck told me earlier in the night that he was only sitting in for this gig, not the rest of their tour or the Ska is Dead IV extravaganza--which is a shame, as the keys are such an integral part of their sound, and Dave is so damn" good). The Toasters are going to be all over the East Coast, South, and Southwest this November, so make sure to catch them!

None of my usual ska gig mates were in town/able to come out and play, so it was extra nice to run into some familiar faces in the crowd (in addition to Buck and Shay), including Coolie Ranx, singer Megg Howe of Across the Aisle, and Nicole Lapusan (AKA punk rock singer/guitarist Miss Pie, who also used to be a big ska promoter and DJ on the "Ska's the Limit" radio show on KDHX in St. Louis back in the mid-90s and would play the hell out of all the Moon promos I sent her). All in all a really good night for ska music and people at The Knitting Factory Brooklyn..."

Thanks, Duff!

Taken from http://duffguidetoska.blogspot.com/

Practicing what you preach isn't always easy, but as we are against sweatshop labor and the exploitation of factory workers we decided to have our T's ordered through a small union that operates here in the United States. Keep our dollars at home, and support paying a fair wage to workers- not a bad deal. We are screen printing the shirts ourselves with some custom designs so not only can you feel good about wearing one, you'll be cruising around in style. Check out one of our upcoming shows to grab your own!
Cheers
THE STRESS

For a long time, companies founded on, and driven by ethical sourcing have been complaining about the state of the cocoa trade in West Africa (mainly the Ivory Coast and Ghana).  Turns out that both of these countries are rampant with child slave labor in the cocoa trade.

If you are wondering who buys the large majority of this cocoa at source, then you may (or may not) be surprised that it is done by coporations like Mars, Hersheys, Nestle, and Cargill.  Don't be too surprised.  When we really stop and think about the current standards for corporate ethics (cheap input, high output), and especially its consequences on the "Third World" (something unsettling about that term), it unfortunately doesn't seem all that surprising.

Just like the nasty Chiquita aftertaste left in some of our mouths when we found out they had been funding a paramilitary group in Colombia, the same sour flavors linger after that friendly, familiar, "melt-in-your-mouth, not-in-your-hand" M&M, or "fun" sized Snickers bar.

But don't take my word for it; of all organizations hoping to expose the secrecy of this nasty little trade secret, Gourmet Magazine recently published this piece:

http://www.gourmet.com/foodpolitics/2009/09/chocolate-industry-cocoa-policies

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  If we don't change the way things are by changing the way we consume, then lord knows the chocolate industry won't.

Mike

In case you haven't heard, Chiquita banana is facing scrutiny for having paid a paramilitary group, the AUC, in northern Colombia for protection.  The group emerged as a right-wing military response to the Marxist Colombian group known as the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.  Watch the clip below from 60 Minutes for more information about Chiquita's blood money, and an interview from Chiquita's executive director.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5228111n&tag=related;photovideo

Seriously, why should we keep supporting such corporations?

With sincerity,
Mike

Below is a link to Equal Exchange's blog, where Mike Mowry of the Stress recently posted a write up about his trip to Mexico, and what he saw and learned about free trade and small time coffee farmers. Equal Exchange is a coffee co-operative that imports, roasts and sells only fair trade organic coffee, thereby ensuring the farmers are paid enough for their labor intensive work. Read more by following the link below, and find out how it inspired Mike to write the song "1994."


http://smallfarmersbigchange.coop/2009/08/06/what%E2%80%99s-nafta-got-to-do-with-it/

http://www.dancingmood.net/musicaloccupation/2009/...

On this edition of MSS Mike Mowry from The Stress calls in to chat about their new E.P. Muk! Muk!, Jamaican music, Las Cabriolas, coffee farmers in Central and South America and much more.