The Scofflaws played Ska in Setauket near sheep

The Scofflaws played in Setauket on Friday Night (7/10) at Benner’s Farm.   Parking was very easy and I was surprised with the number of vehicles, it was evident there was a crowd. I was impressed with the sound system as well as the raised and well lit stage which was set up next to one of the sheep stables.   There were food trucks as well as an ice cream truck.  It was a reasonable $10.00 to get in.  Yet, I needed a beach chair or blanket. Maybe I should keep one in my trunk for these summer shows?  With five kids dancing in the grass as the sun was setting and families on lawn chairs and virtually no one...dancing the show was...different. Being alone, I was a little out of place.  When you see The Scofflaws everyone should be up and having a good time.  Even some of the sheep cried out.  It was also a clean show.  Their song Paul Getty which normally has an angry anthem at the end…was…tame.    Typically, you would hear some lines like, “Got any ganja?  You know what I told him (The boss) Eat Shit.  This is my mantra, work sucks!”  None of the angst was there expect for a slide slip of sensamilia…I was also disappointed with their song, Till the End of Time.  I think Sammy was just going through the motions.  He jived a little, but he did not have the balls to get the crowd up and moving.  The positive, was that their trombone player, Jared Dubin was there, he fills out their sound.  Hats off to the talented Brian Duggan who kept the rhythm section tight.

So why did I go?  I went for the prime reason, it was The Scofflaws and the show was close to my house.  I did not stay to the end of the second set.  The kids were playing with beach balls that glowed in the dark.  That was cool.  The stars were out, very nice.  The adults for the most part were sitting in their chairs and clapped and occasionally hooted, which was a little disappointing.  Two thick bugs flew in my eyes and blinded me.  I could feel the blood sucking mosquitoes were getting a good pint out of me.  Time to go…till the next time…and remember when The Scofflaws announce family fun on their Facebook page...I just might skip it...

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Interview with Richard "Sammy" Brooks from The Scofflaws

Dressed in a long military green over coat and a black beret Richard "Sammy" Brooks caught the perplexed attention of the recruiters who were standing in their office.  We passed them, bought couple of burritos at a local Mexican restaurant, a few tall boys at 7-11 and drove back to Rich's house. In his living room was a still Greek tortoise getting warm under a lamp as well as a few cats who were staring at me as I took a seat on a sofa.  There will be two parts for this interview - since we hung out for more than an hour.

In fact, there are not many interviews on the web on either The Scofflaws or Richard Brooks who uses the stage name, “Sammy.”  Yet, this is a band that toured the US and Europe and still have a strong legion of fans.  Recent years, their gigs have been sporadic, playing mostly on Long Island and some gigs in Rhode Island or in Manhattan.   

We covered the very beginning as well as the concept of third wave ska which is what The Scofflaws are considered.  The first wave was bands from Jamaica such as the Skatalites, Desmond Decker and Bob Marley and the Wailors.  The second wave was known as the Two Tone bands.  Two Tone was the record label based in the UK.  Bands such as The Specials, Madness, The Selecter and Bad Manners as well as The English Beat.  The second wave captured the energy and aggression of punk.  It is interesting to see the progress of the ska wave; from Jamaica to the UK to the third wave which was global.  Within the US, bands such as Toasters, Fishbone (which was one of my favorites) The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Untouchables (who I saw perform back in the 80’s in San Jose) No Doubt, Sublime and Rancid.  The Scofflaws played with many of these bands. 

But they were not always known as The Scofflaws, the band started as The New Bohemians.  You may recall Edie Brickell (“What I Am”, 1986) and The New Bohemians.  There was no affiliation.  Richie sold the name for $500.00 to her management.    

The ska movement peaked in the ‘90’s.  All of The Scofflaws albums were released during this time, The Scofflaws, 1991/Moon Records, Ska in Hi Fi 1995/Moon Records, LIVE (Vol. 1) 1996, Moon Ska Records, Record of Convictions/1998Moon Ska Records.  Some of these bands which sold millions broke up. Some ska labels such as Moon/Ska Records folded.  By 2000 the third wave had crested.  What is left is the surviving ska bands who still tour, play at ska festivals and are adored their passionate fans.  Yet, there are new ska band who continue to create and forge their own “rude-boy” path.

MG: When you were introduced to ska?

RB: The Two tone error had a real impact on me.  I liked the reggae stuff which preceded that.  But when the two tone thing hit and Elvis Costello, it had that punky edge to it, I really embraced it, so that was the late seventies. 

MG:  What were some of the bands who influenced you? 

RB: The Specials came through first and I missed them and people were saying, oh man you should have seen this show, these guys were unbelievable, this was the next new thing.  About a month later Selecter came through and I caught their thing.  It was a lot of fun and that was at My Father’s Place in Roslyn.  That was their first tour.  It was an all black band with one white guy on guitar.  They did the James Bond bit and they put a spot light on the guy and the guy became James Bond, it was really cool.  Now, her whole line up is different, but that original band was very good.  So, around that time I started doing the New Bohemian thing.

MG:  What year was that?

RB:  It was around 1984 when The New Bohemians were born.  Prior, to that I was playing with some garage bands.  But that is a whole other area of my career.

MG:  You had mentioned directing as something you always wanted to do which led you to leading a band, so what inspired you?

RB:  I always like the idea of directing, putting out the right kind of material out there.  What really sparked the idea was when I went into a bar looking for a friend of mine.  The guy is not there and I look around the room and I think it’s pretty cool and I ask them, ever think about putting music in here?  And they tell me, they thought about.  And there’s this guy Gene, he’s a brick layer and he’s sitting at the bar.  And he tells the owner, “Oh, you should hire this guy’s band (Rich’s) they’re really good.  I didn’t even have a group, but Gene thought like a business man.  Get the gig and then get the musicians, so that is how it sparked.   Just as a lark I called a whole bunch of friends and said, hey listen, I’m doing like an open mic this night, come down.  I did that for a few weeks and started getting offers for other gigs after that.  It was formerly known as Snyder’s and became 89 Wall Street.  I’m thankful to Gene to this day.

MG:  So, you had the New Bohemians and Scotto became your manager?

RB:  Scott didn’t come onto the scene till later.  What happened we were playing CB’s and getting in on the scene and then Edie Brickell’s manager contacted me.  I think his name was Monty or something.  So, I explained I was using the name (New Bohemians) for three years by that time.  And I said I can prove it since I had back issues of The Voice for the times when we played CB’s and we’re in the add and it’s dated.  So you, know at that time I sold it.  The name had a kind of beatnik connotation which was very cool, but we were into the idea of getting people dancing and the ska thing was what we were going after so it was a good time to change the name.  My buddy and I were on the phone and there was a good band around called The Citizens and you don’t think of a rude boy when you think of a citizen, you think of a nice guy who cuts his lawn or something.  So we said we needed to go for something tougher than that.  I thought of Scofflaws and from that moment on we started using that and it has served us well.  It’s cool because once you get out of the New York area; a lot of people haven’t heard that.  It’s kind of a regional thing.

MG:  There are four releases as The Scofflaws, were there any more than that?

RB:  Well, there were some rinkey dink compilations we were on.  The first was a vinyl release, we were on it, it had a ska face and it was on Moon Records.  It was us and The Toasters, The Boilers, No Doubt, Let’s Go Bowling.    Shortly after that we recorded the first disk (The Scofflaws  Moon Records 1991) The sessions included Tony Mason and I don’t why he did it, but anyway.  We finished up the sessions and then he left the group.  So, John started drumming for us.  I remember doing this gig at SOB’s and Tony came down.  We were opening up for the Skatalites and the room was filled.  So, I can see the expression on his face.  Tony, we had the whole thing recorded. You really should have let us promote it before you made the decision to leave.  But he wound up getting into other things and I lost contact with him.

                In music that’s the biggest problem, is everybody’s ego.  When the ego gets in there, it becomes this big wrestling match and it stifles creativity.

MG:  How do you deal with that in a band?

RB: When someone brings in something; usually we know right off the bat if it’s going to work or not.  We try it on for size.  If it flies we keep it in.  Anybody can bring anything in.  People know the concept of the band.  I never wanted it to be one sided when it’s always about me and my choice.

MG:  What are some examples when someone else suggested a song?

RB:  Night Train, on our first album.  It was someone else who suggested it.  And it was big.  It was on our first album and we did it for a long time.  I still quote it in Skallacart.  Different band members bring in different tunes…anything can be put to the beat… with the right arrangement.

MG:  What was the relationship between you and Buford O’Sullivan, it seems on the last album (Record of Convictions Moon Ska Records 1998) your role within in the band may have diminished?

RB:  It can be referred to as a Buford album.  At the time I was going through a divorce and stuff.  My life was mired in shit.  I was not the driving force behind that one.  Compared to our first two, but still I let others take the lead.  I didn’t want to make all the decisions. If someone had some expertise in one area, I’d let them have it.  Putting the right guy: in the right place.  I always wanted the musician to do their thing within our thing, that’s when you get the optimum from a musician.  I’ve been very lucky to hook up with people who have been very talented and sympathetic.

MG:  Moon Records was releasing all of your releases and went under.  What was the situation with them?

RB:  It was kind of a musician’s co-op.  It was never a cash cow.  They did this crazy thing where they would give you product and you sell it and supposedly you made more from it.  Rob (The Toasters and owner of the label) had a heavy tour schedule and would sell all of his releases, so by the time we pulled through all of our records were sold.  So, it got it little weird that way.  We did a fair amount through stores.  We never thought we’d get rich doing that.  We aspired to do that and for a little while it happened, but I always had a part time job I could jump back into.  I never really did it full, full time.

MG:  Yet, The Scofflaws toured the US and Europe. Who organized your tours?

RB: Moon had a lot to do with that.  We worked with two different booking agencies.  There was an English lad who was getting us gigs.  When you have a power house agent it makes the difference.  They set everything up in advance.

RB:  He did, prior to us.  Scott did not come till the mid nineties by then things were picking up and MG:   So going back to Scott, I know he managed The Mosquitoes.

we were on Moon.  Scott is a good negotiator and was a good representative for the band.

Look for Part II in the near future…

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Daring to be BOLD The Scofflaws played at 89 North!

12/28/14 11:07

This year I saw the Scofflaws four times. Their performance at 89 North on Friday 12/19 was one of the best.   It was a cold night which was a stark contrast to when I saw them at the Great South Bay Music Festival last July.  I walked into 89.  The cold entry leads to a staircase which was barren.  The bar was empty and I paid a $5.00 cover to the doorman who asked, who are you here to see?  The Scofflaws.  Sammy was at the bar with a gin and tonic and was talking to the bartender.  She said she used to tend the bar in Port Jefferson when The Scofflaws regularly played on Main Street years before.   There was a venue above Starbucks and I’m not sure if this is what is called The Arden.   I offered to buy Sammy a drink, but he was good.  Bought a pint of Blue Point’s Hoptical Illusion and took a sip.  It was very refreshing and when the bartender said, the alcohol content is higher than normal, well, I liked it even more.   

This was my first time at 89 North and I have to say I was impressed with the layout.  There was a kitchen in which fresh pizza was being prepared for the soon to be intoxicated crowd.  There was a large bar with a varied selection of taps as well as spirits.  I walked in and was impressed with the expansive risen stage.  There was a large area for dancing.  Tables with chairs were in neat rows and there was a balcony and another bar in the back as well as the sound board.  If you wanted to watch The Islanders or basketball, there were assorted TV’s on.  So, in comparison to some other Long Island venues, 89 North is a very professional establishment.  Don’t let the barren lobby fool you.

Eventually, Erik showed up since he worked till 7 PM.  His band is playing at 89 North on January 24^th, The American Pink Floyd Experience.  We had a pint and took a seat at a round bar table.  The subject of cover bands playing gigs is something I need to cover in another blog entry.  It amazes me there is such a robust market for these bands who tour and are able to pull in crowds at larger venues.  Just recently, I saw another Pink Floyd cover band on TV performing at Red Rocks in Colorado.  There is an array of Led Zeppelin cover bands.   Anyway, if you like cover bands; 89 North has a variety playing each weekend.  I can’t say I’d go to one of these gigs unless I knew the musicians…but if there was a Clash cover band…you might pull me in.  You might.

The Scofflaws were the first of three bands to play that night.  Also on the bill were Noah’s Arc and Slavery by Consent. 

When The Scofflaws took the stage the crowd from the bar came in and started to bop to 

the music.  Missing was Jared on trombone which was similar to the last time I saw the band in Smithtown.   It means the sound is less full, but the band at 89 was tight.  Listen; there can’t be a mediocre Scofflaws performance as long as Godfather of the Rude Boys, Sammy Brooks is on the stage.  There were people grooving in front of the stage as Sammy praised the crowd and sent his love.   Just look at the pictures.  He is the man.  I’m working on getting an interview with Sammy for this blog.  He said he’s interested; it’s just getting the time to get together with the man…the man…

Let’s hope we all get to see The Scofflaws in 2015. From what I understand there next gig is in March.  It’s a shame they are not on The Slackers line-up at 89 North on January 30^th…just saying…any Ska gig on Long Island should include The Scofflaws!

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The English Beat Land in Huntington

1/25/13 07:06 Heading to Stony Brook

It’s hot on the train and my head feels heavy from the extra beers I had last night.  The English Beat played at the Paramount in Huntington.  It gave a chance for elder hipsters, punks and skasters to get out on a week night.  I was excited when I learned the Scofflaws were opening.  Back in the eighties I saw them a couple of times.  Back then they were known as the New Bohemians.  Eddie Brickell’s management paid $600 to buy the name and in ’88 they transformed into the legends they are.  Eric picked me up at the Huntington train station.  Before he came I saw a young man carrying an instrument case, wearing a black suit and tie.  I asked if he was playing that night, and he said he was.  Jared is the trombone player for The Scofflaws and has played with them for the last couple of years.  I was curious if they toured.  These days he said they still get out, but don’t go too far from the New York base.  It’s not worth it.  I ate a light dinner at a Greek restaurant.  The air was freezing. It was so cold it took my breath away even though it was a short walk.   Inside The Paramount it was empty, maybe twenty of us were scattered on seats and around the open floor.   I was worried this would be a dead turnout, but gradually more people came in and when The Scofflaws hit the stage there were about a hundred or so.  There was another opening band from Long Island, RPS who was… alright.  They are known for playing reggae as per their web site.  You need to have style to play ska.  The RPS boys were dressed down and looked out of place. Honestly, The Scofflaws could have handled being the one and only band opening for The English Beat.  “Sammy” Brooks the singer and sax man had excellent stage presence.  He grew up in Huntington and shared a story when he was a kid, a group of his friends tried to sneak in the theatre (when they played movies back in 68) to see The Beatle’s Yellow Submarine and were caught by the manager who eventually let them in  to watch the film.  I’m dying on the train, I have the sweats and I feel my stomach bubbling.  I didn’t drink too many beers, but enough to send me over in hangover lethargy and regret.  The English Beat hit the stage.   I thought the black man was Ranking Roger, but it was not.  His name as we learned and he repeated was Anthony, who kept the crowd dancing and calling back and forth (I looked it up, his name is Antonee First Class) When he called out, who likes the eighties? I got pissed.  The show at that moment became an oldies show.  Yes, let’s waltz back in time…to the good old days when the threat of Margaret Thatcher or a nuclear war was eminent.  It was an oldies show since the last time The English Beat released a new album was back in…1982?  Special Beat Service which I received as a Christmas present when I was 16? Face the fact, it was an oldies show and I am paying the price for a late night at this moment.  I will have waves of energy and others like now when I am slinking in my seat.  The seats are filling up on the train.  I feel like I will heave if I had the opportunity.   Trying to tell my body I have an hour or more to get into the office. 

Saturday 15:08 Home

I need to wrap up this entry with the performance of the English Beat.  There was only one original member and  Dave Wakeling’s voice was perfect, he smiled and shared some antidotes with the crowd, but with his accent it was hard to decipher what he was saying, except I thought he said they shouldn’t have to pick on Thatcher anymore.  His smile barely left his face, bowed a few times after some songs and thanked us for coming out.  He even said, “God Bless you.”  That was nice in a different way since I rarely hear it at a concert, more often it’s after a speech from a sensible politician.  Songs?  Mirror in the bathroom, Jeanette, Sole Salvation, Tears of a Clown, I Confess, Safe it For Later - which the extended though it didn’t need to be extended.  They played some songs from General Public, Tenderness.  After the concert my intoxicated mind made the decision to get Wakeling’s autograph on my ticket.  I asked if he can sign it and he apologized since he didn’t have a pen, but like a good man, he found the pen and came back to the edge of the stage.  The security guard blocked me and Dave smiled and made a joke, come on…Dave signed my ticket and I stumbled off in the frigid winter winds in my light leather coat.  Thank you to my brother-in-law and my sister for allowing the man a night out.  We had a good time and plan on starting a band.  Look for the Dead Beat Dad’s on tour this summer or was it a drunkards dream.