Virginia Beach - It was an evening to remember: the night that the famed, locally owned and operated Jewish Mother of Virginia Beach would be hosting its final ska show before closing its doors and making way for a new parking garage.  The lineup consisted of the enigmatic and endearing local boys of Jackmove and the heart-pumping, soul-sailing tunes of the Pietasters.  A night of friends, fun, music and boos; it was not one to be missed or forgotten.

I had a chance to sit down with a handful of the Pietasters before their set.  Toby Hansen, who had been with the band since their school bus touring days, provided a colorful if not exaggerated take on all things Pietasters.  As he had been with the band since early on, he was able to provide some insight as to where the D.C. band found some of their musical influence.  “A  lot of the old school stuff, Buster Bloodvessel from Bad Manners was always a big inspiration; he's awesome.  The Specials, the  Clash, you know; old school 80s ska and punk rock,” stated Toby, as we pow-wowed on the  outside back “patio” of the Jewish Mother, a section reserved for smoking and loading e quipment.   “It's a northern influence, not like we're trying to imitate each other but find our own thing.  We really li ke the northern, boot-stomping original ska kind of sound,” he explained.  When inquiring about his experiences in writing music his stance was simple.  “You can't write about it unless you know about it.”

Naturally, one of the beautiful things about ska and reggae is that it finds musical influence from within, keeping the sound for the most part genuine and true.  It also gets stronger by absorbing outside influences, giving us many of the modern sounds you hear by melding in classic, older sounds.  I asked Toby about what other music might influence him.  “The Wood, Surf Goons, Ween - there's so much out there worth listening to.”  It seems artists could go on for days about their influences, so I brought Toby around to the topic of the scene.  “What kind of crowd do you guys particularly like playing for?” 

“Older beer drinking crowds," replied Toby.  For some reason older people - not ancient, but you know, middle-aged - love our stuff.  Maybe it's because they're drinking, I don't know, but they love us, and I love them,” he said enthusiastically.  T he first band had started playing inside, appropriately timed with the question, “You've seen a lot of changes in the “ska scene” - what have you seen that you liked and maybe didn't like?”  At this point another Pietasters  bandmate chimed in to what was clearly a hot topic.  Andrew, one of their newer members, had this to say: “You know that song 'Ska Train to Dorkville'?  Hub City Stompers did it.  It's like that but more.”

Toby shakes his head.  “The point is it's just music.  When the hell did it become just marching band plus?  There's an over-saturation of the music that I just can't stand.  Just because  you play trumpet in the marching band doesn't mean you're cut out t o play some ska.  Where's the originality?  Where's the soul?”

“What about you all?  You've been around for about twenty years - how is that going?” I asked Toby, who had seen the most out of this group.  “Lots of mates come and go.  We all kind of keep switching up our instruments, but we're going to keep doing what we do.  We're gonna write about whatever, say whatever, and sing whatever with a lot more soul and a lot more out of the box.”

 “The future of the Pietasters?” I asked innocently.  Toby laughed and replied, “You ain't seen nothing yet.”

ThePietasters.com

MySpace.com/ThePietasters

By Correspondent: Dan AKA

Dan AKA is a resident Rude Boy engulfed in the world of ska and reggae local to Virginia Beach.  He has traveled the entire East Coast seeking out local shows that peek his musical interest and investing a large amount of time into his passion of music.