Christian Ska
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Christian ska is a form of
Christian alternative rock Christian alternative rock is a form of alternative rock music that is lyrically grounded in a Christian worldview. Some critics have suggested that unlike CCM and older Christian rock, Christian alternative rock generally emphasizes musical ...
, and subgenre of
ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
and
ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...
which is lyrically oriented toward
contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...
. Though ska did not constitute a genre within the Christian music industry until after
third wave ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
had peaked in the general market, Christian ska continued to thrive independently into the early 2000s. Ska music came to be seen as "an excellent vehicle for exhortation and praise due to its up front lyrical style" and upbeat, energetic, joyful sound. While there were many smaller bands, ska in the Christian marketplace in the late 1990s came to be primarily represented by three bands: The Insyderz, The O. C. Supertones, and
Five Iron Frenzy Five Iron Frenzy is an American band which formed in Denver, Colorado, in 1995. Best known for playing ska punk music characterized by an offbeat sense of humor and prominent Christian themes, Five Iron Frenzy was one of the pioneering figure ...
; all of whom were commercially successful and ministry-oriented in their own right. As with third wave ska in the general market the sound was often intermingled with that of
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
, swing, or
rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
. In parallel with mainstream ska, many underground Christian ska bands released one or two ska based albums before completely genre-hopping away from ska or dissolving. Even the sounds of the "big three" tended to evolve. By 2002, one critic described the horn section of the Supertones as "providing color instead of the dominant sound".


History


Early years (late 1970s through 1980s)

While Christian bands have played ska since the days of
Jesus music Jesus music, known as gospel beat music in the United Kingdom, is a style of Christian music that originated on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This musical genre developed in parallel to the Jesus movement ...
, one of the first well documented Christian bands to play ska was Ishmael United, which operated in the late 1970s and early 1980s from the United Kingdom. Their sound was new wave or two tone, similar to other British bands such as
The Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...
or Madness. Another early Christian ska band was The Israelites, formed in 1989. They played a traditional style of ska similar to
the Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone (song), Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Bus ...
or
Desmond Dekker Desmond Dekker (born Desmond Adolphus Dacres; 16 July 1941 – 25 May 2006) was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group the Aces (consisting of Wilson James and Easton Barrington Ho ...
. They released two albums before Christian ska matured.


Mainstream impact (late 1990s through mid 2000s)

Whereas in mainstream markets the popularity of ska had peaked about 1996, the Christian music marketplace is known for being significantly behind trends in the general market. Quote: "Of ''course'' the Christian market was a few years behind the rest of the world... it always is." riginal emphasis/ref> Critics usually cite The O.C. Supertones as having been the first Christian ska band to break into the national spotlight. The 1996
Cornerstone Festival Cornerstone Festival was a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around July 4 near Bushnell, Illinois, drawing some 20,000 attendees each year. In a given year, many artists that played at Cornerstone also playe ...
was pivotal for two of the bands which would come to represent Christian ska. Both
Five Iron Frenzy Five Iron Frenzy is an American band which formed in Denver, Colorado, in 1995. Best known for playing ska punk music characterized by an offbeat sense of humor and prominent Christian themes, Five Iron Frenzy was one of the pioneering figure ...
and The Insyderz played and got signed as a result, though only the latter played on an official stage. By early 1997, ska had achieved a large enough following within Christian music to get noticed by the mainstream Christian music media. The January issue of ''CCM'' stated that "the Christian ska revolution is in full motion", and that Summer the magazine spotlighted four ska bands. These were Squad 5-O (from
Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...
),
Five Iron Frenzy Five Iron Frenzy is an American band which formed in Denver, Colorado, in 1995. Best known for playing ska punk music characterized by an offbeat sense of humor and prominent Christian themes, Five Iron Frenzy was one of the pioneering figure ...
(from
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
), The Insyderz (from
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
,
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
), and the OC Supertones (from
Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...
). Of these Squad 5-O was unique in that they were hornless, their sound would later completely move away from any form of ska, and they would eventually sign to a general market label. The remaining three bands, sometimes known as the "big three", would come to dominate the ska sound in Christian markets. Each of these bands was founded and signed to record labels in or before 1996, was commercially successful within Christian music, and outlasted their contemporaries by several years. Each of the big three were generally characterized as having unique orientations toward their audiences. The Supertones were known for being blatantly
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
and included segments of preaching in each performance. They also had the honor of opening for
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
during his visit to
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
. The Insyderz best known for their renditions of ska-styled
hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
and modern praise and worship songs, of which they released two albums, '' Skalleluia!'' and '' Skalleluia Too!''.
Five Iron Frenzy Five Iron Frenzy is an American band which formed in Denver, Colorado, in 1995. Best known for playing ska punk music characterized by an offbeat sense of humor and prominent Christian themes, Five Iron Frenzy was one of the pioneering figure ...
became known for their positive but serious lyrics and slapstick satirical humour. Common themes included social causes such as
hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not. The word "hypocrisy" entered the English language ''c.'' 1200 with the meaning "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness". Today, "hypocrisy" ofte ...
, racism,
big business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...
, as well as the renewal of faith. Ska bands received a small amount of attention from Christian music award shows such as the
Doves Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...
. In 1998 the Supertones's debut album was nominated in the "Alternate / Modern Rock" category, a classification which they denied. The same year the video for Five Iron's " A Flowery Song" was nominated in the "short form video" category. At the 1999 awards, The Insyderz cover of
Rich Mullins Richard Wayne Mullins (October 21, 1955 – September 19, 1997) was an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter best known for his contemporary worship music, worship songs "Awesome God" and "Sometimes by Step". Some of his ...
' song "
Awesome God "Awesome God" is a contemporary worship song written by Rich Mullins and first recorded on his 1988 album, '' Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth''. It was the first single from the album and rose to the number one spot on Christian AC radio and sub ...
" won in the "Hard Music Song" category. The W's won two Doves at the 1999 awards, for their debut as "Modern Rock Album," and "Modern Rock Song" for the song "The Devil Is Bad". They played a neo-swing sound with heavy ska influences. Other career highlights opening for Christian rock heavyweight dc Talk, and for the Pope during the same visit as the Supertones (although not at the main event). Christian swing music is generally congruent with the
swing revival The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music and Lindy Hop dance, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak in the 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era, swing e ...
of the 1990s, and includes a small number of bands. Of all the Christian bands which took part of the swing revival movement they were the best known. The sound became most widespread and visible within Christian music from 1997 until the early 2000s. During this period Christian ska bands regularly appeared on
Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...
. The ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music'' characterizes ska as being "one of the more crowded genres in the Christian market" by the turn of the millennium. While producing ''Skanktified'', a compilation album released by Eclectica Music (an imprint of N-Soul) in 1998, Mark Morrison found over seventy Christian ska bands operating throughout the United States, mostly in underground scenes. There were in fact an exceptional number of Christian ska bands underground, creating an oversaturated market for the sound. For instance one band, the Skadaddles, released three albums in 1999, with a sound evolving from ska toward punk and emo. A number of other bands released two or more albums to the national scene. Freeto Boat released one ska album in 1998 and moved to a punk sound for their sophomore release in 2000. In a move to distance themselves from ska the band changed their name twice and picked up an emo-indie-punk sound before signing to a
major label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...
. Flight One Eighty released three albums - one of ska, one of swing, and finally a ska-punk/
power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
release. The Dingees were a spinoff band of the Supertones who play a sound which mixes punk, ska, and reggae, and have released three albums, the final one in 2001. BUCK Enterprises shows an evolution in sound more like that of the Supertones, changing their sound mix from having a dominating horn section on their national debut (1998) to one which "flirts with ska" by 2001. The big three bands of Christian ska each continued until the early to mid 2000s. Five Iron continued to draw large crowds; a tour in 2001 drew an audience of 1,200 per night. They also participated in the
Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a touring rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music festival in the United S ...
in 2002 before breaking up the following year. Their final show had an attendance of over 3,500. After a period of relative inactivity, The Insyderz released their final album in 2003 and continued to tour until 2005. That same year also saw the end of the Supertones, who had released their final studio album one year prior.


Reunions (late 2000s through present)

In 2009, The Insyderz announced they were reuniting. In 2011, they began a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the first album since breaking up, ''The Sinner's Songbook'', which succeeded and the album was released. In 2010, The O.C. Supertones announced they were reuniting for the summer to play some festivals, and have since remained together. The album ''For the Glory'' was released. Also in 2010, The Dingees released their fourth album, ''The Rebel Soul Sound System'', a heavily reggae-influenced album. On November 22, 2011, Five Iron Frenzy announced they were reuniting and released a new single, "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night". They began a Kickstarter project that night to fund their new album. The $30,000 goal was reached in less than an hour. It went on to raise $207,980 USD, making it the most funded Kickstarter by dollar amount ever on the day it ended (January 21, 2012). Their new album, Engine of a Million Plots, was released on November 25, 2013. Also in 2011, BUCK Enterprises played a one-night-only reunion show on December 30, 2011 in Wixom, Michigan. Squad Five-O reunited to play at Cornerstone 2012.


See also

* List of Christian ska bands


References


Works cited

*. {{Ska 20th-century music genres 21st-century music genres
Ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
Ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
Ska genres Punk rock genres