Let's Go Bowling is an American

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 wa ...

band hailing from

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

. Since the band's inception in the year 1986, the band's traditional ska style, barbershop harmonies, wisely crafted instrumentals, and its frantic live performances, helped set the standard for dress and culture for West Coast Ska, which in turn, set the groundwork for the Third Wave Movement in 1995. Let's Go Bowling has shared the stage with many diverse musical acts, including

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, t ...

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, ...

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska. After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk so ...

Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as "Down Under", " Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", "Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is Col ...

, The English Beat,

Steel Pulse Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ro ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

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." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many ot ...

Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Orange County, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album '' Turn the Radio Off''. Soon ...

Reverend Horton Heat The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician James C. Heath (born 1959) as well as the name of his Dallas, Texas-based psychobilly trio. Heath is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. A ''Prick'' magazine reviewer called Heath ...

Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1979, that plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the l ...

, The Untouchables, Cherry Poppin' Daddies,

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra , commonly abbreviated by fans as Skapara or TSPO, is a Japanese ska and jazz band formed in 1988 by the percussionist Asa-Chang, and initially composed of over 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene. At the time, the band's sound was unlike t ...

, Moe., the Young Dubliners, and

Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer *Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse *Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspora ...

Biography

Early history 1986 - 1992

It is hard to pinpoint exactly which was the first of the Third Wave Bands to come about in the mid '80s. The clash between who were the "First" remains a topic of controversy to this day, but no one can deny that the roots of US Ska were deep on the West Coast. One such band, Fresno/Kingsburg's

Kyber Rifles Kyber is a key encapsulation method (KEM) designed to be resistant to cryptanalytic attacks with future powerful quantum computers. It is used to establish a shared secret between two communicating parties without an (IND-CCA2) attacker in the tr ...

, was founded by Mark Michel, who on bass, were playing shows and recording EPs as early as 1983. ( Norwood Fisher credited Mark as being an influence on his playing in the 1980s.) The Rifles' sound would become instrumental in bridging the gap between LGB's original line-up: guitarist David Molina, keyboardist Darren Fletcher, drummer Jerry Mora, trombonist Mark Berry, alto/tenor saxophonist Martin Stuart, trumpeter Pete Nicholson, toaster Javier Molina, and Michel on bass. Soon, Mora and Nicholson departed, making way for future frontman/trombonist David Wiens, tenor saxophonist Dean Olmstead, drummer Jason Ellam, and Jason Boyte on trumpet. This was the nucleus of the ''Music To Bowl By'' era of Let's Go Bowling. ''Music To Bowl By'' was recorded for

Moon Ska Records Moon Ska Records was one of the most influential ska record labels of the 1980s and 1990s. The label operated from 1983 until 2000, and during those seventeen years, only released ska and ska-influenced music. Originally named ''Moon Records'', as ...

in the winter of '89 - winter of '90. This captured the band at its pioneering stage, with emphasis on style and songwriting, unheard of in its current central valley contemporaries. (Fresno is home to some of the most influential Ska outfits of the later century, including Let's Go Bowling, as well as Kyber Rifles,

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

, and Los Hooligans). The band blended three-part vocals, infused with a Latin vibe inherent in its frontman/vocalist David Molina, and a pinch of Warner Bros. zaniness. David Weins acted as the MC - as the boisterous trombone playing ruffian. "Music To Bowl By" is considered to be a Classic in all ska circles and a credit to the genre. LGB, in support of their album, pressed for then-new label Moon Ska in NY, went out to tour, in support of their record, with labelmates that included The Toasters,

Hepcat Hepcat(s) may refer to: *Hepcat, a term in jazz and beatnik subculture; see Hipster (1940s subculture) * Hepcat (band), a ska band *''Hepcats ''Hepcats'' is a comic book series self-published in the 1990s by cartoonist Martin Wagner. It dea ...

Dance Hall Crashers Dance Hall Crashers (often abbreviated to DHC) was an American ska punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Initially founded by former Operation Ivy members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, the band has had a fluid lineup over its c ...

, and

the Slackers The Slackers are an American ska band, formed in Manhattan, New York in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz. The Slackers' notability is credited to their prolific career, tours of Nor ...

. Let's Go Bowling got the call to be the opening act for Bad Manners in 1991, which led to them being "the" chosen US opening band by all the original Two Tone acts, including

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are 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, Lyn ...

, and

The Selecter The Selecter are an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979. The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead ...

. After such success, the band disbanded briefly for a period of time, as members went their separate ways, to pursue other career avenues, leaving the band defunct for 10 months in '92 - '93.

Mr Twist era 1993 - 1997

''Mr. Twist'' was recorded the Summer '95 in

Fresno, CA Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. The band went back to their old catalog, with songs like "Hot Buttered" "Mayhem," and the single "Spy Market," finding new life with a new line-up. The new line-up included drummer Adam Lee (who, with Fletcher in 1994, was briefly a part of Toronto's ska masters,

King Apparatus King Apparatus was a Canadian third wave ska band, active in the early 1990s."King Apparatus: They're back" ...

), trumpeter Patrick Bush (a heavy influence on the new LGB sound), M. Rey DeLeon (trombonist prodigy, at the age of 18), Gilbert Lopez on the tenor saxophone, rounding-out the horn section & giving weight to the low end Erik Dvorak playing baritone sax, and guitarist Chris Ridge. This also was the proper introduction of Paul Miskulin, who had replaced David Molina, and now had a forum to contribute his Soul-heavy, blues rhythm guitar to the already potent mix. This line-up of the band would enjoy the most critical success of the band's career in the Third Wave Explosion of 1996. On the eve of the release of their second studio album in almost 5 years, LGB was dealt a tragic blow when news that original guitarist, David Molina, had passed. The band, which included Javier Molina, David's brother, were about embark on a 6-week independent tour of the US. By the end of the tour and LGB's arrival to its home turf of Fresno, CA, No Doubt's single, "Just A Girl" was breaking the radio airwaves for the first time. Things started to happen fast, and the new band had to act quickly, recruiting a lead guitarist, Lincoln Barr, formerly of the Santa Rosa Ska outfit The Conspiracy. Barr added a much needed edge in the guitar department. In the summer of 1996, LGB released the single "Spy Market", which the video for was in heavy rotation on the new rock affiliate, MTV2, and was prominently featured on a special for

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's 120 minutes, entitled "The Third Wave". Along with the Toasters, Let's Go Bowling was then dubbed, on national television, one of the flagship bands of the genre. The energy at the shows, from the audience and the band itself, was at an all-time high. The band was touring the US as a headliner, whose national prominence had given them greater control over their live shows and opening acts. Ska was exploding in the West where Sublime and No Doubt had become

KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronou ...

darlings.

The OC ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...

, home to

Save Ferris Save Ferris is an American ska punk band formed circa 1995 in Orange County, California, United States. Their name is a reference to the 1986 film ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off''. In 1995, the band began to perform underground venues in Southern Cal ...

, and

The Aquabats The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1994. Throughout many fluctuations in the group's line-up, singer the MC Bat Commander and bassist Crash McLarson have remained the band's two constant fixtur ...

(with the then unknown

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Tran ...

on Drums). Let's Go Bowling was the original West Coast ska band, and enjoyed the laurels bestowed upon them by these bands, who had cited Let's Go Bowling as an influence in interviews, and also in record releases (No Doubt thanked LGB in the liner notes of "Tragic Kingdom"). LGB, whose tourmates included

, Bad Manners, and

, recruited ska/swing auters Cherry Poppin' Daddies and

for a tour of the US in 1997. It was at this time, that the Ska explosion had opened the door for the

Swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

Scene, which included the Daddies, who recruited M. Rey DeLeon as a touring Trombonist, and Tom Mattot, who was the LGB soundman since '93, and an Oregon native, as their

Front of House In the performing arts, front of house (FOH) is the part of a performance venue that is open to the public. In theatres and live music venues, it consists of the auditorium and foyers, as opposed to the stage and backstage areas. In a theatre, ...

Soundman.

Freeway Lanes era 1997 - 1998

With things really going on, Let's Go Bowling released a live record for

Asian Man Records Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

(

Mike Park Mike Park is a Korean American musician and progressive activist. His musical ventures include Skankin' Pickle for whom he both played the saxophone and sang, The Chinkees, The Bruce Lee Band, and Ogikubo Station, as well as an acoustic solo ...

Skankin' Pickle Skankin' Pickle was an American ska punk band formed in San Jose, California that was active from 1989 to 1997. Biography Skankin' Pickle first formed in December 1988, made up of students from Westmont High School and Los Gatos High School. ...

label) entitled ''Freeway Lanes''. This captured the band at its most innovative, with the band performing freely, and capturing golden moments of interaction between the band, and its beloved scene. It is at this time that the band started to become more free form, and detached with the rigidness of its structure, and would routinely stretch out its Skatalite covers into 15 minute episodic affairs. M.Rey's solos over "Man In The Street" and "The Reburial of Marcus Garvey" were highly innovative in its use of delay to create a ricochet of brass, inspired by

Dub music Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican r ...

. These solos would extend, and lend themselves to Gilbert Lopez's Tenor Saxophone innuendoes, forming huge, parallel, harmonic ideas, completely improvised, and helped break down the barriers of what could be done within a previously stale, formulatic ska medium. Freeway Lanes includes tributes to LGBs predecessors The Untouchables "Live and Let Dance" and The Equators' "More Than A Person". The album also contains a composition by 20 year old M. Rey DeLeon, entitled "Sock Monkey March", a blistering and ominous march, intended to be a send up of old Esquivel compositions, and an ode to their then manager, Richard "Cord" Burk, who some say resembles a sock monkey in flight. LGB toured in support of their live record as part of The Spirit of Unity tour, sponsored by

Teva Teva is the Hebrew word for nature ( he, טבע, "nature"). Teva may refer to: Companies * Teva Footwear, American footwear manufacturer * Teva Naot, Israeli footwear manufacturer * Teva Pharmaceuticals, Israeli multinational pharmaceutical com ...

. Tourmates included

, Ghetto Youth (the Marley kids),

Buju Banton Mark Anthony Myrie (born 15 July 1973),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, professionally known by his stage name Buju Banton, is a Jamaican reggae dancehall musician. He is considered to be one of the most s ...

Beres Hammond Beres Hammond OJ (born Hugh Beresford Hammond; 28 August 1955, in Annotto Bay, Saint Mary, Jamaica)Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. ...

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the Nor ...

Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced ''duu-beh'';
luckydubemusic.com, Retrieved 19 October 2007 3 August 1964 – 18 October 20 ...

and

. In 1998, Let's Go Bowling was the support act for 3 major tours including

The Reverend Horton Heat The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician James C. Heath (born 1959) as well as the name of his Dallas, Texas-based psychobilly trio. Heath is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. A ''Prick'' magazine reviewer called Heat ...

, The Wailing Souls and for the reunion tour of

, playing to packed houses all around the U.S. In August 1998, Lincoln Barr left the band to pursue other efforts closer to home. LGB recruited Fresno-based guitarist/singer Glen Parrish to carry on with the lead guitar/vocal duties.

Stay Tuned era 1999 - 2001

Starting in January 1999, after three years of constant and successful touring across America, Let's Go Bowling took a year off the road to record a studio album for its new label Liberation Records. Under imminent pressure to release a follow up to "Mr Twist" and amidst the great success of their "ska" contemporaries, the band recruited music producer Stoker and, for the first time, turned the artistic reins over to a music pro looking for the commercial success that had eluded the band. Stoker (drummer for

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys Midnight Runners (currently officially Dexys, their former nickname, styled without an apostrophe) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They a ...

General Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

, and producer for

and

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be p ...

) took 23 of the band's tour tested new songs and whittled an adventurous 13-song "pop" album called, "Stay Tuned". This album contained diverse contributions from the entire band: Adam Lee providing a healthy dose of new punk infused material "Metal Fingers" "Identity Crises", Patrick Bush lending his Dub sensibilities to the mix "Solar Shock" "Electric Bread", the "radio" pop stylings of Glen Parrish "Fallen Angel" "She's Killing You", and the gritty soul of Paul Miskulin "The Middle" "Saving Sorries". Not to forget Darren Fletcher's classic "Bone Dry", which is considered one of the best tunes the band has ever recorded. But due to polar artistic choices and divergent influences, "Stay Tuned" was far different than the previous two studio efforts, confusing many at the time, and within that confusion, ''Stay Tuned'' was released in spring of 2000. The album was met with mixed reviews, and faced harsh criticism from their original "True Tone" fan base. M. Rey DeLeon left the band to pursue his music career in L.A. With new trombonist Rob Ruffner in tow, the band played one one-month tour in support of the album before calling it quits as a touring group.

Current status

The band still occasionally plays their famous brand of ska for adoring fans across California. LGB still has original members Darren Fletcher(keys/vocals) and Mark Michel(bass/vocals), as well as long-time members Adam Lee (drums), Dean Olmstead (sax), Paul Miskulin (guitar/vocals/harmonica), Glen Parrish (lead guitar/vocals), Robert Ruffner (trombone) and the latest addition of Los Hooligans founder Tony Luna (trumpet).

Band members

Founding members *Mark Berry - trombone (1986–1991, 2008) *Darren Fletcher - keyboards, vocals (1986–present) *Mark Michel - bass guitar, vocals (1986–present) *David Molina - lead guitar (1986–1992) RIP 8/15/69 - 12/28/95 *Javier Molina - toasting, antics (1986–1988, 1996) *Jerry Mora - drums (1986–1988) *Pete Nicholson - trumpet (1986–1987) *Martin Stuart - alto sax (1986–1991) Current members *Darren Fletcher - hammond organ, keyboards, vocals *Adam Lee - drums (1991–present) *Mark Michel - bass guitar, vocals *Paul Miskulin - guitar, harmonica, vocals (1993–present) *Dean Olmstead - tenor sax (1988–1992, 1998–present) *Glen Parrish - guitar, vocals (1998–present) *Robert Ruffner - trombone (1998–present) *Tony Luna - trumpet (2012–present) Previous members *David Wiens - trombone (1987–1994) *Wallace Harvey - keyboards (1986) *Dan Dorval - trumpet (1987–1988) *Geoff Belau - trombone (1987–1988) *Jason Boyte - trumpet (1988–1992) *Jason Ellam - drums (1988–1992) *Scott Abels - drums (1992) *Gilbert Lopez - tenor sax (1993–1998) *Patrick Bush - trumpet, vocals (1993–2012) *Roman Bellick - bowlingball (2008) Rip *Erik Dvorak - baritone sax (1993–2000) *M. Rey DeLeon - trombone (1995–2000) *Chris Ridge - lead guitar (1995–1996) RIP 3/22/71 - 6/9/08 *Lincoln Barr - lead guitar (1996–1998) *Adam Theis - trombone (1998) *Dakota Iyall - sax (1998)

Discography

Albums *''Let's Go Bowling'' (9-song cassette, 1988) *''Music To Bowl By'' (CD & cassette, 1991) *''"...Does The Spiral LIVE!"'' (cassette, 1995) *''Mr. Twist'' (CD, 1996) *''Freeway Lanes'' (CD & 12" vinyl, 1998) *''Stay Tuned'' (CD, 1999) Singles *''Rude 69 / Dance Some More'' (7", Single) Spare Records 1988 *''You Take Me / Uncomfortable Sidekick'' (7", Single, Ltd, Cle) Moon Ska 1996 Compilations *''"Bitch" Various - Ska Face: An All American Ska Compilation'' (LP, Comp) Moon Records 1988 *''"Let's Go Bowling" Various - Mashin' Up The Nation Best Of U.S. Ska Vol. 1'' (LP, Comp) Harvard Square Records 1988 *''"Bitch" Various - Ska-Ville USA Vol. 3'' (LP, Comp) Ska Records 1988 *''"Pinstripe Suit" Various - California Ska-Quake'' (CD, Comp) Moon Ska 1992 *''"Esta Noche" Various - United Colors Of Ska'' (CD, Comp) Pork Pie 1993 *''"Hare Tonic" Various - Max The Dog Says...Do The Ska!'' (CD, Comp) Dojo 1993 *''"Badminton On A Rope" (The Ska Parade Theme Song) Various - Step On It: The Best Of The Ska Parade Radio Show'' (CD, Comp) A To Y Productions 1994 *''"Let's Go Bowling" Various - Mashin' Up The Nation • The Best Of American Ska Volumes I And II'' (3 versions) DVS Media 1995 *''"Mr. Twist" Various - Keep The Pressure On'' (CD, Comp) Kingpin Records 1996 *''"Oatmeal For Christmas" Various - SKAuthentic'' (CD, Comp) Steady Beat Recordings 1996 *''"Days All The Same" & "The Cup Rub" Various - This Are Moon Ska'' (CD, Smplr, Promo, Comp) Moon Ska 1996 *''"Spy Market" Various - Ska Sucks'' ◄ (2 versions) Liberation Records 1998 *''"You Take Me" (Live) Various - Mashin' Up The Nation Best Of American Ska Vols. III & IV Ten Years After'' (CD, Comp) DVS Media 1998 *''"Spy Market" Various - Moon Ska, New York, USA'' (CD, Comp) Moon Ska Europe 1998 *''"More Than A Person" Various - The Ska Parade: Runnin' Naked Thru The Cornfield'' (CD, Comp) A To Y Productions 1998 *''"Oatmeal For X-mas" Various - Mailorder Is Fun!'' (CD, Comp) Asian Man Records 1998 *''"Esta Noche" Various - United Colors Of Ska Volume 1-3'' (4xLP, Comp) Pork Pie 2000 *''"Spaced Man!" Various - Still Standing - A North American Ska Uprising'' (4xCD, Comp) Jump Up! Records, Megalith Records 2003

External links

Official Site
{{Authority control Third-wave ska groups American ska musical groups Reggae fusion groups Musical groups from California Asian Man Records artists