Meagan Christy, Chase Long Beach's trumpet player, doesn't mince words about the ska scene in Long Beach. “We like to play at DiPiazza's, when our friends in ska bands from other states roll through, they play there. It's kinda small but everyone goes nuts.”
Other than that, she says, there are bars for indie rock, folk and metal bands, but the most ska you'll see in Long Beach are at reggae festivals.
“It's funny, there's a good amount of ska bands coming out of Long Beach, but not a lot of local venues are ska friendly.”
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“In high school I was really into Save Ferris and Reel Big Fish, and it was
the West Coast revival of swing with the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and Big
Bad Voodoo Daddy. They were all really popular, and you heard them on the radio all the time. I thought
that was cool because I played one of those instruments. It was always poppy
and fun, and I always tried to learn it,” she says.
Moving back to Long Beach after college, she joined Chase Long Beach because she wanted to keep
playing her horn. “And, it was just something fun to do,” she says.
rest of Chase Long Beach had similar stories, she explains. “It's funny for us to be a ska band, because no
one in the band is really an avid listener of ska. We bring in all
those influences, but we didn't look to play that music–it happened
accidentally.”
ready to write their second album on Victory Records, Christy says they're taking a break from touring–which can take drain you of musicianship and creativity. “We just want to write a good album that we're proud of,” she said.
think we're doing our part to keep the scene going forward. No one in
the ska world is looking for fame and fortune,” she said.
“It's really about
dancing and singing and having a good time.”
