Music

10 Canadian ska bands to make you pick it up

by Richard Howard

Though it tends to gain popularity in waves (so much so that the different periods are literally named after these rises in visibility), ska has always found favour with Canadian audiences.

The third wave ska movement that began in the ’80s saw Canadian bands such as The Planet Smashers and The Kingpins stand among international frontrunners (a member from each of these bands collaborated to form Montreal ska powerhouse Stomp Records). Rock bands like The Salads, meanwhile, wore their ska influences on their sleeve. Then just when things were starting to look exciting – interest in the genre faded and the scene fizzled.

Ska never dies, though. It just chills out for a bit, all the while influencing musicians to pick it up again and fuse it with some other influence to create a next wave. Diehards are claiming that the fourth wave, whatever that may sound like, is right around the corner. Of course, people have been saying that for years, so who knows. In honour of the genre’s maybe-resurgence, here are 10 Canadian ska and heavily ska-influenced bands (both active and defunct) to make you pick it up.