Phil Cooper - Trombone/Vocals
Morgan Russell - Saxophone/Vocals
James McDonald - Drums/Vocals
I-Peace Unikue - Vocals/Percussion
Justin Rothberg - Guitar
Scott Palmer - Keyboards/Vocals
Robbie McDonald - Bass

Average Age: old

Year band formed: 1995

Home town: Washington DC.

Homepage: www.easternstandardtime.com

CD's (Year of release):
At the end of this interview.

DerDUDE:
How did you come up with your band name? Does it have a background??
Eastern Standard Time:
We formed the band on the day that we switched the clocks between Daylight Saving Time and Eastern Standard Time. Similarities with the Don Drummond song are mostly concidental; that is, we did not name ourselves after the song, even though that's what everyone thinks.

DerDUDE:
How would you specify your style as a ska band?
Eastern Standard Time:
We started by using the recipe for Ska music from back in the day, namely rhythms from the Caribbean and melodies from Soul and Jazz. The rest evolved on its own. We never set out to be a "traditional" ska band or a ska-jazz band or anything else. We tend not to want to limit ourselves by labels like that. The evolution has been interesting too. Whereas when we started the band all the guys involved were into traditional Ska or Jazz, nowadays we're mostly into Reggae.

DerDUDE:
Which song would you suggest someone to listen to in order to get to know your music best?
Eastern Standard Time:
It's very hard to say. The band has so many different styles. Sometimes we play Reggae, sometimes Ska, sometimes things that are mixtures of both with other styles. If people want to hear us play Ska, I'd say "It's Alright." If they want to hear Ska-Jazz, then perhaps "Be Bop" or "Segment." For Reggae... "Eye of the Storm" It's a really mixed repertoire.

DerDUDE:
Which ska band/personality influenced you the most?
Eastern Standard Time:
That's hard to say because at different times different people influenced each of us. We like to joke that the band that has inspired us the most is the last band we played with.

DerDUDE:
Apart from ska, what music style influenced you the most?
Eastern Standard Time:
A lot of early Reggae (from before 1975), Soul, Be Bop, Swing, Exotica, Mambo, Spy Jazz... The list is really long.

DerDUDE:
What message are you trying to get across to people with your music?
Eastern Standard Time:
There's not one message that we built the band around or something. We want people to enjoy life as much as they can. Kind of odd considering how many songs we play that have rather depressing lyrics about broken hearts and such, but overall the message is positive.

DerDUDE:
Does ska have a political meaning for you, and if so what is it?
Eastern Standard Time:
Ska does and does not have a political meaning. From a purely musical sense, what we play is not political. But the tradition of the music we play is undeniably political and so we carry this forward as well. People forget that Ska music was the theme song to the Jamaican independance from Great Britain. So there's an inherent political statement there. Most bands that play Ska music, or claim to, tend to forget the cultural circumstances from which the style arose.

DerDUDE:
What were the best and worst venues you've played?
Eastern Standard Time:
That's such a hard question to answer. Each night is different. Over the years we've developed great relationships with several clubs where we are treated more like long lost family than just another band. Special mention must go here to Kassablanca in Jena, JKC in Troisdorf, Reduit in Mainz, Safari Beat Club in Chur, MKNZ in Ilirska Bistrica... Hopefully we don't offend anyone through ommission. In truth, we have had good to fantastic relationships with almost every place we've played. The worst places we've played seem to be inevitably ones we reach after 14 hour drives. It's always a good sign when you show up at the venue and there are no posters, but then when you finish sound check all of a sudden they've put up one poster. Overall though, it would take some digging to think of a venue that just sucked and had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Most of the ones that come to mind are out of business now anyway.

DerDUDE:
How would you describe your audience?
Eastern Standard Time:
Varied.

DerDUDE:
Which song do you usually play as an encore?
Eastern Standard Time:
We try to change our set up fairly frequently, so we may end with a different song most nights of the tour. I think the last tour we ended with Hot Milk followed by Mad Dog quite frequently. That seemed to be pleasing to the audiences.iences.

DerDUDE:
Have you got any weird touring experiences worth a mention?
Eastern Standard Time:
Hmm. So many that it would take days to write out. There was the time that we played in a stolen circus tent in Geneva, the time that we got kicked out of Canada, the time that our old guitar player slowly transformed over the course of a tour into Andre the Giant...eventually including costume, the time that we crossed the English Channel on a ferry in a hurricane, the time that we were trapped in our van on the Autobahn for 26 hours in the snow... the list is very long and if we ever get around to it will become a section of our website.

DerDUDE:
Which band would you most like to play with?
Eastern Standard Time:
I think every one of us would answer that question differently and chances are there would be no answers the same.

DerDUDE:
I've always been interested to know how you deal with Nazi-Skins at your gigs.
Eastern Standard Time:
We've only had problems of that nature on two occasions. One of them was here in Norristown, Pennsylvania, which is a small town about an hour northeast of Philadelphia. The other was in Milan, Italy. In both cases there were two boneheads who were giving us the Nazi salute from the audience. We simply stopped playing and stared at them. Since these folks are inherently cowards, the attention made them quite embarassed, especially when the rest of the crowd began to notice what was going on. So in both cases the people were shown the door by the audience themselves. We didn't need to do or say anything.

DerDUDE:
There's a lot of talk about 3 ska waves. How far can you identify yourselves with those? What do you think is going to come after the 3rd wave? What's the future of ska?
Eastern Standard Time:
Well, we've always sat a little outside the Ska scene. We play Ska music, but also Jazz and also Reggae. We frequently play shows where few people in the audience has any idea what Ska is. So that makes it hard to say. As far as when we formed and when we're playing, it wouldn't be incorrect to classify the band as third wave, but in terms of the music we're doing, it's very different from so called "Third Wave" bands.

DerDUDE:
Why do you think it is that most young bands either play traditional ska or ska-punk?
Eastern Standard Time:
As opposed to what? Frankly the number of young bands playing traditional ska here is rather low. But that's just this area around Washington DC. In other parts of the world we've met many young bands that are kindred spirits and others with whom we seem to share none of the same commonalities.

DerDUDE:
Why do you think it's so difficult for ska to establish itself? Do you think ska is doomed to continue to play a minor role in the music scene?
Eastern Standard Time:
Well, the problem is that the consumer that does not know Ska is constantly being sold so many different sounds as Ska music. To the educated listener, there are so many different types of Ska music, but to the person that doesn't know Ska... it's really hard to see how Hepcat and Less Than Jake fit into the same genre of music. So there's a learning curve. Ska is kind of more like a project; people who like Ska music tend to be interested in MUSIC first. The general music listening public is less interested in music that they have to expend energy to "get".

Moreover, most Ska bands tend to come and go rather rapidly and are generally not taken seriously by others in the music industry. This has been seen before in many genres of music. Sometimes it takes a while before the level of consciousness is raised to the point where it kicks in.

But lastly, I think that certainly from the American perspective traditional Ska music is a novelty from a small island with which the
majority of Americans have little association. The numbers of Jamaicans in the UK helped solidify Ska there in the 60's and gave the 80's Ska bands traction to build on. There's really no base like that in the US. The bands playing Ska music are not generally playing it to Jamaican expatriate audiences, but rather often to young suburban white kids. These are often the same kids who one year later have moved on to other music styles (e.g. Emo). This may sound harsh, but one of the reasons that Ska seems to constantly be ffighting the same battle over and over again is that there is little "institutional memory": there's a lot of turnover in the audiences as well.

I'm certain that someone could write (and probably has written) an interesting sociology thesis on this subject.

DerDUDE:
Which band or ska CD do you recommend (apart from your own) to the people out there?
Eastern Standard Time:
Good picks from modern bands: After Hours: The Trouble with These Guys.. The Aggrolites: Dirty Reggae Go Jimmy Go: Girl with Fishbowl Eyes

DerDUDE:
Who, in your eyes is the "Godfather of Ska"?
Eastern Standard Time:
Well isn't that Laurel Aitken's title? Can't take that away from him. ;-)))

DerDUDE:
Which ska site do you particularly recommend? What are your favourites?
Eastern Standard Time:
Yours, of course. ;-)

DerDUDE:
What's going to be coming up in terms of gigs or any other projects? Is there a new CD coming out?
Eastern Standard Time:
We just released a new long player called Tempus Fugit on Grover Records. We may start recording more songs too. We've lucked into a situation where we now have access to a recording studio. So we'll probably spend a little time working on that. Then we're planning on some US touring and perhaps another return to Europe later this year.

DerDUDE:
When is it going to be out and what should we be expecting?
Eastern Standard Time:
Well, see above. As far as expectations, the new record has a lot of new sounds. It's a bit of departure for people who only know us from Second Hand, but for those who have been following the band for a while it should make sense. Check it out. Let us know what you think: www.easternstandardtime.com

DerDUDE:
A bit of space for your own comments and anything else you want to add!!!...
Eastern Standard Time:
Thanks for the interview and to all the readers: support live music. See you at the shows!

DerDUDE:
Thanks James for the interesting interview!

CD's (Year of release):

Arrivals and Departures. Live album featuring tracks from EST's 2003 Midnight Sun tour to Europe. 2005 Megalith Records.

Lion's Club - TV and Movie Themes.Features Wilson from EST singing the Mary Tyler Moore theme song. 2003 Porkpie / Vielklang.

Still Standing.US compilation 4 CD set. Features "It's Alright." 2003 Megalith Records.

Tune In - Ska and Reggae in a Pop Style.European compilation CD featuring "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps." 2003 Grover Records.

Speechless.European compilation CD featuring "Dahil Sa Iyo." 2002 Grover Records.

Time is Tight. Thirteen song LP. 2001 Grover Records.

Yo Humbug! US compilation CD featuring Return of the Prophet remix. Also contains tracks from Samba Ngo, Mandorico and the Blue Rags, among others. 2000 a-tone records

Off the Clock. EP on 10" Vinyl or CD. Six song EP with half live and half studio material. 2000 Leech Records

Ska Party '99. US compilation featuring Mad Dog (vocal version). Also contains tracks from The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, Buck-O-Nine, Dancehall Crashers, The Toasters, Bim Skala Bim, The Scofflaws, Mustard Plug and others. 1999 Beast/Scimitar Records

Have Fun, Fight Fascism. German compilation featuring EST's Richard Bruce. Also contains tracks from The Swoons, The B-3's, The Bakesys, Skarface and many more. 1998 Mad Butcher Records

Mashin' Up the Nation Vol. 3 & 4. US compilation featuring a very early cut of Barbados recorded live at the 9:30 Club - Washington DC, October 15, 1996. Also contains tracks from The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, The Toasters, Let's Go Bowling, Bim Skala Bim, The Pilfers, Spring Heeled Jack, Johnny Socko, Unsteady and many more. 1998 DVS Media

Who's the Man? US Compilation featuring live recording of Summertime from a rare performance with both Lyle Link and Fred Foss on tenor saxes. Also contains tracks from Skinnerbox, Victor Rice, Unsteady the B-3's and others. 1998 Full Stop Industries

Second Hand. Full-length licensed version, wide scale distribution. Differs from WFN5 pressing by blue cover color instead of purple. First pressing has normal Compact Disc logo on disc, subsequent pressings have compact disk logo replaced with "Slipped Disk 33,000 Elvis." 1998 Beatville Records

Crusin' for a Brusin'. US compilation featuring an exclusive remix of Man on the Street. Also contains tracks from The Siren Six, Animal Chin, The Articles, The Planet Smashers and others. 1998 Asleep at the Wheel Records

Second Hand. Full length limited edition vinyl release. Distributed only in Europe. 1997 Leech Records

Second Hand. Full length CD release, 1997 WFN5 Records

Midnight Radio. US compilation featuring instrumental remix of Mad Dog. Also contains tracks from Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Skavoovie & the Epitones, the Stubborn All Stars and others. 1997 Jump Start Records

Oi!/Skampilation Vol. 3. US compilation featuring Tick Tock recorded live May 10, 1997 at the El 'n Gee New London, CT. Also contains tracks from The Pilfers, Dropkick Murphys, Inspecter 7, and others. 1997 Radical Records

Move to the Ska Groove. Swiss compilation featuring EST song Oh No!. Also contains tracks from Citizen Fish, Mr. Review, The Hotknives and Buck-O-Nine among others. 1997 Leech Records

Take 5. Five song EP. 1996 WFN5 Records