The Toasters

by Steve HueyOne of the most important American ska bands, the Toasters did much to popularize the genre on the underground scene in the mid- to late 80s, laying the groundwork for later third-wave bands like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and skas subsequent explosion in popularity in the mid- to late 90s. British expatriate Rob Bucket Hingley formed the Toasters in New York City in 1982 after discovering that the 2-Tone ska he loved had made virtually no inroads into the American music scene. He gathered several employees at the comic-book store he managed to form the bands first incarnation, releasing their first single, Beat Up, in 1983. Hingley also formed his own label, Moon Ska Records, to counteract skepticism from major labels that ska would ever prove popular in the U.S.; Moon Ska has since grown into the largest independent ska label in the country. A demo EP, Recriminations, was released in 1985 and produced by Joe Jackson, the first of several collaborations; two years later, the Toasters issued their first full-length American album, Skaboom, for Celluloid. Thrill Me Up (1988) and This Gun for Hire (1990) helped consolidate the bands following, as the New York ska scene and Moon Skas artist roster mushroomed behind them. The Toasters lineup continued to shift through the 90s, eventually leaving guitarist/vocalist Hingley the only original member; some of the musicians remaining fairly steady in their 90s lineups have been bassist Matt Malles, saxophonist Freddie Reiter, trumpeter Brian The Sledge, trombonists Rick Chunk Faulkner and Erick E-Man Storckman, keyboardist Dave Barry, drummer Johnathan McCain, and vocalist Coolie Ranx, as well as frequent guest appearances from saxophonist Lester Ska Sterling. In addition to Hingleys activities with Moon Ska, the Toasters continued to release albums throughout the decade, including New York Fever (1992), Dub 56 (1994), Hard Band for Dead (1996), and D.L.T.B.G.Y.D. (1997). The Toasters soldiered on in the new millennium with 2002s Enemy of the State and a new compilation, In Retrospect: the Best of the Toasters, released in 2003. When not in the studio, Hingley and his ever evolving Toasters line up can be found touring the US, Europe and other ska hungry corners of the globe.