The Slackers Mug

The Slackers - New York City Ska Rocksteady Jamican Band since 1991 . A Ska Reaggae Rocksteady band who continuously Grows with every generation of music lovers - the Band includes Ara Babajian - Drums Marcus Geard – Bass Stick bass and Back Vocals David Hillyard – Saxophone Jayson Nugent - Guitar Glen Pine – Trombone, Vocals Vic Ruggiero – Lead Vocals, Organ ( Rumors say hes a major asshole.. But the rest of the band is so awesome) The Slackers sound is Jamaican Ska rock n roll. While they have been influenced, and even personally taught by Jamaican ska/reggae originators, like the Skatalites and the Upsetters (Original backing band for the Wailers), the band sees its music through an American lens. This band is equally appreciative of old blues, 60s soul, rock, and Rnb as it is of reggae, rocksteady, DUB, and Ska. It is as if the Rolling Stones or the Yardbirds had grown up on Bob Marley as well as Muddy Waters. From their 1996 release, Better Late Than Never through this years, Self Medication, the NYC-based band, the Slackers have established themselves as America's premiere interpreters and innovators of Jamaican music. Alternative nation described it as "protest music made for dim, sweaty basements, The Slackers would sound at home supporting Rancid as well as some grizzled New Orleans electric blues trio." As the prescient reviewer predicted they actually finished up 2006 opening for Rancid for a multi night run in San Francisco! In addition to Self Medication, the Slackers have released 12 other cds plus Imports and their OWN DVD Documentary telling their long tale of their 16 years as a band.. Their first record was Better Late Than Never (1996), featured a raw, direct vibe that The New York Times was quick to declare is "The Sound of New York." Upon signing with Tim Armstrong's, Hellcat Records, in 1997, the band released Red Light, which saw them evolving into a smoother, more melancholy and soulful unit. They have followed up Red light with 5 more releases on Hellcat. 1998’s, the Question, was proclaimed to be “the new Exile on Main Street.” Wasted Days from 2001 was praised by Maxim and the Village Voice and reached 8 on the Amazon.com sales charts. Close My Eyes from 2003 was praised by the Kerrang!,BBC, Pulse , and the LA Weekly which said, “it captures their unfettered energy, unerring skankability, and playful anger to a tee!“ The Slackers have also made several self-produced albums that have focused on different aspects of the band. The band paid tribute to their roots on Slackers & Friends, which features the Slackers as a backing band for American and Jamaican recording artists such as Glen Adams (the Upsetters), Cornell Campbell (the Uniques), Congo Ashanti Roy (the Congos), Doreen Schaeffer (the Skatalites), and Ari-up (the Slits). International War Criminal was a political-themed ep that was put out to coincide with the 2004 presidential election. Afternoon in Dub is an all reggae album that sounds like the title. The Slackers/Pulley split is a punky reggae party with their friends from Deconstruction tour in 2004. Since the release of Red Light, the Slackers have headlined 16 major US Tours and 11 European tours. They have appeared on the stages of the Warped Tour (1998), the Lowlands Festival (1999), Pukkelpop (1999, 2004), CMJ (2000), Montreal Jazz Festival (2000), the Bourges Festival (2001), the Dour Festival (2002, 2007), Deconstruction Tour (2004), Augustboller (2005), Streetbeat Festival (2005), Popkomm (2006), Summerjam (2007), Mighty Sounds (2007), and Ilosaarirock (2007) . They have shared stages with Rancid (1999,2003, 2006), Hepcat (1999), Joe Strummer (2002, 2003), Floggin Molly (2002), Jimmy Cliff (2002), the Beat (2002), Pennywise (2004), Toots & the Maytals (2005), The Pogues (2006), and John Spencer’s Heavy Traffic (2007). They have sold out numerous headlining gigs including such famous venues as Slims (San Francisco), Lee’s Palace (Toronto), The Garage (London), CBGBs (NYC, 2 nights in a row in 2006), Troubadour (LA, 3 times in 2006), the Knitting Factory (NYC, 5 times in the last 4 years), the Melkweg (A-dam), SESC Pompeia (Sao Paolo, 2 nights in 2006), and the Loft (Tokyo), and in June 2008 PACKED the HOUSE at The Fillmore at Irving Plaza in NYC,In mid-2007, the band also released its first official DVD entitled, “The Slackers: A Documentary.” This DVD follows the ups and downs of the band over the years and contains a combination of live footage with one-on-one interviews between band members and the filmmaker, Ben Levin. Discography: Better Late Than Never (Moon – 1996; Special Potato re-release 2002) Red Light (Hellcat – 1997) The Question (Hellcat – 1998) Live at Ernestos (Hellcat – 2000) Wasted Days (Hellcat – 2001) Slackers & Friends (Special Potato/Select Cuts – 2002) Close My Eyes (Hellcat – 2003) Upsetting Ernestos (LAE - 2004) International War Criminal EP (Thought Squad/Disk Union)(2004) The Slackers/Pulley Split CD (Do Tell, 2004) Afternoon in Dub (Special Potato/Select Cuts/Disk Union – 2005) Slack in Japan (Disk Union – 2005) Peculiar (Hellcat – 2006) Big Tunes (Greatest Hits CD) (Disk Union – 2007) The Boss Harmony Sessions (Special Potato/Rockers Revolt/ Aktive/Universal – 2007) SELF MEDICATION APRIL (Indication Records 2008) Websites: www.theslackers.com www.myspace.com/theslackers