In Defense of Ska Ep 101: The Uptones (Eric Din and Paul Jackson)

The Uptones made big decisions--spontaneously. This is how guitarist Eric Din describes the group's career. Formed in 1981 in Berkeley, California as young teenagers in love with all things 2 Tone ska, The Uptones took the bay area by storm IMMEDIATELY with packed shows with lines out the door. They got their songs into heavy rotation on the radio by walking into the station and handing the DJs their demo recordings! But the band could never land a contract. Some of that could have been due to how quickly they were willing to completely shift gears and not be predictable.By 1987 the band called it quits, but reunited in 1989 at Gilman and then in 1990 for the Earth Day ska festival. The next time they played was in 2002, effectively missing the entire Third Wave US Ska boom. Today we talk to two members of The Uptones: Eric Din (Guitarist) and Paul Jackson (Trumpet, Keys) They tell us the important influence they got from repeated views of Dance Craze at UC Theatre in Berkeley (With copious out-of-control dancing), as well as getting to see English Beat in their prime. They tell us about opening for the big names in New Wave at the time: R.E.M., Oingo Boingo, UB40, The Go-Go's, Madness and Billy Idol. And they tell us about the time Fishbone showed up at their rehearsal space to hang out.  Eric and Paul also tell us about working with Rancid in the 90s. Eric co-wrote a handful of songs with Tim Armstrong, and Paul Jackson played the organ on "Time Bomb." Yes, that's his solo you've heard a thousand times on the radio. They also tell us how a young Jesse Michaels (Operation Ivy) used to stage dive at Uptones shows in the 80s. All of this is a part of the ups and downs of the bay area's very first ska band, The Uptones. Support the show Support In Defense of Ska by checking out StubHub: https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/DLXVmMB Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy