Stroud
Fringe Festival Sunday, September 11 - 2005
To
close the festival, Ska Daddy played one of their best
gigs yet, breathing excitement and life into familiar
tunes and turning the Cornhill market into one vast
house of fun.
They
have come of age as probably the best party band in
the Stroud district, full of life and frivolity.
Testament
to this was the hundreds of dancers bouncing on the
Cornhill cobbles.
"Freedom
for Stroud" cried organiser Roger Sanders,.
After the Ska Daddy set it certainly felt like
it!
Stroud
Fringe Festival Sunday, September 14 - 2003
THE Fringe
festivities certainly ended with a bang on the Sunday night
when Chalford heroes Ska Daddy played to a lively crowd at
the packed Cornhill Market.
The big
band's stage presence is undeniable and they are always watchable
- the obvious thrill they get from performing is infectious.
As is
often the case at a Ska Daddy gig, the dance floor was heaving
with people really going for it and clearly keen to squeeze
the last drops of fun from the festival.
Even the
most reticent of dancers seem to find it hard to keep still
when Ska Daddy are in full flow. They are on to a winning
formula with their choice of tunes.
Their
own bespoke numbers are well worth a listen and the fact they
are written for the band means the musicians really get a
chance to show off their considerable talents.
The band's
apparent mixture of modesty and bravado gets me every time.
On the
one hand, the frontman's tough-guy stage persona presents
an entertaining hell-raising image. On the other you get the
impression the band are almost surprised at their own popularity
and are chuffed to bits with the response they get from an
enthusiastic audience.
In a time
when many bands seem to demand adulation, it's refreshing
to see a bunch that seem to appreciate being appreciated
Stroud
Fringe Festival Sunday, September 14 - 2003
Local
favourites Ska Daddy are back with a vengeance - this time
to rock(steady) our famous last night party. Featuring incredible
homegrown talent, this group of ska fanatics is guaranteed
to get you on the dance floor.
Official
festival review
Sub
Rooms Preview June 2002
Dance
Hall and skanking music are set to rock Stroud on midsummer's
day June 21. The mighty Ska Daddy and DJ Professor CJB will
be drawing together Ska and Reggae lovers in a musical celebration
of the Stroud Valleys Arts festival.
Ska Daddy
are rumored to have got so many people dancing at one venue
that the floor was at risk of collapsing under them! So it's
a relief they are playing on the newly sprung Subscription
Rooms.
Live
review for an unofficial Artspace Court-yard performance during
the Stroud Fringe Festival 2002:
They were the highlight of this year's festival
for me but Ska Daddy didn't even make it onto
the programme. Still the lack of publicity did
not seem to do the band any harm as the courtyard
at the Art Space in John St was absolutely heaving
with barely enough space to bop in.
Venue
As
the name would suggest the Chalford based band specialise
in Ska music though manage to play a very varied set
in what could be seen as a fairly limited genre.
The
brass section, which dominates their sound, is backed
by great guitars and complimented with two well-equipped
percussionists as well as a full drum kit. They are
fronted by guy whose charisma, stage presence and skill
on the squeeze box more than makes up for the fact that
he doesn't actually do much singing.
Put
it all together and you have a fun danceable sound from
a band who obviously enjoy what they are doing and do
not take themselves too seriously.
Citizen
Review June 2002
THE mighty
Ska Daddy will be performing a midsummer gig on home territory
to the delight of their growing legion of fans.
They will
be playing at Stroud's Subscription Room: tonight as part
of the Open Studio Visual Arts Festival.
Ska Daddy
emerged from the Stroud valleys a year ip and bring together
a; diverse array of local talent following a chance conversation
between a group of mates in a local pub.
"We'd
all been talking for years about starting a band. I said,
how about a Ska band, and asked for a show of hands. Everyone
who put their hand up is in the band" , said trombone
player Dave Andrews. And so Ska Daddy was born.
We're
all daddies, except Matty, whose a mummy," said Dave.For
some it was the first time they had played in a band while
Dave and his partner Matty (trumpet) are the veteran Ska players.
Dave played "thousands of gigs" with the Forest
Hill Billies as well as other Ska bands, while Matty played
with the all girl Ska band the Deltones.
"We
are all great friends having fun but we do work` hard at it,"
said Dave. "And people do keep coming back to our gigs."
Since
their debut a year ago, Ska Daddy's set has evolved and now
includes their own material as well as imaginative Ska classics.
Inspired by the original '60s Jamaican Ska. The band have
also drawn on Latin and African influences to come up with
an energetic set. Whatever your musical taste this band is
guaranteed to get you moving.
During
a Ska Daddy Christmas gig, so many people were dancing that
there was concern about the state of the floor.
SNJ
Roxborough
House November 2001
Ska Daddy
took the place by storm to the end of the night. Filling the
entire venue with their fat horn sound they got the entire
crowd moving in some form or another.
Their
blistering 45 minute set was over all too quickly, despite
the constant calls of encore and eager shuffling of feet.
There would have been dancing on the ceiling if gravity allowed
it!
